Smart bike trainers are such a good alternative and after having one I can honestly say smart bike trainers are really good for the money. We will go over the reason why you should get a smart bike trainer and if you have been convinced we have a post on the best smart bike trainers that are zwift compatible.
Table of Contents
1. It’s time effective
The simple reason that training Indoors can be more time effective if you don’t have the enjoyment of 20 hours a week to ride your bike. If like a lot of other people you get around an hour to bike in a week.
You can use that time more wisely with indoor trainer, because you don’t have to pick what wear and plan a route etc. You can just jump straight on the smart bike trainer and devote more time actually pedaling, reducing the wasted time either side of a bike ride.
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It is recommend to stay fit to try and workout 1 hour a day so even if you’re a time-crunched cyclist, a fast ride after work is very realistic. Even Indoor cycling is also a truthful option for people that have children (myself included), you can’t just leave your child and cycle 15 miles down the road. With a smart bike trainer you can set up the indoor trainer in the next room and still watch the kids.
2. The power meters precise and organised training
If you want to make the absolute most of your time and see real progression in your training, nothing is better than using a power meter. Power is the top standard in cycle training, and that is not just for the professionals, anyone can gain from using power, especially time effective cyclists.
The latest generation of high-end smart bike trainers have in built power meters, making them perfect training tools for making certain that you will get a really good workout.
Once you have found out your FTP (functional threshold power) you can plot your sessions at targeted power zones to really get the most out of your riding time, and really improve your fitness. And the ERG mode is the best feature to embrace power training on a smart trainer.
To use the power meter you simply enter the power you want to ride at, 250 watts let’s suggest, and the smart bike trainer will set the power which will leave you the easy task of pedalling.
You don’t’ have to worry about traffic lights or junctions to hinder your progress, you can just spend more of your time in the key power zone.
3. Connect to Zwift, TrainerRoad and Sufferfest and many other training apps
With the technology in smart bike trainers being more then enough, they have an even greater feature which is the many apps you can use. The likes of Zwift, TrainerRoad and Sufferfest, to mention just a few of the most popular options, they have single handedly helped to reformed indoor cycling.
These apps and many more make indoor cycling and training so much more fun and entertaining in a way turbo training never used to be. Zwift even lets you take part in races and organised group rides.
Many users (including me) have reported that these apps have made indoor training appealing, motivating and thrilling, with workout sessions, structured training plans and virtual online races giving different methods to indoor training, and lots of choices for mixing it up.
The smart trainer can be controlled by these apps, so when you are in your virtual race and arrive at a hill or interval session, the trainer will automatically upsurge the resistance. Which in result, give an immersive realistic experience which makes it more fun. While competing with your friends and other people it pushes you to train harder resulting in more calories burned 🙂
You don’t even need a computer to use these apps, most trainers offer both ANT+ and Bluetooth and many apps run on smartphones and tablets.
You can even control most smart trainers from a cycle computer, like a Garmin Edge or Wahoo Bolt, and change the resistance levels at the touch of a button.
4. It feels like you are riding on the road
The best direct drive smart trainers (where you remove the rear wheel and mount the bike to the trainer) provide a surprisingly realistic road feel.
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It won’t be like for like the actual same as being out on the road, but compared to my experiences with old turbo trainers, smart trainers give a very smooth ride and are the closest you will get to the real thing. And sprinkle on top that the app can control the steep gradients it you can really get lost and feel like like you’re riding outdoors, from the comfort and safety of your home.
5. Safer than going out in the rain and wind
As much as cyclists love the night time rides you can never be 100% safe as you cant quite know who is outside while you are riding. Especially at winter when its cold and raining its not easy to motivate your self to go for the bike ride no matter what time of the day it is however,smart bike trainers do provide a good alternative.
If you are interested in looking a some of the best smart bike trainers out right now we have a full in depth post on this just click HERE
