{"id":216347,"date":"2026-01-02T09:34:25","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:34:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216347\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T09:34:25","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T09:34:25","slug":"get-the-zwift-ride-smart-bike-for-just-899-to-turbocharge-your-new-year-fitness-goals-plus-five-more-top-tips-for-2026","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/216347\/","title":{"rendered":"Get the Zwift Ride smart bike for just \u00a3899 to turbocharge your New Year fitness goals! Plus five more top tips for 2026"},"content":{"rendered":"

The new year is the perfect time to start getting ready for a great season on the bike and indoor training is the most time-efficient way to train. Follow our great tips to make your winter indoors the best one yet!<\/p>\n

All bets are off over Christmas. But once you\u2019ve finished off the turkey, and the chocs, and the cream liqueur, it\u2019s time to waddle back to the bike and get some hours in so you can be ready for a great season of riding. Indoor training has some big advantages at the start of the year. The winter weather saps your resolve and eats all the moving parts of your bike, and while you\u2019re busy at work catching up on those two weeks where you didn\u2019t know what day it was, it\u2019s also a very time-efficient way to train. Got a spare hour? You can probably spend all but five minutes of that riding.<\/p>\n

\"ZeroZero to Zwift – app store (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Zwift is the biggest online training community<\/a>, and at this time of year you\u2019ll find tens of thousands of like-minded riders training and racing on the routes of the 12 different worlds. If you\u2019ve never tried Zwift then you can try it free for up to 30 days, so why not give it a go in 2026? To help you on your journey, here are five tips to get the most out of your new year\u2019s resolution to be your best!<\/p>\n

Tip 1: Upgrade your rig<\/p>\n

Zwift will work with more or less any trainer setup: so long as you have a speed sensor of some sort, you\u2019re good to go. But you\u2019ll get the best out of your time indoors on a smart trainer, and there\u2019s never been a better time to get a new rig.<\/p>\n

\"20252025 Wahoo Kickr Core 2 Zwift cog (credit: Zwift)<\/p>\n

What\u2019s a smart trainer?<\/p>\n

Simply put, it\u2019s a trainer that can talk to a training app on your device. It transmits your power to the game, and it can change the resistance to mimic the gradient on the road you\u2019re riding, or hit a power target when you\u2019re doing an interval session. A smart trainer makes riding online much more immersive and enjoyable.<\/p>\n

Smart trainers have come a long way in the decade or so they\u2019ve been widely available. The first time we reviewed the Wahoo KICKR, back in 2015, it was a thousand pounds just for the trainer, and you had to add your bike to that. Right now you can get the Wahoo KICKR Core with Zwift Cog for just \u00a3449.99<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 \u00a350 off RRP \u2013 which offers great ride feel and virtual shifting to minimise wear to your bike\u2019s transmission.<\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift ride deal (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Get the Zwift ride for just \u00a3899!\u00a0<\/a><\/p>\n

Then complete smart bikes came along, and they\u2019re fantastic as a permanent setup: there\u2019s no wear to your outdoor bike, and you can easily adjust the frame for different riders. The main downside was the cost, but when the Zwift Ride\u00a0arrived in 2024<\/a> it offered full Zwift compatibility in a dedicated smart bike for not much over a grand. We really liked it when we reviewed it: it\u2019s super easy to set up and all the controls you need are right there at your fingertips. The big news right now is that the Zwift Ride is currently at its lowest ever price in the UK: you can get it until 5 January for just \u00a3899<\/a>\u00a0, less than just a smart trainer would have cost you a few years back. It\u2019s a serious bit of kit for the money and a worthy upgrade to your setup. If you\u2019re committed to putting the hours into Zwift in your spare room\/garage\/shed then it\u2019s well worth checking out.<\/p>\n

Get the Zwift Ride for just \u00a3899!<\/a><\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift ramp test (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Tip 2: Benchmark yourself<\/p>\n

