The official TrainerRoad thread

dubcat

The penny finally dropped on how this works. I don't need a garmin device at all do i? I just need a heart rate monitor strap (which I have from my garmin running watch), a GSC10 speed/cadence sensor and the moviestick right?

I just need to figure out if i want to actually stick my lovely new road bike on the turbo trainer. I guess I could keep on using my older cheaper mountain bike on it (bought a cheap spare wheel and mounted a turbo trainer tyre on it).

t.m.h.n.e.t

Cant remember specifics of gayley but for most if its too easy turn the intensity up or down on the fly.

I just changed my ftp a little and most wo's scale pretty accurately. The hell hath no fury sprints were interesting


Dubcat:hrm optional. The essentials are a unit like the gsc10 and an ant+ receiver

dubcat

jeez - i didnt realise the barrier to entry was so low! Only thing I need to work out now is whether it is practical / worthwhile to embark on this when I am starting my Virgin London Marathon training in earnest next Tuesday.

danridesbikes

New beta version coming today

The beta we're releasing today will have Bluetooth smart support (aka Bluetooth Low Energy or Bluetooth 4.0).

This will add support for Wahoo's Smart HR strap and Speed/cadence sensor along with the Kinetic inRide.

We only have support on Macs as of now. New macs have BT 4.0 built into them. Older macs can use a $12 dongle available for purchase on Amazon (more details on that later).

The reason why we don't have a solution on windows right now is driver support. The windows side of BT 4.0 is fragmented. As soon as that gets resolved (it's more of an industry issue) we'll update our app to support it.

We're pretty cutting edge here. I can't think of another non-mobile app that supports BT 4.0. I'm sure there's someone out there doing it, but it's definitely not main stream yet.

bigdaveskinnytyre

The latest: Thunder

Pushed it a bit above target and FTP for the last few; I'll pay for that tomorrow I expect :twisted:

guinea wrote:

Did my first training session after my initial test.

Did "Gayley" as part of the intermediate plan and found it OK. I had a little too much energy on the final interval to wound it up a bit. I don't know if that means I need to increase my FTP a little, or if I wasn't supposed to bury myself.

Most of the intermediate base rides are Sweet-spot rides; that is they are supposed to be testing but not so much that you can't do it several times a week.

Dubcat wrote:

jeez - i didnt realise the barrier to entry was so low! Only thing I need to work out now is whether it is practical / worthwhile to embark on this when I am starting my Virgin London Marathon training in earnest next Tuesday.

Six months of Marathon training, most of that will be low intensity; if you want to keep some form of bike fitness you could do worse than to do a couple of turbo sessions each week.

dw300

guinea wrote:

Did my first training session after my initial test.

Did "Gayley" as part of the intermediate plan and found it OK. I had a little too much energy on the final interval to wound it up a bit. I don't know if that means I need to increase my FTP a little, or if I wasn't supposed to bury myself.

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/81662

In 4 years of ownership hat's the first time I've ever lasted a full hour on the turbo. I always pack it in after 40 minutes. So well done to trainerroad for keeping me interested.

For 1hr rides of intensity of around 0.9 FTP, you should have energy left at the end. If you find that you are doing 1hr rides of 1.00 FTP easily then you need to look at upping your FTP of re-testing it.

Because the 20 minute test requires you to ride at 107% FTP, once you do a few of them you'll get close to where you should be with it.

dw300

Dubcat wrote:

The penny finally dropped on how this works. I don't need a garmin device at all do i? I just need a heart rate monitor strap (which I have from my garmin running watch), a GSC10 speed/cadence sensor and the moviestick right?

I just need to figure out if i want to actually stick my lovely new road bike on the turbo trainer. I guess I could keep on using my older cheaper mountain bike on it (bought a cheap spare wheel and mounted a turbo trainer tyre on it).

You might get more power in the road bikes position, but if youre just doing it for endurance work then use the mtb.

ShutUpLegs

JGSI wrote:

I'm currently back to annual rejig Base Form and Technique.
The workouts seemingly not so hefty... not so
This one http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/81349 trying to follow its minuscule variances for 3 x 20minutes asks many questions.

Throttling down for the end of the season.... :?:

markp80

Hi gents,

Some inspirational training help on this thread! I'm trying to get set up to join you on TrainerRoad but I seem to have fallen at the first hurdle, so I was hoping you could perhaps point me in the right direction?

