Devices & compatibility

Your gear, recognised by what it speaks.

FORGE Ride doesn’t look at your trainer’s name, it looks at the Bluetooth services it actually exposes. So the same button works for a smart trainer, a power meter, a speed or cadence sensor (a Garmin, say) or a heart-rate strap. On a Windows PC, the FORGE Ride download connects them over Bluetooth directly. In the browser, use Chrome or Edge.

Connect my trainer Is mine compatible? Download for Windows Setup guide for my brand
The FORGE Ride home menu on PC, with the Home trainer panel and its Connect button
FTMS Cadence · Garmin Heart rate
Recognised by name
Bkool
Checklist

What you need. Not much.

The first four get you riding. The last two make your effort count.

To ride
  1. 01

    A bike on a trainer

    Smart trainer or basic trainer, both work.

  2. 02

    A device with Bluetooth

    A Windows PC with the FORGE Ride download, or Chrome or Edge on a computer, tablet or Android phone.

  3. 03

    A free FORGE account

    The same one as the training app.

  4. 04

    A fan

    Trust us.

For full XP
  1. 05

    A power source

    A smart trainer or a power meter: measured watts, medals and world boards.

  2. 06

    Or a heart-rate strap

    On a basic trainer, your heart rate becomes an estimated power.

A speed or cadence sensor (a Garmin, for example) also works on a basic trainer: your wheel speed becomes an estimated power.

Connect your trainer Scroll to connect
01/04

Wake it up. A few pedal strokes.

Plug the trainer in and turn the pedals a few times. Close any other app that might be holding it: a trainer talks to one app at a time.

02/04

Open FORGE Ride. On PC or in the browser.

On a Windows PC, launch the FORGE Ride download: it talks to your sensors over Bluetooth directly. In the browser, open the Ride tab of the app in Chrome or Edge, with Bluetooth on.

03/04

SENSORS → Trainer. It finds itself.

Pick your trainer in the list. FORGE finds its protocol on its own and shows it on the label, e.g. “KICKR CORE · FTMS”. If nothing answers within 20 seconds, it stops and tells you.

04/04

Add the rest. If you have it.

Heart-rate strap, cadence sensor, power meter: same button, one at a time. Then pick a route, or the next group start.

  1. Wake
  2. Open
  3. Pair
  4. Add

Connecting takes four steps: wake the trainer up and close other apps; open FORGE Ride, either the Windows download (Bluetooth straight from the PC) or in Chrome or Edge with Bluetooth on; tap SENSORS then Trainer and FORGE finds the protocol on its own; add a heart-rate strap, cadence sensor or power meter with the same button.

Compatibility

One button. Every brand.

Find your setup below: what it measures, what the game can control, and what it’s worth in XP.

When you connect, FORGE picks the best protocol your trainer offers, in this order. The first three let the game control the resistance: the slope stiffens your pedals and workouts hold your watts in ERG.

  1. 1

    FTMS

    Fitness Machine · 0x1826

    The Bluetooth standard spoken by almost every modern smart trainer.

    Slope + ERG
  2. 2

    Tacx FE-C

    FE-C over Bluetooth

    Tacx trainers from before FTMS, and newer ones on older firmware.

    Slope + ERG
  3. 3

    Wahoo

    Legacy control

    Wahoo KICKR trainers from before FTMS, through their own control channel.

    Slope + ERG
  4. 4

    Power only

    Cycling Power · 0x1818

    Power meters and basic trainers that report watts. Measured, but no resistance control.

    Measured watts
  5. 5

    Speed only

    Speed & Cadence · 0x1816

    A basic trainer with a speed sensor: power is estimated from a generic resistance curve.

    Estimated watts
Brands recognised by name

The name is decoration. The protocol decides.

The name only decorates the label (“Tacx Neo 2T · FE-C”). What matters is the protocol: any Bluetooth trainer that speaks FTMS is designed to work, listed here or not.

New · FORGE Run

For running: your treadmill.

Choose RUN on the game’s home screen: the list of devices switches to running ones.

Discover FORGE Run
  1. 1

    Smart treadmill

    FTMS · Treadmill Data

    The belt’s exact speed becomes your runner’s speed, and the incline follows the road’s hills (0 to 15%, or fixed if you prefer). The game never changes the speed and never starts the belt.

    Speed + incline
  2. 2

    Footpod

    Running Speed & Cadence · 0x1814

    On your shoe (Stryd, Polar…): your speed and steps per minute, on any treadmill, even one that doesn’t connect.

