Indoor Cycling. Buy the Fan First.

Which indoor setup should you buy?

Most riders should buy a smart trainer that holds your bike and controls the resistance from an app. Add a fan before anything else, then pick the app that matches how you like to train. A smart bike makes sense if you want a setup that never leaves the room.

We filmed this video in November 2020, when it felt like everyone was riding indoors and the choices were piling up. The idea was to walk through trainers, accessories and apps so you could make a decision. In October 2026 we rewrote the page around it with the trainers we carry now and specs checked against the makers' own sites.

The checklist

1. A smart trainerA smart trainer talks to the app and sets the resistance for you. Our full lineup is under indoor bike trainers, and the numbers are in the next section.
2. A fan, and probably a bigger one than you thinkRiding indoors means there is no wind, so you need to make your own. The Wahoo KICKR HEADWIND reaches 30 mph, according to Wahoo, and can follow your speed or your heart rate.
3. A heart rate strapMost structured workouts use heart rate or power. We carry the Wahoo TRACKR strap and the Garmin HRM 200.
4. Something for the sweatSweat drips straight onto the bike when there is no wind to carry it off. Muc-Off Sweat Protect is an anti-corrosion spray Muc-Off makes for indoor trainers and gym equipment.
5. An app you will actually openWe cover apps below, and this choice matters more than most people expect.

The trainers, by the numbers

These are the makers' own figures, pulled in October 2026. Both Wahoo trainers below use a belt drive, per Wahoo.

We also carry the Tacx NEO 2T, which is now a Garmin product. Garmin describes it as a nearly silent bike trainer.

Why the fan comes before the upgrades

Ten minutes into your first hard indoor session, your face is hot and your jersey is soaked, even though the effort felt fine. The same effort outside would not feel like that.

The reason is that outdoors you make your own wind, and every mile an hour you ride is air moving over your skin and carrying heat away. On a trainer the bike moves nowhere, so that air never shows up. The heat your body makes still has to go somewhere, and without airflow it stays with you.

That is why a fan is not an accessory in our book, because it replaces the thing the trainer took away. The HEADWIND can even speed up as your speed or heart rate climbs, per Wahoo, which is the outdoor rule copied indoors.

The trainer sets the resistance. Choosing it is the easy decision.

The fan decides whether you finish the workout. Buy one with the trainer, not after the first sweaty week.

A trainer you dread is a very expensive coat rack.

Picking the app

The original 2020 cover art for this video showed Zwift, Peloton, Rouvy, The Sufferfest and Discord. This is where the two we hear about most stand in October 2026, in their makers' own words.

Zwift calls itself a virtual cycling app, with group rides any time of day, racing for every level, thousands of workouts and training plans. It runs on a paid membership.

Wahoo SYSTM is where The Sufferfest went. Wahoo says SYSTM grew out of The Sufferfest and still includes that library, with structured workouts and a plan builder. Wahoo also says it controls any standard smart trainer over Bluetooth or ANT+, so you do not need Wahoo hardware.

Our take is that if you train better with other people around, you should pick Zwift, and if you want someone to hand you the plan and the workout, you should pick SYSTM. Both are worth a free trial before you commit.

The rest of the 2020 essentials series

1. Gravel bike essentials, for remote roads far from help.
2. Mountain biking essentials, for the trail kit that saves your bacon.
3. Road bike essentials, from the basics to radar.

If you are training by power indoors, our FTP post explains the number most workouts are built on.

Plug the fan in before you clip in.