This year at Eurobike, the MyWhoosh stand was the largest indoor training stand app at Eurobike. Granted, it was also kinda the only one, given that Zwift didn’t show up, and others like TrainerRoad have never shown at Eurobike. Nonetheless, whether or not they were the only entrant into this contest is besides the point, their booth had easily the coolest booth gimmick I’ve ever seen, which was full LED floor/wall thing that wrapped around you with their app inside of it.
Look, I don’t really know how to explain this booth within a booth well, so here’s a simple 25-second video I shot at Eurobike:
Point being, MyWhoosh (no relation to Whoop, or Burger King’s Whopper) had a giant booth with tons of screens, tons of trainers, lots of fancy bikes, and practically nobody riding them. All likely because almost nobody had heard of MyWhoosh before Eurobike. So, I volunteered myself to find out WTF MyWhoosh was.
This quest involved four pieces:
A) Trying out the virtual LED panel thing like any other proper Instagram Influencer
B) Having a discussion with “Their Peeps” in the fancy upper-level Meetings Only portion of their booth
C) Actually just downloading the app and trying it myself in my shed last night
D) Getting lost in government/corporate holdings statements across all corners of the internet
Having now checked off those four pieces, I shall present my findings to you. Oh, and in case you’re new around here – I just write about sports tech and call it like it is. If something is stupid, I’m gonna say it. And if something is awesome, I’m gonna say it too. I also probably say the “Quiet Parts” out loud too. I’m not sponsored by any company I review/etc, and if you find this stuff useful, you can become a DCR Supporter, which gets you access to behind-the-scenes videos and plenty more. With that – let’s begin!
The General Concept:
MyWhoosh is an indoor cycling app that offers virtual worlds, training plans, one-off workouts, and the ability to race against others. The platform is based in the UAE, and has a partnership with Team UAE Emirates (the pro cycling team). While MyWhoosh gets skittish around their investors, the simplified version is the lead/primary investor is the government of the UAE (United Arab Emirates), just like it is for Team UAE Emirates and countless other sport/tourism efforts. Their CEO is Akhtar Saeed Hashmi, also the CEO of numerous UAE entities including Royal Technology Services (RTS) and Mauqah Technology. RTS is a subsidiary of The Royal Group, that is ultimately headed by Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the son of the founder of the UAE. This holdings group is responsible for some $26 billion worth of assets, as part of the UAE’s International Holdings Group (IHC).
These lines are key to understanding the technical and non-technical goals that MyWhoosh has. At this stage, those two aspects are inseparable. And the result of these roots drives the decisions they make – be it the worlds they’ve designed, the bikes they select, and the training plans they build. Their stated goal is to increase physical fitness and sports activity within the UAE.
In the interest of achieving that goal, the platform is entirely free for now. It isn’t clear what, if any, monetization goals the company has. In the spirit of spending money, the company even has some large prize purchases for races – upwards of $75K/month in prize money.
To date, the company has primarily targeted cyclists in the Middle East, focusing specifically on the UAE (the biggest cities of which are Dubai and Abu Dhabi), Bahrain, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. As such, the company has developed two worlds to cater to those groups:
A) AlUla: This is a city in Saudi Arabia, for which MyWhoosh has built numerous routes stepping from, mostly with a desert theme.
B) Arabia: These routes are primarily based in a blend of Bahrain and the UAE, and include areas like Dubai and landmarks like the famed Burj Khalifa tower.
Each of those worlds has plenty of routes to choose from, as you can see below. There are routes stretching upwards of 50km, and as short as 4.9km.
In talking with MyWhoosh at Eurobike though, they noted that routes with less sand are on the way. They’re planning a Colombia-focused world/routes addition in November, followed by worlds in Australia and Belgium. The company said they have a rather strong contingent of riders in Colombia today.
From a platform standpoint, the app is currently available on iOS/iPadOS, Android, and Windows. Next up will be an M1/M2 Mac edition, followed by Apple TV. There aren’t exact timeframes for either of those though. On the Windows side, the specs are actually a bit high for what are often people’s leftover computers, though it ran on my two-year-old $249 iPad just fine.
Arguably, the masterpiece of MyWhoosh isn’t the virtual worlds, but actually its training plans/platforms. These are put together by a familiar name in pro cycling circles, Kevin Poulton, who is a former Zwift employee, previous head coach of WorldTour team Katusha Alpecin, as well as coach to pro cyclists like Caleb Ewan, Alex Dowsett, and Mat Hayman. Once you crack this tab open, it’s clear it’s done by a coach.
The platform has two intertwined components here. First is the training calendar, which allows you to overlay training plans and individual workouts, with details like training load displayed to the right.
And the second is the training plans, and then the structured workouts they contain. Within the training plans each has the various build components, but perhaps most interestingly even allows you to start a training plan at a specific phase. Meaning, if you decide to do a race in 6 weeks, you can jump right in half-way through a training plan, skipping the earlier phases if you’ve already got that foundation. You can also of course just pick any given workout from within these, which are organized fairly well, and easily show each component.
Further, if you’ve got TrainingPeaks, Today’s Plan, or TrainerDay – you can even import your workouts into MyWhoosh and onto the training calendar. That’s pretty cool, especially when you remember the platform is free.
In terms of racing and group riding, there were group rides set to start when I jumped on. I couldn’t easily figure out how many people had joined an existing group ride, or were slated to join an upcoming one. Some of them showed total allowable participants, but it wasn’t consistent across the UI. Either way, point being, that exists.
A big push for MyWhoosh is around racing and price purses. We see another Zwift alumni there, Jacob Fraser, who led Zwift’s esports realm, and continues that focus at MyWhoosh. The company has a weekly racing series, called the Sunday Race Club, with a monthly prize purse of $96,000. MyWhoosh says they’ve got a bunch of different automatic performance verification pieces in place, including leveraging heart rate data, power data, historical data, and simply whether or not a human can actually put out that effort. Plus, hopefully down the road, automatic dual-power recording as shown in the menus.
As with Zwift, racing can be a component of the platform – but it doesn’t tend to be used by the majority of users (group rides yes, races less so). And so while MyWhoosh (like Zwift) is throwing a lot of money in those realms, it often feels like most of it is for show/pride, rather than for the benefit of the majority of users.
Finally, there is a garage where you can tweak your kit to numerous jerseys and numerous bikes. Assuming of course you want a Colnago bike. Because that’s the only bike brand you can choose from. But hey, if you have to be forced to use a single brand – go big!
With that, I chose the default bike and default kit, and go to it
My First Ride:
For last night’s ride, I poked around a bit first trying to decide what to do. At the time I jumped on the platform, it showed roughly 500 people actively online. For context, I cracked open the Zwift companion app, and it showed just under 5,000 people online. It was around 9PM Amsterdam-time, so a bit late in the evening for most riders in the Middle East (11PM), where MyWhoosh has historically focused. Thus, I’m actually impressed it had that many people on then.
First up was the pairing screen, to pair up my smart trainer. In my case, I had my older Tacx NEO 2 that I’d be using, along with the new HRM-PRO Plus chest strap. I did pairing via Bluetooth, and had no problems getting everything paired quickly.
Interestingly, if you poke around that menu a bit, there’s a dual power recording option they say is coming soon. This is something that many people (as well as numerous racing organizations, and even a research paper on Zwift cheating), have begged Zwift to implement). So Kudos to MyWhoosh for at least hinting it might be coming. And if you look above, it also seems to imply there is Wahoo Direct Connect support too (the icon next to Bluetooth).
Once paired up, I could choose my world that I’d be riding in. I poked around for a while, and ultimately decided on something that included Dubai. I’ve been to Dubai more times than I could count, so I’d at least be able to judge the feel a bit.
Then, given MyWhoosh has heavily focused on the structured training piece, I decided to give that a whirl for this ride. I went in and out of numerous options for structured workouts, and went with this one here:
I adjusted my FTP accordingly after this screenshot, though, it didn’t seem to ‘stick’ when I opened up the workout a moment later via adding it to the calendar, reverting back to a default setting. No biggie, you can easily adjust the FTP value here and it scales immediately.
With that, I was off and cooking. On the whole, the user interface was pretty easy to understand for a first ride. Likewise, the trainer responded accordingly to the commands sent to it, and my sensors all seemed to cooperate as well.
As you approach each segment in the workout, it is a virtual gate of sorts like Zwift does, indicating a new chunk of the workout is coming up next.
With any new platform, there’s a learning curve. But, I think this first-ride is also the best possible scenario for companies to take feedback and incorporate changes, before a rider just gets used to things ‘being the way they are’. Most of my changes would be that the text in the workout builder is both duplicated in some areas, too small in others, and non-useful in the last section.
