CYCLING3 MIN · UPDATED SEP 2026

Use your Zwift Ride without paying for Zwift

I use a decade-old iPad for my Zwift Ride at home. After psyching myself up for a brutal workout I was 8 minutes in before Zwift crashed mid-ride. $20 a month just for that? So I integrated a super simple KICKR Core v2 into the Corsai Mobile app for myself and anyone else who wants a dead simple indoor trainer experience. No, you will not hear the glorious cheering from Watopia but at least your wallet and sanity might be better for it.

SHORT ANSWER

Corsai Mobile, our iPhone app, runs ERG workouts on a KICKR Core over Bluetooth with no account and no subscription (it's free while it's in beta), and records power, cadence and heart rate every second into a .fit you can keep or send to Strava.

What it looks like in Corsai

Corsai uses the standard Bluetooth protocol for fitness machines.

Looking for the trainer: turn the pedals to wake it, close Zwift first, and a KICKR CORE in the list with its signal strength. — Finding the trainer. This one is the app's built-in simulator, which is why it says so.

Another thing that grinds my virtual gears is Zwift's workout builder. I have to use my old iPad to build workouts (no web, not installed on PC) and it's clunky. I have to click the little text blocks to edit, if I click out or miss a digit then the duration goes to zero and goodbye block. I just hate it. Corsai's workout builder is ugly, minimal but dirt simple and I got a 2x20 block workout up in what, 10 seconds?

Corsai's workout builder with a 2×20 sweet spot: 10:00 at 150 W, 20:00 at 250 W, 5:00 at 150 W, 20:00 at 250 W, 10:00 at 130 W, total 1:05:00. — The 2×20 in the builder, about 50 taps and keystrokes from a blank one.

The app's Ride screen: four starters - Easy hour, VO2 3×3, Ramp test and Free ride - and a saved 2×20 sweet spot under Your builds. — The starters, and the 2×20 once it's saved.

Mid-workout: block 1 of 2 at 150 W with 0:48 left, and live power, cadence and heart rate. — Mid-workout, on the simulator.

Setting it up

01Join the Corsai beta on an iPhone through TestFlight (iOS 18 or later, iPhone only).

02Make sure any Zwift apps are closed, since a trainer only takes orders from one app at a time.

03Tap Import a workout, then Ride an ERG workout, and turn the pedals so the KICKR wakes up and shows in the list.

04Make sure the phone doesn't go to sleep, but since I watch Youtube while riding that's not a problem for me. Corsai will automatically look for Bluetooth HR monitors that are active too, select them in app after pairing your smart trainer

What it's like

You build the workout and Corsai runs it. You can bias up and down but there is no route visualization or any other fancy stuff. The experience is purposefully minimal and just works and you can pause or end early and save as necessary.

Disclaimer: I love Zwift, I pay for Zwift, but sometimes I hate Zwift. I also believe your hardware should be usable without a subscription worst case.

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