Best Indoor Cycling Apps for 2024 January: the way to success

My fitness journey has changed a lot since I found the best indoor cycling apps. These apps not only helped me get in better shape, but they also sped up my rides and gave me more drive. These apps have been very helpful in helping me reach my main goal, which was to keep up my training while I waited for better weather to ride my bike outside. Besides that, they’ve made heart-pounding cardio workouts a regular part of my at-home routine.

There’s an app for everyone, whether you want to explore real-world routes, join virtual races, or ride in a studio-style boutique. So, we’ve put together a list of the best indoor cycling apps you can get right now. Find out who each one is best for, how each one can help you reach your goals faster, and what you should think about before signing up.

Cycling was often compared to pedaling through mud or molasses, and there were no apps for indoor cycling. However, technology has come a long way and today’s best turbo trainers are “smart,” meaning they can connect to smartphones and tablets so instead of a lever controlling resistance, you can use the software controls of any indoor cycling app running on your device.

Some focus on virtual worlds and gamification, others on helping you train and get in shape as quickly as possible, and there are many others in between. Choosing the best indoor cycling app will greatly affect your experience, your enjoyment, and probably even your indoor cycling efforts, so take a look at our list below to determine the one best suited to your needs.

What to Look for in an Indoor Cycling App?

There are a few important things to think about when choosing an indoor cycling app to make sure you have a smooth and effective workout. Here are some things to keep an eye out for:

Variety of Workouts: A good indoor cycling app should offer a wide variety of workouts, such as interval training, endurance rides, hill climbs, and more. This keeps your workouts interesting and keeps you from getting bored.

Customization: Look for an app that lets you change your workouts to fit your fitness level, goals, and preferences. Your workouts can be more tailored to your needs if you can change the resistance, intensity, and length.

Real-time Metrics: The app should show speed, resistance, cadence (pedal RPM), heart rate, and power output in real time. You can track your progress and get the most out of your workouts with these metrics.

Tracking and progress: The app should keep track of your past workouts and let you see how you’re getting better over time. This can help you stay motivated and reach your fitness goals.

Virtual Coaching and Feedback: Some apps let you work out while getting virtual coaching or feedback. This can be done with audio cues, visual prompts, or even virtual trainers who give advice on form, technique, and pace.

Best Indoor Cycling Apps Comparison Table

The table below compares different indoor cycling apps by looking at things like features, compatibility, price, and how the app works for the user. It helps people choose the best app to improve their indoor cycling workouts based on their preferences, devices, and budgets, while also giving them workouts that are effective and fun.

Xert

Xert analyzes current physical condition based on energy data. It then runs a behind-the-scenes algorithm and recommends a “smart” workout for the day based on current fitness and goals. Xert also calculates FTP and displays it for the day based on current fitness. The “smart” or “adaptive” workout reader can adapt the workout on the fly and adjust the intensity and duration of the workout based on fitness level.

The iOS workout reader has recently been updated with an activity dashboard, an adaptive workout advisor, and a new workout reader. You can also use the web player, Android app or Garmin Edge device to connect to your smart bike trainer or power meter via ANT+ FE-C.

Wahoo Systm

Wahoo SYSTM is a performance-based, cycling-focused fitness app that offers an impressive selection of cycling workouts, as well as swimming, running, strength, yoga, and mental training sessions. Released in September 2021, one of the app’s most important features is SYSTM’s unique fitness test, called 4DP, which makes this workout app truly unique.

The 4DP (four-dimensional power) test uses four key performance parameters: neuromuscular power (NM), maximum aerobic power (MAP), functional threshold power (FTP), and anaerobic capacity (AC). Users are encouraged to perform this test from the beginning. You cannot define progress until you know where you are starting from, and that is exactly what the 4DP test does.

Zwift

Founded by passionate cycling gamers, Zwift has undoubtedly transformed the indoor cycling experience. No, Zwift did not invent virtual racing; Bkool and Tour de Giro were among the first to offer online competitions driven by cyclists’ performance and physics-based algorithms. And Compu trainer already offered the smart coach experience years ago, but within a closed system and having to buy a Compu trainer. Zwift also did not invent power-based interval training.

Trainer Road had an initial advantage. But what Zwift did was absolutely revolutionary in terms of the social interaction and graphical elements of the game. With near-constant virtual group rides and races, it is easy to join a group for an easy ride or for a fight to the death. One can also ride alone, of course, or tackle one of Zwift’s many structured workouts and training plans after taking an FTP test.

The Sufferfest

When inclement weather gets in the way of an outdoor workout, The Sufferfest may be one of the best solutions for indoor training. Available for iOS devices, Mac computers, and Windows desktop platforms, this app uses real race footage from some of the world’s most competitive racetracks to guide you through brutal workouts on a bike trainer or bike. indoors.

The platform currently offers 37 cycling workouts and 20 cycling yoga videos, each of which can be streamed via your Wi-Fi service or downloaded and used offline. You can also connect your heart rate monitor, power meter or smart trainer for more accurate metrics and workouts.

