The official TrainerRoad thread

patrickf

danridesbikes wrote:

im aware the figures may be out, but if you look at my last 20 Minute test in february, i never went above 183bpm until the final minute, so i clearly pushed harder, cadence is steady at 90ish

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

The fact that you still had the energy to push quite hard at the end may suggest that you had a bit more to give. Did you fall off your bike at the end?

danridesbikes

first one, no i could have probably held a conversation,

second one more or less fell off, i had zero left,

jgsi

danridesbikes wrote:

first one, no i could have probably held a conversation,

second one more or less fell off, i had zero left,

If you switch your profile to the Satori Powertap version in TR, you will find it a little more true to life , the watts may more than likely drop by 30 to 40.
I use it on Level 7 as it equates to a good 'road' feel.
I swapped some 18months ago, when my numbers started to go far too unrealistic.
The Powertap profile was done for free by a forum member and was taken up by TR.

danridesbikes

thanks, will look at switching, need to adjust the resistance for sure

upped the FTP to 418 - left resistance on 5,

was tired for this, was 48 hours after a quick 100 mile ride,

this was the result

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... est-Angels

was in 53/11 for the whole of the last 8 minute "climb"

jgsi

danridesbikes wrote:

thanks, will look at switching, need to adjust the resistance for sure

upped the FTP to 418 - left resistance on 5,

was tired for this, was 48 hours after a quick 100 mile ride,

this was the result

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... est-Angels

was in 53/11 for the whole of the last 8 minute "climb"

This is one case where you'd benefit from beg borrow stealin a PowerTap wheel and assessing your NP from an outdoor ride, as that be impressive numbers.
Pushing an ave cadence of 94... in 53/11 ... can you do that outside on the flat? if you can then, stay away from any timetrial I'm doing this year!

mulletmaster

There are pros who wouldn't even have a threshold of 420w in fact I suspect less than 50% of them would. I suspect something is amiss here unless you are earning a living from some kind of endurance sport or some kind of total animal 1st Cat who decimates races everywhere?

johnnybike

Over the last few days I have worked my way through this full thread and I am really motivated by it
Special kudos to dw300 and MarkP80 who have really shown me what is possible by good training and motivation.

I actually don’t cycle that much but I am quite fit for a 57 yo and I want to get into cycling as I get more time as retirement looms in a couple of years and running is becoming harder to maintain with lots of injury niggles.

I intend buying a KickR and will do a lot of training on that, interspersed with outdoor rides. My weekends are committed to golf on both days so that doesn’t leave a lot of time for long rides. My main aim is to up my cycling fitness and endurance and then as more time becomes available join a club and start challenging myself a bit.

I know I can commit to the thought of using the garage as I used a Concept 2 for 5 years and I have done many turbo sessions in the past. The thought of doing TR sessions really motivates me and I am going for the Wahoo as I like the idea of having a consistent rear wheel (or no real wheel to be precise) but the real deciding point was seeing that you can do Strava segments (offline of course). I don’t want to detract from the TR thread but does anybody with a KickR do that and if so do you need an Ipad/Apple tool for it as I was intending to use a PC (W7 ) + Ant+ dongle and Garmin Ant+ chest strap. EDIT Wahoo have confirmed you do need an Ipad or similar and there are no plans for Wahoo segments on a PC/Android app. Pity really

danridesbikes

there were errors with my data above, wheel circ was set too low after an update

CRAIGO5000

I've been cycling for around 4 years now and using TrainerRoad for nearly 2 years on and off.

I've got some long term FTP results to which could be of interest to any other users. These are recorded using the same turbo and dedicated turbo wheel set-up and although the actual virtual power figure may be not be as accurate as a dedicated PM, the growth gains certainly are! Look at the heart rate monitor trace in the various tests. It's quite motivating to have this data to look back on and the reason I want to share it with you guys.

OCT 2012:
FTP - 218
Weight - 67KG
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

FEB 2013:
FTP - 232
Weight - 63KG
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

APRIL 2014:
FTP - 279
Weight - 61KG
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

An overlay mode would be a really cool feature in TrainerRoad for easier comparison and I'm sure Nate is working on something after a little Googling.

