The official TrainerRoad thread

Nick Kanwetz

Barry Badrinath wrote:

HI Nick - you have probably answered this before, but I am being lazy.... Have been given the crappy news that from next week I am going to have to work away from home for most of the following two weeks (Tuesday to Friday, then Monday to Friday) in the beautiful and glamorous city of Rotherham. LOLZ.

I'm not that happy about this, but gotta pay the bills. It will mean I will only have one or two days at weekend to spare on the trainer over these weeks - would 'pausing' the plan at week 4 for two weeks be a good idea, and just do a random session on the weekend to keep the legs moving?

No worries. Haha I can think of other places I'd rather be...

Squeezing those extra rides in on the weekend will definitely help maintain your fitness you've established. That should work just great. And I think you may even want to go back one week in your plan once you get back to a consistent schedule.

Happy Training Barry!

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

shamone

I've been using Trainerroad recently on an iPad Pro 9.7 with a Cycleops Fluid 2 trainer with no problems - With cadence and heart rate feeding back via Ant+.

Just bought a Kickr Snap to get the whole 'smart' experience and found that while using Trainerroad the Ant+ connection kept dropping and locking out completely. The only way I could get it back on was to close Trainerroad, unplug the Ant+ dongle and start again. I was thinking the Kickr may be the issue, but as I not only lose the trainer connection, but also my Garmin heart rate strap and cadence sensor I know it's not the trainer and must be on the iPad side.

Trainerroad support recommended using Bluetooth to control the trainer, so just tried that and this time connecting the trainer and heart rate monitor by Bluetooth and only using Ant+ for cadence.

The trainer stopped varying resistance just prior to the final interval and stuck at 154w. Slowing my cadence just made it even harder as the power was locked at 154w even though the target was 69w. Heart rate and cadence continued to work correctly so clearly both Bluetooth (HR) and Ant+ (Cadence) was still working. Once I'd finished the workout I checked the devices page and all looked correct. I then opened the Wahoo fitness app on my iPhone and using the level adjustment the resistance changed correctly.

Anyone else having issues using TR on an iPad Pro?

shamone

Quick question - For the KickR Snap where is the spindown calibration stored?

I thought if I used the Wahoo Fitness App it would store it in the Snap itself, so Trainerroad would just take it from there.

Nick Kanwetz

Shamone wrote:

Quick question - For the KickR Snap where is the spindown calibration stored?

I thought if I used the Wahoo Fitness App it would store it in the Snap itself, so Trainerroad would just take it from there.

Yeah, you're exactly right. The calibration value will be stored on the Snap. But one thing I hope that support agent added was that there needs to be an additional advanced calibration done to the Snap as it doesn't come factory calibrated. But you'll only need to do this once. You'll need to download the 'Wahoo Fitness App' (not to be confused with the Wahoo Utility App), and perform a spindown calibration there. Then you'll be good to go. Sorry if you've already done this by the way... Most people run into issues because they calibrate in the Wahoo Utility App not realizing they need to do a calibration in the other app first.

Let us know if that gets you back in action! Thanks!

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

daniel_b

Hello all,

apologies, this is not really a TR question, but I thought I might be able to harness the knowledge of the Vortex owners on here.

I was given my Vortex in July, but only got around to the initial calibration in September - I used the Tacx Utility, and set it up with the resistance just to the left of the middle.
Someone on this forum posted that they had success with having it so the roller touched the tyre, and then 3 more full turns of the dial, and that saw them over the half way point, so I thought that sounded like a good idea.

I fired up the app today, and it said I needed to update the Vortex, so I let it do that, and then after it found the device again, took a little while, I attempted a calibration.
It told me to start cycling, which I duly did, but nothing showed up on the display, and eventually after about a minute, it simply returned to 'Start Calibration'

Tried this several more times, restarted the phone etc, but no difference.

Then uninstalled the app, and re-installed, it carried out a raft of updates, found the Vortex, and I went for a calibration again, but exactly the same as before, not a thing.

Pretty frustrating, as I wanted to carry out my ftp this afternoon, and start a plan this weekend :-(

Anyone got any ideas, or might it be a faulty trainer?

Am I correct in thinking I need to carry out a Tacx calibration first, or can I get away with just a TR calibration?
I was under the impression you needed to do both.

As far as I can see, the light on the trainer is constant green - it does live in a pretty cold garage, not sure if that might cause an issue?