Rouvy

ROUVY was founded by two brothers from the Czech Republic who partnered with Saris Group, and ROUVY grew rapidly in the foreign market. Nowadays, ROUVY is part of one of the most popular indoor cycling training apps around. According to the company, the ROUVY community has hundreds of thousands of registered users. It is also not surprising that the Czech National E-Cycling Championships (2021) used ROUVY as its main platform.

ROUVY differs from other apps because it offers real recordings of famous climbs and routes. These recordings are complemented by a virtual avatar and other ride data from your bike trainer or third-party sensors. In this way, training becomes more realistic and you can explore beautiful places around the world from the comfort of your home. Currently, the database contains more than 10,000 video routes.

Trainer Road

Trainer Road’s head coach, Chad Timmerman, has more than 25 years of training experience and offers a number of specific training plans on Trainer Road. These plans are built around a cyclist’s specific goals, optimized for what you want to get out of each session, based on your training frequency. With over 100 different plans specific to every aspect of cycling such as: uphill road racers, time trial, Olympic XC cyclists, criterium cyclists, uphill road racers, triathletes, marathon XC racers, short track XC racers, cyclocross, gravity and general fitness.

In addition, the platform makes more than 1,000 workouts available to its users, while a workout creator allows cyclists to customize their sessions with the inspiration already available. Sessions can be recorded, training plans can be selected, and session data can be tracked within the app.

Peloton

Do you miss weekly spin classes with your favorite instructor and a set list of songs? Then the Peloton app is for you. With no need for a $2,000 bike, the app gives you access to live and on-demand classes, including numerous non-cycling workouts (30 minutes of hip-hop HIIT or 60 minutes of flow yoga, to name just a couple) for those days when you’re feeling saddle sore. Many of the classes are live-streamed, so you can train with others virtually.

When it comes to cycling-specific workouts, it is not necessary to have a Peloton brand bike. Although you won’t be visible in the rider rankings, you will have access to the same community and can virtually high-five each other while doing a 10-minute climb or a 60-minute endurance race.

BKool

The Spanish company BKool is another fantastic indoor cycling training app. It originally started as a producer of indoor trainers, but eventually decided to devote itself full-time to riding software. The eponymous app is great for setting goals and challenges. The company focuses solely on providing the best indoor driving experience, regardless of the trainer used, and with more than 100,000 active users it certainly lives up to the hype.

You can choose from four types of sessions: “Road” for road cyclists with big laps in their hearts, “Workouts” for personal goals, “Velodrome” for the sensations of Keirin and pursuit racing, and the not-to-be-missed “FTP Test.” What’s special about BKool is that you can choose from three viewpoints and switch between them while riding: the first-person view, a 3D virtual avatar, or a map view.

Tacx

If you purchased a Tacx trainer this winter, it might be worth trying the company’s training software. Like other apps here, it offers high-quality footage so you can ride anywhere from the Alps to spring classics. The library is constantly growing and more videos are being added. You can also upload your own routes by linking your Strava account or uploading GPS data and follow a 3D map.

You can also choose to ride with live opponents or recruit virtual training partners, as well as structured training plans with a calendar function. Designed to work with Elite’s wide range of coaches, this app provides a virtual coach by offering workout programs suitable for all fitness and skill levels. It also provides real videos with an ever-growing library. However, the app allows you to record your own runs, so you can film a run and then play it back on the indoor trainer.

Training Peaks

Training Peaks is another excellent bike ride logging application with many interesting features. It can record rides, track daily statistics, and even record post-workout feedback to keep track of various aspects, such as fatigue. The app also tracks power, speed, distance and other parameters.

Some more important features are heart rate monitor support, GPS location support, and the ability to schedule workouts over a longer period of time. The free version of this app works well for some basic things. However, even this app is on the higher end, with Trainer Road being one of the more expensive options on the list.

How to Choose the Right Indoor Cycling App for You?

To choose the right indoor cycling app, you need to think about a number of things that fit with your fitness goals, preferences, and resources. Here’s a step-by-step guide to help you make an informed choice:

Set clear goals: Your fitness goals should be clear. Do you want to lose weight, improve your endurance, build muscle, or just stay active? Knowing your goals will help you choose an app with workouts and features that are right for you.

Changes in workouts: Look for apps that offer a variety of indoor cycling workouts, such as interval training, hill climbs, and steady-state rides. Having a lot of choices will keep you from getting bored and keep you going.

Compatibility with apps: Make sure the app works with the indoor cycling setup you have. Some apps are made to work with certain smart trainers, sensors, or stationary bikes. Check to see if the app works with your equipment and how you connect to the internet.

Metrics in Real Time: Check to see if the app gives you information like speed, distance, power, cadence, and heart rate in real time. You can use these measurements to track your progress and change your workouts to get the best results.

Plans for training: Some apps have structured workout plans that are made for your level of fitness and goals. If you want a more organized way to do things, choose an app that has these plans and can lead you through increasingly difficult workouts.

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