Wahoo RGT (Road Grand Tours) is an indoor training app that lets you ride simulations of a selection of real roads around the world on a turbo trainer. Rather than riding in a virtual world, you’re taking on famous climbs and experiencing simulations of real places.

There’s also a range of coach-developed structured workouts and you can create your own course based on an uploaded route file.

If you’re using a smart trainer, Wahoo RGT can wirelessly control your trainer to simulate the changing gradient of a particular road or set the power required in whatever training session you are tackling.

You can select different views of the road as you ride, including a drone view and a moto camera view, if you want to imagine that Eurosport is following your ride. The forward-facing camera is the standard view but there’s also a rear-facing camera. Wahoo RGT in-app screen offers a range of data on your performance, as you’d expect.

You can also customise your avatar in Wahoo RGT, with a range of different bikes and kit available, including bikes from BMC and Ridley.

Wahoo RGT majors on making its simulation more like the real world compared to some of its competitors, with a diminution in the effort required if you draft another rider and the simulated effect of braking into corners. If you want to pass a rider, you need to be travelling significantly faster or putting out more power.

Wahoo RGT claims that normalised power output numbers in its app are closer to the real world than on some competitors.

Wahoo RGT says speeds are calculated from real-world data for cornering and your avatar is slowed down automatically to stop you from rear-ending the rider in front. Ease off then accelerate out and you’re likely to pass another rider pushing out constant power.

Plus you can’t just ride through another rider, you have to ride past them. So you need to make sure you’re towards the front of the pack when you come to climbs if you don’t want to get blocked.

There are also KOMs/QOMs and leaderboards over parts of each ride, so you can challenge yourself.

How does Wahoo RGT differ from Zwift?

Zwift tends to snatch the headlines when it comes to indoor training apps, but Wahoo RGT and Rouvy are among a range of competitors offering an alternative way to train on your turbo.

Unlike Zwift, Wahoo RGT needs power data to work – either from your turbo trainer or a power meter on your bike. With Zwift, you can get by with a cheaper setup using just a speed/cadence sensor and a classic (non-smart) turbo trainer.

Zwift can be run on a computer/tablet/smartphone alone, with the option of using the Companion app in tandem.

Likewise, Wahoo RGT can be run off a smartphone, computer or Apple TV. Optionally you can use the RGT Remote app to control the main app if it’s not close at hand.

Zwift’s main training environment is the Watopia virtual world, with extensions that you can unlock.

That’s supplemented by a daily choice of virtual courses based on the real world, including Alpe d’Huez (or, rather, Alpe du Zwift) and the Road World Championships courses from Virginia, Innsbruck and Yorkshire.

Zwift keeps adding virtual worlds, such as Makuri Islands and the cityscape of Neokyo.

Wahoo RGT’s environment, meanwhile, lets you select from 12 always-available simulations of real-world courses if you take out a premium subscription, or three if you have a free account.

How much does Wahoo RGT cost?

Wahoo

Now Wahoo RGT’s premium subscription is bundled into Wahoo X, it costs $14.99 per month including use of Wahoo SYSTM. That’s the same price as Zwift which costs £12.99 / $14.99 a month.

A basic subscription to Wahoo RGT is free, but there’s no free option on Zwift after a seven-day initial trial period. Wahoo X offers a free 14-day trial.

Premium features in Wahoo RGT include support for your structured workouts and full access to Wahoo RGT’s structured workout library, as well as the Magic Roads feature (which we’ll come on to) and event creation, including races and group rides.

As a free subscriber, you’re limited to three real-world courses, rather than 12. You don’t have access to the full library of structured workouts either and, although you can join races and group rides, you can’t create them.

You still get integration with Strava and TrainingPeaks as a free member, though.

What do you need to use Wahoo RGT?

Simon Bromley / Immediate Media

Wahoo RGT uses a standalone mobile app that works on Android, iOS, Windows or Mac. An optional remote mobile app allows you to adjust the main app if the device it’s running on, such as a Mac or PC, isn’t nearby.

Most Wahoo RGT functions are accessed via the mobile app, including group rides, training management and connectivity to Strava and TrainingPeaks.

You’ll also need to be able to access your power data. That can be either via a bike-mounted power meter or a trainer with a built-in power meter.

If you’re wondering which indoor training solution is best for you to use Wahoo RGT, a smart trainer is your best bet rather than a dumb turbo trainer or riding on rollers.

