I was excited to read about Zwift having an ios (iPhone) app, but then super bummed when I found it is only blue-tooth compatible. I started looking at
products only to find the way it works you have to have Bluetooth devices on your bike, trainer or heart rate monitor in order for zwift to read your output.
Like a lot of cyclists I only have ANT+, because that is what is compatible with my Garmin.
Well I scoured the internet until I found a wireless conversion tool that takes your ANT+ data, and converts it into blue-tooth compatible information that can be picked up by your ios device. And voila presto, you are Zwifting your heart out.
The product is called CABLE, and it is offered by North Pole Engineering. You can download the CABLE app from the app store. Of course, you first have to buy the small
device for around $70. Once you have the device and the app on your phone, you pair all of your ANT+ devices within the CABLE App. Then you can open Zwift and pair the device as though you are running blue-tooth native power meter, cadence, heart rate etc…
For me, I don’t have a computer I want to dedicate to my on the bike training. If you have a computer you can use, you can get a simple dongle that will bridge the gap for you. But if you want to run Zwift on you iPad, iPhone, now you can. It takes a few minutes to get set-up.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, winters are tough. I have a set of rollers I keep at work, and often watch videos while riding the rollers to help the time pass.
This year, I am hoping to enter spring in better shape through superior diet and more consistent training. Of course a year-round group ride called the Sauvie Shootout.
Adding Zwift in a cost effective manner with little set-up or change over to my ANT+ system seems like a good start.
You can check out the product here.
UPDATE: on a fully charged iPhone, my battery will be dead in about 90 minutes. So if you are going to ride longer, have a charger or battery pack ready to go. And if you leave Zwift to change music on Pandora or otherwise, you risk losing your connection and ride data. Still a great low barrier to entry way to ride with Zwift.
I just did a quick check linking to Strava on my iPhone via CABLE and it worked with no problem. It gave me instant read-outs on speed, Heart Rate, Watts etc..
Hey,
Same Zwift problem, so this seems like a winner already.
2nd question. I have a Garmin Vivo HR watch. (Ant+ only) And use my iphone (BLE) on quadlock while i ride. I can either a) use the watch to track my ride and the phone is just void in front of me, except texts. In winter, long sleeves and gloves means i have cant see the data while i ride and even in summer isnt great display b) use strava on the phone for a nice heads up display of stats and data … and dont have HR data (kinda why i bought the watch) c) record on both and get two strava rides for each one just to get all the data (silly idea)
My question: does the CABLE need a wifi network to run? If i carried it while cycling (not just indoors) could i send HR data to phone, get the headsup display i want, with all the data i want??
Cheers, Olly
CABLE does not need a wifi network to use. It receives the ANT+ signal, converts it to Bluetooth and sends it back out.
I think this solution would work well for you. I have been very happy with it, but pairing does take a little bit of time to get the timing right. Once you activate CABLE, you use their app to make the link, then open up the partner app / Strava or Zwift and make sure the connection still exists.
I’ve used it with Zwift, but not yet with Strava. I will play with it today and let you know how it goes.
CABLE linked up to my iPhone and Strava app with no problem.
Hi Neill, I’m in the same boat as you – interested in Zwift, but I have only iOS devices and a Garmin ANT+ speed sensor. How easy was the CABLE setup, and now that you’ve been using it with Zwift for the past month, are you still happy with both CABLE and Zwift?
Hi Kevin,
Setup is very easy and I am quite happy with it. Once I setup CABLE, I have to quickly get Going or I lose the connection.
If I used a regular trainer it would be easy to soft petal to maintain the connection while I setup Zwift, but I use rollers most of the time. So I have to be pretty quick about it all.
I am extremely happy with both CABLE and Zwift. I am currently doing the 4 week FTP boost and am thrilled with the workouts so far.
I did a tough group ride this morning, and can tell I still am a long way from being in race shape for the spring, but my workout quality is higher now than it has been over the winter since I routinely did computrainer sessions.
The screen on my iPhone makes it impossible to see a lot of the detailed info on Zwift, so if you can use an iPad that would be even better.
I read some other CABLE reviews and some folks said it goes through batteries. They sent it with two, and I’m still on the first one.
Thanks for the question and good luck!
Please follow up if you go for it, and let me know what you think.