I searched to see if this topic had been discussed already, but didn’t see it.
DC Rainmaker did an updated App review, posted March 27th. He, of course, went into great detail on 11 training apps. I haven’t even gotten through all of it. But he openly admits that the two apps he uses are the two top dogs on the market, Zwift and TrainerRoad.
There are obvious pluses and minuses to both, and DC Rainmaker is much more skilled at expounding on these than I, so I recommend his article.
Finally, I can unequivocally call myself a TR Fanboy. I use the app, listen to the podcast, and occasionally browse the forums. TR has undoubtedly made me faster, which for me is a substitute for fitter, which is my actual goal.
I like working out but I like competing and going fast way more. Everyone is motivated by different things but that is why I train. With the racing season pretty much toast, Zwift has been an excellent way to get that fix. So in my book it’s become more than something social.
Same for me. I dropped Z years ago but with racing dead for now I signed back up. I do a lot of training on TR but have set an abundance of PRs on Zwift of late. TR is like practice and Zwift is the “game” for me.
Pluses and minuses to both. DC even admits he uses both, probably for the same reasons. I’m sure I’d enjoy Zwift if i gave it a try. But there are a few factors that limit me from using both:
I’m cheap
I want to use my time most efficiently
I can’t stand cheaters
I’m cheap
Other than these factors, I’d probably really enjoy Zwift every once in awhile.
I’m not fast enough to race. I ride to be healthy and fit. I race to measure my progress against myself, and have a date on the calendar for which to train. Also, it’s much easy to cheat in a video game relative to real life. (Less barriers to overcome, no accountability, anonymity.
With a Smart Trainer and TR, there is no cheating. I can’t even cheat myself, unless I start to rationalize why my workout went poorly.
Clear cheaters will get pulled from official results in Zwift. Would you not race IRL if you lined up against people who had 40W worth of kit advantage? Racing whether online or IRL is never a level playing field.
Races on Zwift can serve as a way of really showing your maximal performance, I’ll wager you’ll go deeper trying to hang on in a race than you could on an interval session.
Both TP and Zwift are excellent, not sure why people have to declare their undying love for one or the other.
You didn’t read the post explaining my other reasons for not doing Zwift. I’ve got nothing against it. I even admitted I’d probably enjoy it. I’m not pitting one group vs another. TR is the hard work to put in so you can enjoy Zwift.
And I enjoy racing… the adrenaline, the moment, finding that one more person in front of me to catch. I definitely go harder in a race scenario.
All I’m saying is that I’m good sticking to TR until races resume IRL. If using both is your cup of tea, that’s awesome. Nothing against that at all.
Agree with this. I’m not the most social at the best of times and full focus is on training and Zwift just doesn’t scratch that itch. Trainer road far superior for the training plans and calendar.
Count me in as a person who subscribes to both TR and Zwift. They fulfill completely different purposes in my riding, especially during the quarantine. TR beats the pants off Zwift for the training, but TR will likely never include the social culture/racing that Zwift has — they just simply have different agendas to accomplish.
I’m not at all opposed to those who enjoy solitary suffering, but we should be able to appreciate the irony in posting about antisocial preferences on an online forum…
And I agree 100% that the sentiments of @ABG is TR down to the ground. No offense to anyone intended. Except for maybe Wattbike for that painful advert…
