Zwift Hub One smart trainer works with almost any bike

It’s easy to think that smart trainers are fitness gadgets reserved exclusively for ‘serious’ cyclists – but you don’t need to be a master of the peloton to get fit with Zwift’s new beginner-friendly offering. The Zwift Hub One can play nicely with just about any bike, and brings the virtual shifting found on full-on smart exercise bikes.

Instead of a cassette like most direct drive trainers, Hub One uses the firm’s bespoke Zwift Cog setup. It’ll work with pretty much any 8-12 speed bike, whether it’s built for road riding, gravel, or a mix of both. Once mounted the trainer calibrates itself to your bike’s physical gear ratios, so gravel and mountain bikes don’t spin out on flat or downhill sections of a virtual ride. The pre-fitted side panels act as a chain retention device, so there’s no need to mess about with chain drops.

Virtual shifting is handled by the wireless Zwift Click shifter, which is easily mounted on any kind of handlebars. It supports 24 gears at launch, with plus and minus buttons letting you adjust ratios with minimal jumps between each one, and a wide enough range for any Zwift terrain changes. It should be a whole lot quieter in use than a manually shifting trainer that relies on your bike’s physical drivetrain, too.

Already got an OG Zwift Hub? It’s not going anywhere, just being rebranded to Zwift Hub Classic. You can add virtual shifting using the $99/£99/€99 Zwift Play controller, which bolts on to any pair of drop handlebars and brings both steering and braking controls.

Cyclists of all skill levels can order a Zwift Hub One today, directly from the Zwift website. It’s on sale for $599/£549/€599 and comes bundled with a year of Zwift membership.

• Related: Zwift Play brings game-friendly controls to your virtual rides