The leaves are in full swing in their quest to turn brown and compost into mulch on every road and cycle path in the northern hemisphere. The days are getting shorter, and the inexorable creep of the long nights of winter continues apace. For some of us this means a true off-season, while for others (myself included) it means donning the foul weather gear and leaving the jet wash by the door.
For many though, the last glorious ride of the summer before the seasons take a turn for the worse means only one thing: it’s time for indoor cycling. Turbo training of old was a pretty torrid affair, fraught with awful ride feel from wheel-on trainers, and a total lack of distractions save for the TV, music, or the next interval administered by a stopwatch mounted to your betoweled handlebars. Now there’s a whole plethora of hardware and software products to make indoor cycling more enjoyable, more comfortable, and more useful.
If you're looking for solid buying advice then we’ve got you covered with thorough tests of all the best smart trainers on the market, as well as guides to get you well acquainted with all the best indoor cycling apps so you can pick the one that works best for you. For my part we’ve also got some features exploring the fuzzy edges of the genre, like my decision to get back on the turbo after a decade away.
Whatever indoor cycling means for you we’ll have something for you, so dust off the turbo towel, get all your peripherals paired up, and switch on the big fan.
Buying Advice
- Indoor cycling: Everything you need to know
- Best smart trainers - All the hardware you need to get setup riding indoors
- Best indoor cycling apps - Zwift, MyWhoosh, Rouvy et al.
- Best exercise bikes - Integrated smart bikes to home spin class setups
- Cheapest Zwift setup - Get going for less
- Zwift vs MyWhoosh - Do you get more for your money with a paid subscription?
Features
- Why now? Back on the turbo after a decade away
- Indoor cycling hacks - Tips and tricks to make the experience better
- Do you really need indoor cycling clothing? - Mesh fabrics and special shoes
- Project Best Winter Ever - Tom's turbo-enabled attack on Paris-Roubaix
- Mid-pack to podium contender - Assault on gravel nats with the help of TrainerRoad