I've fitted a new Garmin 500 to my bike (and put a nearly-new non-ANT+ Cateye V3 back in its box... :roll: ) and I'm trying to link it to my PC. OK, I haven't done anything with the 500 unit itself yet (trying to keep it simple for now), but the GSC10 is fitted to the bike, and blinks green/red when I spin the wheel/cranks.

I've installed Garmin ANT Agent on the laptop but when I put the USB stick in, ANT Agent just sits there saying
"USB ANT Stick : Active
Searching for devices....."

- and that's as far as it goes. I've had the GSC10 blinking during this process, but no difference.
I looked in Device Manager and the stick seems to be working correctly, with what appears to be a generic windows driver. ANT Agent all seemed to install correctly.

Can anyone tell me what I need to do to get it to pair with the GSC10, or what I'm doing wrong? Win 7 if that makes any difference.
I haven't installed TrainerRoad yet, I am assuming that's the next step once I get ANT Agent working. I'm also assuming I don't need to pair the GSC10 with the 500 head unit, as people seem to be using the GSC10 alone without issue.

I haven't even got the KK out of the box yet..... :?

Edit : I am of course making an assumption here, and that is that the GSC10 actually will pair with ANT Agent? Ant Agent isn't looking for something like the 500 unit from where it downloads a datafile is it? Should i actually be trying to pair the GSC10 with ANT Agent, or do I just pair it in TrainerRoad?
Is ANT Agent just for downloading rides from the 500 via Garmin Connect?
So confusing!

Cheers,
MarkP

t.m.h.n.e.t

Ditch ant agent and pair straight through the devices tab in TR

jgsi

MarkP80 wrote:

Edit : I am of course making an assumption here, and that is that the GSC10 actually will pair with ANT Agent? Ant Agent isn't looking for something like the 500 unit from where it downloads a datafile is it? Should i actually be trying to pair the GSC10 with ANT Agent, or do I just pair it in TrainerRoad?
Is ANT Agent just for downloading rides from the 500 via Garmin Connect?
So confusing!

Cheers,
MarkP

If you want to make your laptop as a ANT+ headunit as I do (dont own a Garmin edge) then the ANT agent has installed and working seamlessly on mine.

If you pair with the Agent as above and get issues then , just pair in the TR app as advised.
Install the agent on laptop and then forget about it.
If still getting problems then log a request with Nate on TR or he may pick up on here.

markp80

Thanks for the quick replies guys.
JGSI, that's exactly the ANT Agent screen I had, and it just sits there.
TMH, I'll have a go with TR and see if I fare any better.
One thing has occurred to me, I was just spinning the wheel for a few seconds then waiting for the connection (my bike isn't in a trainer yet, it's just stood in the room). Does the GSC10 need to be outputting continuously until pairing occurs? I had assumed they would pair just with the GSC10 sitting there. Is that where I've gone worng?

Cheers,
MarkP

jgsi

Nearly there..
spin the cranks gently with bike in the turbo for a few seconds and you should see the pairing activate in the app... a garmin hrm if you have one does pair when worn without any fuss...
Once paired , each time you setup, you just repeat to double check all is good before you start the workout.

markp80

Great, sounds as if I'm possibly not too far away. I'll give it a go this evening and let you know how I get on.
Hopefully soon I'll be posting some workouts. Brace yourselves for enough power to almost light a small torch bulb.

Cheers,
MarkP

bigdaveskinnytyre

ANT Agent is primarily there for uploading data from your Edge 500 to Garmin connect, you don't need it (apart from the ANT drivers) to run Trainer Road; you can quite happily shut ANT Agent down if you want.

When you install Trainer Road you go to the devices tab and it should detect your GSC10 when you start pedaling. It should also detect your Heart Monitor strap if you have one.

ANT Agent is, in my opinion a bit shoddy, it sometimes takes an age to detect my forerunner so I can upload data. If they wanted to, they could quite easily allow uploads to Garmin Connect without it; Strava allows uploads without ANT Agent and it does it much quicker.

markp80

Thanks bigdave. I wondered if ANT Agent needed to be running for TrainerRoad to work - clearly not. So TR just needs the stick to be running properly with the correct drivers, then it accesses the data itself, independent of ANT Agent. This stuff is never straight forward is it!
From yours and earlier comments I suspect I didn't have the GSC10 outputting for long enough for it to make the connection. I didn't get the HRM out of the packet, I wonder if I just sit with that on for a while whether ANT Agent will pick that up - if it does, then it would give me the reassurance that the stick is running ok, with the correct drivers, before I start running TR.
I didn't want to jump straight in with TR in case I had problems and didn't know where to look to fix it.
Thanks again for the support all, I'll be trying again this evening!
MarkP

t.m.h.n.e.t

MarkP80 wrote:

