Zwift's virtual world (left) vs. TrainerRoad's workout interface (right).
Thanks to modern technology, indoor cycling isn’t the dreary winter chore it once was. With a smart trainer, a few essential pieces of gear, and a good virtual riding platform, it can be downright fun and addicting.
Zwift and TrainerRoad are the two most popular virtual riding apps and I’ve spent several years switching back and forth between them, so I’ve had plenty of time to get to know each platform. If you’re trying to decide which is right for you, let's go over the pros and cons, as well as some of the major differences and nuances.
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Zwift vs. TrainerRoad Overview
Zwift Features
Zwift gameplay during a group ride. Riders can chat and give each other a "Ride On" (the thumb's up symbol) as encouragement or kudos afterwards.
Zwift is a “massively multiplayer online” cycling game that enables users to interact, train, and compete in a virtual world. Players can cycle freely around the game world or join organized group rides, races, and workouts with other users.
Cost: Monthly - $19.99/month | Annual - $199.99/year
Free trial: Zwift offers a 14-day free trial period when signing up for a monthly membership. There is no free trial period when signing up for an annual membership but new subscribers get a 30-day money back guarantee.
Zwift Pros
- Uses explorable, virtual worlds that simulate outdoor riding
- Events, races, and group rides keep things interesting
- Pacer bots
- Gamification elements can improve motivation
- Highly social
Zwift Cons
- TrainerRoad offers better tools for structured workouts and training programs
- Computer and internet limitations can detract from the experience
- No voice chat
Bottom line: Zwift is best for riders who want to replicate the outdoor and social group riding experience. It’s great for those who need extra stimulation and motivation from Zwift’s gamification elements and social interaction with other riders.
TrainerRoad Features
TrainerRoad offers a huge selection of workouts to target specific training goals.
TrainerRoad is a smart trainer app and an online training tool that provides structured cycling workouts and training plans. Instead of a ride simulation, social, or racing component, it is more focused on improving fitness and maximizing performance.
Cost: Monthly - $21.99/month | Annual - $209.99/year
Free trial: Currently, TrainerRoad no-longer offers free trials. It does, however, offer a 30-day, no-questions-asked, money-back guarantee.
TrainerRoad Pros
- Customizable, adaptable, and easy-to-use training programs
- A simple, focused interface that can be minimized or used on a smartphone
- Video-based group workouts
- Adaptive Training recommends the most effective workouts (and suggests rest) based on your performance
- AI FTP detection
TrainerRoad Cons
- No virtual world or any other form of ride simulation
- Most effective when you can stick to training plans
- Less social
Bottom line: TrainerRoad is ideal for cyclists targeting specific racing and fitness goals. It’s great for data-oriented riders interested in doing workouts, tracking improvement, and maximizing performance, or anyone just looking for a simpler trainer experience.
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Why Use Zwift? - What I Like & What I Dont
Zwift tries to mimic outdoor riding.
Zwift piqued my interest in early 2017 when I noticed local riders uploading Strava rides in New York and London. They were riding in Zwift’s virtual world, which also includes locations like Innsbruck, Paris, Richmond, Yorkshire, and Japan. There's also Watopia, a fictional island in the Pacific that provides everything from flat desert roads to rolling hills to high mountain climbs.
With a smart trainer, Zwift simulates real-world riding by adjusting resistance. When you get on a climb, resistance increases, and you have to shift like you do in real life. When you go downhill or tuck into the draft of another player’s avatar, resistance decreases. Of course, it doesn’t simulate the feeling of speed and balance you get outdoors. If you want to take things a step further, trainer platforms like the Saris MP1 (read my review of the MP1 here) can allow more movement to enhance realism.
To navigate, you use the arrow keys on your computer keyboard, the controls on the smartphone-based Zwift Companion app, or a set of Zwift Play controllers to choose your route at intersections or to make u-turns. It’s not quite the open world many gamers will be used to, as you’re confined to established roads and can't choose where you're positioned on the road, but there’s still a lot to explore. Many riders will probably never ride every road available (you can unlock an achievement if you do).
If you’re looking to just pedal your bike and have something interesting to look at while you do it, this will be enough for most riders. There are lots of fun visual treats to discover like passing trains, hot air balloons, sunken pirate ships, waterfalls, and even grazing dinosaurs in the forest. One of my favorite Easter eggs is a bear falling out of a tree on one of the hilly forest routes.
From the Zwift dashboard you can select courses, workouts, join active riders, or pick from a long list of events (upper right).
Zwift races and group rides
Zwift also offers a huge selection of races, group rides, and group workouts. They’re easy to find and join by looking at the events list on your Zwift dashboard or in the companion app. For me, this is Zwift's best and most addictive feature. The first time you do a race or a group ride, expect to struggle. Experienced Zwift riders are fast, and they understand the nuances of the game.
