The official TrainerRoad thread

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  • London424
    London424 Posts: 4
    T.M.H.N.E.T wrote:
    London424 wrote:
    Hmm, well that wasn't a good start to my Trainer Road career.

    I couldn't complete the workout yet my effort felt much higher than when on the road. I think I need to drop my FTP right down to atleast complete it and then go from there. Thoughts?
    Does sound like you were running a bit high. Did you do either the 8min or 20min tests first, or rely on default FTP figures?(200 I think)

    I was doing the 8 min test using the default 200.
  • kleinstroker
    kleinstroker Posts: 2,133
    Hey Guys hoping to join in soon, need advice on hardware though.

    What would be best? Garmin GSC10 and Ant+ usb for my iMac or the new Wahoo sc Bluetooth 4 sensor and a cheapo bluetooth dongle from ebay for my iMac. Can"t really decide ..

    Cheers
  • t.m.h.n.e.t
    t.m.h.n.e.t Posts: 2,265
    kleinstroker wrote:
    Hey Guys hoping to join in soon, need advice on hardware though.

    What would be best? Garmin GSC10 and Ant+ usb for my iMac or the new Wahoo sc Bluetooth 4 sensor and a cheapo bluetooth dongle from ebay for my iMac. Can"t really decide ..

    Cheers
    You got the popup at the end right? It should have recommended a new FTP
  • kleinstroker
    kleinstroker Posts: 2,133
    OOh! Popup.. what popup?? What's a popup precious?
  • t.m.h.n.e.t
    t.m.h.n.e.t Posts: 2,265
    If you do either the 8min or 20min test and your calculated FTP is higher or lower than the default 200, Trainer Road prompts you to accept the new default.
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Welcome to Hell

    I've literally never wanted to get off a bike as much in my life.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • t.m.h.n.e.t
    t.m.h.n.e.t Posts: 2,265
    dw300 wrote:
    Welcome to Hell

    I've literally never wanted to get off a bike as much in my life.
    That's epic :lol:
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    dw300 wrote:
    Welcome to Hell

    I've literally never wanted to get off a bike as much in my life.

    Is this self inflicted using the new beta TR , looking at the ride title?
    If so , I have no sympathy. :D . well done though!
  • mistertommyt
    mistertommyt Posts: 56
    dw300 wrote:
    Welcome to Hell

    I've literally never wanted to get off a bike as much in my life.

    That's a strong ride right there. Mentally tough too. Chapeau!

    Looking closely at your power output, you can see where those doubts you talk about around about 35 to 40 mins into the interval creep in. Then you obviously see the light at the end of the tunnel and push through.

    That's one of the hardest things I find about indoor training, the lack of sensory stimulus to distract from the pain. On the road my mind wanders all over the place and I can lose my self completely, but with only a white wall for company the legs are never silenced.
    www.trainerroad.com/career/ttm
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    It was horrible! For some reason i convinced myself that holding a lower power for longer wouldn't seem to be as hard as a higher power for the 20 min test .. but what I realised was that once you get to the point where you want to give up, you're close enough to the end that it'd be a total waste of time, and you have to stay on!

    Totally right about the lack of stimuli meaning that you find it hard to ignore the pain. I was all over the bike trying to find a comfortable position towards the end, did a couple of mins standing to allow for circulation in the posterior, and about 10 minutes with my eyes closed, which seemed to help a little, although I mainly tried that due to the sweat in my eyes!

    I like experimenting .. and I wanted to compared testing FTP like this to a 20 min test. I actually always though that 95% of 20 mins would give a result that was a bit high. I actually figured that it was likely that I wouldn't be able to achieve my FTP, but it turns out it's pretty close, I'm 100% sure I couldn't have given any more.

    One weird thing I took from this was .. during my 20 min test I averaged 246W at 104rpm, during the 1hr I averaged 236W at 81rpm. I started the 1hr at about 76rpm, and towards the end was dropping down gears and upping the cadence to the 100 mark. Now as someone who averages 88-90rpm on most rides I thought this was unusual, because there's no way I could have done the whole ride up near 100rpm, but I probably could have at about 80rpm.

