Am I the only one who finds it easier to put power down indoors?

Training
21

Haha me too. I actually dropped them a few weeks ago when I had enough but I didn’t get a call for the next ride. Coincidence? :thinking:

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22

I keep thinking maybe sucking at 3 sports is going to be my calling when I get tired of sucking at only one. My riding style certainly fits the part.

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23

Was once told, “Never waste a good headwind” :smile:

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25

I would like to answer your question, but first I would have to ride this thing you guys call “outside”! :joy::joy::joy:

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26

I ride MTB outside, usually hunting for downhill runs on an enduro rig in the woods. The average power for a 2 hour ride is normally about 130-140 watts, where I am riding tempo on most of the ups, whereas I usually average 190+ on the trainer with relative ease. I can tell you, I feel absolutely destroyed after doing the outdoor sessions, usually requiring a nap on the sofa in the afternoon (with the obligatory ‘watching a movie’ with my kids) as well as the next day to recover.

Climbing 600-800m during a 25-30km ride is typical for a ride outside, but my watts are very low with the RPE so high - the climbs are high wattage, but the descents are near zero - both are very physical. This is an extreme example of what @Stringwise is pointing out re efforts on rolling terrain :smile:

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27

i am the same way, I chalk it up to:

  • indoors - smooth resistance, no distractions, motivating music.
  • outdoors - road undulations, traffic, turns, variable winds all slightly interfere with laying it down.
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28

For me, riding indoors is just different than riding outdoors for many reasons.

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29

Very methodical answer :v:t4:

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30

Have you ever tried outside workouts?

31

@ChrisL, try this…next time you’re outside riding try convincing yourself that it’s all in your head & because you have an iron will that can overcome anything you’re going to convince yourself that it’s easier riding outside than it is riding inside.

Really convince yourself. See if that helps to close the RPE gap.

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32

OK. Something of a rookie error…
As I was getting more or less the expected FTP and 5 minute power out on the road I assumed my pedal PM was pretty much in line with my trainer PM.

Now I have actually compared them after a Zwift race I find there is about a 7% difference, although this disappears at the top end.

This goes some way towards explaining the discrepancy. However, I’m now left wondering whether my trainer over-reports (supposed +/-2% accuracy), my pedal under-reports or I don’t have 50/50 L/R power as I’m on a single pedal meter.

Obviously I will err on the side of caution and go with the highest power :slight_smile:

33

It’s not uncommon for riders to have an imbalance of power between legs. Given you note that the discrepancy disappears at top end, it could be due to your weaker leg ‘kicking in’ so to speak.

Single sided power meters usually measure power and double it, so it is easy for any imbalance to be magnified. If say, your non-dominant side was 3% lower than your average power, if you double it’s already 6% out before you even factor in the accuracy of the meter itself.

Here’s an interesting article which I read recently. Single-sided vs dual-sided power meters: How advanced does your power meter need to be? | Cyclist

Erring on the side of caution and going with the highest power is the spirit - I’d do the same too :muscle: :smile:

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34

I find at low intensity my hr is lower indoors, but once I get to threshold and above they are pretty similar.