Indoor cycling: whether you love it or loathe it, as the daylight hours dwindle and the weather takes a turn, more time on the indoor bike trainer can be inevitable over the autumn and winter months. The good news is, riding on the turbo trainer doesn’t have to suck. Sure, nothing is ever going to beat the pure joy and freedom of an adventure on two wheels out in the wild. But with our guide to indoor cycling, we’ll help to you discover how to make your indoor bike training not just productive for your fitness gains – but actually pretty darn enjoyable at the same time.
Ready to turbo charge your indoor cycling? Keep reading!
What are the benefits of indoor cycling?
If the thought of sitting on a static bike in your garage, quite literally pedalling to nowhere is giving you the heebie-jeebies, you might be wondering if indoor cycling is worth it. And let’s be real here: if you’re made of stern stuff so bad weather doesn’t phase you and you’ve got the flexibility in your schedule to be able to get outdoors during daylight hours (even when the sun disappears before your morning caffeine high has worn off)… then you might not even need to consider dusting off the turbo trainer. In which case, get yourself over to our winter cycling kit collection and get adventuring!
That said, if time, motivation and the desire to battle it out with mother nature tends to take a sledgehammer to your cycling consistency over the winter months. Indoor training is the ideal solution to help you maintain (and actually improve) your bike fitness so you’re strong and ready to go when spring-time rolls in. Here’s why indoor cycling can be a game-changer for improving your bike fitness.
Keeps you consistent
In the winter months, it can be incredibly difficult to find the time to get out and ride your bike. Between the lack of daylight hours, the abundance of kit you need to wear and the time spent trying to plan a route that won’t have you cycling into a Baltic head wind for 90% of the ride… squeezing in a quick 30-minute ride just isn’t as easy in the winter as it is in the summer.
Indoor cycling, on the other hand, means you can jump on the bike and get the legs spinning in minutes – at any time, day or night. No route planning, no weather checking. Just grab your bib shorts and get going. Consistency is all about just showing up, so if it’s a choice between regular (but shorter) stints on the turbo trainer or not touching a bike at all for several months… indoor cycling wins.
Indoor cycling is time efficient: virtual rides can yield big real-life cycling gains
Indoor cycling gives you excellent ‘bang for your buck’ when it comes to improving your cycling fitness. Riding on the indoor bike trainer gives you the opportunity to get specific and work within set energy systems uninterrupted in a way that you can’t do so easily out on the road.
The best indoor cycling apps offer huge libraries of structured workouts (more on these later!) covering everything from strength for hill climbs to boosting your cycling threshold. When you ride indoors, you can be constantly pushing power through the pedals which means you can get a lot of training stress in the bag for a comparatively shorter time period compared to riding outdoors.
Taking some of your weekly ride time indoors gives you the opportunity to really make the most of your time and up your Gains Per Minute (that’s a thing… we’ve decided). It’s also a brilliant way to truly work on some of your cycling weaknesses. With all the data (such as power and heart rate) right in front of you, you can make sure you’re working in the right training zones and keep yourself honest (plus you have the confidence to push yourself harder when ‘bonking’ or ‘blowing up’ simply means you stop and hit the shower earlier than planned, instead of having a painful slog home when it happens outdoors).
Indoor cycling keeps the real world winter rides fun
By ticking off all your intensity during your indoor cycling sessions, when the weather plays ball and you have the opportunity to get outdoors and ride – you can simply enjoy the adventure. No pressure on pace or power, just a glorious ride in the crisp winter sun with a cup of the good stuff and a slice of something delicious waiting for you at the mid-ride cafe stop. Sounds nice, right?
And what’s more, by staying consistent and building your bike fitness through indoor cycling. When you do head outdoors with your mates, you’ll be feeling fit and strong rather than clinging on to their wheels for dear life. You’ll never lose a ‘last one to the café gets the coffees in’ race again.
How to make indoor cycling *not* suck
Okay, so we’ve covered the benefits of indoor cycling. But you’re probably thinking: “The above sounds all well and good, but how do I stop turbo training from being quite so mind-numbingly, soul-destroyingly… dull?” Sit tight, Goat, we’ve got some tips and tricks up our jersey sleeves for you!