One of the best things about having a smart setup like the Zwift Ride<\/a>\u00a0is that it\u2019ll give you repeatable power numbers that allow you to check your progress. Not everything is about Number Go Up, but having reliable numbers in Zwift means that workouts will be tailored to your fitness, and you\u2019ll be able to enter races with riders of a similar ability. Zwift\u2019s Baseline is a four-workout series that benchmarks your power over four intervals (5 seconds, 1 minute, 5 minutes and 20 minutes) to give you an overview of your fitness.<\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift Progress report Nov 2025 (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

You can see those numbers on Zwift\u2019s new Progress Report screen<\/a>\u00a0along with a whole bunch of other metrics: you can track your progress in weekly goals, see your career totals and how far you are from moving to the next level There\u2019s a training score too, which represents the intensity, duration and frequency or your riding as a single score that\u2019s easy to track.<\/p>\n

\"TransConHungry-Scales.jpg\"TransConHungry-Scales.jpg (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Don\u2019t forget the other number!<\/p>\n

We all know that weight is pretty important in cycling, and I\u2019m not talking about your wheels: if you can stay off the pies and get your weight down then your watts per kilo will improve, even if your power stays the same. That\u2019ll mean you climb faster, so if you\u2019re setting yourself a goal like climbing the Alpe du Zwift in under an hour<\/a>\u00a0then losing the timber is just as effective as increasing your power.<\/p>\n

Tip 3: Get organised<\/p>\n

There\u2019s no doubt that having a plan and sticking to it is the way to see improvements in your fitness. Zwift has loads of ways to add a bit of rigour to your indoor time, so let\u2019s touch on some of them here.<\/p>\n

\"ZeroZero to Zwift fit phone (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Download the Zwift Companion app<\/p>\n

The Zwift companion is a super useful addition to your home training setup, and it\u2019s free. You can search for events, track your progress, join Zwift clubs and find friends. You can message other riders when you\u2019re riding, and it\u2019s super useful when you\u2019re racing as a second screen to track where other riders are.<\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift FTP Builder plan (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Pick a training plan<\/p>\n

There are hundreds of workouts on Zwift and it\u2019s easy to use up training minutes trying to find the one you fancy. With a training plan you don\u2019t have to choose: just work through the sessions every week and you\u2019ll come out of the end a better rider. There are all kinds of plans, but for starters look at FTP builder\u00a0or Back to Fitness, or Active Off Season if you\u2019re planning to spend some long hours indoors!<\/p>\n

Ride with Pacer Bots<\/p>\n

There are always a happy gang of pacer bots in Zwift: robots that ride at a certain pace that you can join at any time you like, for as long as you like. Pick an easy one for a recovery day, or go one or two above what you can sustain and see how long you can hang on for! The new Teleport function in Zwift means you can zap back on again if you get dropped.<\/p>\n

\"ZeroZero to Zwift fit Computer (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Get acquainted with the home screen<\/p>\n

Another way to save time when you\u2019re picking a ride is to use the Home screen. At the top in the For You section there\u2019s always a mix of suggested workouts and routes, and below that there are a bunch of challenges you can attack. Lower down the Workout Anytime section has a curated list of workouts you can try. Events that are starting soon are also listed on the Home screen if you fancy riding with others.<\/p>\n

Tip 4: Get comfortable indoors, and more powerful outdoors<\/p>\n

One of the great things about a smart bike like the Zwift Ride \u2013 did we mention it\u2019s just \u00a3899 right now?<\/a>\u00a0\u2013 is that it gives you an opportunity to work on your position on the bike. The first thing you\u2019ll probably do is set it up to exactly mimic your road bike, but let\u2019s be honest: changing your position on a bike can be an expensive game of trial and error. When you\u2019re riding indoors, it\u2019s so much easier to try things out. Here are some tweaks you can make to see if they improve your on-bike comfort\u2026<\/p>\n

