ROUVY Review: The Best Augmented Reality App for Indoor Cycling?

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ROUVY is one of the most popular indoor cycling apps. It combines real-world footage with augmented reality, adding avatars and other objects to enrich your riding experience. In this review, I share my experience and compare ROUVY with other popular indoor cycling apps. You’ll learn who it is for, its benefits, disadvantages, and more.

My ROUVY rating at a glance:
Ease of Setup 5/5 | Engagement 4/5 | Community 3/5 | Routes 5/5 | Training 4/5 | UX 3/5 | Platforms Availability 5/5 | Price 3/5 | OVERALL 4.0/5
More about this indoor cycling apps scoring.

ROUVY Summary

What is ROUVY?
ROUVY is a Czech indoor cycling app that combines augmented reality with real-world footage. It augments the footage with avatars and other objects. It allows you to ride solo or participate in races or group rides. You can also compare your results with those of professional athletes worldwide.

Who is ROUVY for?
ROUVY is ideal for people who want to enjoy beautiful views and scenery worldwide while pedaling at home. It’s suitable for cyclists, runners, or triathletes. It makes your indoor training one step closer to training outdoors. ROUVY also allows you to relive your memories of places you visited.

Who is ROUVY not for?
ROUVY is not for people who require in-app social interactions or those who prefer virtual worlds.

My Experience with ROUVY

Here are my takes on the ease of initial setup, in-game experience, engagement, and other aspects of ROUVY.

Initial Setup: Simple and Quick

You don’t need a smart trainer to get started with ROUVY, but I recommend one for a better riding experience, as it can adjust resistance based on terrain. You will be fine with a power meter or cadence + speed sensors, though. However, your device (PC or laptop) must support Bluetooth or ANT+ connectivity to connect to these sensors. If it doesn’t, you may need an ANT+ dongle.

To get started, pair your devices in ROUVY. I’ve used ROUVY with Wahoo KICKR v5 (power, cadence, speed) and Wahoo TICKR HR monitor. The setup was straightforward, and I didn’t encounter any issues with any of the devices.

ROUVY has improved video streaming. During initial testing in 2021, I downloaded routes in advance to avoid dropouts, but after 2023, this was no longer necessary (it’s still mandatory for 2K routes).

In early 2025, ROUVY expanded its virtual shifting capabilities, offering silent, instant gear changes without physical chain movement. While previously limited to the Zwift Click, support now includes a wider range of smart trainers and smart bikes.

Keep in mind that virtual shifting remains hardware-dependent. It requires a compatible device that supports virtual shifting protocols, so it will not function on older trainers or standard direct-drive models without specific firmware or accessories.

PRO TIP: Bike trainer accessories will take your indoor cycling to a new level. A fan will keep you cool, and a rocker plate will improve your riding comfort.

In-App Experience: Ride (Almost) Anywhere, Anytime

One of the main benefits of ROUVY is the comprehensive library of routes from around the globe. One day, you can ride climbs in the Italian Alps, then move to France to climb Mt. Ventoux, and the next day, you can try the official IRONMAN route in Canada. It is up to you.

ROUVY has built-in filters, so you can browse routes based on their length, difficulty, geographical location, event, etc

My favorite mode was the time trial mode because I was able to compare my performance with that of professional athletes and other ROUVY users. This provides me with insight into my fitness level. Here is a comparison of my time on Arabba–Passo Pordoi with others. Well, I’ll have to train harder to match them, haha.

I was pretty satisfied with my result. I tried to catch the rider in front of me. When I started the route, he had about a 2 km lead. In the end, the gap was only about 200 m.

ROUVY adjusts trainer resistance relatively smoothly. To maintain your preferred cadence, I recommend downshifting a few meters before the gradient rises.

However, you might be disappointed if you want social interactivity like in Zwift. ROUVY doesn’t have as large a user base as Zwift. ROUVY has a ‘ROUVY Companion app’ that doesn’t allow you to chat with others or give them kudos, wave at them, etc., as the Zwift Companion app does. ROUVY took a different approach. They transformed it from a basic remote control into a comprehensive training dashboard.

The app now features two key metrics: ROUVY Training Score (RTS), which displays your average training effort out of 100 over the past six weeks, and Recovery Score (RS), which indicates your readiness for your next session on a 100-point scale. You can also track your FTP progress over time through a dedicated dashboard, giving you clear insights into your fitness improvements.

