[Closed] Wahoo Systm. ( Vs Zwift )

Just started with their trial though I do have some old Sufferfest videos from wayback before subscriptions.  I’ve been using an iPad with the screen mirrored to Apple TV for the bike stuff and an Android phone screencast to Chromecast for the yoga and strength stuff.  Ideally I’d like an Apple TV app and proper casting to Chromecast rather than the screen mirroring but it’s all working fine for me as it is.  Really the biggest bonus is that they’ve added an Android app.

Did Zwift last winter and I get why people like it but for me I’m not so interested in group stuff and races I just want a training plan and to feel fitter out in the real world.  So far I’m thinking SYSTM with its more elaborate version of an FTP test and off bike elements looks good.  I may even use it year round for the yoga and strength sessions

That's interesting. I don't have a tablet so I'm wondering how to get it on my monitor cheaply. I wonder if I could cast from Android phone to a firestick.

Can you cast the screen?  If so you should be fine if not a Chromecast isn’t that expensive last time i looked

And the reason I’m using apple for bike stuff and android for other stuff is just because I do it in different places and don’t want to buy another Apple TV.  They both work equally as well

I use it for the yoga and strength stuff and really enjoy that.

The bike videos are OK but I have a few niggles that mean I get frustrated and end up using TrainerRoad instead. Maybe they'll fix them in the future but to be honest I really like TrainerRoad anyway.

To answer your question about zwift, I think you just need to try it and see. All of the different apps have slightly different ways of approaching the 'make turbo training less boring' issue and you just need to find the one that can keep you motivated.

EDIT: I should say that niggles were on the old SUF app have carried over to the new Wahoo app.

I got a smart turbo earlier in the year and tried Zwift but the Sufferfest won in the end as I much prefer the structured training.

If I wanted to hop on the bike and go for a ride, I’d go outside.

I built a teeny tiny laptop shelf on the wall in the garage and use laptop out there for riding, inside I use tablet or phone to airplay to the tv for yoga videos. Been doing the yoga on and off all year (not so much the turbo)

I got bored of the zwift graphics so have switched back to sufferfest/wahoo system. But for the next 3 months I just want low level zone 2 rides and neither are good at that. I have turned my setting down to about 3/4 of what they should be, I always seem to test higher than what I can sustain in a reasonable training plan anyway.

I still think they both do kind of okish for early efforts, but there is still massive room for improvement and I am still waiting for someone to really nail the indoor/virtual cycling experience.

If I wanted to hop on the bike and go for a ride, I’d go outside.

This year I want to try and do more outdoor cycling through winter, and have invested far too much money on lights not to. However when the evenings get dark, and the weather gets cold and damp and winter blues kick in, it is easy to talk myself out of an outdoor ride. Whereas for an indoor ride it is easy to just say give it 10 mins and then see how i feel, and usually I end up doing the full hour or so.

I started on Zwift but went to Sufferfest as I prefer the structured plans and yoga/strength options. Group rides on Zwift don’t really appeal.

I’ve been outside all spring/summer and only just getting back on the indoor bike. Am on a test week with SUF/SYSTM then will go onto a longer plan.

I think they all do decent trial periods so give them all a go and see what works for you.

I have a Kickr bike on a rocker plate. iPad for app and TV/sky box for footy 😊

The ProRides bit is quite good fun, but there only seem to be a handful at the moment. The biggest issue is that their servers fall over most evenings, and then the video bitrate drops to an unwatchable level.

The fittest I ever got was by following a TrainerRoad structured workout program one winter. Zwift was more fun though and what I stuck with in the end.

@Flaperon downloading the videos of Sufferfest stops any issues with video quality dropping off. Might be worth a try.

I’ve had some good benefits from a Trainerroad program a couple of years back. The Sufferfest 10 week plan used by Dan Lloyd in the GCN video was working really well for me earlier this year but I never made it past halfway as life for I. The way. I plan on doing it again in full to kickstart some winter training.

I’ve tried Zwift but really hated the game aspect of it. The Sufferfest “Sufferlandria” stuff is a load of rubbish as well but the training aspect of it is very good.

Zwift - if you like wii-sports, used to play second life, or your mates all use it.

Sufferfest / SYSTM - If you like structured workouts, but also like a bit of storyline and humor. The yoga and strength training videos are actually really good as well. This is probably why wahoo is rebranding it as Wahoo rather than just suffer-fest.

Trainerroad - probably the best option if you want structured workouts and a plan without gimicks.

That said, according to sufferfest's 4DP test anything over a TT effort my power is way down on what would be predicted in the more simplistic models that other systems use. Seems to reflect reality but equally could just be an error in the resistance curve of my dumb trainer.

The downside of all 3 Vs an actual coach is trying to balance indoor training Vs actually riding for fun outside. I ended up sticking with sufferfest as I found it the easiest to dip in and out of so if a group ride was rained off, then doing 9-hammers or the long scream was a vaguely appealing alternative over TR's more clinical sessions.

I got a basic trainer half way through last winter (just before the January lockdown) and ended up using Zwift but only the workouts, the group rides didn't really appeal to me, and I'm definitely not a racer. I had the app on my android phone that was connected to my laptop so I could have a decent sized screen in front of me. I found it good but only because I know a few of the world's in real life so nice to see them replicated in digital form.

This year I think I'm going to try wahoo as they have an android app which was the barrier to using sufferfest for me.

I don't think I could do a workout on trainer road just looking at graphs, I sort of need the visuals to make it more appealing to me.

MSP
Full Member

I got bored of the zwift graphics so have switched back to sufferfest/wahoo system. But for the next 3 months I just want low level zone 2 rides and neither are good at that

You might like Xert for that. There’s a setting (“Off-season” iirc) where it’ll happily let you bumble through life until you tell it you want to get your legs ripped off again

Anyone know if the free 14 day period on wahoo starts as soon as you sign up? With Zwift it starts on your first ride, not date you sign up. So with Zwift I got it all set up, picking up sensors etc before I evem set aside time to ride, I'd like to do that too with Systm.

If you've got the sensors from zwift they should still work with SF. Unless you're swapping from something like an apple TV BT to old laptop and ANT+ ecosystem of vice versa.