On your bike!!

In recent years, not just in cycling but in sports and leisure generally, there have been huge strides forward in the use of technology to enhance the experience.

As many of our customers already know we are all keen cyclists here and since 2015 we have been using Zwift as an aid to training.

Zwift is a 'virtual' environment that connects you and your bike to a virtual world where you can cycle with friends or compete against other cyclists from all around the globe all from the comfort of your own home. Perfect when the British Weather is doing its best to stop you going out on the road!

The really clever part is that you dont need to invest in uber expensive kit either. Most cyclists will already have most of the required kit - the missing component is usually just the £20 'Ant+ dongle' for your computer. The Ant+ dongle acts as a bridge allowing the sensors on your bike to transmit data to zwift in realtime.

Once Zwift knows a few basics like which model of turbo trainer you are using, your age, sex and weight, it combines this with the data from your sensors and is able to approximate your speed and lots of other useful metrics including an estimation of your power output - something normally only derived using very expensive kit like an SRM power meter.

Until Zwift came along I was one those who simply could not use a static turbo trainer due to the huge boredom factor. Very happily Zwift has changed that completely adding a whole new dimension to my training. Your workouts can be uploaded to other services like Strava and strava 'segments' are also fully supported in the virtual environment too.

With winter fast approaching and the weather conditions diminishing to their usual unpredictable UK norms there is no longer an excuse not to get on the bike! Visit www.zwift.com