Take for example the text in the yellow box on the side that says “Sprints into Zone 4 #1”. This is actually the name of the workout. That’s fine, but because it has multiple numbers in it, and is the largest written chunk on the screen, you visually keep looking at that thinking it’s telling you which interval or such you’re on. But it’s not. It’s just telling you the name of the workout. I’m not sure this is needed here. The actual guidance is the tiny white text at the upper center of the screen, which as you can see in this photo is hard to read against the transparent background.
Similarly, there’s a random line that extends straight-up in the middle of each chunk of the workout in the little workout overview up top. Logically, you’d think this is showing you the place within the workout chunk, but in reality, it’s just a static pointer that stays in the middle the entire time, no matter where you are in the workout. I’d suggest this gets ditched, and use some color shading or such instead. Again, this is mostly aimed at helpful feedback from someone doing a workout for the first time. I poked around at the settings some, but didn’t see any obvious ways to change much here.
In terms of graphics, I was running a 2-year-old iPad, which, I think is probably par for the course for most people. They don’t have Apple TV yet, else I’d have used that. The graphics were fine, but nothing visually stunning. The buildings felt mostly repetitive, and aside from specific landmarks, were all kinda a blur. To be fair, that’s not that unlike Dubai itself. Or even Zwift in certain worlds.
I do like the numerous camera options that were available, albeit the button on the iPad for changing said camera views was the smallest button known to mankind. Once my fingers became sweaty, it was an iffy proposition at best. But, MyWhoosh has an automatic camera changing option that can just keep scrolling slowly through the 10+ camera views. It’s cool.
Now, with 25 seconds or so left in my ride, my iPad went kaput and ran out of battery. Apparently the newly purchased battery bank just couldn’t keep up with things in real-time. Obviously, that’s my fault. However unfortunately, the app lost all my ride data. Unlike most other platforms that can recover all but the final few seconds of a workout, this was unable. Upon the iPad powering back up, there was no evidence that I had ever started a ride, let alone nearly completed it. Hopefully, that’s something they can address down the road.
Had I completed it, it would have pushed the ride to my Strava and TrainingPeaks accounts as I had set up, and it would have also marked off my TSS in the MyWhoosh calendar inside the app. This calendar feature is something that most other virtual-cycling apps (with worlds) are lacking, so it’s a nice touch.
Wrap-Up:
First, let’s look at the technical aspects. As a platform, MyWhoosh does a lot of the fundamentals quite well. From a first-use standpoint, it easily paired up to my sensors, and I was able to get riding quickly and easily. There’s a boatload of structured training options, which seem well designed and clearly targeted at focused training. And for those that already have their own structured training plan in one of the big training platforms, this is a literal easy-button to having those workouts automatically control your smart trainer, pacing you through the sets.
Looking at the worlds and graphics, it’s OK, but wasn’t really earth-shattering to me. It felt roughly on par with the indoor trainer industry today. There are things you can nitpick in terms of realism on each platform, and things that each platform does well. This doesn’t stand out to me one way or the other. Given how much each of these two worlds looks like each other today, there isn’t a ton of variety. It’ll be cool to see them open up the Colombia, Australia, and Belgium worlds/routes and see how things look then. While Zwift gets plenty of criticism for its graphics (often deservedly so), they have managed to find a balance between top-end looks and something people can actually run on their computers.
Next, there’s the business aspects. Just as I often discuss the business realities of companies like Zwift or TrainerRoad, I’m going to do so here as well. MyWhoosh’s biggest challenge right now is actually not technical, nor the lack of people on the platform. Nor is it trying to launch at the same point in which the entire indoor training industry has hit rock-bottom. Instead, its biggest challenge is going to be trying to court a Western audience. It’s going to be trying to convince people to invest time and energy in a training platform, even a free one, that might disappear tomorrow simply because the singular funding stream disappears after a bureaucratic change of heart.
And I don’t have a solution for that (for either MyWhoosh or consumers). Having more competition in the space though is great for consumers. And in this case specifically, having more competition that’s willing to throw someone else’s money at something to develop features is great for consumers too. Heck, maybe as a result, Zwift will start taking their training plans/calendars seriously. Or, maybe not. Again, I don’t know.
But what I do know is that in many ways, this is kinda like a Kickstarter project. I’d treat it as such, even if you aren’t paying for anything. Enjoy the platform if you want, but also understand that with such an opaque funding stream and massive expenses, it’s entirely plausible it might just disappear.
With that – thanks for reading!
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I tried this on windows machine, everything looks just fine. As I mainly do TP workouts, this app works just fine for me. Is it disappears, well, any head unit will do the job.
GTA bike mod is what’s worth riding if you are into real picture quality. But the island is small and there will be no new worlds out there.
It’s always good to see competition for Zwift, because it will push them to become better.
However, from your screenshots, this looks like 2005 graphics. Compared to Zwift’s 2015 graphics.
I was going to download and test it, but it won’t work on my Ipad mini 4 (A8 chip vs A12). And my iPhone 12 mini is too small to be useful for this. Guess I’ll keep jumping around free trials :). Don’t really use virtual or AR apps that much. When I have to do a structured workout, I just load into my Garmin Edge.
Wow, that looks pretty interesting for someone who does most of their riding outdoors and rides indoors from time to time, especially for Tests and Structured Training.
I see there is a “testing” category, would that be the classic Ramp and 20′ tests ?
Hi RPV,
I’m the Director of MyWhoosh. Your question regarding testing is a good one. Our philosophy is that a wide range of valid and reliable test methods are available in cycling. With this in mind, we support and provide all methods. We have the classic FTP and ramp tests, but we also have test workouts that target specific power durations. We also have the INSCYD and Aerotune test protocols available in our test workouts. Each coach and athlete has a different perspective on the test protocol best suited to their needs. The MyWhoosh philosophy is that we provide the environment to come and perform your preferred test protocol.
Yeah- that is a little scary. My first thought was that I didn’t care if they have my riding data… but then I realized that it’s an app… on my phone! I’m Hoping that Apple security protects that app from utilizing any spyware or malware. Not sure I’d trust it on an android device. I did use a unique, crazy long and complicated password- although not sure if that makes any kinda’ difference.
Hi KCJeffro,
I’m the Director of MyWhoosh based in Australia. We are a global product with pockets in Australia, USA and UK. I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you that our aim in the immediate future is to build the product to the highest possible standards and provide you with a quality user experience while also increasing our user base. I welcome you to come along and try MyWhoosh and feel free to contact us with any feedback you may have.
Regards
Kevin Poulton
I just downloaded it and really like it. Having an Esports riding app that is both free and offers actual rewards for racing is a HUGE step forward in this environment. I am recovering from surgery (I’m old) – but look forward to getting on my bike in a few weeks and getting some rides in.
Tried it out today. As Ray said- everything paired up smoothly. Selected a workout and course. Graphics are simple and fine. fun that you can select some left and right turns along the way to vary your course- although, I had no idea where I was going. The app took me through the workout just fine, ran flawlessly on my iphone 13 and the imagery looked great screen mirrored onto my big flat screen. Although the big informational boxes (Power info, workout and course) were large and overlaid much of the virtual scenery- would be nice to be able to shrink or move them. I didn’t mind that it just gave you a line to show which part of the workout you were in rather than how far along you were in each segment, as there’s a pretty clear time bar across the top and good directions of what it was about to do with the power, including those virtually placed arches. Neat that you can hit a button and go from your workout erg mode, right onto the course profile, and back again.
I don’t do trainer rides much, so a decent free option is a plus. Glad that our petro dollars are being put to good use.
Perfect timing. Zwift has been giving me the s***s for a while now – mainly with the incessant need for wannabe neo pro ride leaders to give you the benefit of their limited experience – and I had frozen my subscription in favour of riding outside. Giving we have a massive storm raging outside at the moment, I might just download this and give it a whirl. As long as no one is constantly typing “Front Ease” I will be very happy
This certainly looks interesting, I’m keen to see a virtual world platform that has better training sessions than Zwift. I notice it has a limited set of smart trainers supported, does anyone know if it will support a PM and a classic trainer?
Great article as always, Ray. I had seen a couple of videos about MyWoosh on YouTube, but I was hesitant as
1. Being free, felt like it was a scam or like it would be doing dodgy things with my data.
2. Concerns over sport washing (just look at all the human rights issues with the upcoming World Cup)
Interesting to read an impartial view of the platform.
Yeah, I think there’s certainly an angle of sport washing for not just this app, but unfortunately many things in cycling. Team Ineos Grenadiers being another current example, but there are at least a few major ones each year in the WorldTour teams. More if you count secondary sponsors. Undoubtedly one type of washing is different than the other, but, washing nonetheless.
One thing I miss with all the apps I’ve tried so far: I’d love to have a web interface in which I can do all of the bureaucratics… Choosing bikes, customising whatever, doing the training plan… This way I could do it from whatever device I’ve got lying around on my couch without having anything installed – and use it on one of the select devices I use for the actuall training…
Does anybody have experience of running the app on a less powerful PC.