    Measured speed
  3. 3

    Heart-rate strap

    Heart Rate · 0x180D

    Your heart rate on screen and in the run saved to the app.

    Heart rate
  4. 4

    No sensor

    Speed slider

    To try the roads: you set the speed by hand. Handy for a look around, but it earns no XP.

    No XP
What counts for XP

Credited for what the data proves.

Your XP, and the sparks that come with it, follow the quality of your data. World boards and medals only take measured data.

L’écran Palmarès de FORGE Ride Measured power 100%

Smart trainer, power meter. Medals and world boards included.

Estimated power 60%

Heart-rate strap, speed sensor on a basic trainer.

Typed in by hand 0%

An effort typed in by hand, with nothing to back it up: no XP.

Platforms

On a Windows PC. Or in the browser.

FORGE Ride connects over Bluetooth Low Energy: straight from the PC with the Windows download, or through Web Bluetooth in the browser. Here’s what that asks of your setup.

  • DownloadWindows PC
  • BrowserChrome · Edge
  • BluetoothOn · Low Energy
  • Not supportedSafari on iPhone · ANT+ only
The start of a race in FORGE Ride, with other riders, between the FORGE banners
FORGE Ride on PC
Montée du Passo dello Stelvio dans FORGE RideAvailable

Windows PC

The FORGE Ride installer. The best graphics (high-res textures, 120+ fps on a gaming PC), and your sensors connect over Bluetooth right on the PC, heart rate and a Garmin cadence sensor included.

Download for Windows
L’onglet Rouler de l’app FORGE, qui ouvre FORGE RideAvailable

Browser

From the Ride tab of the app, in Chrome or Edge on a computer, and also on a phone or tablet (lighter graphics). Nothing to install.

Ride in the browser
Limit

iPhone

Safari on iPhone doesn’t support Web Bluetooth, so the browser can’t talk to your sensors there. Ride on a Windows PC, or in Chrome or Edge on a computer or Android device.

And the FORGE app?

The app reads the rest.

FORGE Ride is the indoor game. The FORGE training app is a separate product with its own sources: your phone’s GPS outside, your health data, and your files from a watch.

The Me tab in the FORGE app: your progress, your sessions and your activities
L’onglet Bouge de l’app FORGE

Outdoor GPS

The Move tab records your run, trail, walk, hike, bike ride and more with the phone’s GPS.

L’écran Aujourd’hui de l’app FORGE

Health Connect & Apple Health

Steps, sleep, resting heart rate and workouts from a watch come in automatically: Health Connect on Android, Apple Health in the iPhone app.

Le parcours dans l’app FORGE, semaine par semaine

GPX & TCX import

Bring in your activities from Strava, Garmin or a watch as GPX or TCX files.

L’onglet Bouge de l’app FORGE

Heart-rate strap

Connect a heart-rate strap to the app too, for your outdoor activities.

Small print All the questions
Has every trainer been tested?

No, and we won’t pretend otherwise. FORGE is designed around the Bluetooth standards (FTMS, Tacx FE-C, the Wahoo protocol, Cycling Power, Speed & Cadence) and recognises the brands listed above, but it hasn’t been tried on every model and firmware. If yours misbehaves, tell us.

Does it work with ANT+?

FORGE connects over Bluetooth Low Energy. A device that only speaks ANT+ won’t show up; most recent trainers and sensors speak both.

PC or browser: which one?

Same game, same account. The Windows download has the best graphics and connects your sensors over Bluetooth straight from the PC. The browser version needs nothing installed: open the app’s Ride tab in Chrome or Edge.

Why not Safari on my iPhone?

Safari doesn’t support Web Bluetooth, so a web page can’t talk to your sensors there. Ride on a Windows PC with the download, or in Chrome or Edge on a computer or Android device.

Does my Garmin cadence sensor work?

Yes, over Bluetooth: FORGE Ride reads speed and cadence sensors (CSC), Garmin included. Add it with the same button as the trainer.

My trainer doesn’t connect.

Check that Bluetooth is on, the trainer is awake (turn the pedals) and no other app is connected to it. If nothing answers within 20 seconds, FORGE stops and tells you instead of waiting forever.

Why does heart rate only count 60%?

Heart rate says how hard your body works, not how much reaches the pedals. It drifts with heat, fatigue, caffeine and sleep, and lags 30 to 60 seconds behind a change in effort. Good enough to move you believably, not good enough to race.

All set?

Plug in. Clip in. Go.

Ride now Download for Windows Discover FORGE Ride