Indoor cycling set up: tips and advice
Getting the right set up for indoor cycling is crucial. A bad set up will just make things miserable, boring and downright uncomfortable. Here are the key things to consider when getting your indoor bike trainer set up sorted:
Indoor bike trainer: why a smart trainer is worth the investment
First up let’s talk turbo trainers. You’ve largely got two options here, a so-called ‘dumb’ trainer which is essentially just a frame that you can pop your bike on so you can ride it indoors without crashing through the walls. And a ‘smart’ trainer which connects with indoor training apps (more on these in a sec!) to create a more dynamic, responsive experience. This means you can mimic hill gradients, big gear reps and fast cadence efforts with the gearing/resistance feeling just as it would out in the real world. It’ll make riding indoors feel more realistic, and less like aimless leg spinning. If your budget can stretch, we’d always recommend going for a direct drive, smart turbo trainer. Thankfully the tech has become far more widely adopted in recent years, so there’s now plenty of options available for all budgets. Check out the Van Rysel smart trainer for a good entry level option, or consider options such as the Wahoo KICKR range or the Tacx Neo.
Get connected: Best indoor cycling apps
The other benefit of a smart trainer is that you can connect with indoor training apps which makes for a much more engaging indoor cycling experience. The best indoor cycling apps will offer workout libraries, structured training programmes and ‘social’ features such as group rides and a chat function so you can get fully immersed in your virtual ride. There are various options out there, but we’ll go over the two major players:
1) Zwift
Best for: video-game style escapism and e-racing
Cost: ~£17.99 / month
Zwift is considered by many the ‘OG’ indoor cycling app. Dive into virtual worlds, some based on real-life locations (such as Paris and New York) and others entirely made up by the tech wizards behind the ubiquitous orange training app. It’s pure escapism, with gamified features such as power ups, levels and the ability to upgrade your bike based on how many sweat points you’ve earned that will bring back memories of battling it out with your siblings on Mario Kart and Street Fighter in the good old days. Add in a comprehensive library of workouts and training plans, plus the ability to build your own workouts (or import them from TrainingPeaks) and Zwift pretty much ticks all the boxes.
It was that old-school gamer feel which set Zwift apart initially. But, after the recent acquisition of Rouvy, a game update in Autumn 2026 has also brought with it ‘Zwift Plus’. This has introduced Zwift Coach which, at first perusal, seems to be an AI assistant of sorts which takes into account all your training data (on Zwift and in the real world) and biometrics from any wearables to generate a tailored weekly training plan. Zwift Plus also includes video routes, much like those of Rouvy just with the added gamified features of Zwift. Covering all bases, or muddying the waters? It remains to be seen – and the proof will be in the subscription numbers in terms of whether existing Zwifters cough up the extra for Zwift Plus.
As it stands, Zwift is the main place to go if you fancy getting involved with virtual bike racing/cycling e-racing over the winter, with the biggest contingent of teams and series such as the Zwift Racing League and Team Time Trials to make things interesting.
2) Rouvy
Best for: Riding real-world race courses and routes
Cost: ~£17.99 / month
Rouvy vs Zwift has always been a hot topic of debate among indoor cyclists. And once upon a time, Rouvy was arguably Zwift’s biggest competitor. But in April 2026, Zwift acquired Rouvy. The two platforms remain separate, but it does mean Zwift hardware (like the Zwift bike, Cog and handlebar controls) are now compatible with Rouvy, too. Great news if you consider yourself a bit of an indoor training flirt and want to flit between the two.
BTS stuff aside, Rouvy is probably the best option if you prefer to ride augmented reality versions of real-life race courses and iconic routes, instead of the more video-game-esque-land of Zwift where giant squirrels and random dinosaurs are in abundance. Rouvy has some of the world’s most iconic climbs loaded (so you can nip to Alpe d’Huez on your lunch break or pop to Passo del Stevio while dinner’s in the oven) and they’ve also partnered with IRONMAN so you can recce the bike course on your M-Dot race of choice. Your trainer will adjust the resistance to match the gradient, so it’s a pretty dynamic experience. Plus there’s a solid library of workouts and training plans to choose from. Racing is less well-developed here though, so if you want the social side of indoor cycling it’s likely Zwift will still be your best bet.
Worth considering: TrainingPeaks Virtual
Growing in popularity is TrainingPeaks virtual. Personally I’ve not ridden on TP Virtual (yet) so I’m not going to try and tell you what it’s all about. But from what I’ve seen, it’s a fairly similar set up to Rouvy in that you can ride real courses/locations. And I believe you can also upload a GPX (or similar) file of a route you’ve ridden – and while the graphics won’t represent it, the gradient (and therefore resistance) on your turbo apparently does. Useful for preparing for a specific event! If you’re already paying for a TrainingPeaks premium subscription, you get TP Virtual included so if you don’t fancy adding another subscription to your monthly outgoings it’s well worth a look.