    Anyway .. don't ever do this unless you're practicing for a 25TT or simply want to test your own staying power!
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • t.m.h.n.e.t
    t.m.h.n.e.t Posts: 2,265
    dw300 wrote:
    It was horrible! For some reason i convinced myself that holding a lower power for longer wouldn't seem to be as hard as a higher power for the 20 min test .. but what I realised was that once you get to the point where you want to give up, you're close enough to the end that it'd be a total waste of time, and you have to stay on!

    Totally right about the lack of stimuli meaning that you find it hard to ignore the pain. I was all over the bike trying to find a comfortable position towards the end, did a couple of mins standing to allow for circulation in the posterior, and about 10 minutes with my eyes closed, which seemed to help a little, although I mainly tried that due to the sweat in my eyes!

    I like experimenting .. and I wanted to compared testing FTP like this to a 20 min test. I actually always though that 95% of 20 mins would give a result that was a bit high. I actually figured that it was likely that I wouldn't be able to achieve my FTP, but it turns out it's pretty close, I'm 100% sure I couldn't have given any more.

    One weird thing I took from this was .. during my 20 min test I averaged 246W at 104rpm, during the 1hr I averaged 236W at 81rpm. I started the 1hr at about 76rpm, and towards the end was dropping down gears and upping the cadence to the 100 mark. Now as someone who averages 88-90rpm on most rides I thought this was unusual, because there's no way I could have done the whole ride up near 100rpm, but I probably could have at about 80rpm.

    Anyway .. don't ever do this unless you're practicing for a 25TT or simply want to test your own staying power!
    Wouldn't dream of it :D
  • ChrisSA
    ChrisSA Posts: 455
    Dw300, I take my hat off to you Sir. And you are completely bonkers. Absolutely bonkers.

    Been away this week, so no TR for me, only an Audiofuel pyramid workout on a hotel gym bike. Got the peak and descending intervals tuned in to FTP then SS (based on PowerCal reading). Back to the grind stone Monday...
    My Blog!
    Twitter
  • NatePearson
    NatePearson Posts: 24
    dw300 wrote:
    I just made a 1hr FTP test in the custom workout maker. Currently having a staring contest with it ..

    LOL! Great job with that btw, we posted in on our facebook page. That takes REAL guts to do an all out hour test that's not during a race.

    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/90531
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Cheers guys .. yeh Nate, I noticed that you posted it up. I'd say it'd take more guts to do it a 2nd time! First time out was curiosity, and you're just ignorant of what you're in for!

    It's been 24hrs and I'm starting to feel it in the legs now, but overall I feel like i just did something like Revolver.

    The one reason I can think of for doing it would be that if you know you can complete it, then all the rest of the workouts will seem less daunting.

    Tell you one thing though .. I'm starting to think that getting to 250W by New Year might be a pretty tough.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • Warwickshire Whizzer
    Warwickshire Whizzer Posts: 218
    After staring the turbo down and coming up with reasons not to start until November, (flimsy at best). I bit the bullet and started with the 20 min test. Gutted, 170. :-( http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/91094

    And so now, to get on the base plan with a crack at Gayley on Tues with a view to getting a more respectable FTP of 3.75/kg so I can get up the Alpe in under an hour next year. Plenty of tubbyness to lose too!
  • ChrisSA
    ChrisSA Posts: 455
    Warwickshire Whizzer wrote:
    After staring the turbo down and coming up with reasons not to start until November, (flimsy at best). I bit the bullet and started with the 20 min test. Gutted, 170. :-(

    Not gutted. Congratulations - it's the first step on the road to improvement!
    My Blog!
    Twitter
  • markp80
    markp80 Posts: 444
    dw300 wrote:
    Welcome to Hell

    I've literally never wanted to get off a bike as much in my life.
    Respect!
    I think I'll stick to the 8 min test.

