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I did over  5200 miles in 2018 on my bike(s) in 2018 of which around 3500 miles was indoors on my Kickr trainer. I  had a Gen 1 kickr which lasted over 4 years before a bearing went and whilst usable the noise was horrendous. It initially cost me £700 when it was a few months old as the originally owner needed more space in her flat when a partner moved in. I stopped my gym membership so I saved ~£800 a year over 4 years and I sold the kickr for £100 so it could be refurbed by Wahoo. The buyer got a good deal as Wahoo replaced it with a 2016 model so he got a new Kickr for just over £500. My kickr investment saved me £3300 – 700 – 1000  = £1600 and I still have a gen 4 Kickr.

 

strava_2018

I used a variety of software throughout the year, primarily Zwift and TrainerRoad but I did try a few others and I have found a new favourite.

My coach had been setting sessions all year and I mostly ran them through TrainerRoad whivh is always very reliable. Sometimes watching Netflix or finding cycling videos on YouTube. As of Jan 1 2019 I will be following TR plans starting with Sweet Spot Base Part2 – Mid-volume.

I had two periods when I Zwifted and there are many things I like about Zwift. I enjoy the group workouts and the climbs up Alpe de Zwift and the group events and challenges. I don’t enjoy the races as I seem to get dropped at the beginning and then ride solo all the time. What really puts me off Zwift is the way it is becoming more gameified and the New York course was the final straw. I am just not interested in floating roads etc.

I have tried Road Grand Tours in beta and frankly in my view it is a waste of development time. Along similar lines Virtugo is much better and has quickly surpassed RGT. I have not tried Rouvy as yet  but that looks similar to Fulgaz.

I think Fulgaz is excellent. I had the two week trial which was very good and I bought an annual subscription for only £72. It has a real variety of rides and some of them are very tough climbs. I can watch a ride whilst running TrainerRoad sessions and I can have the kickr drive the FG ride via BLE and the TR session be running from ant+

I used Training Peaks all year as my coach posted his sessions through that but I wont be using it any longer as the TrainerRoad calender does all that I want. Rides will still be uploaded into WKO4 where I can perform analysis on them. The FB WKO4 power users group is an excellent support group and there is so much to learn.

I used the Sufferfest tool for the Tour of Sufferlandia 2018 and it is OK but it doesn’t do training plans and I don’t particularly adhere to their concept that FTP is dead.

Finally I uploaded my Strava rides to Wattsboard which produces a TP style form and fitness level. Seems OK but I dont really see how the site can hope to make any money.

Lots of interesting tools out there and I am sure there are more coming along.