Even without the overlay mode, comparing the 45th minute on my first FTP test to my latest shows my HR at 184bpm for 201Watts. My latest FTP test at the same 45th minute of the test shows a HR of 176bpm for 281Watts.

So since starting the use of TrainerRoad, my FTP has grown from 3.21 to 4.57. Which, strictly could be measured in turnip power as the power figure is "virtual", but since it's still a valid reference figure for my set-up, the gain of more power per weight is still valid.

To be fair, my training has ramped up more than ever since early January this year as my aim was to race this season (which I've started to do) so the biggest gain has been in the last four months. It's just time-crunched with a full-time job, wife and two kids!

Cheers

johnnybike

Very impressive - a AHR drop in the test of about 10bpm tells it's own story.
In the second test you seemed to be struggling a bit in the 2nd half of the 20minute section but really nailed it in the 3rd one.
Which is cause and effect from the results and loosing the 6kg - does the loss of weight help the FTP or did your training at a higher FTP/effort cause the weight loss -

Thanks for sharing the results - you must be very pleased.

markp80

CRAIGO5000 wrote:

I've been cycling for around 4 years now and using TrainerRoad for nearly 2 years on and off.

I've got some long term FTP results to which could be of interest to any other users. These are recorded using the same turbo and dedicated turbo wheel set-up and although the actual virtual power figure may be not be as accurate as a dedicated PM, the growth gains certainly are! Look at the heart rate monitor trace in the various tests. It's quite motivating to have this data to look back on and the reason I want to share it with you guys.

OCT 2012:
FTP - 218
Weight - 67KG
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

FEB 2013:
FTP - 232
Weight - 63KG
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

APRIL 2014:
FTP - 279
Weight - 61KG
http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/ride ... inute-Test

So since starting the use of TrainerRoad, my FTP has grown from 3.21 to 4.57. Which, strictly could be measured in turnip power as the power figure is "virtual", but since it's still a valid reference figure for my set-up, the gain of more power per weight is still valid.

Cheers

Yep,, using TR over a similar time period, I've seen my FTP rise by a similar margin (although my numbers are lower). Similarly I've seen significant weight loss too - but then I was a fattie to start with, and I'm hardly a rcing snake now!

Cheers,
MarkP

markp80

johnnybike wrote:

Over the last few days I have worked my way through this full thread and I am really motivated by it

I actually don’t cycle that much but I am quite fit for a 57 yo and I want to get into cycling as I get more time as retirement looms in a couple of years and running is becoming harder to maintain with lots of injury niggles.

My weekends are committed to golf on both days so that doesn’t leave a lot of time for long rides. My main aim is to up my cycling fitness and endurance and then as more time becomes available join a club and start challenging myself a bit.

I know I can commit to the thought of using the garage as I used a Concept 2 for 5 years and I have done many turbo sessions in the past. The thought of doing TR sessions really motivates me...

I've snipped a few bits from your post there, as I can comment on the bits I've left. TR has worked for me as an amazing motivational tool, so much so that I actually look forward to turbo sessions. I've seen tremendous improvement in personal fitness and real gains in my cycling ability too, which have been reflected in my personal performances on the road too.
I don't have a lot of time for long weekend rides either, but don't let that put you off. TR has training plans that can account for limited training times.
I would also recommend that you should challenge yourself in a local club as well, once you feel you are achieving something with your progress. I entered my first ever time trial at the end of last summer and had a great time. OK, I was virtually at the bottom of the results sheet, but who cares - you're racing yourself in a TT, so I would certainly suggest your local club TT makes a good target for your training, if that sort of competing interests you.

Cheers,
markP

twist83

As you have found TR does indeed make for an enjoyable turbo session. I never thought I would use those two words. I used this solidly from early Jan when I found it all the way until March time when the weather picked up. It has really helped me come along.

In fact I am going to do the Tour Of California thing coming up on TF and it will be the middle of May! Crazy.

MarkP80 wrote:

johnnybike wrote:

Over the last few days I have worked my way through this full thread and I am really motivated by it

I actually don’t cycle that much but I am quite fit for a 57 yo and I want to get into cycling as I get more time as retirement looms in a couple of years and running is becoming harder to maintain with lots of injury niggles.