My trainer PC is an old 3rd or 4th gen which is good enough for fulgaz and i think zwift when it was in beta all those years ago. The listed min specs of a vega 64 or 1080 ti seem slightly ridicules.
It seems it runs on a Unreal 4 game Engine. I could not get it to work on my old Windows 10 laptop (i7 but a couple of years old). The graphic card (Geforce 635m) doesn’t get any updates anymore so it seems that is the limiting factor.
Nice write-up Ray – thank you. Speaking to someone else who was at Eurobike, visited this stand and spoke to the staff on-hand, most of the cyclists you see in-game are currently bots. Does this actually matter? I’m not sure. While I can see this might be a useful tool in trying to get the platform to critical mass, I’m not sure racing against bots, rather than other people, holds quite the same appeal.
It is good to see that the market of indoor cycling apps is growing ( after seeing a recent trend of mergers, which are reducing the options).
Also good to see that there are now options that don’t require to spend a monthly fee of 15€+. However, in case of a product originating from a company operating in the UAE, you are accepting that you pay a monthly fee by sharing your personal data. But that’s a personal choice everyone needs to make.
I personally don’t like cycling in virtual worlds – it always gives me the feeling beeing part of Mario Cart.
As I had a bike that was not supported by other platforms, I decided to implement my own app Incyclist (https://incyclist.com). It’s by far not as advanced as the big platforms, but it allows me to do the basics ( cycling anywhere in the world using Google Street View or cycling RLV Videos, doing workouts, group rides with my mates) and supports ANT+ (although on Windows you need to install a special device driver) and BLE.
I hope that there will be more alternatives in the future, so that we have more options than just Zwift, Wahoo and 1 or 2 more.
Love your app! Any plans for resistance/slope in the app? The free ride is really incredible and gives me the ability to ride anywhere I want where street view is available. Thanks for building this. Looking forward to updates.
My comments after trying the “Culture Ride” free ride. My setup is Windows 10, with a GPU capable of sustaining 60 fps, with a 50 inch TV.
As others have noted it generally works and the scenery is a nice change from the familiar Zwift. Given its roots in the Arab world I was surprised to see many female avatars in western dress and no real sign of this being culturally much different, though it was geographically different.
The video was bright, colorful, and cheerful, however the movement is quite choppy. It felt like maybe 5-10 fps though I had no obvious way to measure it.
I disliked that there was no overall context map. And likewise there was no way to tell when the loop finished and restarted.
I disliked that avatar settings (kit, looks, ftp) are not saved.
I dislike that it only runs in full screen mode and you have to fiddle with a keyboard to switch to another window.
I was able to upload to Strava, although the Strava map is rendered in the ocean off the coast of West Africa. I wish Garmin uploads were possible. I suppose you can export from Strava and import back to Garmin Connect. I haven’t tried this.
After exiting the platform I was given a crash dump. This happened both times I tried it.
I was able to take a snapshot photo, but I have no idea where the photo ended up. I was not sent to Strava,
There weren’t many other riders present (7:00 AM Boston time) and most of the ones that were there were very obviously bots. There were a few (also obviously) real riders.
Also, on uphill sections the video and associated experiences felt and looked like uphill. But downhill sections, while feeling obviously downhill, still looked visually to me like uphill.
I presently have my GPS tuned for Zwift, so maybe there are adjustments that can be made to improve it in MyWhoosh. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The jerky video is one of the biggest problems for me right now.
Also, the windows version has only a subset of the published routes.
Alex VanLaningham here. Founder of https://trainerday.com (as Ray mentioned above we have free training plans you can use in MyWoosh). I am also friends with Kevin of My Whoos. I know of one of the people responsible for funding this from the UAE just loves indoor cycling and does not need the small revenue it would produce so prefers to grow and get popular. So I am very comfortable saying they are not doing it to sell your data. They are hiring top guys like Kevin because they are trying to do something real, not something deceptive. The reason the other platforms can make money on you is because they have millions or billions of users. This is not the case and will probably never be the case in such a niche market.
Hi Johnny, right now what you can do is if you have a TrainerDay premium account you can connect TrainerDay to Training Peaks and Training Peaks to MyWhoosh and that should allow you to see your TrainerDay calendar inside of MyWhoosh. Secondly, we are working on a direct integration with MyWhoosh but that will probably take a bit of time still and finally I think you can upload ERG files to MyWhoosh so you could do it one at a time. In TrainerDay you can export a whole plan of ERG, MRC or ZWO files so any of those might work.
I think so, yes. Haven’t done it, but I’m told you can pull in workouts from Training Peaks. I’ve used their workout builder to set up my own, and, to be kind, it’s buggy. Works, but building takes longer than it should
TrainerDay you can build workouts faster than in TrainingPeaks or upload ERG, MRC or ZWO files and push to TrainingPeaks and see them in MyWhoosh. This is free.
I have tried your advice, workouts transfer from TD to TP very good, but from TP to MyWhoosh does not work… The workouts never appear in MyWhoosh’s Calendar.
Is there any other way to upload ERG, MRC or ZWO files to MyWhoosh?
If the workout is today and you enable it in MyWhoosh you should see it. If not post on their FB group. They usually respond. I don’t know if you can upload directly to MyWhoosh. I thought you could.
Sportswashing is the practice of an individual, group, corporation, or government using sport to improve their tarnished reputation, through hosting a sporting event, the purchase or sponsorship of sporting teams, or by participation in the sport itself. At the international level, sportswashing has been used to direct attention away from poor human rights records and corruption scandals; at the individual or corporate level, sportswashing may be used to cover up vices, crimes, or scandals. Sportswashing is an example of reputation laundering.
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan is not just the son of the founder of the UAE(The person behind the funding of this) but is also National Security Advisor: link to ft.com
Unlike Zwift and Israel start up right? oh wait they’re not Arab because all Arabs are bad, Muslims are bad, the middle east is bad and you should oppose them in every way right?
That looks inviting, especially when I read “entirely free app” but i’m sure it will be just like an other “freemium” app => get invested and addicted, save your data and then suddenly just like that it’s not free anymore.
Any comments on the ability to “free ride” in this? I’m looking to just hop on the trainer and tootle around for a while; no structured workouts, no racing, much like I ride in real life.
Tried it out. Works nicely, impressive for a new player on the market. The training stuff is impressive, maybe Strava will get their a€#&$ up.
Have to think about the sportwashing aspect. I am not worried about personal data though…
I did not connect my account to Strava upfront. I can’t find my ride now anywhere in the Mywoosh android app or on their Website? Is it just me being blind?
Same here – App okay – Training Plans are nice. In workout training text interesting. BUT and a big ‘I won’t use again BUT’ – After finishing the ride and beinf presented with ride summary data on screen, ride data isn’t sent anywhere and not accessible again. It’s ‘lost’ and I’m not abe to access it anywhere on my PC or online at MyWhoosh. Running Windows 10 – I linked Strava and Training Peaks in advance – ride not sent to apps afterwards…just an error report. Uninstalled. Might have talked myself around Sportswashing and privacy (for a free app) concerns but no point if rides cannot be saved.
To be fair, shot them an email, and received the data right away, it’s a start-up, let’s cut them some slack. VC is more or less blind, and the UAE fonds are the biggest there is.
That actually appears to be a feature and not a bug. went through all the pages of documentation. link to mywhoosh.com
and they simply state to connect 3rd party platform, and nothing else. – And no way of getting the data out without. It might even be that they are not storing historical data. (which would ease on the storage demand when you accumulate 100’s of thousends of rides.)
Uhh i stand corrected. In order to “save” the workout – you need to upload (and yes – upload to whoosh as well!) If you don’t have another service paired – it shows whoosh in “white” – that is automatically marked as the chosen service, but you do need to upload. you can’t just end the ride.
So I gave it a quick try today and I noticed a problem with the way I use Indoor Training apps as I can’t seem to make it work with “power matching”, like Zwift or RGT. The reason I use “power matching” is because I have a Wahoo Snap (need to use different bikes) and its power meter is not the best so I use my Assiomas. MyWhoosh does NOT recognize the trainer (to set resistance) unless it’s been paired as power meter first. That’s a bummer, or am I doing something wrong ?
Other than that the graphics look a lot nicer on my iPad Air 4 than Zwift who insist on having a “one size fits all” pretty lo-res experience for Android and iOS.
The drafting looks interesting and the power is shown in green when you’re in the draft (RGT has something similar) but of course the lack of riders makes it difficult to actually do any drafting ;-)
I suppose that if they add “Power Matching” it could be a nice platform for workouts for me.
Just signed up to try it out, just a little feed back on account creation. If you want to make it easy to onboard US people, have a toggle for pound and feet/inch entries rather than just metric.