\"20242024 Zwift Ride – seat post.jpg (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Saddle position<\/p>\n

There are two things you can play with here: the saddle height and the saddle layback (how far it is behind the bottom bracket). Personally, my experiments with saddle height indoors have led me to drop it by nearly a centimetre from where I thought it should be, which has hugely improved my comfort outdoors after some quite serious back issues in the past.<\/p>\n

\"20252025 Bike fit cleat position set up (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Cleat position<\/p>\n

Most of us don\u2019t think too much about cleat position: somewhere in the middle will do. But many knee problems are linked to cleat position, and most people aren\u2019t symmetrical. If you have knee pain in one knee, try adjusting your cleat angle and fore\/aft position to see if you can improve your comfort.<\/p>\n

\"20242024 Zwift Ride – adjustment.jpg (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Bar height\/width and stem length<\/p>\n

Bar height is easy to play with on a static bike like the Zwift Ride, and so is stem length. You can play with more or less aggressive setups and change the reach to the bars: if you\u2019re planning to race in the summer you can see how you get on with a more aero position, for example, or get yourself used to it before the season starts. Bar width isn\u2019t as easy \u2013 you still have to change the bars \u2013 but you can experiment with cheap bars at different widths before dropping a pile on some fancy carbon ones.<\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift Racing League (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Tip 5: Get into racing<\/p>\n

Nothing gets the blood flowing like being in a race! There is a full calendar of racing on Zwift, and if you have a few like-minded friends of a similar ability you could even enter a team into the Zwift Racing League: round 3 starts soon! Here are some top tips if you\u2019re starting out on your indoor racing career.<\/p>\n

Categories and racing score<\/p>\n

There are two ways that races are categorised. The original letter categories (A-E) are based on your watts per kilo, and your Racing Score is more complicated and goes up and down with your results. Either way, you should be able to find races with riders you can stay with.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift racing UCI Women’s eSports Championship TLBVelo photography @ TLBVelo.com_ (credit: road.cc)<\/p>\n

Go hard from the off!<\/p>\n

We all got dropped the first time. Zwift races start hard, so as the clock ticks down to zero wind your trainer up for the start. If you wait until the gun, everyone will be up the road and it\u2019s a long way back from there.<\/p>\n

Pick races that suit you (or don\u2019t)<\/p>\n

We\u2019ve all got our strengths: mine is to hide in the pack on a flat course and trying to muscle a podium spot in the final sprint. If you\u2019re a skinny lightweight mountain goat you might fancy something lumpier: there are regular races up the Alpe du Zwift, for example, which might be your idea of a good time; it\u2019s certainly not mine! On the other hand, trying to stay in a race that doesn\u2019t suit you is a great way of working on your weaknesses.<\/p>\n

\"ZwiftZwift draft indicator December 2025 update (credit: Zwift)<\/p>\n

Suck those wheels!<\/p>\n

Just like in real life, if you\u2019re stuck on the front the you\u2019re going to be doing a lot more work than if you\u2019re hiding in the pack. Zwift\u2019s new drafting indicator gives you a simple to understand graphical representation of how much you\u2019re benefiting from the riders in front. Keep it in the blue as much as you can, and save that effort for your big attack!<\/p>\n

I hope you\u2019ve found these tips helpful! If you\u2019re looking to get on Zwift, or upgrade your current setup, head over to the Zwift Sale<\/a>\u00a0where the Zwift Ride smart bike is only \u00a3799 until Jan 5, and you can get \u00a350 off a Wahoo KICKR Core with Zwift Cog too.<\/p>\n

Shop the Zwift sale until 5 January<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The new year is the perfect time to start getting ready for a great season on the bike…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":216348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[37],"tags":[589,163,85,46],"class_list":{"0":"post-216347","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-fitness","8":"tag-fitness","9":"tag-health","10":"tag-il","11":"tag-israel"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=216347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/216347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/216348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=216347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=216347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=216347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}