My weekends are committed to golf on both days so that doesn’t leave a lot of time for long rides. My main aim is to up my cycling fitness and endurance and then as more time becomes available join a club and start challenging myself a bit.

I know I can commit to the thought of using the garage as I used a Concept 2 for 5 years and I have done many turbo sessions in the past. The thought of doing TR sessions really motivates me...

I've snipped a few bits from your post there, as I can comment on the bits I've left. TR has worked for me as an amazing motivational tool, so much so that I actually look forward to turbo sessions. I've seen tremendous improvement in personal fitness and real gains in my cycling ability too, which have been reflected in my personal performances on the road too.
I don't have a lot of time for long weekend rides either, but don't let that put you off. TR has training plans that can account for limited training times.
I would also recommend that you should challenge yourself in a local club as well, once you feel you are achieving something with your progress. I entered my first ever time trial at the end of last summer and had a great time. OK, I was virtually at the bottom of the results sheet, but who cares - you're racing yourself in a TT, so I would certainly suggest your local club TT makes a good target for your training, if that sort of competing interests you.

Cheers,
markP

SPOC

Brilliant thread! Signed up to trainer road yesterday as trainer motivation, otherwise I just get off after about 25 mins or after a set of quick 20s x8 intervals. I mainly signed up to try and give myself the motivation to stick at more intense sessions for up to an hour. This thread seems to also be a kick up a few people to get them going as well.

Will do a FTP test and report back.

I have a powertap and am also very interested in how the TR virtual power numbers compare to my powertap.

Diamant49

Finding Trainer Road is really working for me - but just did a FTP test today and the app will not retain my new FTP level, neither after hitting the update button at the end of the test, nor by resetting it manually. I had noticed a problem before, when I tried to change my wheel circumference, but it wouldn't save the new setting.

I am using a Macbook pro, and have tried updating the software and logging out and in again, but to no avail. It might be case of uninstalling the software and trying a reinstall, or else just increasing the % intensity of the workouts each time, but that would be a right pain!

Anybody encounter a similar problem?

markp80

I've been having a few problems recently with the Ant+ connection between my laptop and bike sensors. The signal from speed/cadence sensor will momentarily be lost causing a "workout paused" message, then a few seconds later it gets picked up again. Occasionally the HRM signal drops out too.

I changed the batteries but this doesn't seem to have helped. Could my Garmin Ant+ dongle have a fault? Has anyone else experienced this?

Cheers,
MarkP

Diamant49

Actually, yes I had been getting this quite a bit recently (not today though), the workout pauses are irritating to say the least! I changed batteries as well, to no effect. I am using a Suunto MovieStick Mini Ant+ USB and was wondering if there was a fault in it.

Might just be coincidence that we have had the same problem, and I don't know if anything in the house could interfere with the signal - but its only the last couple of weeks that it has been a problem.

patrickf

I had this too and wondered if the signal had problems where the laptop was. Stuck the dongle on a USB extension and dangled it over the edge of the table so that it now has line of sight with the speed/cadence sensor.

Interestingly the HR reading never stopped, so I figured the dongle was fine.

Haven't had an issue since using the extension.

bobgfish

Again I used small extensions for the ANT Dongle approx. 50cm long and never seen this issue again. Desktop PC.

SPOC

Did the 20 min FTP test.

http://www.trainerroad.com/cycling/rides/931677

Difference in efforts between VP and Power meter hooked up to my garmin 705.

5 min effort : VP 286 - PT - 262 = 8.39% difference

20 min effort : VP 285 - PT - 277 = 2.89% difference

Overall effort VP - 217 - PT - 207 = 4.83% difference.

On all the efforts, seems much better over a longer period of time than the shorter sections, haven't posted up and compared most numbers.

First time I have ever done an hour on the turbo, I must admit I almost gave up after 10mins of the FTP test though, also blew out when it said go for it with a minute to go. Quite fun actually all things considered though!

markp80

Thanks for the dongle feedback gents, it's interesting that a few people have had issues.

I'm actually using a netbook pc, sat on a shoebox right in front of my front wheel, so I don't think I could get the dongle much closer without an extension. I can't think of anything that would be causing interference either, unless it's my phone, which I keep within arm's reach. I might try a few tests.