Thanks bigdave. I wondered if ANT Agent needed to be running for TrainerRoad to work - clearly not. So TR just needs the stick to be running properly with the correct drivers, then it accesses the data itself, independent of ANT Agent. This stuff is never straight forward is it!
From yours and earlier comments I suspect I didn't have the GSC10 outputting for long enough for it to make the connection. I didn't get the HRM out of the packet, I wonder if I just sit with that on for a while whether ANT Agent will pick that up - if it does, then it would give me the reassurance that the stick is running ok, with the correct drivers, before I start running TR.
I didn't want to jump straight in with TR in case I had problems and didn't know where to look to fix it.
Thanks again for the support all, I'll be trying again this evening!
MarkP

Spinning the cranks once is more than enough to wake up the sensors(providing the magnets are close enough) Then just open TR/ Devices and "search". A heartbeat detected wakes up the HRM so providing you are wearing it and are not deceased, the HRM option will go green,show a device Id# and your current HR

markp80

Well, got home, tried ANT Agent with my HRM and still nothing.
Installed TR and searched for the devices - it found them instantly.
So that's that sorted.
Now just got to assemble the turbo which arrived today.....

MarkP

dubcat

I have a mountain bike which is 3 years old and for which I have a spare wheel with a turbo trainer tyre mounted on it. The bike was less than £1000 and has seen some good use.

I have a new carbon road bike which is worth twice as much.

My goal is to train for road riding. However, I am a hit worried about putting wear and tear on my new 'best' bike and was thinking of doing my turbo training on the mountain bike.

What would you do?

jgsi

Dubcat wrote:

I have a mountain bike which is 3 years old and for which I have a spare wheel with a turbo trainer tyre mounted on it. The bike was less than £1000 and has seen some good use.

I have a new carbon road bike which is worth twice as much.

My goal is to train for road riding. However, I am a hit worried about putting wear and tear on my new 'best' bike and was thinking of doing my turbo training on the mountain bike.

What would you do?

i'd use the new bike.
get an old rear wheel off ebay or a mate - fit a turbo tyre and a cheap cassette.
No other wear and tear training in a dry environment - a couple of towels to keep sweat off the bike.
taking up road biking you can use your turbo time to get 'bike fit' fit as well

dubcat

The down side to this is that I have to buy another cheap wheel, another turbo trainer tyre, and another cheap cassette - I already did all this on the mountain bike. Also wont the chain mesh with the cheap cassette? I mean west to its shape etc?

There will be additional wear and tear beyond what you indicate on the cranks, chain rings, chain and bottom bracket.

If I am just being too precious about my new bike I guess I need to be told. If turbo training on the mountain bike will give the same benefits then I would rather use that cos I have spare wheel set up already.

markp80

Well, that's my first ride complete - and did I find it tough!!!

I did the 2x8 min test. I think the initial level was set too high for me. A couple of minutes into the first 8 min interval I thought I was going to keel over. My HR was up near the max I've seen it (I saw it near 190) and I just couldn't keep it up. Second interval I went for a sustainable (just) level which saw my HR around 180r the full 8 mins.
End recommendation was an FTP of 176 and LTHR of 160. Not sure what all that means but I'm sure it'll be pretty dismal.

Anyway, that's my baseline set. Now to get after it!

Cheers,
MarkP

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/82306

bigdaveskinnytyre

Dubcat wrote:

The down side to this is that I have to buy another cheap wheel, another turbo trainer tyre, and another cheap cassette - I already did all this on the mountain bike. Also wont the chain mesh with the cheap cassette? I mean west to its shape etc?

There will be additional wear and tear beyond what you indicate on the cranks, chain rings, chain and bottom bracket.

If I am just being too precious about my new bike I guess I need to be told. If turbo training on the mountain bike will give the same benefits then I would rather use that cos I have spare wheel set up already.

I'd use the MTB; you will need to set the wheel circumference in TR, I think it's under the profile tab. You need to do this to get the correct speed registering and therefore an accurate virtual power reading. Try and set your position on the MTB as close to your road bike as possible and you should be fine.

bigdaveskinnytyre

The latestCarson

Feeling a bit fatigued, I rode just over half of the first stage of the Tour Of Brunei yesterday (a few hours after the race) at a fair clip. Rest day tomorrow I think.

markp80

Gayley tonight. Those 4x8min intervals started difficult and got worse. TR is clearly not shy when it sets your FTP!