During rides, the Companion App lets you pause and resume sessions, capture screenshots, and browse routes without interrupting your workout. The new “Ride Later” playlist feature allows you to bookmark interesting routes for future sessions, making ride planning more convenient.

While the app still doesn’t offer Zwift-style social interactions, such as in-ride chat or rider praise, these training-focused features provide substantial value by helping you monitor your fitness, optimize recovery, and maintain greater control over your indoor cycling experience.

ROUVY’s massive route selection comes with a trade-off. Unlike Zwift, where thousands of riders concentrate on a handful of virtual worlds, ROUVY’s users are spread across 1,500+ routes, making most rides feel solitary. Fortunately, you can mitigate this by adding “ghost riders” before starting your route, populating the course with AI-controlled avatars to create a more engaging atmosphere.

ROUVY has significantly overhauled its drafting mechanics to mirror real-world physics, making group rides and races far more strategic. The update introduced an improved drafting cone with a larger effective area, requiring riders to position themselves carefully to maximize energy savings.

You can now gauge your efficiency in real-time with an on-screen display showing exactly how many watts you are saving while tucked behind another rider. For optimal benefit, you should maintain a vertical distance of 1 to 3 meters behind the rider in front; however, the system is forgiving enough to account for side-drafting, offering 90% effectiveness if you are slightly offset, compared to 100% when directly behind.

These enhancements add a new layer of tactical depth, rewarding smart positioning and making the pack dynamics feel much closer to actual road racing than previous versions.

Engagement: A Huge Room for Improvement

ROUVY focuses on providing you with as realistic an indoor cycling/running experience as possible using high-quality footage from around the globe.

By the end of 2021, they didn’t use a very sophisticated gamification system. However, they launched a new ROUVY Career at the beginning of 2022. It’s clearly inspired by Zwift, and ROUVY’s developers are working on further updates.

The Career consists of 9 levels (Starter to Legend) and 80 sub-levels. I don’t understand why they split them this way; it makes it pretty confusing.

Luckily, you don’t have to complete specific tasks (obtaining TSS, participating in races, etc.) like you had to in the past. The only thing you have to do now is ride and collect coins. By collecting them, you level up your avatar and get exclusive deals (discounts, free trials, etc.) from ROUVY’s partners (TrainingPeaks, Elite, and more).

In recent updates, ROUVY expanded the utility of “Coins,” allowing you to purchase virtual frames from major real-world brands. This adds a reward loop for your efforts, giving you a reason to stockpile currency and upgrade your virtual garage with equipment that matches, or maybe even exceeds, what you ride in reality.

Addressing long-standing complaints about generic-looking riders, ROUVY also overhauled the avatar system. You now have access to more granular customization options, allowing you to fine-tune your rider’s appearance with a wider variety of faces, hairstyles, and gear. This update brings a welcome layer of personalization, helping you feel more connected to your on-screen persona.

You can import your outdoor rides to get more coins. Is that cheating? Well, I don’t think so. But those who patiently collected XPs only in the app before may think otherwise.

ROUVY also introduced the integration of Strava Live segments in 2022, but rebranded them as ROUVY segments in 2025. They let you view your virtual Personal Record and KOM avatar, motivating you to ride faster.

Routes: You Won’t be Able to Ride them All!

ROUVY’s route library is enormous. It includes thousands of routes from all parts of the world. In addition, you can ride routes of official events like La Vuelta, IRONMAN, Tour de Suisse, and many more.

Let’s say you visited Passo Stelvio (or any other famous route). Choose the route, start pedaling, and relive your memories from there!

The routes are recorded in high definition (720p and 1080p), and some are available in 2K. I recommend downloading them in advance to prevent dropouts and freezes.

In 2022, ROUVY introduced a feature called OmniMode, which lets you switch camera views. It adds rear and panoramic views. OmniMode also lets you see more avatars, eventually including those behind real objects (like hairpins, buildings, etc.).

This feature is the first of its kind in the indoor cycling app space. To make it work, they had to record the routes using 360° cameras. Pretty impressive. The OmniMode library currently includes only a few routes. However, ROUVY plans to add more in the future.

