Well this week has been entertaining as social media hosts the arguments as to whether the addition of steering to Wahoo RGT is heresy or not …. we think it is great, but we can understand why others may not. We’ll take a neutral stance because we can see both viewpoints but we might just be witnessing the beginnings of a major split in doctrines within the online e-Racing community….

For those who may not be aware, there are loads of platforms for online cycling available but you may be forgiven for thinking that Zwift is the only option, given that the mainstream cycling media appear to be in their pockets. Zwift control a huge portion of the market and in any regulated industry this would be curtailed, but they aren’t subject to anti-trust laws it seems and actually dominate the market. This is their reward for being ahead of the game and getting in first. But just as capitalism rewards the brave entrepreneurs who create new innovations, capitalism needs competition to stay efficient and regulation to ensure that markets aren’t corrupted.

In platforms like Rouvy,, Wahoo RGT, MyWhoosh, CADEsport and others we have some innovative challengers who ought to be sharing a bigger slice of the market; but why aren’t they?

Sadly, the concept of a so-called ‘perfect market’ (an economic theory that assumes full knoledge and rational behaviour) doesn’t exist in real life and customers will often stick with a supplier even if a superior product comes to market, or perhaps a product closer to their individual needs. However, big events can change habits dramtically as we saw with the COVID Pandemic, and bring forward evolutions at a speedier pace that might have otherwise happened. Indeed, the market for online smart trainer apps grew exponentially itself as a direct ressult of COVID lockdowns.

We may be just about to witness another leap in evolution in our world of online e-Racing!

Zwift flirted with steering a while back but made a ‘pig’s ear’ of implementation and it just evaporated into the ether. Some might argue that this was inevitable, because it is difficult to run races where some riders have it and some riders don’t, which is a fair point. And Wahoo RGT may just be about to hit the same snag with their introduction of steering. They have a short window react quickly to consumer sentiment and try and make the transition smoother if needed, let’s see if what happens.

The one platform that has this right is CADEsport, a brand new innovative platform that allows you to choose whether you want to steer or the platform does it for you. But it’s new, so many of the shouty people who claim to want change might want to give it a try …. or do they just shout ‘change’ but expect someone else to do the changes for them without being willing to change platforms themselves? Change will only happen if you actively support it, rather than just Tweet about it.

It seeems to us that Wahoo RGT may find themselves in a half-way position between Zwift and CADEsport and if they choose one side of that debate over the other they could alienate up to half their users. They also risk pleasing nobody, with the progresive riders drifting towards CADEsport and the Old Skoolers gravitating towards Zwift? We’ll see of course, but we suspect that Wahoo RGT have more than enough fans to survive any drift.

What we think you may be seeing, is the start of a divide between Dumb Trainer fans (Zwift) and Smart Trainer fans (CADEsport). Zwift was once cutting edge and innovative but is, in today’s currency, not much more than a dumb trainer with pictures. If you like just churning pedals for a workout, that’s the platform for you. It’s not mentally challenging, and services the need for a workout without the bordom of a turbo trainer. It’s 2019s technolgy and serves a purpose, and there’s nothing wrong with that.

But if you want something more challenging then you’ll welcome Wahoo RGT’s addition of steering, heigtening the gaming experience and the proximity to real life cycling. If you want to go one further and are the adventurous pioneering type you’ll have already tried CADEsport (or are about to). Wahoo RGT have taken a step away from the Zwift model and we like that. But we get why those who want a simplistic ‘brute force and ignorance’ workout on Zwift might not and will prefer Zwift.

We await with interest how this game plays out, but as the more innovative platforms add more realistic features, will there be a drift from Zwift? The marketplace would be better with more competition, so we hope so for that reason alone. But just as Zwift’s hash of introducing steering was not executed well, Wahoo RGT are going to have to keep their followers onside throughout the current transition. We predict that they will, mainly because the type of person already on Wahoo RGT already is the sort of individual who doesn’t need to follow the herd and will enter a brave new world with an open mind.

If enough people support the likes of Rouvy, CADEsport and Wahoo RGT we might get better competition, pricing and innovation …. let’s wish them, alongside Muoverti, MyWhoosh and others every success and support them. Don’t moan about Zwift being complacent, Zwift’ll only shift if riders shift! If you like the Zwift offering, support them so that they don’t need to change. If people support products tailored to their needs, they might find more products in the market to suit their tastes … it’s how capitalism works. Are you a Dumb Trainer (with pictures) or a Smart Trainer person? Support the one that suits you or you may lose it!