Online multiplayer cycling platforms can be a lot of fun, but that fun is definitely diminished if you can't keep up with the other riders. That's where the Smash Your Fitness system comes in, as it prioritizes cycling skill over muscle strength.
Should you be unfamiliar with established platforms like Zwift, Rouvy and others, they're subscription-based services in which real-world cyclists can either ride with or race against one another – in avatar form – within 3D computer-generated online environments.
In the real world, each user rides a stationary exercise bike, or a regular bike set up on a stationary trainer (or rollers). Hardware such as torque sensors and power meters transmit data to the user's computer or tablet, where that information is used to determine the speed and standing of their onscreen avatar.
This is a great setup if you're a fairly strong rider who delivers a lot of power. It can be discouraging, however, if you keep falling to the back of the pack and getting dropped – just like it's discouraging when that happens on real-world group rides. Smash Your Fitness was designed with this problem in mind.
Special-hardware-wise, the system consists of just a single leg-mounted accelerometer known as the Smashometer.
It continuously measures the rider's cadence, and transmits that data via Bluetooth to the Smash Your Fitness app on their PC or Mac (iOS and Android versions are in the works). If the rider is using a smart trainer with a built-in Bluetooth cadence meter, even the Smashometer is unnecessary.
In the onscreen group ride or race, everyone rides at the same speed as long as they're pedaling at a similar cadence. Stronger riders can use higher gears, while weaker riders can use lower ones – both will move at the same virtual speed.
In order to get ahead, riders focus on actions such as pedaling faster, avoiding crashes, modulating their speed/cadence when taking corners, strategically utilizing "power-ups" that they earn while riding, and pacing their cadence so they don't get low on in-game stamina (the level of which is displayed on the screen).
Manual steering is managed via keyboard controls or by handlebar controls on indoor stationary bikes. That said, riders can also just switch to auto steering.
The Smash Your Fitness platform currently includes virtual riding routes from places such as Paris, Ireland and Utah, with more on the way. And along with the group rides and races, users can also draw from a library of solo workouts and training programs, guided by an on-screen AI coach.
For US$49.99, buyers get a package that includes a Smashometer and a three-month subscription to the app. The app will subsequently cost them $9.99 a month, or as little as $5.99 if they go for an annual subscription.
Source: Smash Your Fitness