Cheers,
MarkP

Diamant49

Tried hanging the USB stick on an extension - at most its 2 feet from the cadence & speed sensor - 5 interruptions in 70 minutes, so its not the solution for me either.

This didn't use to happen until 3-4 weeks ago, and nothing has changed about my setup, so I suspect an issue following an update of the software, so its maybe a bug in that?

patrickf

I vaguely recall the latest version mentioning something about fixing cadence sensor drops. Are you on the latest version?

TrevorDeRuise

We did make a few fixes in the latest update, but this sounds to me like there may be something else going on here. Check out this article - http://support.trainerroad.com/entries/20610462?challenge=18bXLumxil59upIH1mmA5F8aO

If you're still having issues, shoot our wonderful support team an email at support@trainerroad.com.

Hope this helps, guys!

Trevor from TrainerRoad

johnnybike

Not being too judgemental but I work in IT myself and the co-incidence of a few completely different people with different setup all reporting problems with ANT+ loss of signal at the the same time that "we did make a few fixes in the latest update" must be more than just a co-incidence

cerv50

johnnybike wrote:

Not being too judgemental but I work in IT myself and the co-incidence of a few completely different people with different setup all reporting problems with ANT+ loss of signal at the the same time that "we did make a few fixes in the latest update" must be more than just a co-incidence

Just to say I have not updated the software for TR yet (even though it keeps asking me to) and have had no problems with signal loss

patrickf

johnnybike wrote:

Not being too judgemental but I work in IT myself and the co-incidence of a few completely different people with different setup all reporting problems with ANT+ loss of signal at the the same time that "we did make a few fixes in the latest update" must be more than just a co-incidence

I work in IT too (coincidence?)

Anyway, it sounds like we may have had issues for different reasons and I fixed my issues way before this update.

johnnybike

I know this is the TR thread but by definition there will be a lot of experience of trainers on here and also what works well AND CONSISTENTLY with TR software
I was intending buying a Wahoo KIckR but I have a Campag Mirage 9 speed cassette on my current road bike so I have to buy a hub adapter as well as a new cassette as the one that comes with the KIckR is suitable for a 10spd Shimano or SRAM. That adds £55 + the cost of a cassette to the original £949 and it is all becoming a bit ridiculous. I think I have a 9speed style chain so not sure if you can get 9spd Campag cassettes still or even better, cheaper equivalents

I have thought of 3 alternatives
KickR - keep cassette and replace my Campag Mirage with 10sp Shimano 105 or similar - again very expensive and I dont want to do that.

Buy a 'simple trainer' - looked at KK RnRoll or one of the Elite Mag ones - advantage is that it saves a lot of money but I did fancy the consistency of not using a real wheel at all and just hooking the bike onto a static frame

The other thought is buying a dedicated training bike with 10spd Shimano on and using that with either a KickR or Eolite trainer. That does give me some advantages and I am happy to do that. Not sure how much it would cost me to get one though - it would be for indoor use only so I dont need anything special

I will be buying a new road bike next year so I dont really want to be spending money on my current bike. Any ideas appreciated of what is best and which 'simple ' style trainer is the most recommneded one . The KK RnR seems expensive for just the ability to move the framer from side to side.
Sorry I am not particularly techy in terms of what works with what.

nzhendo

Just signed up for this in a bid to keep me motivated during a wet West Coast NZ winter.
20min test last night using powertap, FTP=191.
Lots of room for improvement I'm hoping!

markp80

MarkP80 wrote:

Thanks for the dongle feedback gents, it's interesting that a few people have had issues.

I'm actually using a netbook pc, sat on a shoebox right in front of my front wheel, so I don't think I could get the dongle much closer without an extension. I can't think of anything that would be causing interference either, unless it's my phone, which I keep within arm's reach. I might try a few tests.

Cheers,
MarkP

I don't have wifi in my flat so I use a 3G mobile dongle. After the comments from everyone I wondered if that was causing interference, so I tried tonight without using it. Result - no drop out at all.
So, it's not necessary the solution, but it passed the first test. I'll continue to train without it and see if I have any further issues.
Thanks for the suggestions,
MarkP