The power meter can use either Bluetooth or ANT+ for connectivity. Unlike Zwift, using only a speed/cadence sensor without power measurement won’t work.

If you’ve got a dedicated smart bike like the Wahoo Kickr Bike, that’s an option too.

Bluetooth connectivity should be native to your phone, but you’ll need a dongle or other device to use ANT+ because connectivity is not built into most smartphones.

To connect up your hardware the first time that you use Wahoo RGT, you need to select a route to ride, then connect up your power meter or trainer, as well as other kit such as a heart rate monitor and speed/cadence sensor, by clicking on icons in the app.

Beyond the basic requirements needed to get started on the app, getting your pain cave setup sorted and replete with turbo trainer accessories will make indoor training a more pleasurable (or tolerable, depending on your perspective) experience.

What courses are there on Wahoo RGT?

RGT Cycling

The Real Roads feature on Wahoo RGT offers simulations of actual roads. There’s currently a selection of 12 always-on courses.

Mixed terrain rides include the roads around the Paterberg in Belgium, which features in the Tour of Flanders, the Cap de Formentor on Mallorca, and the rolling Tuscan countryside around Pienza in Italy.

Newer additions are Leuven, the Belgium city which hosted the 2021 UCI World Road Race Championships, Iron Horse, a Colorado event that pits riders against a steam engine, Dirty Reiver, the UK’s premier gravel sportive and De Ronde, which mimics more Tour of Flanders cobble stones.

Big name climbs include Mont Ventoux and the Passo dello Stelvio.

There’s also the twisty 8 Bar Crit course in Berlin (only available for races and group rides) and another in Canary Wharf, London, plus a flat time-trial course in Borrego Springs, California.

Wahoo RGT includes real-world Strava segments in its simulations, with banners over the course marking their start and end.

Wahoo RGT courses

• Leuven, Belgium
• Iron Horse, United States
• Dirty Reiver, England
• De Ronde, Belgium
• Cap de Formentor, Mallorca
• Borrego Springs, California
• Pienza, Tuscany
• Canary Wharf, London
• 8Bar Crit, Berlin
• Mont Ventoux, France
• Passo dello Stelvio, Italy
• Paterberg, Belgium

What are Magic Roads?

Wahoo RGT’s Magic Roads premium feature lets you create your own route to ride, something that’s not always possible with other training apps.

So, rather than being constrained by what’s available in the app, you can choose a route that you’ve always wanted to ride, one which you know already or a key part of a sportive or race that you’re hoping to take on in future.

That means that you know what’s in store for you, including any surprises and can work out your real-world pacing ahead of the event.

The process of creating a route starts with you emailing to magicroads@rgtcycling.com a GPX file of any route under 100km that you want to ride. Wahoo RGT then creates a simulation automatically within a claimed five minutes and emails confirmation when it’s done.

You can ride this route solo or with friends. They can also share routes for you to upload to your library.

Does Wahoo RGT offer structured training and workouts?

RGT Cycling

Yes. There’s a series of structured workouts created by a number of TrainingPeaks coaches and available in Wahoo RGT.

Workouts are designed for endurance, threshold power, VO2 max, anaerobic sprints and recovery. You can also create your own workout using the Workout Builder feature.

Plus there are structured training plans, designed to build strength, improve your FTP and prepare for a crit or an Olympic distance triathlon over six or eight weeks.

Can I join a group ride?

RGT Cycling

Yes, all Wahoo RGT users can join group rides and training sessions.

If you have a premium subscription, you can also create group rides and group training sessions, and invite people to join them. As well as riding with real people, premium members can also create a series of bots in the app and ride with or compete against them.

One advantage of a group ride is that you can draft others. Get in their slipstream and the effort required reduces, depending on your speed and how close you are.

Can I race on Wahoo RGT?

RGT Cycling

Just like group rides, you can also use Wahoo RGT for races. Again, you can join a race as a base-level subscriber or you can create your own competitive event and invite others if you have a premium subscription. Races are not categorised.

If you follow Wahoo RGT’s Facebook page, you might find invitations to events that you can join, posted by other users.

You can race against bots, with their performance based on their parameterised power output, as well as against real people, while the drafting feature means that you can try and tuck in behind a stronger rider and conserve your energy.

And unlike a real person, a bot’s not going to make you take a turn at the front or swear at you for being a wheelsucker.

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