Eventually, you learn to ride in the “blob” — the virtual peloton — where the draft gives you the greatest advantage. Once you leave it, you’re off the back unless you put in a hard chase effort. Sticking with a group takes focus. This makes time fly by. Before you know it, you’ve pushed yourself hard for an hour or more. When you’re done, you’re hungry to do it again. There are races to suit everyone: sprints, hill climbs, time trials, and more. If you want to build your mental fortitude, practice suffering, and scratch a competitive itch, there may be no better option than Zwift events.
Mid-race. Look at the power profile at the bottom to see how hard I had to work to stay with the group.
Of course, you don’t have to race. There are plenty of chill, no-drop group rides that are great for recovery days or beginners.
There's also a large selection of Pacer Bots which allow you to join a group ride whenever you want. These bots are regularly roaming around a few of the Zwift worlds and are separated into several different W/Kg options. The most popular bots will regularly have large groups riding with them.
Pacer Bots maintain a set pace and you just have to hang on. This allows you to choose the level of challenge you want. I like riding with a bot on a flat course for my recovery or easy endurance rides, or for doing a warm-up before a race. It's also great practice for Zwift racing if you're learning how to stay in a blob of riders.
Zwift gamification elements
Zwift also adds extra riding motivation with awards and fun gear options for your avatar. Accomplishing specific challenges will unlock special items like the coveted “Tron bike.” The more you ride, the more "drops" (as in sweat) you earn which can be spent on bikes and gear. As a rider who grew up glued to my Xbox, I’ve found the game elements of Zwift to be extremely effective at motivating me to ride.
I do wish there was a built-in voice chat like other games. It can be hard to type when you’re riding, and if you want to talk to friends while riding you’ll need to use an outside app like Discord.
There are also lots of timed sectors that you can test yourself against and set goals for. A popular example is the Alpe du Zwift, a simulation of the famed Alpe d'Heuz. Many experienced riders set the goal to do this climb in under an hour.
Zwift workouts and training plans
Zwift also provides workouts and training plans if you’re looking for structured training. You can choose individual workouts, or follow a structured plan that spans 4-12 weeks.
I personally am not a huge fan of Zwift’s offerings in this department, but there are riders who have had success with Zwift’s training plans. Some coaches have also critiqued Zwift’s workouts for lacking focus. You can get around this by uploading or creating your own workouts, but if this is what interests you most, I’d suggest scrolling down and reading about what TrainerRoad offers.
Zwift system requirements
Before you dive in, pay attention to Zwift’s system requirements. Zwift is an online 3D game, and it takes processing power to run it. My old Macbook wasn’t up to the task and I’d experience glitches, lag, overheating, and excessive battery drain. You can run Zwift on a smartphone or tablet, but I personally find small screens detract from the intended experience.
My current solution is an Apple TV 4K. It’s much cheaper than a new computer, and it is powerful enough to handle the game and graphics. It even seamlessly connects to my smart trainer and heart rate monitor via Bluetooth.
Why use TrainerRoad? - What I Like & What I Dont
The TrainerRoad interface.
Like with Zwift, I got interested in TrainerRoad when I saw riders on Strava posting rides. TrainerRoad appears as blue graphs representing workouts. This was early 2018, and I had a full season of racing ahead of me. I wanted to get as fast as possible and the blue graphs intrigued me.
Compared to Zwift, TrainerRoad is more minimalistic. You get the blue graph that represents your workout, and then your power is denoted by a line. The goal is to match your power output to the graph, that’s it. If you’re using ERG mode on your smart trainer, you don’t even need to shift. You just pedal harder when it asks you to. This might sound boring, but it’s far from it.
Not only am I a gamer, but I'm a bit of a gym rat too. Hitting intervals on a TrainerRoad graph requires the same mindset of busting out reps on the bench press. It takes focus and willpower to succeed. You do this over and over again and guess what, you get really fit, really fast.
This is TrainerRoad’s strength. I’ve never liked interval training. But TrainerRoad turns it into its own sort of game. It’s not a 3D virtual world, but something more simple and timeless, like Tetris or Solitaire. There is a pure and simple pleasure to being presented with a target power, and then digging deep to hold it without any other distractions.
That said, the biggest strength of TrainerRoad for me is that other distractions — in the form of TV and movies — are much easier to integrate with my TrainerRoad sessions (more on that below).
TrainerRoad training plans, Plan Builder, and Calendar
TrainerRoad goes much deeper than just the graph and workouts. What really sets it apart are the training plans, Plan Builder, and Calendar. Essentially, TrainerRoad replaces the need for a coach. TrainerRoad becomes your coach.
Using Plan Builder, you plug in information like your training experience, target events, preferred riding discipline, and available time to train, and it creates an entirely custom plan. You go through a base, build, and specialty phase designed to help you peak physically at the right time. The workouts and plans are all based on a huge amount of data and experience, and designed by a combination of AI and seasoned coaches.
An example of a high-volume (a.k.a. super hard) training plan laid out in the calendar. Plans can be adjusted based on time constraints and fitness. An actual plan for me would have shorter workouts and more days off.
