Once the reserve of only the truly dedicated, indoor cycling has boomed in popularity in recent years with engaging virtual training apps making the days of riding with nothing but the garage wall to entertain you a thing of the past. And while there are a few different options available when it comes to finding the best platform, ROUVY is an indoor cycling app which has increasingly become the platform of choice for plenty of cyclists and triathletes looking to make the most of their indoor miles.
We guide you through everything you need to know about riding on ROUVY – from what it is and how it works, to the essential kit you need to get started.
What is ROUVY?
ROUVY is an indoor cycling app which connects with your smart bike or turbo trainer to allow you to ride, workout and race indoors. It’s a useful tool to make your indoor cycling training fun, engaging – and productive.
Partnered with the likes of La Vuelta, Lidl-Trek, Challenge Family and Strava. The premise of ROUVY is that you can ride real routes around the world, without leaving home. The platform utilises realistic HD videos – filmed on the routes themselves – so you can have an immersive riding experience, experiencing a wide variety of terrains and gradients across over 1,500 routes.
The app pairs with your turbo trainer or smart bike, using your power output (or speed sensor) to determine how fast your virtual avatar moves in-game.
Along with exploring solo, you can also take part in group rides, challenges, races and complete workouts and training plans. You can even ride Strava Live segments and go for the virtual KOM/QOM. Using the app is a great way to stay motivated while training indoors, and really dial in your bike training so you can get fitter.
ROUVY vs Zwift – what’s the difference?
The key difference between ROUVY and Zwift is that where Zwift leans into the cartoon stylings of various virtual worlds, ROUVY is firmly based in reality. You can ride iconic climbs, and even official triathlon race courses such as the Challenge Roth bike course. ROUVY also allows you to import your outdoor activities via syncing with third-party apps such as Strava, Wahoo and Garmin to earn in-game experience points. So you can still be levelling up, even when you’re not riding indoors. That’ll help you to unlock new virtual bikes and kit.
As ever, it comes down to individual preference. But you can read what two cyclists made of the ROUVY vs Zwift when we got them to put the two apps to the test.
How much does ROUVY cost?
ROUVY is a subscription-based app. You can start riding for free, with a 7 day free trial to explore the platform. After that, you’ve got a range of options including monthly and annual subscriptions – including the option to share an account with your family/friends/cycling buddies via Duo and Group subscriptions to help reduce the cost. And the good news is, unlike Netflix, you don’t have to live with the people you share an account with – so put that plan to buy a huge house with all your triathlon/cycling club mates on ice.
Annual subscription costs
The most cost-effective way to ride on ROUVY is to opt for an annual plan, which saves you around 16% compared to the monthly plans.
Single account annual plan – £10.75 (GBP) / $12.41 (USD) a month, billed yearly.
Riding solo? The single account plan gives you access to ROUVY for 1 user for a year.
Duo account annual plan – £14.08 (GBP) / $16.58 (USD) a month, billed yearly.
Part of a triathlon power couple or want to train with a friend? A duo account gives 2 users access to ROUVY, working out at just over £7/$8 dollars each per month (billed annually).
Group account annual plan – £24.92 (GBP) / $27.41 (USD) a month, billed yearly.
Get the band back together and share a group account with up to 5 users. On the annual plan, it works out at just under £5/$5.50 each per month (billed annually).
Monthly subscription costs
If you don’t want to pay upfront for a year – you’ve got the option to go for a monthly subscription instead.
Single account monthly plan – £12.99 (GBP) / $14.99 (USD) per month
Duo account monthly plan – £16.99 (GBP) / $19.99 (USD) per month
As with the yearly plan, a Duo account gives two riders access to ROUVY splitting the monthly cost between them.
Group account monthly plan – £29.99 (GBP) / $32.99 (USD) per month
Get 5 of your cycling friends together and choose the group account for the most cost effective way to pay monthly on ROUVY.
*Subscription costs correct at the time of publishing.