What a great workout motivator it is though. I'd never have trained this hard on the turbo without it.

Cheers,
MarkP

jgsi

MarkP80 wrote:

Gayley tonight. Those 4x8min intervals started difficult and got worse. TR is clearly not shy when it sets your FTP!

What a great workout motivator it is though. I'd never have trained this hard on the turbo without it.

Cheers,
MarkP

Good one!...
I'd love a tryout on one of those KK machines.
Had a look at your graph.. interval 4 harder.. you were revving harder for sure for same power.

markp80

JGSI wrote:

MarkP80 wrote:

Gayley tonight. Those 4x8min intervals started difficult and got worse. TR is clearly not shy when it sets your FTP!

What a great workout motivator it is though. I'd never have trained this hard on the turbo without it.

Cheers,
MarkP

Good one!...
I'd love a tryout on one of those KK machines.
Had a look at your graph.. interval 4 harder.. you were revving harder for sure for same power.

- Really pleased with the turbo. I didn't know a lot about these until I did some research on here. I specifically wanted one to link up with TR and this seemed well regarded, both on general feel and on suitability with the Virtual Power part of the app. Being able to go up and down the gears and have the resistence change accordingly is pretty realistic I think. Build quality of it seems really good, it's really solid when I'm using it. It seems reasonably quiet too, although I haven't heard any other to compare it against. I can certainly sit with a DVD playing on the laptop and it doesn't need to be turned up loud. It's certainly not cheap though (£300ish) and I thought long and hard about whether I wanted to spend that much, but I'm pleased I did. I definitley couldn't justify the cost of the Rock & Roll to myself, which is over £100 more.

With regard to the Gayley workout, having done the 2x8min interval test the day beofre, I wasn't looking forward to 4x8min, that's for sure! They're a bit less intense though, but the rest periods aren't that long, or at least they didn't seem it to me. What I thought was interesting was how my HR for each interval got progressively higher with each one - it was definitely hard work and I did have to grit the teeth a bit before the end. I guess that's the whole idea though!

Really impressed with TR though. I think I said earlier I would never have trained this hard on a turbo without it. I didn't think I could sit for an hour either, having just used exercise bikes in the gym before, but TR is a great motivator.

I do need to get a fan though, the lounge of my flat gets pretty warm. And just wearing the bib shorts is not a good look.......

Cheers,
MarkP

bigdaveskinnytyre

Haven't been on the turbo for a few days but my ride this morning would suggest that TR is helping

I went out with the intention of doing approximately 100km, my benchmark for the distance is sub 3hrs. Routes here in Brunei are much of a muchness as it's not that hilly more rolling. I hit the lap button at 100km which gave me 2:51:29, the total ride was 103km in just over 2:57, I was approximately 1km/h quicker than I've gone before. Average speed was 34.9 km/h, that's solo, so no drafting. I even got my first best time on a Strava segment

With the heat and humidity I always keep an eye on how much fluid I lose during a ride. I started at 76.1Kg before breakfast, I drank approximately 2.5 litres (mostly high 5 zero) between starting and weighing in after a shower (I had to stop after 78km to fill up my bottles) I ate approximately 330 grams of porridge before the ride and took in a power bar and a gel during the ride so total intake should've been about 3Kg. 76.1+3= 79.1Kg. My weigh in after the ride.......73.2Kg

Obviously I don't know how much of the improvement in speed I can put down to TR, but I think it probably helped.

Curry for lunch and lots of fluid I think!

Strava: How I Earn My Curries

dw300

When you're doing an FTP test you know that just a few Watts extra is going to be a big effort.

Big Dave .. when I look at your power numbers, it makes the numbers I want to hit seem so much more achievable!

Inspired by that I did a very easy weeks cycling and jumped on for another FTP 20 min test ..

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/83998

I set new power records for 10, 15, 20 and 30 minutes. My LTHR went from 162-163. And my FTP went from 215 - 233. That gets my FTP/kg to 3.38W/kg now.

All going in the right direction!

markp80

Into week 2 of the basic 6 week planand tonight was Monitor. Six intervals at something called Sweet Spot but I found it anything but sweet, I can tell you! Really enjoying this though!
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/84033

dw, I've not seen anything in my numbers yet but even in this short a period of time I'm definitely starting to feel the benefit, so I know what you mean. I'd never train this hard on the road.

Easiest way for me to get my power/kg up is too lose some weight though - I'm too heavy!

Cheers,
MarkP