The practice of indoor cycling has many benefits for professional and amateur athletes. Training at home with a cycling trainer or cycle bike is more efficient than working on the road, it will also help us to improve endurance, gain strength, strengthen muscles and reduce stress; apart from the fitness benefits, such as losing weight. There are many ways in which we can practice cycling at home, although one of the most recommended, and entertaining, is using a cycling simulator. But what exactly is a cycling simulator? What is the best cycling simulator? Read this article to find out in detail.
Cycling simulator: what is it and how does it work?
A cycling simulator is a software that serves to recreate the experience of riding a bicycle through a controlled visual environment. These programs simulate – as the name suggests – different routes, races and training sessions, giving the user the possibility to choose from a large number of options that are periodically updated. In addition, many cycling simulator apps offer realistic graphics and routes based on real maps, including the ability to compete against other cyclists online. These softwares, apart from offering a complete, realistic, entertaining and fun training experience, are intended to help cyclists of all levels to improve their performance and enjoy cycling in a new and effective way.
But how does a cycling simulator work? The first thing to do is to choose an indoor cycling bike or cycling trainer that is compatible with the cycling simulator in question. Compatible devices link with the software providing information thanks to sensors, such as power, speed, cadence and heart rate measurements. This data is essential to be able to monitor and improve the cyclist’s performance. Pairing is done via Bluetooth or ANT+ wireless connectivity. Once this has been defined, the next thing the rider has to do is select the route or training program in the software.
The software displays real-time progress as the rider pedals. In addition, the most modern and complete devices, such as the Smart ZBike 2.0, automatically adjust their resistance, thus simulating climbs, descents or varied surfaces without the user having to do anything. Of course, data collection is carried out and sent to the software for analysis and performance tracking.
What is the best cycling simulator and what features does it offer?
Now that you know what it is, what it is for and how this software works, it is important to know which is the best cycling simulator, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. The truth is that we can find a wide variety of options on the market, so it is difficult to decide between one or the other. If we rely on the most used, and those that offer more realistic graphics, and ultimately a more complete training experience, then we find the following: Rouvy, Bkool, BestCycling, Kinomap, MyWhoosh and Fulgaz. In addition, all of them are compatible with our smart products with Bluetooth and ANT+ connectivity. At ZYCLE we offer you great compatibility so you can use the best cycling simulators that also have discounts and even free subscriptions.
Rouvy Simulator
Rouvy is one of the most realistic indoor cycling applications in the world. With this simulator the user has the possibility to pedal freely, compete and train on some of the most picturesque routes in the world from home, such as the beaches of Brazil or alpine mountain passes, the island of Mallorca or the Colorado desert. Something that is undoubtedly very useful to motivate cyclists and users with fitness goals.
Bkool Simulator
This cycling simulator app is one of the most complete, as well as realistic. Thanks to it, athletes have the possibility to achieve their sports goals while training from home comfortably. Bkool has a large number of routes, from the Andes to Central Park, as well as indoor cycling classes led by professional instructors, track cycling in three different real velodromes and the ability to perform workouts customizing your own workouts to achieve your goals.
BestCycling Simulator
When talking about a simulator, indoor cycling and the best options, we cannot leave out BestCycling. With this app you can practice cycling at home with motivating workouts and other activities, in addition to having help on nutrition. BestCycling is one of the most used simulators in gyms as it has a wide repertoire of classes, in fact, it is more oriented to work fitness goals. It also incorporates a graph builder to design workouts.
Kinomap Simulator
This indoor cycling training simulator is also one of the most popular options. The reason for this is because it provides access to the largest platform where you can share geolocated videos with thousands of routes around the world. The app takes control of the equipment and automatically adjusts the resistance of the bicycle according to the chosen stage. It is also important to note that this is an app that is not only intended for cycling, but also offers a realistic simulation of running, walking or rowing -it can be used with treadmills and rowing machines, in addition to the bicycle-.
MyWhoosh simulator
Another cycling simulator that stands out is MyWhoosh, since it offers routes all over the world to take the cycling experience to another level. With it, the cyclist can train, race and compete in the company of other online users. The app also adds periodic events so that cyclists can register for them and compete at an international level. These events set the distance, time, maximum height and maximum number of participants, as well as -of course- the categories (levels) in which you can register.
FulGaz Simulator
And last but not least, the FulGaz simulator stands out. The latter will give you the possibility to enjoy an immersive realism with 4K videos and real terrain. One of the highlights is that it has a la carte training plans. With it you can discover the world thanks to more than 2000 real routes in 40 countries, enjoy an immersive experience with high quality videos and get in shape on your own with personalized training.