Gamification
While ROUVY is far more routed in reality than other platforms such as Zwift who really lean into the gamification element. There is still an element of ‘game’ to the platform to help keep you motivated. ROUVY call this your ‘career’. The more you ride, the more experience points you get helping you to move up through the career levels. Currently there are 100 levels which are divided into the following nine categories:
- Starter
- Rookie
- Talented
- Elite
- Regional Class
- Professional
- National Champ
- World Class
- Legend
Aside from being able to go around telling people you’re a ‘Professional Cyclist’ without context, moving up through the levels also helps you to earn virtual coins. You can spend these coins to upgrade your virtual bike and equipment on ROUVY so you have different, optimal options available depending on the route you’re riding.
The amount of experience points you earn for each ride is based on your performance – essentially, the harder you work the more points you get. You can also get a comparison of your career level versus other riders on the platform to see how you match up, if a dose of healthy competition is your thing. And if it’s not? You can just ignore that element and enjoy exploring the routes!
How to start riding on ROUVY – what you need to get pedalling
Ready to give riding on ROUVY a go? There are a few bits of specific gear you need, if you haven’t got them already. But after that getting started is pretty straight forward. We’ll talk you through the basics here, but if you want to take a deeper dive into getting set up on ROUVY we’ve got a whole article dedicated to the topic which will hopefully answer any burning questions you have left!
What gear and equipment do I need to start riding on ROUVY?
To ride on ROUVY, you’ll need a bike and a turbo trainer – or a smart bike (such as a Wattbike) – with Bluetooth or ANT+ compatibility. ROUVY supports a wide range of turbo trainer brands, including TacX, Wahoo and Elite. If you’re switching from Zwift to ROUVY and you have a Zwift Hub trainer – the original version will be fully compatible with ROUVY. However, if you have a Zwift Hub One virtual shifting is not supported, so you’ll need to ride in ERG mode (or pedal at one specific power in free ride mode).
Once you’ve got your bike set up sorted, you also need a device with internet connection and Bluetooth. ROUVY supports Windows, Mac, iOS, Android, iPad, and Apple TV devices.
Read our in-depth guide to starting on ROUVY for more details on the essential gear you need. And the added extras that will make your experience all the more comfortable and enjoyable.
Signing up, downloading the app and pairing your trainer/smart bike
First you need to create an account at ROUVY.com. After that, download the app to your device(s) of choice and sign in.
To pair your turbo or smart bike, click the menu icon and tap ‘select sensors’. Ensure that Bluetooth or ANT+ is switched on, active and ready to pair on both your device and on your trainer. Tap the ‘Add Trainer’ button and choose your device from the menu.
Click the save and close button, and you’re ready to roll. You can also pair other devices such as a heart rate monitor and a cadence sensor in the Select Sensors menu – as long as your devices are Bluetooth or ANT+ compatible.
Starting your first ride
Turbo trainer paired? Don your bib shorts, grab a water bottle, switch on your fan (trust us, you’ll want a fan) – it’s time to get riding. There are 1,500 routes – and counting – on ROUVY. Plus a library of workouts to choose from. But to get a feel for what riding on the platform is like, we’d recommend simply taking a scroll through the routes on offer and choosing a continent you fancy exploring. Every route will tell you the distance, total elevation, average gradient of any climbs and give an indicative ETA to complete. This means you can find a route that suits your current level of fitness.
If you enjoy rolling climbs, we’d recommend checking out the Challenge Kaiserwinkl-Walchsee route on ROUVY to get a feel for how the resistance on your trainer changes to match the elevation on the route. Or if you prefer to get down into your aero bars and tap away in a steady rhythm, the St George Utah course if nice and flat – and features some pretty cool scenery.
Once you’ve completed your first ride, it’s time to start exploring all the features ROUVY has to offer. Check out our in-depth guide to getting the most out of ROUVY to learn more about why it’s important to set your FTP accurately, how you can choose workouts and how to get involved with group rides.
