It's finally here, the big box. It contains the long-awaited Smart Bike. But it's still summer and I use the last rays of sunshine to go hiking and get the most sore muscles imaginable. My legs are not used to this kind of strain. Especially not after a forced break due to injury.
September makes everything new
I officially opened my indoor season at the end of September. This season I'm trying something new. In the past few years I've ridden on Zwift, MyWhoosh and the Wahoo system. In the living room. Now it's time for Rouvy. Let's see if the platform can give me that outdoor feeling on the indoor trainer. Not in the living room, but in the test cellar of the TOUR editorial office. Can I fit in regular lunch break sessions?
In a nutshell: What can the app do?
Rouvy relies on real video tracks instead of animated worlds. There are over 1000 such tracks to discover worldwide. If you want to go exploring, you can easily get lost in the selection of tracks. Fortunately, there are filters that allow you to quickly find a suitable track. If you want to browse, you might find something in the route collections, such as the favourite routes of Team Lidl-Trek or Team Visma | Lease a Bike. Rouvy also has workouts up its sleeve, of course. These can also be filtered, for example by time.
- Operating system: PC, Mac, iOS, Android & more
- Smart trainers: All common smart trainers are compatible
- Price: from 15 euros per month
Rouvy's pricing system is complex, but actually quite simple. There is a free trial period. And then you can choose between single, duo and group accounts. Group means up to five people. You can either pay annually or monthly. A single subscription with monthly payment costs 19.99 euros, a group subscription with monthly payment 59.99 euros. With annual billing, the cost is 15 euros per month for the individual subscription and 41.67 euros per year.
So it's worth teaming up with friends. Not only can you save money, but you can also go on Rouvy together. That might give you an extra dose of motivation.
Set up Rouvy
But first things first. The first thing I have to do is create a user account with Rouvy. Well, actually, I go through the process of forgetting my password. I already seem to have an account. Then just download the app. Here we go. First of all, I make a few basic settings: Weight, height, gender, age, user name. All this can be done via the browser. I was then able to configure my avatar in the app. Despite the setting that I am female, it had to be set here that I wanted to be shown with a female body shape.
FTP & training zones
The Rouvy app first explains itself in the form of a short tour. Where can I find which settings? Where can I find training sessions, routes and events? I quickly find my way around.
To get started, I pair the app with the Wahoo Kickr Bike Pro. As I'm about to choose a workout, I think "Wait a minute, what about the training zones?" I haven't defined them anywhere yet. So I go back to my personal settings. I don't know my current FTP. It used to be 200 watts. But for the last 6 months I've been commuting by bike at most. My back was grumbling during more intensive or longer rides. I switched to exercises at physiotherapy, in the gym and occasionally bouldering. Back to the training zones and my FTP: I simply entered 180 watts. Rouvy can use this value to calculate training zones, to which the workouts are then adapted. If known from performance diagnostics, the exact zones can be entered.
If you use TrainingPeaks or intervals.icu for training planning, you can simply synchronise your training sessions with Rouvy.
My first time
Now you're ready to go. At last! I filter the workouts by time: under 30 minutes and choose a basic unit. Don't overdo it straight away. And the route? A short route in Rwanda, of course, because that's where the World Road Cycling Championships takes place. The I didn't know Pro-Tipp from Rouvy yetotherwise I might have stayed on familiar paths for the time being.
After some brief start-up problems, of course, otherwise it would be boring, I can get going. I restarted everything once beforehand. The riding experience is good, the changes between the different intensities are rapid. This is particularly useful for short V02max intervals. With other platforms, it sometimes takes a few seconds to reach the desired intensity. Or is it a matter of settings?
Afterwards, I browse the app. The Munich home circuit to Ludwigshöhe is not yet available on Rouvy. Maybe next time I'll cycle from St. Leonhard to the Timmelsjoch! Joking, I can't manage the 1832 metres in altitude over a good 30 kilometres in a lunch break.
What about the outdoor feeling and user experience?
Admittedly, my experience so far is limited to two training sessions due to injury. I use Rouvy on a 13-inch Macbook Air. There is less immersion in the landscape. But there is a lot to discover, both on and off the road. In Rwanda, for example, I overtook a person who must have been carrying 50 kilos of bananas on their bike. My mind wandered and I thought about different lifestyles and living conditions. To really immerse yourself in the landscape, it would certainly be good to switch on the projector or place the bike in front of the TV. It's similar with other virtual training platforms.
I initially found it confusing that I had to switch back and forth between the app and the website for different settings. Nevertheless, I found the operation intuitive and Rouvy reliably guided me to where I needed to make my settings.
I look forward to my next moving break with anticipation.
Sandra Schuberth
Editor