Beyond the Plan Builder, the training Calendar that comes with the TrainerRoad subscription is one of my favorite features. It lets you see all your past and future workouts, and it records vital training stats like TSS and CTL to help you plan how much additional work or recovery you need. It’s highly adaptable, so if you get sick, have to miss workouts for any reason, or just feel off, you let the system know (See below) and it will adjust your plan accordingly and get back on track.
The best part is that any outdoor rides you record on Strava will automatically upload to your calendar. This means you don’t always have to ride on the trainer. You have the option to do TrainerRoad workouts outside using a Garmin or Wahoo head unit. Sometimes, I’ll just try to hit the same TSS I was supposed to do and enjoy the outdoors. All these features make training feel surprisingly flexible and enjoyable. I even keep my subscription going into the summer so I can continue using the Calendar to track my fitness.
TrainerRoad Adaptive Training and Red Light Green Light
Perhaps TrainerRoad's most exciting new feature is Adaptive Training. Adaptive Training uses machine learning to respond to your individual performance and needs. If you have a busy week and miss workouts, get sick, injured, or fatigued, or just decide to ride outside, it takes all of this into consideration and automatically adjusts your plan to keep you on track for your fitness goals. You don't have to stress about training interruptions or sticking rigidly to the plan.
You don't even need to be using a training plan. You can simply enter the TrainNow section of the app and you’ll be offered three daily recommended workouts - climbing, attacking and endurance - based on your recent training or riding history. Adaptive Training will analyze your performance and update your progression levels accordingly.
One of the most useful features for me has been "Red Light Green Light." This analyzes data from your recent workouts or rides, and it compares it to your own training history and data millions of riders to give you warning if you're overreaching. If it thinks you are, it will suggest in the Calendar that you do easy rides or take time off to rest. This can help prevent overtraining, fatigue, and burnout, which many motivated type-A athletes are very susceptible to.
Watching TV with TrainerRoad minimal mode
You can catch up on watching shows like "Peaky Blinders" AND workout with TrainerRoad in minimal mode.
TrainerRoad is also great to use when you feel like watching something else while you ride. TrainerRoad can be put into “minimal mode” if you’re using a computer. Even minimized, the graph is easy to see and follow, but it’s out of the way so you can also devote attention to something else.
I often run TrainerRoad on my phone and set it aside while I have something running on the TV. When I'm using ERG-mode, it makes it really easy to actually follow along with shows and movies, because I don't have to focus as hard to hit my power targets.
I’ve found this to be the best, guilt-free way to binge-watch my favorite TV shows. It’s also fun to watch races while doing workouts to keep riding stoke high in the off-season.
Other TrainerRoad benefits
Compared to Zwift, TrainerRoad releases updates and new features far more regularly. The team behind it is also impressively responsive when it comes to taking suggestions and implementing changes. Based on customer input, TrainerRoad recently introduced a group workout feature. This allows you to do workouts with other people via webcam, similar to a Zoom call. I haven’t tried it yet, but it might be a good feature for riders who crave company on their indoor rides. Finding friends willing to look at your sweaty face might be the only limiting factor.
The other great thing about TrainerRoad is the huge amount of resources they provide outside of their subscription service. They host the “Ask a Cycling Coach” podcast which provides an excellent resource for training information, as well as an educational YouTube channel, and an online forum full of enthusiastic users willing to talk bikes, training, and racing.
My love of these amazing resources encourages me to continue supporting them and was a huge factor in trying TrainerRoad for myself. TrainerRoad turned me from someone who hated structured training, who claimed I could never follow a training plan, into someone who happily followed a training plan for months.
Photos courtesy of TrainerRoad.
Zwift vs. TrainerRoad: Final thoughts
So what do I choose now after several years of using Zwift and TrainerRoad? Well, this might seem like a cop-out, but I choose both. I see the benefits of each and I'm not ready to discard one or the other.
One thing super-nerds like myself do is run Zwift and TrainerRoad at the same time. This requires an extra Bluetooth or ANT+ receiver. When the mood strikes me I connect TrainerRoad to my smart trainer so it can control resistance and Zwift to my bike’s power meter so I can ride through the virtual world while completing my TrainerRoad workout. If you can afford it and want the best of both worlds, this is the way to do it.
If I were forced to pick one, right now I might go with Zwift. Zwift feels like less of a commitment. I hop in Zwift races whenever I feel like it. Plus, a lot of my co-workers are on it and it’s nice to keep riding and competing with others, even if only virtually.
As the riding season approaches though, I might change my answer to TrainerRoad. There are a few big races I’m dreaming about doing and I rely on a TrainerRoad plan and Adaptive training to set myself up for success.
Also, if I want to watch TV, I think TrainerRoad is the better option. Zwift group rides require more constant focus, which makes it impossible for me to look at another screen or follow a plot.
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Which do you prefer, Zwift or TrainerRoad? Or do you like something else entirely? Let us know in the comments!