    Some interesting comments you made on FTP tests and progression btw.
    Cheers,
    MarkP
    Boardman Road Comp - OK, I went to Halfords
    Tibia plateau fracture - the rehab continues!
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    Am I doing summat daft?
    Using the Custom workout creator, I cannot get the power to go above 200....
    I have a video of the Passo Sella and wanted to do a workout to match it... I reckoned power from about 220 to 330 should see you up it in good order (for an hour :twisted: )
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    JGSI wrote:
    Am I doing summat daft?
    Using the Custom workout creator, I cannot get the power to go above 200....
    I have a video of the Passo Sella and wanted to do a workout to match it... I reckoned power from about 220 to 330 should see you up it in good order (for an hour :twisted: )

    Yes .. :P

    The power level is a percentage of FTP. :wink:
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • ChrisSA
    ChrisSA Posts: 455
    Lunchtime Thunderbolt.

    Legs were absolutely trashed following a run-track session Friday AM and a long tri club ride Sat AM. Thinking about dropping down a riding group to give me time to recover correctly. What I like about TR and power, is that I'd have taken today much easier if I'd used RPE or HR. Today's workout wasn't that hard in retrospect...

    DW - you'll make 250W by the year end. Buy a bigger fan. :)

    Next week is half term, and we're away for the week, so maybe I'll re-test on the following Monday.
    My Blog!
    Twitter
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    dw300 wrote:
    JGSI wrote:
    Am I doing summat daft?
    Using the Custom workout creator, I cannot get the power to go above 200....
    I have a video of the Passo Sella and wanted to do a workout to match it... I reckoned power from about 220 to 330 should see you up it in good order (for an hour :twisted: )

    Yes .. :P

    The power level is a percentage of FTP. :wink:


    DOH!
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    Give it a try at 200 .. you'll be up it in half an hour!
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    dw300 wrote:
    Give it a try at 200 .. you'll be up it in half an hour!


    I'll make ya suffer, also got a vid of the Zoncolan with its evil 20% for God knows how far and some light relief at 15%... even the three gabby Italian ex pros (its a vid made by RAI) get out of breath on this one.
  • daverollo
    daverollo Posts: 7
    Evening all, I am still a freshman when it comes to cycling (only started in the summer) and have been looking for something to make my winter turbo sessions more meaningful and interesting. This thread has captured my imagination and over the last couple of weeks I have been accumulating the necessary hard wear to 'give it a go' (just waiting for the Ant+ HR to arrive).

    Anyway, bit the bullet and did the 20 minute test this evening, I had set the FTP initially to 160 to see how I faired and quite pleased with the results. Apart from a small bout of penile numbness :-( all was fine and dandy and the hour flew by.

    Need to set some goals and work out a suitable plan. I reckon I'll be good for 2 x 1 hour sessions midweek, with occasionally maybe 3 (this on top of getting out for a ride at the weekends). I am completely crap at climbing hills and regularly get squirted out at the back of the group I ride with. I've lost a stone in weight in the last 2 months, but know I could shift another, before christmas would be nice. Any suggestions would be appreciated

    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/91605
  • dw300
    dw300 Posts: 1,642
    JGSI wrote:
    dw300 wrote:
    Give it a try at 200 .. you'll be up it in half an hour!


    I'll make ya suffer, also got a vid of the Zoncolan with its evil 20% for God knows how far and some light relief at 15%... even the three gabby Italian ex pros (its a vid made by RAI) get out of breath on this one.

    Ha .. I've seen a vid of the Zoncolan on Youtube .. it looks an absolute monster! Not sure if the guys were pro, but they weren't bad riders by any means .. yet still crawled up bits of it at 5-6mph.

    daverollo wrote:
    Evening all, I am still a freshman when it comes to cycling (only started in the summer) and have been looking for something to make my winter turbo sessions more meaningful and interesting. This thread has captured my imagination and over the last couple of weeks I have been accumulating the necessary hard wear to 'give it a go' (just waiting for the Ant+ HR to arrive).

