I've pretty much decided that the fixed gear format on the Peloton is too much for my knees. I've got cartilage degeneration, and despite best efforts on smooth pedal strokes etc, it still hurts each time.

So Wahoo it is.

Is there a board consensus on Zwift vs Wahoo X software?

I'm never going to be racing, and this is just for general fitness. So it's more a question if whatever is most likely to support consistency.

I know the Zwift social aspect is not for a lot of people, but that's never been a huge driver for me. I'm also a number junkie if that matters.

For those who have used both, are the courses / programming materially different?

Never used wahoo x. I have my TT bike on a garmin tacx neo 2t and I ride on Zwift.

I usually am only using Zwift as a middleman to power my TriDot training session. Although when not in a specific training block I will free ride routes or work a preloaded workout in Zwift. I like the routes because I can pick the a route with different levels of elevation gain to help build climbing strength.

I tried Fulgaz but didn't enjoy it as much as Zwift.

I picked up a Wahoo Kickr w/ a Zwift Hub a few months ago so I could ride before my family is awake and keep some level of fitness. I did the Peloton thing too, but Wilpers is about I could handle and everything was too spin-class like.

Since December I've been doing Zwift rides almost daily and they've been great! You can get your ass handed to you or you can just spin. There are tons of route and workout options. The gamification is kinda nice to keep you moving along. I don't really care about the social aspect (chat msgs), but it is there.

Zwift definitely feels like it caters to the true roadie / cyclist versus the fitness aspect of Peloton. Races, hill climb challenges (love those), and integrations with other "bit-more-serious" platforms like TrainerRoad, etc.

If you do go Zwift, definitely look at adding the Hub with Virtual Click for shifting. Much easier than having to deal with shifting normal gears.

Zwift it is.

Now to unload my Peloton and get spendy

FYI, you can possibly use HSA funds for the Wahoo trainer.

I just bought a Stages SC3 spin bike. Love it.

Don't overlook TrainerRoad. Probably not as entertaining as Zwift or Wahoo but they have solid training plans for everything from base to build to race.

If you're looking to hop on the bike and just spin for an hour or two, zwift is likely the better option (or you could just control your trainer with a headunit and skip zwift/wahoo altogether unless you need the social aspect/gamification to keep your interest).

If you're looking for structured training, my opinion is that wahoo is better. The training I did on zwift felt like there was constant accumulation of fatigue with no shedding of fatigue leading to burnout where on wahoo it's a planned cycle of 2 (or 3) weeks on followed by 1 week off. I also just generally enjoyed the content on wahoo more and felt like I was making more progress on the kind of custom training plans it generated based on various specifications i gave it.

I bet Scriffer is hunting for those #dadwatts. I know that's my life these days.

Yup Dave knows.

Just looking for general fitness and fun at this point. I cut TrainerRoad off the list early because my racing days are long gone. It was fun to learn that Wahoo X is a descendant of The Sufferfest. I'm pretty sure I still have A Very Dark Place saved on a NAS somewhere in the house.

Yeah, I have a preference.

I use CoachCat to build my sessions. They sync with my Zwift homepage. I hardly ever ride Zwift without ERG. Luckily, almost done with the indoor season!

Scriffer said:

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I'm pretty sure I still have A Very Dark Place saved on a NAS somewhere in the house.

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I still have the entire collection from my early Ironman days. I know the soundtrack to most by heart.

Dad, what's a NAS?

Are those not still a thing?

I only have 1821 slices of zwift pizza.

Recently I got on trainer road to build better structured workouts over zwift programs and whatever I could create myself with GPT. So far I like the TR/zwift combo

Now that you can import Trainer Road workouts to Zwift, my life is complete.

Have a Wahoo that I use TrainerRoad on. It's boring but have seen great improvement in my cycling.

I went from a runner frustrated with achilles issues to cycling almost overnight once I got a zwift + wahoo setup.

The only complaint I have is that you can't really drill down into details of your workout. I'd like to be able to see what my average power for a sprint or timed climbed is for example.

texagbeliever said:

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I went from a runner frustrated with achilles issues to cycling almost overnight once I got a zwift + wahoo setup.

The only complaint I have is that you can't really drill down into details of your workout. I'd like to be able to see what my average power for a sprint or timed climbed is for example.

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It sounds like intervals.icu might be your new best friend. Import your activities into there and you can review any and all available data from your activity.