What they really need is to get this into VR so you can select a ride (Alp D’Huez) and simulate the incline and all that jazz. I’m not a cyclist, but damn I’d do that. Done right, you could connect any connected trainer to the app…I’m sure it’s coming but it seems like it’s still too far off.
Hi, overall i really like Whoosh! I found the erg button in the individual workouts but when I load a plan to my calendar and open the workout from the calendar and click ‘workout’ it takes me directly to the workout with no way to opt out of erg mode. While the plans look great, I will just stick with individual workouts as I generally don’t like erg mode – I like shifting and using my gears so I feel like more like I am riding outside.
I like testing new tech, been a longtime Zwift & RGT user… now, I just tried myWhoosh yesterday (PC version) and I’m rather impressed with the graphics & overall design of the app. It is also stable, and hasn’t crashed while I was in the middle of a session. My only suggestion is to polish up the installation process, make it as easy as the other competing platforms. But I really can’t complain… it’s a free-to-use app, so that itself is a BIG plus 😊 For those wondering, you will need a modern computer to run the PC version of this app… with a dedicated GPU. I think it uses the Unreal gaming/graphics engine (that’s why the graphics is pretty), but that also means you’ll need to have a decent machine to run it
it’s amusing to read some of the comments here saying about where the app came from (UAE) and that it’s free (so it’s gotta be bad & full of spyware?). LOL, I worked in the tech field for over 25 years, and comments like that strike me funny. Lots of assumptions there, without actually having to test the app themselves. Come on guys, be the better person and not spread assumptions/misinformation without actually knowing for yourselves first… the app is endorsed & being used by the UAE Team (a world tour team), it’s got a lot of users already, no actual cybersecurity concerns have been mentioned about the app yet (Google it?), and if you’re really worried about using it with your smartphone (which is linked to all your personal data), then DON’T use it with a smartphone. Use a dedicated PC (with a GPU) that doesn’t have your personal information/data on it… I have a standalone PC paired with my cycling smart-trainer, and it serves no other purpose than that.
nope – but there are minimum requirements. link to mywhoosh.com
I’m guessing none of your units are above those. (the surface laptop is definitely not)
Hi. It’s great to have a free indoor app with valuable plans.
Nevertheless, some major flaws prove it need an urgent bug free version.
1. I picked a training from calendar. After 10 minutes, the app didn’t progress according the program. I could have worked forever and yet no chages occured in my trainer in terms of power resistance.
2. Even though the power shown in the app, it was in a about 10 seconds delay from the numbers on my watch.
3. Who care aboit the graphics if the communication between the app and the trainer isn’t reliable?
I really hope there’s a new version on its way.
Thanks
Regarding ANT+ — my experience using Windows is that previous versions of MyWhoosh did support ANT+. But more recent versions seem to support bluetooth only. Windows ANT+ support has seemingly been removed, either intentionally or not…
This was an absolute waste of my time. The graphics lag so bad it is not worth watching the screen. I run Zwift and Wahoo RGT on this same computer and the graphics are pretty smooth for both. It didn’t seem to have a problem pairing to my Saris Hammer 3 and Wahoo Tickr. The Power and Controlling was horrible. I could not get it to register more than 1 w/kg. I am normally around a 2 w/kg when I am I just riding steady zone 2. Having to load OLD DirectX functionality is not a good sign that this app is developed correctly. Zwift only takes up 3.3GB of disk space. MyWhoosh is DOUBLE that.
Has anyone noticed that if you stop peddling in MyWhoosh whilst rolling downhill the virtual bike comes to a stop fairly quickly even though the hill continues downwards I noticed this behaviour in OneLap and BKool as well.
Basically the virtual rolling resistance seems to be wrong and not like reality – RTG and VirtuPro seem very good at this in ride aspect with Zwift having a nice middle ground. This kind of reminds me of riding through mud on a mountain bike where you must keep peddling.
Still mainly bots, you can quickly spot them as they have a fix power output. There’s a few real people, where the power fluctuates, but they are the exception. It’s like riding with Pace Partners in Zwift, but then 50 pace partners to each rider instead of the other way around.
I decided to try it out. Seems to be decent; animations on a par with other apps I’ve tried.
Two significant problems though.
First, while it seems to be reporting correct power, it’s way off on cadence. I’m using a 4iiii Flight trainer. Cadence is not directly measured, but rather imputed, but other apps get it right, and it’s clear that the trainer knows the correct cadence.
Second, and this *could* be coincidence, is that several of my other applications have gotten buggy since the install. I’m running it on Windows 11, and the default photos app blows up, and Firefox won’t load normally (though I can get it to run). I’m wondering if it’s a vestige of Unreal Engine, which underlies this, or something else.
And a BIOS update seems to have fixed the other problems.
MyWhoosh seems to have run an update today. Next time I do an indoor ride I will see if this solved or created new problems. At least I hope they are coding based on UE5, instead of UE4, which is what was crashing the other day.
I really have been enjoying MyWhoosh for about 2.5 months. However, the latest update seems to be bugged. I can no longer launch the app. I’ve tried restrting device, deleting/reinstalling. Guess it’s back to RGT cycling :( til it’s fixed
My experience was different. I’ve only used it once since the update, and rode the Dubai ride (I think they call it 5 Gems). It seemed to me that they’ve fixed most of the bugs, and it’s improved compared to some of the earlier locations in that there is no repetition of scenery. And they ticked the box of many of the known attractions in Dubai. My only complaint is their weird attraction to muscle cars (we’re cyclists, not car freaks!), and that it’s still mostly bots.
I tried this today. Not bad. Only glitches were even after I told it my height and weight, Ok was 0.0 inches tall and 160 lb. Neither are correct, but at least the weight it’s close. Also, apparently they don’t expect old people to use this. I couldn’t enter my real age, because I’m too old.
Ride-wise, it was fine. Workout went as expected, I figured out the white line wasn’t where I was in the segment, the progress bar was. I didn’t listen to the app, so no idea if it gives clues when you finish a block or not.
I did enjoy the camels. The crowds, however, are laughably bad. The graphics are ok, but depending on the camera chosen, everything can pop in and out like a magic trick.
For free, it’s great. I hope it sticks around.
Does anyone know if the connection with ANT+ stick is available in the app? I have a Bkool Go trainer, and i´m using the app in my laptop with windows 10. The app finds the power and the cadence sensors, but can´t find the controller sensor. Please, i need help me with this issue
People moaning about ‘sports washing’ do my head in.
The UK and USA between them, murdered over 500,000 Iraqis for cheap oil.
They’ve killed more brown people in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya.
Let’s not forget about the multi billion $/£ military aircraft and munition contracts to Saudi Arabia.
So please stop with the holier than thou bleating, we’re the worst of the lot.
I try it a week ago, waiting around 1h for installation (including 16gb maps), just now i do a second try, update available so another hour of downloading. I think that if next time it ask me for waiting just will delete it and paid a month in zwift :)
I just started using My whoosh today. I had to restart my s-21 Samsung phone in order to leave the app. I haven’t tried using my computer with the app.
I’ve been using this for about 2 months now (Jan 2024 start) and it is really good. There are some glitches, but I can live with them. I record my rides also on my Garmin 1040 so I get the data there or have a backup.
I run it on an iPhone 13Plus and it EATS battery. I screen mirror it to my Apple TV. Pairs and works pretty well with my Saris Hammer, but I do get a lot of inconsistent cadence data (I compare with my Garmin head unit). I’ve also used it with my old manual trainer with Garmin power meter pedals and this seems to work well too.
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I thought I’d give an up-to-date impression of MyWhoosh 3.6.1 as there’s a bout to be an exit rush from Zwift after the big price rise. I’m running it on a PC of fairly moderate spec – they recommend a 10th Gen i7, 64Gb RAM and a 3090, which seems crazy, frankly. I’m on a 6th Gen i5, 16Gb RAM and an AMD 5700XT and it runs just fine.
However, it doesn’t like Bluetooth! On te same computer I run Zwift using all Bluetooth-connected kit. MyWhoosh can’t see any of it. It connects fine on ANT+ however (you have to enable ANT+ in a menu somewhere).
There’s a decent range of courses these days, and most of them have a fair smattering of users – though lots seem to be at unlikely W/Kg outputs. This was a problem noted a couple of years ago, so they haven’t got on top off it.
There’s no in-game sound! None at all. Menus have associated sound, but there’s no environmental soundscape of any kind. The visuals have ‘cheering’ spectators – like Zwift – but they’re silent. The sound was apparently withdrawn ‘temporarily pending a major improvement’ in August 2023 and hasn’t been reinstated. 9 months and no sound? That’s poor.
The ride feel (on a Tacx Neo) is slightly odd compared to Zwift. It feels like the bike is travelling in mud, and a high power output is needed to reach moderate speeds. I had a play with climb resistance and 20% on MyWhoosh feels like about 80-90% on Zwift. Is it more realistic than Zwift? No, it isn’t. I have trouble on a flat course maintaining an average speed that I find easy in real life. It feels like they’ve decided to make it harder for more training value.
