Zwift – The Basics and Everything you need to Know

Alan LightfootAlan LightfootCategories athome
Zwift Image

When Lockdown begun a lot of the club members embraced Zwift as a way of training and competing together when we had no other options. Now we are close to being back to normal Zwift has remained as an integral part of our training. There is no turning back!

But if you do not have Zwift what do you need? In this post I will cover the bare minimum basics to get you started and below that there is a link to a document covering everything you could possibly need to know to enhance the experience which Ed Buckley kindly put together.

So, here the the bare minimum requirements with a normal, non Smart Turbo Trainer:

  • Bike
  • Account at zwift.com (cost, £12.99 a month)
  • Turbo Trainer
  • Speed/Cadence sensor (if you do not have a Power Meter)
  • Ant+ dongle for your PC to connect with Speed/Cadence sensor or Power Meter (and Heart Rate strap)
  • Heart Rate strap (compulsory for some races and advisable for all training)
  • A matt to collect your sweat
  • A fan to reduce your sweat (recommended option https://www.cleva-uk.com/products/vacmaster-air-mover)

If you have a Smart Turbo Trainer….. you will not need a Power Meter or Speed/Cadence sensor. A Smart Turbo Trainer also gives a more interactive experience. When you go up a hill on screen the resistance increases accordingly for a more real life experience. And when you do a Workout at a set power the resistance is set to meet that power. Smart Turbo Trainers come in two forms, Wheel On (lower cost) or Direct Drive (higher cost but more quite and no tyre wear)

So what is a Workout? Or Companion App? Or WTRL? Zwiftpower? Or all the other many, many terms you hear Zwifters talking about. Well here is everything you need to know:

https://thamesturbo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Zwift-All-you-need-to-know.pdf

And finally it is worth calibrating your trainer on a regular basis, especially if using a wheel on trainer. The following link gives detailed instructions on how to do this:

https://thamesturbo.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/03/Trainer-calibration-instructions.pdf