FulGaz is the closest ROUVY alternative. It also uses real-world footage but doesn’t augment it with avatars and other objects. Instead, you get a clean, uninterrupted view.

Launched in late 2024, the “Route Creator” app allows you to build your own augmented reality routes. Available to all active and paused subscribers, this tool lets you record real-world rides using GPS-enabled cameras (currently GoPro) and upload them to the Route Creator portal.

ROUVY’s AI then processes the footage into a 3D rideable route. Beyond simple video uploads, the tool offers robust editing capabilities: you can define start and finish lines, add virtual crowds and advertising hoardings, set up helicopter camera views, and ensure smooth riding physics with lane-keeping and traffic-avoidance features.

Training: Comprehensive and Structured

The 2.0.0 update, launched on November 21st, 2021, merged ROUVY AR with ROUVY Workouts and dropped the ‘AR’ from the app name (almost nobody used it anyway). This merge is the way to go. I found the decision to split the apps unfortunate. So, how does it look now? The workouts and structured training plans are now directly in ROUVY.

There are a few filters, but they are not as comprehensive as in TrainerRoad, where you can filter workouts by zones, TSS, etc.

Another feature of this update is that you can perform the structured workouts on the AR routes. ROUVY also added structured training plans for beginners, which I missed in the previous version. And thanks to the 2025 update, we can now use the in-ride ERG mode toggle to switch auto-resistance on or off mid-workout. This feature adds essential flexibility, enabling us to bail out of the “spiral of death” if intervals become unmanageable or to manually control power for specific efforts without pausing the session.

To improve your PRs, you can also leverage virtual partners in the TT mode. These virtual partners (avatars) are either the times set by other riders on the same route, or your own previous PR.

User Friendliness: Not to My Taste

The ROUVY app seemed outdated before its major redesign in 2023, and while the dark purple aesthetic remains somewhat polarizing, the functional experience has seen significant improvements since 2025. I’m still not a huge fan of the visual style, but I appreciate the developers’ work because the interface has become significantly smarter and more intuitive.

The revamped dashboard and navigation are much better now, bolstered by practical additions like a dedicated climb widget, enhanced route filters, and a simplified ride mode selection. These updates prioritize getting you on the bike faster, successfully transforming the previously clunky menus into a far more streamlined and intuitive experience.

Previously, I had trouble understanding certain features, but the current version seems much easier to understand. They also have a new rider’s portal, a dashboard where you can see your progress.

The information displayed while riding is clear and easy to understand. In settings, you can also enlarge it to improve its readability.

Platforms Availability

ROUVY is available on all major platforms, including iOS, Android, macOS, Windows, and Apple TV.

I’ve been using ROUVY on macOS. During my original testing, I encountered some issues, but the latest versions work fine and are stable.

Pricing

ROUVY’s pricing structure favors households and cycling groups. While the Single Plan aligns with industry standards at $19.99/month (or $179.99/year), the multi-user tiers offer better value.

The Duo Plan covers two riders for just $29.99/month ($15/user), making it cheaper than paying for two separate subscriptions elsewhere. For larger households or groups of friends, the Group Plan supports up to five riders for $59.99/month, bringing the cost down to roughly $12 per person.

Additionally, ROUVY rewards long-term commitment with a unique Loyalty Discount program, offering up to 20% off for existing subscribers based on their subscription length.

Updated on 12th of February, 2026

ROUVY Alternatives

The following table shows my ratings of specific areas on a scale of 1–5 (5 is the best)

My Verdict

Do I recommend ROUVY?
Yes. I recommend ROUVY to people who want to explore new places or relive their memories of places they’ve visited. I’m sure you’ll appreciate its extensive route library and structured workouts. It also allows you to compare your performance with professional athletes on official routes from events like La Vuelta, IRONMAN, etc., so you get interesting insights about your fitness level.

Do I recommend it to everybody?
No. It’s not suitable for people who want to socialize, since the number of people on individual routes is low, and communication with them is limited. Some riders may also find it boring because its career mode is not as sophisticated as Zwift’s. ROUVY is also less focused on making you a faster cyclist than other apps like TrainerRoad. Although it includes structured workouts and plans, it can’t customize them according to your goals.

ROUVY FAQ

1. Just Ride and Time Trial modes were merged into one. ↩︎