The UI is also odd – not that Zwift’s is anything to write home about! Information is scattered around the screen, and there’s no gradient info (or I couldn’t find it!). There’s also no icon to leave the app. That’s fine on a tablet or phone; you can just swipe it away. But on a PC you have to either use Task Manager’ ‘end task’ or close it on the taskbar icon. Very clunky.
App connections are sparse – you get Strava and TrainingPeaks. Nothing else. The Strava one seems flaky; I did two separate rides this morning and neither was read by Strava.
Is it Sportswashing? Yes, of course it is, but it speaks of an ambition to get better which needs to be encouraged. If you turned your back on every regime that has murky cupboards, very few Western ones would get a free pass…
Overall, the best thing that can be said about it is it’s ok, and it’s free. Zwift is far superior, but at £17.99 a month it’s now very expensive. I haven’t tried IndieVelo yet, but I will soon.
I’ve been trying it for the last month to month and a half as well. I’m new to indoor training, but here are some observations to go with what you said…
I have an old PC that sometimes works, but doesn’t always. It just has a dongle for bluetooth and it struggles to see devices at times, especially the heart rate monitor. However, my phone has no problems connecting. That being said, I’ve had no luck connecting any devices to the companion app. I’d be curious if others have gotten it to work. All I’ve been able to do is see past workouts, but I couldn’t message from it or connect bluetooth devices to it.
It took me some time to find the elevation info. Assuming you haven’t hidden all display info, the top right of the screen shows a little bar to show if you’re going up or down hill, which tends to match the difficulty of the trainer. Additionally, the bottom left of the screen has a counter showing how many feet or meters of elevation you have gone up. About elevation difficulty, I rode a course that hit a major uphill part and got to a 16.9% grade and it was a killer and I could hardly spin the bike. That’s a big grade in real life, so maybe that was normal, but it pretty much killed my ride after a bit. In real life, at the very least, I could hop off and walk the bike, but that wasn’t going to happen here. Admittedly, I’m nowhere close to the strongest rider. Just an observation.
For exiting the app on Windows, I had to look it up. After exiting the ride (and saving or discarding the ride info), you have to click the Log Out button at the top right of the screen, which then takes you to the rider selection window (the one that shows your jersey and the big plus button to add another rider if wanted), then there’s an Exit or Quit button also in the top right.
I’ve wondered a few times how accurate the power measurement is, but blamed it on my trainer typically and would keep trying to do a spindown to get it right. The first few rides, I wondered if I was getting credit for too much power and it feels I’m going too fast for the amount of effort, but then the opposite sometimes happens where I feel like I’m pedaling a lot harder than the speed credit I get (~4-7mph for decent effort and minimal incline). I’ll have to try some other apps and see if they feel the same. Maybe it’s just me and my lack of experience and not knowing what feels right.
If you are using an older PC, you want, NEED, to use the “GO” version. Delete the version you have and download the latest version. Make sure you are getting the GO version. It puts less strain on your graphics card, opens/closes faster. You lose the jumping people, roaming animals, and detail in some of the surroundings. Otherwise, it is the same program. Works like a charm. Even has an off-line mode. Lost my internet for about 5 min while riding, and it never glitched
I had high hopes that MyWhoosh would be an attractive alternative to Zwift, but unfortunately that hasn’t materialised (so far). MyWhoosh has similar weaknesses on the software side as Zwift. In view of the outrageous 33% price increase at Zwift, I would have expected MyWhoosh to make an even greater effort to entice customers away from Zwift, but unfortunately this has not been the case. The lack of popularity is largely due to the immature software. I have the impression that both Zwift and MyWhoosh do not employ very experienced software developers and GUI designers, which can be seen in the performance, graphics and especially the poorly thought-out user interface. I am also of the opinion that it is a mistake to add gamification elements to a software that, in my opinion, most customers use specifically for training and virtual races. Instead, it lacks high-quality individual training plans and comprehensive statistics on training and racing, which is what many customers want.
How could any non UAE women bother with a free on non free UAE product? Emirati women live under male guardianship.[11] Whereas men can marry multiple women and unilaterally divorce, women are required to obtain a court order to divorce their husband.[11] Honor killings can go unpunished, as the victim’s family can pardon the murderer.[11] Marital rape is not criminalized in the UAE.[11] The UAE is a major destination for sex trafficking
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I tried this on windows machine, everything looks just fine. As I mainly do TP workouts, this app works just fine for me. Is it disappears, well, any head unit will do the job.
GTA bike mod is what’s worth riding if you are into real picture quality. But the island is small and there will be no new worlds out there.
SPAMMER, Ray please do the necessary.
I ran it on a new generation Computer windows 11 .Nothing but crashes and errors. Ran on old 2013 CAD computer ran but graphics walking pace
Sports washing.
Tried to install but on Windows got an error D3DCimpiller_43.dll missing
Needed a older DirectX build, link to microsoft.com
It’s always good to see competition for Zwift, because it will push them to become better.
However, from your screenshots, this looks like 2005 graphics. Compared to Zwift’s 2015 graphics.
nitpicking spell check:
“the largest indoor training stand app at Eurobike” should it be “the largest indoor training app stand at Eurobike”?
I was going to download and test it, but it won’t work on my Ipad mini 4 (A8 chip vs A12). And my iPhone 12 mini is too small to be useful for this. Guess I’ll keep jumping around free trials :). Don’t really use virtual or AR apps that much. When I have to do a structured workout, I just load into my Garmin Edge.
Wow, that looks pretty interesting for someone who does most of their riding outdoors and rides indoors from time to time, especially for Tests and Structured Training.
I see there is a “testing” category, would that be the classic Ramp and 20′ tests ?
Hi RPV,
I’m the Director of MyWhoosh. Your question regarding testing is a good one. Our philosophy is that a wide range of valid and reliable test methods are available in cycling. With this in mind, we support and provide all methods. We have the classic FTP and ramp tests, but we also have test workouts that target specific power durations. We also have the INSCYD and Aerotune test protocols available in our test workouts. Each coach and athlete has a different perspective on the test protocol best suited to their needs. The MyWhoosh philosophy is that we provide the environment to come and perform your preferred test protocol.
I was able to get Windows to work after installing the latest version of Microsoft DirectX.
In my test, Bluetooth and ANT+ were both supported. My Wahoo direct connect was seemingly not supported.
Larry
Completely free and run out of the UAE, makes me nervous…
Yeah- that is a little scary. My first thought was that I didn’t care if they have my riding data… but then I realized that it’s an app… on my phone! I’m Hoping that Apple security protects that app from utilizing any spyware or malware. Not sure I’d trust it on an android device. I did use a unique, crazy long and complicated password- although not sure if that makes any kinda’ difference.
And a CEO with a history of spyware deployment (Thanks Google) and an install that bypasses the Windows Store. Hard pass.
Hi KCJeffro,
I’m the Director of MyWhoosh based in Australia. We are a global product with pockets in Australia, USA and UK. I wanted to take this opportunity to inform you that our aim in the immediate future is to build the product to the highest possible standards and provide you with a quality user experience while also increasing our user base. I welcome you to come along and try MyWhoosh and feel free to contact us with any feedback you may have.
Regards
Kevin Poulton
Hi Kevin –
I just downloaded it and really like it. Having an Esports riding app that is both free and offers actual rewards for racing is a HUGE step forward in this environment. I am recovering from surgery (I’m old) – but look forward to getting on my bike in a few weeks and getting some rides in.
Tried it out today. As Ray said- everything paired up smoothly. Selected a workout and course. Graphics are simple and fine. fun that you can select some left and right turns along the way to vary your course- although, I had no idea where I was going. The app took me through the workout just fine, ran flawlessly on my iphone 13 and the imagery looked great screen mirrored onto my big flat screen. Although the big informational boxes (Power info, workout and course) were large and overlaid much of the virtual scenery- would be nice to be able to shrink or move them. I didn’t mind that it just gave you a line to show which part of the workout you were in rather than how far along you were in each segment, as there’s a pretty clear time bar across the top and good directions of what it was about to do with the power, including those virtually placed arches. Neat that you can hit a button and go from your workout erg mode, right onto the course profile, and back again.
I don’t do trainer rides much, so a decent free option is a plus. Glad that our petro dollars are being put to good use.
I wish they will move the workout graph to the bottom of the screen. All the rest is just fine.
Perfect timing. Zwift has been giving me the s***s for a while now – mainly with the incessant need for wannabe neo pro ride leaders to give you the benefit of their limited experience – and I had frozen my subscription in favour of riding outside. Giving we have a massive storm raging outside at the moment, I might just download this and give it a whirl. As long as no one is constantly typing “Front Ease” I will be very happy
the funny thing with Colnago, i bought one 2 weeks ago, so Whoosh is made for me :D
On my first Testride my iPad mini 6 ran out of Battery too, but i used a Garmin Daily Suggestion Workout on my Headunit to control the Tacx Bike!
