Tried my first Zwift session last night. Zwift is a computer/tablet/phone app that makes it look like you’re cycling on a road, when you’re really on a trainer.
https://zwift.com/
I really hate pedaling a bike to go nowhere, so it did make my session more interesting. Had a simulated ride in Central Park, NY.
I’m not sure my setup is correct or ideal (just using a basic trainer, and one that isn’t listed in their supported trainers), but I seemed to be going REALLY slow. A lot of people were flying by me… maybe my legs are just that bad.
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If you are setup with a smart trainer it normalizes your movement. The more data you provide it, the better. Power, cadence, heart rate. I tried rollers with a cadence sensor, but it just didn’t cut it. The smart trainers also automatically adjust the resistance when you get to a hill in the interface.
I like Zwift and use it on occasion when I have time, but it is definitely no substitute for cycling outside. If I had a fat bike I’d probably rarely use Zwift. Since normal tires are now uncool to use in the winter. lol
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I have been using zwift since it came out, with a standard trainer at first. As L&W said, provide it as much data as you can, specifically, wheel speed and cadence. Then play around with different setting to get your virtual bike going the same speed as your real bike at 0% gradient. Thats what I did to get the most realistic experience with a standard trainer.
Zwift in general is great if you want to keep your fitness (or improve it) over the winter. Its a fun way to ride indoors, the community is huge, with the bigger rides/races getting in the thousands of riders.
I ride outside a ton in the winter, but its not always possible due to weather, or whatever, indoor riding is my next choice.
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I used Zwift last winter and this season up until last week. I got to the point that no matter what world I was riding in (New York, Watopia, London), if I was just riding around, or on a structured workout, it all looked and felt the same.
So last week I tried the Sufferfest app and, so far, I like it. You get streaming videos, with a killer soundtrack and, depending on the ‘smartness’ of your trainer setup, workouts tied to you power output and targeting strengths or weaknesses you may have.
Definitely more roadie/racing focused, but if you are into training, I find it better than Zwift (unless you are actually racing on Zwift)
I wanted to try Zwift out to see if I liked it or not, so I haven’t spent any money so far (e.g. on a Smart Trainer). Just using a Bluetooth speed and cadence sensor that I also use on the road with my iPhone. My trainer is very old (early 2000’s), but hardly used 
.
@pmachan, are there settings in the app to adjust the speed to make it somewhat normal, or do you mean the trainer settings? Googling a little, if one changes the weight setting, it affects hill climbing. I’ll have to verify that I entered my weight correctly.
It’s too bad there isn’t a mountain bike coursemap for Zwift.
From what I remember, I tried different default trainers until I got one that was close to what mine was doing, as my trainer wasn’t listed in the supported ones.
They may have changed how this works, I don’t know. Don’t change your weight, as you said, it hugely affects your w/kg and your climbing performance gets out of wack.
I hope MTB related content show up eventually in Zwift.
Tried another Zwift session tonight. I checked the resistance setting on my trainer, and it was on full Hard. I set it to low, and I was definitely moving faster in Zwift, but way beyond my cycling ability - 40 kph on the 0% grade. I left it on that setting for my workout, just to see what it would be like, but I’ll have to play around to get it closer to what I normally do on the bike.
This is why the smart Trainers are the key to the true Zwift experience. No worry about resistance until to get to a hill.