Environment
Once you’ve got your turbo trainer sorted and you’ve chosen your training app, it’s time to think about where you’re going to get your indoor cycling sessions done. Making it as comfortable and convenient as possible will help you to stay consistent. Ideally, you want to set your bike and turbo up somewhere you can leave it ready to ride. Having to haul the turbo out of a cupboard and set it up before every ride (then do the same in reverse afterwards) is a sure-fire motivation killer, so having your bike ready whenever you are is a great idea to reduce friction and eliminate potential excuses. If that’s not possible, then try to do what you can to make it as easy as possible to get set up and get riding.
It’s also worth investing in a decent fan. You’ll sweat significantly more when riding indoors, and unless you’re doing dedicated heat prep, you’ll be glad of the air flow. A small towel to cover your head set will protect your bike with sweat (the salt content can corrode the bolts) and it’s worth having another small towel handy to mop your brow. A fan, a towel and plenty of fluids are the essentials for indoor cycling. But a nice to have is also a stand for your laptop/tablet and any other screens you want to use (Netflix and spin is a thing!) to save you precariously balancing all your tech on random cardboard boxes.
Indoor cycling kit
We get it: it’s tempting to reserve some old, ‘holds the stink and has gone a little see-through’ kit for the turbo trainer. After all, no one is going to see you and it seems a shame to ‘waste’ your good gear on indoor cycling. But the key to enjoying indoor cycling is making it comfortable! We speak from experience when we say that wearing those worn out old shorts on the turbo with very little padding left where it should be, will only lead to a very unhappy undercarriage. You’re likely to be sweating more than you usually would when you ride indoors and without the natural movement of the bike on the road, the pressure points on the saddle can be more intense. No one likes a dire chafe situation, so wear comfortable shorts and don’t forget the chamois crème!
It’s also worth treating yourself to a light top layer to wear on the turbo trainer, like one of our mesh base layers. This will help to wick sweat away (instead of that horrible feeling as it runs down your back!) and keep you cooler. Don’t forget your socks either: hot conditions on the indoor trainer can lead to pressure points and friction in your cycling shoes, so go for lightweight cycling socks to keep your hooves happy while you’re cycling indoors.
Essential indoor cycling apparel
Shop all men’s cycling shorts | Shop all women’s cycling shorts
Structure your indoor cycling training
There’s a reason that 1 hour of riding indoors feels like it’s the equivalent of 4 hours of riding outdoors: without structure, pedalling to absolutely nowhere is really boring. Over the winter months, think quality not quantity. Instead of mindless hours spinning aimlessly, make use of workouts on indoor training apps to target specific energy systems. Not only will it break up the monotony, you’ll also come out of the other side significantly stronger and faster! The specific types of workouts to include each week will depend on your goals, but for most riders looking to improve their cycling FTP three workouts a week covering threshold, VO2 max and aerobic endurance is a great starting point.
If you do want to keep some longer rides in, then consider adding in some targeted skills work. Think high cadence blocks for neuromuscular recruitment; low cadence ‘over gear’ work for strength and if you’re a triathlete or a time triallist – dedicated time (ideally in front of a mirror) honing in your aero position.
Make indoor cycling entertaining
We’ve already talked about indoor cycling apps. But if you’re still struggling with turbo trainer boredom, don’t be afraid to bust out the big guns… that’s right: your streaming platform of choice. Save that new series you’ve wanted to binge watch or that movie you keep meaning to see for the turbo trainer. It’ll give you extra motivation to ride and it makes turbo time feel more like ‘you’ time.
Solo doesn’t have to mean anti-social
One of the things riders tend to gripe about most with indoor cycling is that it can be a pretty lonely affair. Which was true, once upon a time when indoor riding meant shackling yourself to a wheel-on turbo trainer and spinning your legs with only the spider on your garage wall for company. But these days, you can make indoor riding social. Join an online group ride on Zwift or Rouvy, host a virtual meet up, chat to your mates on Discord or get into e-Racing. Motivation, accountability and a bit of fun – all sorted.
Winter cycling gear for the all year-rounders
Still not on board with the indoor training concept? Hey, that’s okay. It’s not for everyone. At the end of the day, time on the bike is all about having fun and finding your own form of freedom. If that means you spend the winter getting out when you feel like it, and not stressing when you don’t – that’s awesome. And the great news is, at Stolen Goat we’ve got all the winter cycling kit you need to keep the good rides rolling all year round.
Shop the Stolen Goat winter cycling collection, or if you need a helping hoof to work out what kit you need – take a look at our winter cycling gear guide.