I have also registered and posted this on the Tacx forum.

daniel_b

Just to add, I just went out and double checked it - when I plug it in, it goes through a number of light patterns, but then settles on a flashing green, but at some point when I start pedalling it goes to solid green, which I assume is good?

I also tried varying rotations of the dial, so where I had it, then one turn off, and then a further turn on, so varied how much pressure the roller was applying to the tyre.

But still exactly the same story - I don't believe it could be my phone at fault, as it is clearly seeing the trainer, otherwise it would not give me the option to calibrate it surely?

So I click Calibrate, and it says either 'start cycling' or 'begin cycling', I forget which, and then nothing happens no matter how long, or hard I pedal for.

On the 3 and 4 turns there was no noticable slip on the tyre at all, so it seems it had a good interface with the roller.
I'm running the TT tyre at 100psi.

:-(

I suppose I should try a seperate phone to rule that out, but otherwise it is looking like a hardware fault to me.

Next step - try the calibration through TR and see if that works, if it doesn't and or it cannot see it, then definitive hardware issue I guess.

Has anyone used TR with purely a TR Calibration as opposed to a Tacx one too?
Thinking about it I am struggling to see why you would need both, as one calibration cannot impact the other one - only difference i guess is that you can see through the Tacx utility, if it were to work, if you had enough\too much tension on tyre, but if the TR calibration appears to work, and I know I always run at 100psi with 3 turns of the dial once the tyre is touching, it should be consistent no?

Having said that, it is far from a cheap bit of kit, so I feel I should have that extra confirmation from the manufacturers software that is all configured correctly.

Looking online, I found this screenshot:


Mine is the same at the top, ie I get the green tick, but it never registers any speed at all, I don't even get 0.0kmh, I think it just has dashes there - the bars to the right go fully green.

So that seems to be the issue, the trainer is sending no speed information to the bluetooth android phone?

Is there anyway I can have a go at the calibration from my laptop, can I install the utility tool on there, and cut the phone out of the equation?
Though at present the trainer seems the likely culprit.
Anyone had this before?

Really disappointed about this - had a string of injuries and illnesses that has stopped me training, and was finally in a position to go for it starting with an ftp this afternoon, but can't progress anywhere until the turbo will talk to something successfully.

shamone

Nick Kanwetz wrote:

Shamone wrote:

Quick question - For the KickR Snap where is the spindown calibration stored?

I thought if I used the Wahoo Fitness App it would store it in the Snap itself, so Trainerroad would just take it from there.

Yeah, you're exactly right. The calibration value will be stored on the Snap. But one thing I hope that support agent added was that there needs to be an additional advanced calibration done to the Snap as it doesn't come factory calibrated. But you'll only need to do this once. You'll need to download the 'Wahoo Fitness App' (not to be confused with the Wahoo Utility App), and perform a spindown calibration there. Then you'll be good to go. Sorry if you've already done this by the way... Most people run into issues because they calibrate in the Wahoo Utility App not realizing they need to do a calibration in the other app first.

Let us know if that gets you back in action! Thanks!

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

I did the advanced spindown again and wattage is now stable. I also switched to Bluetooth for everything including cadence and Heartrate and have had no more drop outs

daniel_b

Today I tried to carry out a calibration again using the Tacx utility, but still the same, and also I tried to use the Tacx Training app as well (Android for both, no Apple stuff in this house) and it behaved exactly the same.

I then fired up TrainerRoad, and significantly this did not register any speed either, as in I went to Calibration, and it said to pedal, but never registered anything.

I will contact Evans who it was bought from, and will also see if I can find a Tacx support e-mail address, but it looks like a faulty unit, which does not fill me with much confidence :?

I don't have Zwift, so can't try that, but sounds like it might be slightly different to yours in that respect HWPete - how old is yours out of interest?

Oh I also checked the firmware version, and I recall it updated it at the weekend, and it is definitely the latest, though can't recall the version - I checked for updates 3 times, and it came back everytime to say it was up to date.

My concern is that if it does this after the, what I assume is a 12 month warranty, I am going to have a very expensive lump of plastic that is not for for purpose, so wonder if I am better to get a refund now, and go for a different model or make that is more reliable?

It only cost £250, but I don't want to be spending that every 18 months.

lochindaal

@DanielB I had exactly the same problem and it wouldn't update the firmware.

Sent it back and got a replacement and all now works

daniel_b

lochindaal wrote:

@DanielB I had exactly the same problem and it wouldn't update the firmware.

