Zwift and Garmin

Hello everyone,

I usually prefer cycling outdoors, but with the recent bad weather and approaching winter, I've decided to give Zwift hub a try. I track all my activities using either a Garmin Fenix 7X or Edge 1040.

I'd like to understand how to use a smart trainer properly:

1. Should I connect all my sensors (power meter, cadence, HR strap) directly to the Zwift app and record the activity there? Then, afterward, sync the Zwift account with Garmin Connect so that all my metrics are available in Garmin Connect? If I use this option, will it be included in the Garmin metrics such as Training Readiness, Cycling Fitness, Vo2Max, etc?

2. Should I pair all the sensors with my Garmin watch and track the activity as "Indoor Bike"? If I choose this option, how can I view the information in the Zwift app, considering that all the sensors are connected to the watch? Alternatively, is it possible to connect the sensors to both the watch and the Zwift app simultaneously?

I apologize if these questions seem basic; I'm not familiar with smart trainers and would appreciate any guidance you can provide.

Top Replies

RobinNZ over 1 year ago +2

Have a read of this - https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/garmin-training-status-now-includes-zwift-trainerroad-the-sufferfest-and-tacx-app-workouts.html.

My understanding is most things sync across from…

All Replies

0 MarcinGS over 1 year ago

Since Garmin and Zwift sync workouts I assume that you can freely pair all sensors to Zwift. GC should count workouts from Zwift and your all metrics. Chronic, acute load and all other stuff like vo2max, PWR, HR and all training load related metrics. You should pair them together of course.

0 EnormoDerClown over 1 year ago

Just use zwift for tracking, do it myself. Training status and such gets updated and the activities are synced to the watch. you just "loose" metrics like breath frequency and stamina, but nothing wich is missing to track the training status and such, you will even get training effect for zwift workouts without any watch or bike computer involved.

0 RobinNZ over 1 year ago

Have a read of this - https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/06/garmin-training-status-now-includes-zwift-trainerroad-the-sufferfest-and-tacx-app-workouts.html.

My understanding is most things sync across from Zwift to GC but not everything.

You can always dual record (record on Zwift and your Garmin) to get all metrics. Most sensors offer multiple channels so pairing with your watch and Zwift isn't an issue. I do it regularly.

0 Vini over 1 year ago in reply to RobinNZ

Thank you all.

I'm expecting to get my Zwift today and plan to try it out both ways before tackling harder sessions. However, I believe I will likely prefer the dual recording option. I don't want to include this Zwift map in my Garmin activities