So the App looks really fine and it is free, so good for me, if you want a bit of variety sometimes
This certainly looks interesting, I’m keen to see a virtual world platform that has better training sessions than Zwift. I notice it has a limited set of smart trainers supported, does anyone know if it will support a PM and a classic trainer?
I gave it a try yesterday. Plain and simple: I’m sold! Great work!
Great article as always, Ray. I had seen a couple of videos about MyWoosh on YouTube, but I was hesitant as
1. Being free, felt like it was a scam or like it would be doing dodgy things with my data.
2. Concerns over sport washing (just look at all the human rights issues with the upcoming World Cup)
Interesting to read an impartial view of the platform.
(Also, Dowsett*)
Thanks!
Yeah, I think there’s certainly an angle of sport washing for not just this app, but unfortunately many things in cycling. Team Ineos Grenadiers being another current example, but there are at least a few major ones each year in the WorldTour teams. More if you count secondary sponsors. Undoubtedly one type of washing is different than the other, but, washing nonetheless.
One thing I miss with all the apps I’ve tried so far: I’d love to have a web interface in which I can do all of the bureaucratics… Choosing bikes, customising whatever, doing the training plan… This way I could do it from whatever device I’ve got lying around on my couch without having anything installed – and use it on one of the select devices I use for the actuall training…
Does anybody have experience of running the app on a less powerful PC.
My trainer PC is an old 3rd or 4th gen which is good enough for fulgaz and i think zwift when it was in beta all those years ago. The listed min specs of a vega 64 or 1080 ti seem slightly ridicules.
It seems it runs on a Unreal 4 game Engine. I could not get it to work on my old Windows 10 laptop (i7 but a couple of years old). The graphic card (Geforce 635m) doesn’t get any updates anymore so it seems that is the limiting factor.
Late answer…
I run it without any problems on a PC with i7-4770, gtx1050Ti and 16GB ram.
Nice write-up Ray – thank you. Speaking to someone else who was at Eurobike, visited this stand and spoke to the staff on-hand, most of the cyclists you see in-game are currently bots. Does this actually matter? I’m not sure. While I can see this might be a useful tool in trying to get the platform to critical mass, I’m not sure racing against bots, rather than other people, holds quite the same appeal.
It is good to see that the market of indoor cycling apps is growing ( after seeing a recent trend of mergers, which are reducing the options).
Also good to see that there are now options that don’t require to spend a monthly fee of 15€+. However, in case of a product originating from a company operating in the UAE, you are accepting that you pay a monthly fee by sharing your personal data. But that’s a personal choice everyone needs to make.
I personally don’t like cycling in virtual worlds – it always gives me the feeling beeing part of Mario Cart.
As I had a bike that was not supported by other platforms, I decided to implement my own app Incyclist (https://incyclist.com). It’s by far not as advanced as the big platforms, but it allows me to do the basics ( cycling anywhere in the world using Google Street View or cycling RLV Videos, doing workouts, group rides with my mates) and supports ANT+ (although on Windows you need to install a special device driver) and BLE.
I hope that there will be more alternatives in the future, so that we have more options than just Zwift, Wahoo and 1 or 2 more.
Hey do you have any more information on the Windows ANT+ device driver? Where would one find that?
Love your app! Any plans for resistance/slope in the app? The free ride is really incredible and gives me the ability to ride anywhere I want where street view is available. Thanks for building this. Looking forward to updates.
My comments after trying the “Culture Ride” free ride. My setup is Windows 10, with a GPU capable of sustaining 60 fps, with a 50 inch TV.
As others have noted it generally works and the scenery is a nice change from the familiar Zwift. Given its roots in the Arab world I was surprised to see many female avatars in western dress and no real sign of this being culturally much different, though it was geographically different.
The video was bright, colorful, and cheerful, however the movement is quite choppy. It felt like maybe 5-10 fps though I had no obvious way to measure it.
I disliked that there was no overall context map. And likewise there was no way to tell when the loop finished and restarted.
I disliked that avatar settings (kit, looks, ftp) are not saved.
I dislike that it only runs in full screen mode and you have to fiddle with a keyboard to switch to another window.
I was able to upload to Strava, although the Strava map is rendered in the ocean off the coast of West Africa. I wish Garmin uploads were possible. I suppose you can export from Strava and import back to Garmin Connect. I haven’t tried this.
After exiting the platform I was given a crash dump. This happened both times I tried it.
I was able to take a snapshot photo, but I have no idea where the photo ended up. I was not sent to Strava,
Larry
A couple other things:
There weren’t many other riders present (7:00 AM Boston time) and most of the ones that were there were very obviously bots. There were a few (also obviously) real riders.
Also, on uphill sections the video and associated experiences felt and looked like uphill. But downhill sections, while feeling obviously downhill, still looked visually to me like uphill.
Larry
Update: I measured the fps in-game at 15-20 fps.
I presently have my GPS tuned for Zwift, so maybe there are adjustments that can be made to improve it in MyWhoosh. Any suggestions would be appreciated. The jerky video is one of the biggest problems for me right now.
Also, the windows version has only a subset of the published routes.
Sorry, I meant GPU, not GPS…
That place, just west of Africa is Origo, 0 longitude, 0 latitude 😅
Any trick to get the axtivities in this app uploaded to Garmin Connect and ook into account for measuring training status and that stuff?
Sorry, I didn’t mean to reply you but to write a new comment…
Alex VanLaningham here. Founder of https://trainerday.com (as Ray mentioned above we have free training plans you can use in MyWoosh). I am also friends with Kevin of My Whoos. I know of one of the people responsible for funding this from the UAE just loves indoor cycling and does not need the small revenue it would produce so prefers to grow and get popular. So I am very comfortable saying they are not doing it to sell your data. They are hiring top guys like Kevin because they are trying to do something real, not something deceptive. The reason the other platforms can make money on you is because they have millions or billions of users. This is not the case and will probably never be the case in such a niche market.
>> know of one of the people responsible for funding this from the UAE just loves indoor cycling
he is so nice!!!
HI Alex,can you expand on how to upload training plan to MyWhoosh?
Hi Johnny, right now what you can do is if you have a TrainerDay premium account you can connect TrainerDay to Training Peaks and Training Peaks to MyWhoosh and that should allow you to see your TrainerDay calendar inside of MyWhoosh. Secondly, we are working on a direct integration with MyWhoosh but that will probably take a bit of time still and finally I think you can upload ERG files to MyWhoosh so you could do it one at a time. In TrainerDay you can export a whole plan of ERG, MRC or ZWO files so any of those might work.
Hi Guys,
How can you upload ERG files of workouts to MyWhoosh?
Thanks in advance!
I think so, yes. Haven’t done it, but I’m told you can pull in workouts from Training Peaks. I’ve used their workout builder to set up my own, and, to be kind, it’s buggy. Works, but building takes longer than it should
TrainerDay you can build workouts faster than in TrainingPeaks or upload ERG, MRC or ZWO files and push to TrainingPeaks and see them in MyWhoosh. This is free.
Hi Alex,
I have tried your advice, workouts transfer from TD to TP very good, but from TP to MyWhoosh does not work… The workouts never appear in MyWhoosh’s Calendar.
Is there any other way to upload ERG, MRC or ZWO files to MyWhoosh?
Thanks!
If the workout is today and you enable it in MyWhoosh you should see it. If not post on their FB group. They usually respond. I don’t know if you can upload directly to MyWhoosh. I thought you could.
UAE sportswashing? Gonna sit this one out.
Genuine question here : what is “sportswashing” ?
Sportswashing is the practice of an individual, group, corporation, or government using sport to improve their tarnished reputation, through hosting a sporting event, the purchase or sponsorship of sporting teams, or by participation in the sport itself. At the international level, sportswashing has been used to direct attention away from poor human rights records and corruption scandals; at the individual or corporate level, sportswashing may be used to cover up vices, crimes, or scandals. Sportswashing is an example of reputation laundering.
link to fairplanet.org
link to cyclist.co.uk
Sheikh Tahnoon bin Zayed Al Nahyan is not just the son of the founder of the UAE(The person behind the funding of this) but is also National Security Advisor:
link to ft.com
Unlike Zwift and Israel start up right? oh wait they’re not Arab because all Arabs are bad, Muslims are bad, the middle east is bad and you should oppose them in every way right?
That looks inviting, especially when I read “entirely free app” but i’m sure it will be just like an other “freemium” app => get invested and addicted, save your data and then suddenly just like that it’s not free anymore.
It’s tempting though!