Sent it back and got a replacement and all now works

Thankyou for the reply - well mine did appear to update the firmware successfully, as it now has nothing to update.
Was yours the same, in that it would not register the speed for Calibration?

I've now sent lengthy e-mails to both Tacx and Evans, will see what they come back with - and just when I had some motivation, and am cold free :-(

daniel_b

So at lunchtime, I popped home, was getting a few bits together to send some stuff back, and decided to try the Tacx utility app one more time - fired it up, locked the roller onto the wheel, and then launched the app.
It found it no bother, as before, and then I decided to try the 'Testing dashboard' within the app, not sure why.
Went into it, and it registered 0.0kmh - first time it has shown any speed, I turned the pedals my hand, and excitedly it showed a change in speed......
Went for a Calibration, hopped on, and it immediately registered, and I took it up to 30kmh, for a spin down test.
First result was on the verge of being too tight, so took one turn off, and now about 60% along between the weakest and strongest resistance levels - if that makes sense.

No time to try it with TR, but will do so after work, but what on earth is that all about - concerns me a bit if it wasn't working, and then magically is, as it may just stop again, but I'll have ot save myself a trip to Evans and see how it goes I guess.

vpnikolov

Finally an owner of a smart turbo and a subscriber of TrainerRoad. Now on to my 8-minute FTP test. As I was doing it, I noticed that for the prep parts of the assessment, the trainer is in ERG mode while for the 8 minutes themselves, it goes into resistance mode at 15% (Tacx Neo). Is this correct and can I at that point use my gears to control the resistance?

jasonbrim

vpnikolov wrote:

Is this correct and can I at that point use my gears to control the resistance?

Yes, it is meant to do this so you can actually set the power you want to hold yourself. Otherwise it would just be 2x 8 mins at the preset value. I think the preset FTP is always 200 W, so let's say you have a much higher FTP, if you did the test at the preset value, your FTP would come out as 200 W as you haven't actually maxed out for both intervals. (Similar thing if your FTP is lower - you will fail the intervals.)

Vslowpace

That is how it should operate although mine cranks it up to 65%, which can be frustrating to say the least.

daniel_b

Hello all,

so after the turbo remarkably deciding to calibratefor no specific reason, I decided today to re-calibrate at 100psi using the utlity, and then of course to carry out a calibration on TR.

Tacx calibration went fine, too tight to start with, so wound the dial off half a turn, and then had it in the right arena.

So now over to TR - went into Calibration, it asked me to speed up to 19.9mph, and then coast, which I duly did.

I watched it go down to 0.0mph, but then nothing popped up to say it had calibrated successfully - and there was no save or confirm button.
if I click the back button, itt akes me back to the previous screen, and beside Calibration it has a date in October, which I believe is when I last attempted Calibration, when it was not working properly.

I then tried to forget the device, and re-added it, but it still remembered the date in October.

Should I be worried, or do you think it has calibrated successfully?
Anyway I can get it to properly forget the trainer and start again, or would i need to uninstall it and re-install to achieve that?

Not keen to start a training program and start with incorrect\inconsistent FTP.

bobmcstuff

I understand desktop and iOS have video integration for Sufferfest etc. Is this feature coming to Android? I have a fair few Sufferfests I'd like to make use of.

Schleck's Chain

I was after some workout recommendations having just signed up for Trainerroad.

My main focus is on climbing. I tend to target local Cotswold climbs that require 10-12 minutes effort going as fast as i can. I generally get out once a week for rides with three climbs.

Between I have to sneak in 30 minute turbo sessions when my son is napping. Any recommendations that would help get most out of that time?

vpnikolov

Probably this question has been asked before, but if I have the time during the day, can I do two workouts from a plan one after another? If of course my condition allows for it.

EBEB

Vslowpace wrote:

That is how it should operate although mine cranks it up to 65%, which can be frustrating to say the least.

With mine I get the opposite, so my FTP ends up limited by my maximum comfortable cadence. I guess trainerroad are stuck trying to keep everyone happy. Shame it isn't settable by users.

Now I turn off FE-C completely and control the slope with my phone using Bluetooth. This actually works remarkably well as I now know what slope to put it on.

Nick Kanwetz

Vslowpace wrote:

That is how it should operate although mine cranks it up to 65%, which can be frustrating to say the least.

This was the case on the older version of our app but it's been fixed on the new version. You can download it here: Download.

