I hate to leave Trainer Road, but my wife is not returning to work for a couple years as we have 3 boys under the age of 4 and daycare is not worth it at this time. So I’m just looking to clean up our budget as best possible. Trainer Road doesn’t HAVE to go, but I’m looking to see if there are more affordable alternatives available?
I think I’ve tried most of them. Trainer Day isn’t adaptive so that’s out, Zwift is not fun to me (and I think it interprates power wrong because the workouts seem much harder than comparable TR efforts).
JOIN has been the most compelling so far but it still lacks some featuers and flexibility of TR.
Maybe this is a good reason to justify the yearly subscription and save 20%.
If “adaptive” based on workouts done is required I think that will limit your options a fair bit. You might need to combine services to get similar features. I know that intervals.icu does some FTP estimation, but I think this is done based on a power curve (ie maximal efforts) so won’t work like TR’s that doesn’t require maximal efforts. I think most intervals.icu features are free.
Just write your own workouts. Most indoor trainer workouts contain a lot of fluff to entertain you. If you can forgo the fluff and know what systems you are targeting then you can write simple workouts.
And really, training can be simplified into four systems: endurance, anaerobic threshold (ftp), vo2max, and anaerobic capacity.
There are free plans and progressions all over the internet like Jem Arnold’s which seems particularly well thought out:
If you are just trying to stay fit, you can do a weekly schedule like one hard workout, one group ride, and endurance riding the rest of the hours you have available.
If you’re looking for cheaper alternatives to TrainerRoad, you might want to check out SYSTM. It’s got solid workouts and is usually more affordable. Rouvy is another one that mixes virtual and real-world routes and might be a bit easier on the wallet. But if TrainerRoad is working for you and you can snag that yearly discount, it might be worth hanging on for now
Depending on the TR features you use (or don’t use), there are some alternatives that could save you some money.
But there are some features that do make TR great value if you use them.
Also, TR’s workout player and trainer control are pretty much as good as it gets imo and that has some value too.
If you need to save the money, then you can replace TR with some of the cheaper / free apps / systems, but you will likely “pay” in terms of the time it takes you to get the new set up tuned to how you want it to work for you.
I could replace >90% of the TR functionality I use for free (e.g. trainer day and intervals.icu), but that extra few % coupled with my familiarity with TR and the general unknown of change keep me here and paying (albeit on legacy pricing).
I find Xert useful t half the price. Probably not as polished…does have a bit of a Beta feel to it, but I personally enjoy the ability to veer off course (illness/group ride/ etc) and just hit the Adapt button and have it replan.
I took out a months CTS Train Right & Training Peaks Premium through a free Strava trial. Bought CTS foundation 1,2,3 plans, applied them to the calendar for this year from jan 1st onwards. Gen performance build from late March onwards, rolling road race following this. Then cancel the trial, the plans stay on your calendar, just you cant then move them and you lose the fitness metrics. Then I take the odd month of Trainer road here and there for auto ftp.
When I fell ill I took out a month of Training Peaks Premium and restarted the stage I was on.
I find this the cheapest way and best for me. Prefer having my training mapped out for the year.
As far as dedicated training platforms are concerned, there is a reason why TR is at the top of this particular niche in terms of popularity. There are alternatives like Fascat Coaching’s AI bot-based coaching, but that costs pretty much the same as TR.
There is an extensive thread on Join in this forum, and while it does seem somewhat capable, it doesn’t seem as versatile and well-rounded as TR. Zwift is similar money and not really a TR competitor (they are focussed on a different, larger niche of the fitness market).
If I were you, I’d ask yourself the following questions:
What impact does training have on your physical and mental health?
How much money would you save?
How much money would you have to spend elsewhere to make up for it?
Structured training plays a pivotal role in my mental and physical health. My wife knows that and ~20 €/month (with yearly discount) is well worth it for us. It is less than my wife’s gym membership (which she needs for similar reasons, money well-spent).
If you really need to cut back, I’d try to stick to a simple training plan using the learning from years on TR. Focus on the basics.
Unbelievably (for me) my 2 are coming up to 16 and 17 now (that was a quick couple of years). I actually started with TR way back when they were much younger as it was more time efficient than going to classes/ outside and stayed because of that flexibility. When you are time crunched and mentally fatigued, there is a hell of a lot for something working first time, without you having to do much thinking in my experience. TR reduces my cognitive load so much - something I am still willing to pay for. About all I have to do is maybe pick a workout alternative if I can’t meet the time I have allotted.
Money is money, but again in my experience, TR is fairly minimal for what I got out of it - with young children time is really the issue. Especially when you get home from work and the better half needs a break!
Sounds like you’ll have to balance price with features. How badly do you need adaptive?
For cheapest, TD and free platforms seem best. But the step up from TD to TR, is what, about a pair of tires a year? Then that’s probably your answer if adaptive is high on your list.
(Personally, I’ve landed on TD this year, but as my needs change, I tend to switch around a bit. If I’d not let my legacy pricing ($99) on TR expire, then I’d still TR, but that’s my mistake for letting it go, and thinking I was done with structured training looking at a little graph).
What features are you looking for? Looking for something to control a smart trainer during indoor workouts? I’d say TR is top notch for that.
If you’re just looking for a plan to follow. Writing your own is free. If you’re not comfortable writing your own workouts, I’d say the next best value is getting a free training peaks account and buying a plan for whatever you’re looking to do. Last I checked, individual plans were a one time purchase of ~$100 or so that you could use over and over again.
I’ve been using Xert for 18 months and haven’t found a way to make if follow a plan, let alone an adapt button that replans for me. I’ve even queried with the Xert team, who told me that they don’t do it. I’d love to know what I’m missing.
It’s hard to substitute the great product that TR has become, but if you’re experienced enough to self-guide your training intervals.icu is a good indie project and it’s free with suggested $50 yearly ‘premium’ tier.