That type of screen is called a Cave:
link to en.wikipedia.org
Like the SGI cave from the 90s that is now:
link to visbox.com
Any comments on the ability to “free ride” in this? I’m looking to just hop on the trainer and tootle around for a while; no structured workouts, no racing, much like I ride in real life.
This is what I did. See my earlier comments,
Larry
yes that is also possible. theres even a “just ride” button in the menu.
Tried it out. Works nicely, impressive for a new player on the market. The training stuff is impressive, maybe Strava will get their a€#&$ up.
Have to think about the sportwashing aspect. I am not worried about personal data though…
I did not connect my account to Strava upfront. I can’t find my ride now anywhere in the Mywoosh android app or on their Website? Is it just me being blind?
I’m having the same issue, no way of getting to the ride data after the ride, since I didn’t connect Strava up front…
Same here – App okay – Training Plans are nice. In workout training text interesting. BUT and a big ‘I won’t use again BUT’ – After finishing the ride and beinf presented with ride summary data on screen, ride data isn’t sent anywhere and not accessible again. It’s ‘lost’ and I’m not abe to access it anywhere on my PC or online at MyWhoosh. Running Windows 10 – I linked Strava and Training Peaks in advance – ride not sent to apps afterwards…just an error report. Uninstalled. Might have talked myself around Sportswashing and privacy (for a free app) concerns but no point if rides cannot be saved.
To be fair, shot them an email, and received the data right away, it’s a start-up, let’s cut them some slack. VC is more or less blind, and the UAE fonds are the biggest there is.
That actually appears to be a feature and not a bug. went through all the pages of documentation. link to mywhoosh.com
and they simply state to connect 3rd party platform, and nothing else. – And no way of getting the data out without. It might even be that they are not storing historical data. (which would ease on the storage demand when you accumulate 100’s of thousends of rides.)
Uhh i stand corrected. In order to “save” the workout – you need to upload (and yes – upload to whoosh as well!) If you don’t have another service paired – it shows whoosh in “white” – that is automatically marked as the chosen service, but you do need to upload. you can’t just end the ride.
So I gave it a quick try today and I noticed a problem with the way I use Indoor Training apps as I can’t seem to make it work with “power matching”, like Zwift or RGT. The reason I use “power matching” is because I have a Wahoo Snap (need to use different bikes) and its power meter is not the best so I use my Assiomas. MyWhoosh does NOT recognize the trainer (to set resistance) unless it’s been paired as power meter first. That’s a bummer, or am I doing something wrong ?
Other than that the graphics look a lot nicer on my iPad Air 4 than Zwift who insist on having a “one size fits all” pretty lo-res experience for Android and iOS.
The drafting looks interesting and the power is shown in green when you’re in the draft (RGT has something similar) but of course the lack of riders makes it difficult to actually do any drafting ;-)
I suppose that if they add “Power Matching” it could be a nice platform for workouts for me.
Hey Ray,
where can we get the fit file Whoosh recorded? Haven’t found a menu yet, but have to admit, didn’t played with it that much.
Thanks ;-)
Just signed up to try it out, just a little feed back on account creation. If you want to make it easy to onboard US people, have a toggle for pound and feet/inch entries rather than just metric.
What they really need is to get this into VR so you can select a ride (Alp D’Huez) and simulate the incline and all that jazz. I’m not a cyclist, but damn I’d do that. Done right, you could connect any connected trainer to the app…I’m sure it’s coming but it seems like it’s still too far off.
Hi, overall i really like Whoosh! I found the erg button in the individual workouts but when I load a plan to my calendar and open the workout from the calendar and click ‘workout’ it takes me directly to the workout with no way to opt out of erg mode. While the plans look great, I will just stick with individual workouts as I generally don’t like erg mode – I like shifting and using my gears so I feel like more like I am riding outside.
I like testing new tech, been a longtime Zwift & RGT user… now, I just tried myWhoosh yesterday (PC version) and I’m rather impressed with the graphics & overall design of the app. It is also stable, and hasn’t crashed while I was in the middle of a session. My only suggestion is to polish up the installation process, make it as easy as the other competing platforms. But I really can’t complain… it’s a free-to-use app, so that itself is a BIG plus 😊 For those wondering, you will need a modern computer to run the PC version of this app… with a dedicated GPU. I think it uses the Unreal gaming/graphics engine (that’s why the graphics is pretty), but that also means you’ll need to have a decent machine to run it
it’s amusing to read some of the comments here saying about where the app came from (UAE) and that it’s free (so it’s gotta be bad & full of spyware?). LOL, I worked in the tech field for over 25 years, and comments like that strike me funny. Lots of assumptions there, without actually having to test the app themselves. Come on guys, be the better person and not spread assumptions/misinformation without actually knowing for yourselves first… the app is endorsed & being used by the UAE Team (a world tour team), it’s got a lot of users already, no actual cybersecurity concerns have been mentioned about the app yet (Google it?), and if you’re really worried about using it with your smartphone (which is linked to all your personal data), then DON’T use it with a smartphone. Use a dedicated PC (with a GPU) that doesn’t have your personal information/data on it… I have a standalone PC paired with my cycling smart-trainer, and it serves no other purpose than that.
I’ve tried this app on a few different Andriod devices and a Surface laptop and it won’t even open. Is it down?
nope – but there are minimum requirements. link to mywhoosh.com
I’m guessing none of your units are above those. (the surface laptop is definitely not)
Thanks Claus, I would have a thought that it should run on my new s22, I think that’s within the requirements.
Hi. It’s great to have a free indoor app with valuable plans.
Nevertheless, some major flaws prove it need an urgent bug free version.
1. I picked a training from calendar. After 10 minutes, the app didn’t progress according the program. I could have worked forever and yet no chages occured in my trainer in terms of power resistance.
2. Even though the power shown in the app, it was in a about 10 seconds delay from the numbers on my watch.
3. Who care aboit the graphics if the communication between the app and the trainer isn’t reliable?
I really hope there’s a new version on its way.
Thanks
Regarding ANT+ — my experience using Windows is that previous versions of MyWhoosh did support ANT+. But more recent versions seem to support bluetooth only. Windows ANT+ support has seemingly been removed, either intentionally or not…
This was an absolute waste of my time. The graphics lag so bad it is not worth watching the screen. I run Zwift and Wahoo RGT on this same computer and the graphics are pretty smooth for both. It didn’t seem to have a problem pairing to my Saris Hammer 3 and Wahoo Tickr. The Power and Controlling was horrible. I could not get it to register more than 1 w/kg. I am normally around a 2 w/kg when I am I just riding steady zone 2. Having to load OLD DirectX functionality is not a good sign that this app is developed correctly. Zwift only takes up 3.3GB of disk space. MyWhoosh is DOUBLE that.
Has anyone noticed that if you stop peddling in MyWhoosh whilst rolling downhill the virtual bike comes to a stop fairly quickly even though the hill continues downwards I noticed this behaviour in OneLap and BKool as well.
Basically the virtual rolling resistance seems to be wrong and not like reality – RTG and VirtuPro seem very good at this in ride aspect with Zwift having a nice middle ground. This kind of reminds me of riding through mud on a mountain bike where you must keep peddling.
Still mainly bots, you can quickly spot them as they have a fix power output. There’s a few real people, where the power fluctuates, but they are the exception. It’s like riding with Pace Partners in Zwift, but then 50 pace partners to each rider instead of the other way around.
I decided to try it out. Seems to be decent; animations on a par with other apps I’ve tried.
Two significant problems though.
First, while it seems to be reporting correct power, it’s way off on cadence. I’m using a 4iiii Flight trainer. Cadence is not directly measured, but rather imputed, but other apps get it right, and it’s clear that the trainer knows the correct cadence.
Second, and this *could* be coincidence, is that several of my other applications have gotten buggy since the install. I’m running it on Windows 11, and the default photos app blows up, and Firefox won’t load normally (though I can get it to run). I’m wondering if it’s a vestige of Unreal Engine, which underlies this, or something else.
Ride #2, cadence was sorted.
And a BIOS update seems to have fixed the other problems.
MyWhoosh seems to have run an update today. Next time I do an indoor ride I will see if this solved or created new problems. At least I hope they are coding based on UE5, instead of UE4, which is what was crashing the other day.
App was working for a few days but now it no longer let’s add any workouts or plans to the calendar. Rides also freeze quite a bit.
Really hope they fix the issues
Does anyone know how many subscribers are on myWhoosh? Interesting!
I really have been enjoying MyWhoosh for about 2.5 months. However, the latest update seems to be bugged. I can no longer launch the app. I’ve tried restrting device, deleting/reinstalling. Guess it’s back to RGT cycling :( til it’s fixed
My experience was different. I’ve only used it once since the update, and rode the Dubai ride (I think they call it 5 Gems). It seemed to me that they’ve fixed most of the bugs, and it’s improved compared to some of the earlier locations in that there is no repetition of scenery. And they ticked the box of many of the known attractions in Dubai. My only complaint is their weird attraction to muscle cars (we’re cyclists, not car freaks!), and that it’s still mostly bots.