Cheers,

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

Nick Kanwetz

bobmcstuff wrote:

I understand desktop and iOS have video integration for Sufferfest etc. Is this feature coming to Android? I have a fair few Sufferfests I'd like to make use of.

We actually don't officially support video on mobile just yet. The reason being that we're trying to find a better solution for video streaming to mobile. Some folks on iOS are able to get things working through Dropbox. However, some people aren't able to get that done for storage reasons. You can still use videos on Mac and PC of course.

We'll keep everyone up-to-speed with plans for video on mobile.

Cheers,

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

daniel_b

@Nick - could you let me know please how important carrying out a calibration within TR is?

My Vortex was playing about, and not being found the Tacx software - it's now randomly started working, so have carried out a Tacx calibration, but although TR recognises me accelerating up beyone 19.9mph, and then stopping, it doesn't give me any 'Calibration successfull' message, or ability to save it - is that the norm?
When I go back to the main screen, it seems to have a date in October alongside the Calibration.

Also, I have a Ant+ Decathlon speed and cadence unit, but I can see it is also picking up the readings direct from the trainer, should I be trying to switch them off, as how will TR know which readings to use?

Thanks

Dan

Nick Kanwetz

Daniel B wrote:

@Nick - could you let me know please how important carrying out a calibration within TR is?

My Vortex was playing about, and not being found the Tacx software - it's now randomly started working, so have carried out a Tacx calibration, but although TR recognises me accelerating up beyone 19.9mph, and then stopping, it doesn't give me any 'Calibration successfull' message, or ability to save it - is that the norm?
When I go back to the main screen, it seems to have a date in October alongside the Calibration.

Also, I have a Ant+ Decathlon speed and cadence unit, but I can see it is also picking up the readings direct from the trainer, should I be trying to switch them off, as how will TR know which readings to use?

Thanks

Dan

Sorry for the delay, Dan!

It doesn't matter whether you perform the calibration in the Tacx app or in TR. The calibration value is stored on the unit itself. That said, you should see a "calibration successful" message after completing it in TR.

That date in October indicates that the last successful calibration done within TR was in October. But if you got it done within the Tacx app, your trainer will still be calibrated. We usually recommend people perform calibrations as often as every ride if they're constantly removing the bike from the trainer. If you leave the bike set up on the trainer most of the time, I'd recommend doing them a little less often. Maybe once a week or so. It's quite strange you're having such a tough time getting a successful calibration though...Usually the adjusting of trainer roller tension does the trick. If you think it's something on our end, let us know at support@trainerroad.com where we can look more in depth.

A dedicated speed and cadence sensor will likely be more reliable for your training purposes. And we also prioritize dedicated sensors like speed and cadence devices over the metrics provided by the electronic trainer.

Hope this helps!

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

bobmcstuff

Nick Kanwetz wrote:

bobmcstuff wrote:

I understand desktop and iOS have video integration for Sufferfest etc. Is this feature coming to Android? I have a fair few Sufferfests I'd like to make use of.

We actually don't officially support video on mobile just yet. The reason being that we're trying to find a better solution for video streaming to mobile. Some folks on iOS are able to get things working through Dropbox. However, some people aren't able to get that done for storage reasons. You can still use videos on Mac and PC of course.

We'll keep everyone up-to-speed with plans for video on mobile.

Cheers,

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

That's fine, thanks.

In the meantime I have ordered an ANT stick so I can use my Sufferfest videos with TR for now

vpnikolov

I have been using TrainerRoad for almost a week now and have a question on the plan progression.

I chose the Base Phase Sweet Spot Mid Volume I which obviously should progress into Mid Volume II. Now, when I finish them both, can I move to a Build Phase of my choice - for example the Sustained Power Build Mid Volume or should I do another base training?

I have a goal to specialise in climbing race as I am doing the Maratona July next year. If all goes well, I should be able to finish the plans by that time (hopefully).

bobmcstuff

vpnikolov wrote:

I have been using TrainerRoad for almost a week now and have a question on the plan progression.

I chose the Base Phase Sweet Spot Mid Volume I which obviously should progress into Mid Volume II. Now, when I finish them both, can I move to a Build Phase of my choice - for example the Sustained Power Build Mid Volume or should I do another base training?

I have a goal to specialise in climbing race as I am doing the Maratona July next year. If all goes well, I should be able to finish the plans by that time (hopefully).

The idea is you would then progress onto a build plan and go through the same process (i.e., I and II).

