Zwift Ride: a gamechanger that’s for everyone, all the time

Promotional feature in association with Zwift

“Design is not just what it looks like and feels like. Design is how it works,” said Steve Jobs. The Zwift Ride Smart Frame, launched in June 2024 just in time for the online training platform’s 10th anniversary, is already a design classic with its clean lines and simplicity of form. And, like Apple products, it’s simple in form but sophisticated in function. 

For its first 10 years, Zwift was a third-party training app that, despite revolutionising indoor training, still required users to navigate their own hardware setups. But in June 2024 Zwift solved that by launching the Zwift Ride, a radical new take on the smart bike specifically aimed at reducing the cost and complexity of Zwifting. The brand’s co-founder and CEO, Eric Min, said: “Zwift Ride brings all of the advantages of a smart bike at an incredibly affordable price. It’s clean, it’s quiet, incredibly simple to set up and adjust, and can be shared with any member of the household. Importantly when I look at my Zwift Ride, it looks like it belongs in my home.” Announcing it on his own Instagram account, Min said: “Zwift Ride is for everyone all the time.”

Simple setup

What is Zwift Ride and why had nobody thought of it before? To quote Jobs again: “People don’t know what they want until you show it to them.” Zwift Ride is a frame designed solely for Zwift that is easily connected with a smart trainer such as the Wahoo Kickr Core. Just as a track bike is designed for the velodrome without brakes or gears, Zwift Ride is designed to plug directly into Watopia. It doesn’t need wheels since your avatar rolls on virtual ones; it doesn’t need derailleurs since it shifts with Zwift’s own gears and it doesn’t need brakes because slowing down isn’t in the Zwift game. Its job is to allow its rider to power a smart trainer as efficiently as possible, with everything else taken care of by the software. It’s highly specific but beautifully simple.

For its initial assembly, Zwift Ride requires a single frame key for all bolts. This is stored in the top tube so that it can be easily accessed to adjust the fit for multiple riders in the household. Saddle height, bar height and reach are all adjusted via three clearly identifiable points on the frame for anyone between 5ft (152cm) to 6ft 6in (198cm).

Integrated handlebars with dual control pads allow Zwifters to deploy PowerUps, send RideOns and operate menus all without pausing the ride, while gear shifting from the levers can be configured to mirror a Shimano or SRAM road setup – or sequential.

The other half of the setup is of course the smart trainer, and Zwift Smart Frame is compatible with any Zwift Ready smart trainer – there’s a list on Zwift’s website which is growing longer with more options as more brands come on board – or is available bundled with the Wahoo Kickr Core.

All the gears

In a nutshell, what makes a trainer Zwift Ready is its compatibility with the Zwift Cog, a single-sprocket replacement for a full cassette that ships with Zwift Ride. The Zwift Cog is designed to work with Zwift’s virtual shifting and is designed to simplify indoor bike setups. There’s no noisy chain shifting between sprockets, meaning early-morning or late-evening Zwifting is possible without waking up the family or annoying the neighbours.

Additionally, you’ll see your current gear in the HUD (heads up display) in game. And one more benefit of virtual shifting? You can change gear while you’re stationary, so you’ll never be in the wrong gear at the foot of a steep climb. Like the flagship road groupsets from Shimano, SRAM and Campagnolo, Zwift has 24 gears, allowing you to find your perfect cadence on all virtual terrains.

Space saver

A Zwift Ride with a Wahoo Kickr Core trainer has a more compact footprint than a standard outdoor bike/trainer setup. Thanks to the extended fork and riser foot replacing the front wheel, it has a length of just 136cm and width of 58cm, meaning Zwift Ride will fit into the most diminutive training space. 

Zwift Ride is packed full of carefully thought-out indoor training features, too. For example, even with a powerful fan you’ll sweat when you’re Zwifting, so there are two bottle cages fitted to the frame – except they’re not like outdoor bottle cages. Since there are no potholes in Watopia and therefore no danger of bottles bouncing out, they have easy-to-access drop-in, lift-out cageless design for fast drinking on the fly. There’s a tray at the front of the bike for food, towel, and phone – perfect for having the Zwift Companion app open and music to hand. The rubber cover is non-slip and can be removed for easy cleaning.

If you’re using a tablet for the Zwift display, a tablet holder integrates with the front of the tray and holds the device with a quick-release fastening strap.

Cost effective

Zwift Ride is not only the easiest way to get onto Zwift, but also the most cost effective. For the most straightforward setup, Zwift Ride is available to buy bundled with a Kickr Core smart trainer through Zwift’s website priced at £1,199/$1,299. There’s the option to buy the Zwift Ride frame only at £749.99/$799.99 (it ships with the Zwift Cog) and then choose your own smart trainer from the list of Zwift Ready models – and that’s priced at £749. 

In summary, although Zwift introduced new roads, new data displays, a new training camp with individualised assessment, updated and fairer racing categorisation and even some virtual nostalgia with the return of Jarvis Island, arguably it’s Zwift Ride that will make the biggest difference to the next decade of Zwifting.

For more information and to buy Zwift Ride, go to Zwift’s website.