Explainer

What is an FTMS smart trainer app?

FTMS is Bluetooth Fitness Machine Service — an open standard so a phone app can talk to an indoor trainer: read power, cadence, and speed, and send resistance targets (ERG and grade simulation). An FTMS smart trainer app is software that speaks that protocol. It is not exclusive to one vendor. Zwift, TrainerRoad, and indie cockpits all use FTMS when they pair a trainer over Bluetooth.

You pair inside the app, not in iOS Settings → Bluetooth. Put the trainer in Bluetooth / FTMS / third-party mode, then scan.

FTMS vs ANT+ on iPhone

Indoor trainers historically used ANT+ (often FE-C) to a computer with a USB stick. iPhone has no native ANT+ radio. Phone apps therefore use Bluetooth LE FTMS. If a trainer only speaks ANT+, it will not show up in an iPhone FTMS scan. Many current direct-drive units advertise both — ANT+ for a PC, FTMS for a phone. Check the spec sheet for “Bluetooth FTMS” or “third-party app.”

Heart-rate straps are a different Bluetooth profile (HRS), not FTMS. An FTMS app can pair a BLE strap as its own sensor next to the trainer.

Pairing on iPhone

  1. Wake the trainer. Choose Bluetooth / FTMS / third-party — not a locked first-party-only mode, if it has one.
  2. Open the FTMS app. Scan there. Skip Settings → Bluetooth.
  3. Optionally scan a BLE heart-rate strap as a second device.
  4. Start ERG, a structured file, or a free ride. Calibration and firmware stay in the maker’s app — the FTMS app does not replace that.

What the protocol actually does

Two Bluetooth pieces matter. The trainer advertises Indoor Bike Data (watts, cadence, speed). The app writes the Fitness Machine Control Point to set a target wattage (ERG) or a simulated grade. That is the whole job of an FTMS smart trainer app: read sensors, send resistance. It does not need a virtual world, a USB ANT+ stick, or a vendor-only radio.

Many trainers also speak a first-party protocol used by the maker’s own app (Elite myETraining, Wahoo SYSTM, Tacx, and others). Put the trainer in Bluetooth / FTMS / third-party mode so a non-vendor app can connect. If it stays in a locked first-party mode, the FTMS scan stays empty even though the trainer is on.

What zCycle Pad does with FTMS

zCycle Pad is one FTMS workout cockpit on iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch — ERG, .zwo, live watts — not a virtual world, and not the only FTMS app. Commercial landing: FTMS trainer app for iPhone. There is no Android app.

Lab-tested on Elite Suito T (power, cadence, speed, ERG, grade sim). Wahoo KICKR and the rest of the compatible trainers list are FTMS-expected when they advertise the protocol. We do not certify every SKU. zCycle Pad does not calibrate trainers.

Fair founder claim: keep an FTMS trainer and a BLE HR strap connected together, then write a complete indoor workout to Apple Health. Local-first files stay on device; starting a ride still needs Plus ($4.99/mo or $39.99/yr), so local-first is not fully offline.

Not ZYCLE hardware. zCycle Pad is an Adam Codes Ltd app. zycle.eu makes trainers. Unrelated; pair only if that unit speaks FTMS.

App Store iPhone · iPad · Watch FTMS trainer app How zCycle uses the protocol

FAQ

What is FTMS on a smart trainer?

Bluetooth Fitness Machine Service — open BLE for watts, cadence, and resistance control. Many apps speak it. Not exclusive to zCycle Pad.

FTMS vs ANT+ for indoor cycling on iPhone?

iPhone has no ANT+ radio. Phone apps use Bluetooth FTMS. ANT+-only trainers will not pair. Dual-protocol trainers usually work in FTMS / third-party mode.

Do I pair in iOS Settings?

No. Scan inside the app after the trainer is in FTMS / third-party mode.

Is there an Android app?

No. zCycle Pad is iPhone, iPad, and Apple Watch only.

Does the app calibrate the trainer?

zCycle Pad does not. Use the maker’s app for calibration and firmware.

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