I tried this today. Not bad. Only glitches were even after I told it my height and weight, Ok was 0.0 inches tall and 160 lb. Neither are correct, but at least the weight it’s close. Also, apparently they don’t expect old people to use this. I couldn’t enter my real age, because I’m too old.
Ride-wise, it was fine. Workout went as expected, I figured out the white line wasn’t where I was in the segment, the progress bar was. I didn’t listen to the app, so no idea if it gives clues when you finish a block or not.
I did enjoy the camels. The crowds, however, are laughably bad. The graphics are ok, but depending on the camera chosen, everything can pop in and out like a magic trick.
For free, it’s great. I hope it sticks around.
Does anyone know if the connection with ANT+ stick is available in the app? I have a Bkool Go trainer, and i´m using the app in my laptop with windows 10. The app finds the power and the cadence sensors, but can´t find the controller sensor. Please, i need help me with this issue
I couldn’t get it to open on my Android.
Any ideas about Android TV 12 support? It seems so that it is not supported right now. I’m using a cheap Chinese TV Box with H618 processor.
Many thanks, Dennis
People moaning about ‘sports washing’ do my head in.
The UK and USA between them, murdered over 500,000 Iraqis for cheap oil.
They’ve killed more brown people in Afghanistan, Syria and Libya.
Let’s not forget about the multi billion $/£ military aircraft and munition contracts to Saudi Arabia.
So please stop with the holier than thou bleating, we’re the worst of the lot.
Whataboutism has entered the chat…
Corporate state sponsored mass murder vs sports washing is whataboutism???
Found a new word Raymondo???
Neither is good, just pointing out that you seem to be trying to justify sportswashing here because…frankly, I don’t know why.
As always, your comments seem angry. Shrug.
This news comes as a surprise:
link to cyclingnews.com
link to dcrainmaker.com ;)
I try it a week ago, waiting around 1h for installation (including 16gb maps), just now i do a second try, update available so another hour of downloading. I think that if next time it ask me for waiting just will delete it and paid a month in zwift :)
I just started using My whoosh today. I had to restart my s-21 Samsung phone in order to leave the app. I haven’t tried using my computer with the app.
I thought the 80’s game graphics of zwift were bad…..this doesn’t look any better. Wake up, it’s 2024!
It can barely run as it is. Pushing the graphics requirements would not be smart right now
I’ve been using this for about 2 months now (Jan 2024 start) and it is really good. There are some glitches, but I can live with them. I record my rides also on my Garmin 1040 so I get the data there or have a backup.
I run it on an iPhone 13Plus and it EATS battery. I screen mirror it to my Apple TV. Pairs and works pretty well with my Saris Hammer, but I do get a lot of inconsistent cadence data (I compare with my Garmin head unit). I’ve also used it with my old manual trainer with Garmin power meter pedals and this seems to work well too.
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I thought I’d give an up-to-date impression of MyWhoosh 3.6.1 as there’s a bout to be an exit rush from Zwift after the big price rise. I’m running it on a PC of fairly moderate spec – they recommend a 10th Gen i7, 64Gb RAM and a 3090, which seems crazy, frankly. I’m on a 6th Gen i5, 16Gb RAM and an AMD 5700XT and it runs just fine.
However, it doesn’t like Bluetooth! On te same computer I run Zwift using all Bluetooth-connected kit. MyWhoosh can’t see any of it. It connects fine on ANT+ however (you have to enable ANT+ in a menu somewhere).
There’s a decent range of courses these days, and most of them have a fair smattering of users – though lots seem to be at unlikely W/Kg outputs. This was a problem noted a couple of years ago, so they haven’t got on top off it.
There’s no in-game sound! None at all. Menus have associated sound, but there’s no environmental soundscape of any kind. The visuals have ‘cheering’ spectators – like Zwift – but they’re silent. The sound was apparently withdrawn ‘temporarily pending a major improvement’ in August 2023 and hasn’t been reinstated. 9 months and no sound? That’s poor.
The ride feel (on a Tacx Neo) is slightly odd compared to Zwift. It feels like the bike is travelling in mud, and a high power output is needed to reach moderate speeds. I had a play with climb resistance and 20% on MyWhoosh feels like about 80-90% on Zwift. Is it more realistic than Zwift? No, it isn’t. I have trouble on a flat course maintaining an average speed that I find easy in real life. It feels like they’ve decided to make it harder for more training value.
The UI is also odd – not that Zwift’s is anything to write home about! Information is scattered around the screen, and there’s no gradient info (or I couldn’t find it!). There’s also no icon to leave the app. That’s fine on a tablet or phone; you can just swipe it away. But on a PC you have to either use Task Manager’ ‘end task’ or close it on the taskbar icon. Very clunky.
App connections are sparse – you get Strava and TrainingPeaks. Nothing else. The Strava one seems flaky; I did two separate rides this morning and neither was read by Strava.
Is it Sportswashing? Yes, of course it is, but it speaks of an ambition to get better which needs to be encouraged. If you turned your back on every regime that has murky cupboards, very few Western ones would get a free pass…
Overall, the best thing that can be said about it is it’s ok, and it’s free. Zwift is far superior, but at £17.99 a month it’s now very expensive. I haven’t tried IndieVelo yet, but I will soon.
I’ve been trying it for the last month to month and a half as well. I’m new to indoor training, but here are some observations to go with what you said…
I have an old PC that sometimes works, but doesn’t always. It just has a dongle for bluetooth and it struggles to see devices at times, especially the heart rate monitor. However, my phone has no problems connecting. That being said, I’ve had no luck connecting any devices to the companion app. I’d be curious if others have gotten it to work. All I’ve been able to do is see past workouts, but I couldn’t message from it or connect bluetooth devices to it.
It took me some time to find the elevation info. Assuming you haven’t hidden all display info, the top right of the screen shows a little bar to show if you’re going up or down hill, which tends to match the difficulty of the trainer. Additionally, the bottom left of the screen has a counter showing how many feet or meters of elevation you have gone up. About elevation difficulty, I rode a course that hit a major uphill part and got to a 16.9% grade and it was a killer and I could hardly spin the bike. That’s a big grade in real life, so maybe that was normal, but it pretty much killed my ride after a bit. In real life, at the very least, I could hop off and walk the bike, but that wasn’t going to happen here. Admittedly, I’m nowhere close to the strongest rider. Just an observation.
For exiting the app on Windows, I had to look it up. After exiting the ride (and saving or discarding the ride info), you have to click the Log Out button at the top right of the screen, which then takes you to the rider selection window (the one that shows your jersey and the big plus button to add another rider if wanted), then there’s an Exit or Quit button also in the top right.
I’ve wondered a few times how accurate the power measurement is, but blamed it on my trainer typically and would keep trying to do a spindown to get it right. The first few rides, I wondered if I was getting credit for too much power and it feels I’m going too fast for the amount of effort, but then the opposite sometimes happens where I feel like I’m pedaling a lot harder than the speed credit I get (~4-7mph for decent effort and minimal incline). I’ll have to try some other apps and see if they feel the same. Maybe it’s just me and my lack of experience and not knowing what feels right.
If you are using an older PC, you want, NEED, to use the “GO” version. Delete the version you have and download the latest version. Make sure you are getting the GO version. It puts less strain on your graphics card, opens/closes faster. You lose the jumping people, roaming animals, and detail in some of the surroundings. Otherwise, it is the same program. Works like a charm. Even has an off-line mode. Lost my internet for about 5 min while riding, and it never glitched
I had high hopes that MyWhoosh would be an attractive alternative to Zwift, but unfortunately that hasn’t materialised (so far). MyWhoosh has similar weaknesses on the software side as Zwift. In view of the outrageous 33% price increase at Zwift, I would have expected MyWhoosh to make an even greater effort to entice customers away from Zwift, but unfortunately this has not been the case. The lack of popularity is largely due to the immature software. I have the impression that both Zwift and MyWhoosh do not employ very experienced software developers and GUI designers, which can be seen in the performance, graphics and especially the poorly thought-out user interface. I am also of the opinion that it is a mistake to add gamification elements to a software that, in my opinion, most customers use specifically for training and virtual races. Instead, it lacks high-quality individual training plans and comprehensive statistics on training and racing, which is what many customers want.
How could any non UAE women bother with a free on non free UAE product? Emirati women live under male guardianship.[11] Whereas men can marry multiple women and unilaterally divorce, women are required to obtain a court order to divorce their husband.[11] Honor killings can go unpunished, as the victim’s family can pardon the murderer.[11] Marital rape is not criminalized in the UAE.[11] The UAE is a major destination for sex trafficking