But map out the length of the plans with relation to your target event, going through the base>build>specialty process in order might not fit with your target event date (i.e., if you wind up finishing specialty 2 months before the event) - I've been listening to the TR podcast and they often suggest e.g., repeating the second part of the base program or adding in duplicate weeks in order to make the plans fit.

Basically you should do another base training if that's what's needed in order to make the plans line up with your targets.

But bear in mind that the "II" plans have a fair bump in TSS over the "I" plans so if you do Base I then Base II, going back to Base I will feel a fair bit easier.

Nick Kanwetz

vpnikolov wrote:

I have been using TrainerRoad for almost a week now and have a question on the plan progression.

I chose the Base Phase Sweet Spot Mid Volume I which obviously should progress into Mid Volume II. Now, when I finish them both, can I move to a Build Phase of my choice - for example the Sustained Power Build Mid Volume or should I do another base training?

I have a goal to specialise in climbing race as I am doing the Maratona July next year. If all goes well, I should be able to finish the plans by that time (hopefully).

Once you finish up with Sweet Spot Base II, move on into a Build Phase of your choosing. Depending on whether you need to work on your sustained power, short power or varying degrees of both, you'll select either our Sustained Build, Short Power Build or General build.

If you have less than the prescribed number of weeks until your climbing race, just make sure to schedule a taper week before your event. So for example, say you end up on week 6 of your Specialty Plan two weeks before your event — just schedule week 8 in lieu of week 7 to taper your training leaving you fresh for your event. You can do this anywhere really within the Specialty Phase.

FYI: If you have more than the prescribed number of weeks before your goal event, we recommend users revisit either the first or second half of your Build Phase. The first half of the week if you're feeling fatigued or the second if you're a little more fresh.

Community Manager at TrainerRoad — Cycling's Most Effective Training System

robu

Is anyone else having problems with Trainerroad on a Mac after upgrading to the new software?

Having recently downloaded the latest version of the software for OS X, I have to say it is an unmitigated pile of **** (please insert any expletive of your choosing).

They’ve turned a simple, slightly old-fashioned but very effective and reliable piece of software into something that is not fit for purpose. All other components — heart rate monitor, cadence sensor, bike, laptop etc — were unchanged, so it is not a fault of any of them.

I’ve just completed a two-hour workout in which the software frequently froze. Everything on the display was stuck: interval timer, elapsed time, power output, target, heart rate and cadence. It made it unusable. In one instance, it froze in the middle of a 10-second form sprint, so I had no idea how long to continue sprinting flat out. At other times, it froze near the end of an interval, so I had no idea when to transition to a different power output.

But that’s only the beginning of the problems with the new version of the Mac software.

In changing the interface, they've made it far less user friendly. Parts of the display are now unreadable.

I use trainerroad on a MacBook Air with a 13 inch screen. I like to minimise the display, so that I can superimpose it along the bottom of the screen while I watch a video — sometimes Sufferfest, but more usually a movie or TV show.

The redesign has achieved the seemingly impossible double whammy of making the strip larger and yet less easy to read. It now covers up more of the video, partly because the red, yellow and green window sizing buttons no longer disappear when the app is running. However, the font used for the readouts is smaller and thicker than on the old version, so it’s much less easy to see.

The coup de grace is the profiles either side of the digital readouts. These used to be very straightforward and clear, but they are now tiny and obscured with horizontal lines, which makes them impossible to read when doing a workout, so I can neither see what lies ahead nor ramp up power as required by the workout.

These are only some of the problems with the new interface and software. Others included failing to save the workout at its end (I had to refresh to get it to save), pausing the workout when I was still pedalling, and also failing to pause it when I stopped pedalling.

Trainerroad worked perfectly before I installed the latest, abominable iteration of the software and I had grown to really appreciate and rely upon the application. Now I am in the position of trying to work out what might be the best alternative as I’m not prepared to persevere with something that is so unusable.

Anyone got any idea how I can reinstall the previous version of Trainerroad.

nicklong

TBH since the Android app has been released I've only gone back to the Mac app once to use it with a Sufferfest video.

The Android app is fantastic.

PedalMonkey

Vslowpace wrote:

That is how it should operate although mine cranks it up to 65%, which can be frustrating to say the least.

I find the bit where it changes from erg to slop mode very frustrating as you need to change gear in a hurry or put your heart rat through the ceiling, but like has been said, if it didn't change mode, you would just be doing a 2 * 8 interval, and not testing yourself to see how hard you can work