    Anyway, bit the bullet and did the 20 minute test this evening, I had set the FTP initially to 160 to see how I faired and quite pleased with the results. Apart from a small bout of penile numbness :-( all was fine and dandy and the hour flew by.

    Need to set some goals and work out a suitable plan. I reckon I'll be good for 2 x 1 hour sessions midweek, with occasionally maybe 3 (this on top of getting out for a ride at the weekends). I am completely crap at climbing hills and regularly get squirted out at the back of the group I ride with. I've lost a stone in weight in the last 2 months, but know I could shift another, before christmas would be nice. Any suggestions would be appreciated

    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/91605

    Looks like a solid first effort to me!

    On the numbness .. I get that a lot, but just do a minute out of the saddle in 50-12 every 15-20mins to let the blood circulate. It's tough if you're doing a big effort, and doesn't make for a smooth graph, but its a solution nonetheless.

    I'm freestyling as someone put it .. but a few guys are doing the programs and could give you feedback on how those are. And I'd suggest FTP testing after 2wks, then a further 4, then every 6 after that in order to make sure you're getting the very best out of it straight away .. then just do it consistently over the winter.
    All the above is just advice .. you can do whatever the f*ck you wana do!
    Bike Radar Strava Club
    The Northern Ireland Thread
  • Whistlers
    Whistlers Posts: 6
    Hi all

    Came across TR couple of weeks ago. Seen nothing else that compares, looks fantastic. So, I have a road bike- but this will be my first winter training indoors. I'm used to indoor training on a rowing machine, so boredom not an issue. Could someone kindly advise on the hardware I need? I will plan to do virtual power so was thinking of a kurt kinetic road machine, garmin ant stick, and cadence sensor- is that sufficient, I saw a review of the Elite Qubo today- so final question is whether anyone knows if this is compatible or not?
    Appreciate some advice
    Steve
  • dubcat
    dubcat Posts: 754
    Hi all, here is my 3rd workout. I did Baxter. Does everything look ok? It was a high cadence low stress workout. My knees are a bit sore but nothing major.

    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/92061
    2010 Specialized Rockhopper
    2012 Bianchi Infinito
  • daverollo
    daverollo Posts: 7
    Whistlers wrote:
    Could someone kindly advise on the hardware I need? I will plan to do virtual power so was thinking of a kurt kinetic road machine, garmin ant stick, and cadence sensor- is that sufficient, I saw a review of the Elite Qubo today- so final question is whether anyone knows if this is compatible or not?

    Steve

    Full list of compatible trainers is here http://www.trainerroad.com/virtual-power

    The elite qubo isn't mentioned but someone put a request in for it to be added on 21 October, not sure how long it takes to get new machines added.

    Garmin ant stick and cadence sensor is all you need and a HR is useful as well (but I haven't got one yet)

    http://support.trainerroad.com/entries/ ... rainerroad
  • jgsi
    jgsi Posts: 5,062
    First attempt witht the workout creator
    http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/91924
    Got the final sections completely wrong.
    The BETA version was updated this morning as it is work in progress
    It is a fantastic feature to create your own power profiles.
    The climbs are based loosely on the RAI training videos found on YouTube and downloaded.
  • mistertommyt
    mistertommyt Posts: 56
    Whistlers wrote:
    Hi all

    Came across TR couple of weeks ago. Seen nothing else that compares, looks fantastic. So, I have a road bike- but this will be my first winter training indoors. I'm used to indoor training on a rowing machine, so boredom not an issue. Could someone kindly advise on the hardware I need? I will plan to do virtual power so was thinking of a kurt kinetic road machine, garmin ant stick, and cadence sensor- is that sufficient, I saw a review of the Elite Qubo today- so final question is whether anyone knows if this is compatible or not?
    Appreciate some advice
    Steve

    That's the setup I run, a KK Road Machine, Garmin ANT+, Garmin cadence and sped sensor plus HR. It's been flawless and was very easy to set up. The Road Machine is great, really well made and solid.
    www.trainerroad.com/career/ttm

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