The 3 best indoor cycling apps

Zwift

Zwift blends the fun of video games with the intensity of serious training, helping you get faster.

Zwift offers group rides and races through their virtual world, making your ride more social and enjoyable. Of course, you can always ride solo, there is plenty of challenging courses to tackle within the game.

Zwift has 1,000+ structured workouts made by top coaches that you can follow. One of my favourites is GCN's Hillsprints for building strength. If you're needing something more custom, you can make your own workout within the game.

The racing side of Zwift has certainly taken off amidst the Covid19 pandemic, Zwift has plenty on offer featuring some big-name professionals.

Zwift is bringing riders together, It has 6 worlds with 80+ Routes allowing you to chase goals while in a community interacting through their Companion app, riding some real-world courses.

Zwift is easy to set up through Bluetooth or Ant+ transmission using either iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, Apple TV. Data will automatically sync to Strava, TrainingPeaks, Garmin Connect, Mapmyride, Fitbit, Withings and Today's Plan.

Pricing is US$14.95 per month, with a free 7-day trial on signup.

Trainer Roads

TrainerRoad offers structured, power-based interval training plans suited to your specific goals.

If your a more serious rider this will give you the ability to plan ahead with your training around specific goals and lifestyle, so you can reach peak fitness when needed. Plans cover road, triathlon, and off-road. You can also create your own custom training plans if needed.

Workouts are easy to follow on-screen, using targets for power, and or cadence. Bar graphs show where you are within the workout, and explain the science behind this.

You can analyze and track your performance from all activities including training stress, measure personal records, and get detailed insights into every ride you do, inside or out through the app.

The program works on iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS devices using either Bluetooth or Ant+ transmission. Data will automatically sync with TrainingPeaks, Strava and Garmin Connect.

TrainerRoad is US$19.95 per month, or US$189 for a year and comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee.

Sufferfest

Sufferfest offers a more comprehensive training package for cyclists, combining yoga, mind and strength so you can reach your true potential.

Using their own 'Four-Dimensional Power®' providing analytics beyond the standard FTP test. 4DP® is verified by rigorous testing and has proven results all around the world. Every workout and training plan is created back off your 4DP®.

Like TrainerRoad, Sufferfest offers structured workouts on-screen but incorporates these into video workouts.

What I like about Sufferfest is that it looks beyond just cycling, incorporating a Yoga for Cyclists programme, a Mental Toughness Programme, and a Strength Training program. After all, just riding your bike is not going to win you races.

Their library is packed full of workouts, over 40 yoga workouts, 20 mental toughness audio modules, 22 videos with over 97 exercises in the circuit-training programme and a 100+ training plans for cycling.

You can link to your Bluetooth and ANT+ power meter, smart trainer, and heart rate monitor to the app. Data will automatically sync to Strava, TrainingPeaks, Garmin Connect, Final Surge, and Today's Plan.

Pricing is US$14.95 per month, or US$129 for a year and comes with a 14-day free trial.