@spooney, I moved your post under the long running thread that covers this topic from about every angle imaginable.
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Not sure but if you have a Kickr there is a speed simulation setting you can turn on that give you accurate miles and mph. Thats all I got.
No Iām on a Flux, speed and miles arenāt whatās bothering me but thanks.
My issue is it seems vastly different in terms of effort (shown by HR) from the big ring to the inner ring
Would this all be also the case on rollers without flywheel?
Rollers without a flywheel have very little inertia. They typically have a fast spindown of mere seconds before the wheels stop. So they are more like the low flywheel speed trainers in that they donāt āhelpā you keep the flow thru the dead spots in the pedals.
Notably, most rollers donāt offer ERG control either. Many donāt have any way to alter resistance other than shifting gears, just like most dumb trainers. All that means you canāt do the same level of gear selections as a regular controlled trainer in ERG.
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Interesting, I wonder if he was cross chaining in one situation and didnāt realize it? He he say anything about which cog?
Hi everyone,
Just giving my input on this long topicā¦
Just did a VO2 max @120% ftp today in big ring. I used not to care at all in which ring/cog I was but ended up doing all my workouts small ring big cog. Todayās result was really surprising as I kinda felt like it was a hard workout but seemed much more doable than what I normally feel in the small ringā¦
I also find I never quite match my outside power at all. Inside Iām using a ādumbā bike on the Neo 2T and outside Quarq Spider PM on a much better bike. I will test my inside ftp on the big ring next time and and see what it gives me in terms of info.
For example, I am able to maintain 5 min 375W outside not being at the maximum of all I can doā¦ I was tired and went on a 100km ride right afterā¦ Small ring inside I am struggling 3 min 330Wā¦ Yet, Iām using two fans and open windows with -5Ā°C outside 
so I definitely donāt know how figures and efforts could be and feel so differentā¦
I do believe though that one needs to adjust its training to its own setup and measure improvements regarding one setup at a time and not compare between these setupsā¦ though itās frustratingā¦
Regards
Just a heads up - the latest research points not just to the type of riding but also considering the type of muscles that you use for that type of ride . ie big ring = tt / road and small ring = climbing. But consider why - big ring = glutes while the small chain ring utilises the quads ( other muscles are engaged but these are the specific ones that are focused on ). happy for feedback / contradictions . 
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Was the research on the road or on a trainer?
So after finally getting back into a groove after a bad injury two years ago, then Covid, and blah blah blahā¦ I was doing a workout 2x20 with 4 min rest. I have a smart trainer Saris H2. I usually leave in small ring and let ERG do its magic. Started out in small ring did warmp up then went into first interval. Was about to give up 4 mins in and lowered bias 5%. Went another few and stopped for a min. Put bike in big ring and rode along with interval almost seeming easy. I even raised bias up to 97% for last 5 mins. For second started at 97% in big ring almost felt easy and raised to 100% for last 5 mins. TSS matched at the end. My thought was the big ring allows for more flucation of power. Also cadence was at or above 85 whole time. So why did it seem easier in big ring? Any thoughts?
@smeakim, I moved your post under the lengthy one discussing this very topic.
Perception about this issue varies for many reasons. Some people feel like you do, that the faster flywheel āhelpsā with getting the feet around the circle. But not everyone feels the same.
You can review the many opinions and angles above for more info to see the wide range of thoughts on the topic.
Sorry to resurrect this highly contentious topic, I really just wanted to share a personal experience.
I spent the last two years on a trainer (Wahoo Kickr), riding small cogs because Iām one of those people who perceive it to be easier than lower gears. And I thought 100W is 100W, so whatever.
Well, I went on a group ride last weekend, for the first time in these two years. And what I discovered was that I had no trouble staying with the group on the flats, pushing at about my threshold power continuously. But as soon as we got to the hills I fell FAR behind! I could no longer continuously sustain the same power in the lower gears. Iām guessing itās due to much lower inertia and the lack of micro rests you get on the flats at the bottom of each pedal stroke.
So it would appear that lower gears on the trainer are like riding up a hill, while higher gears are like the flats.
did your cadence drop on the climb?
Always interesting to see the different experiences. I rode Kickr in Erg, in the big ring, and no problem pushing power flats or climbs.
Iāve learned a long time ago to do the FTP test with the same gearing as when doing the workouts. But it just occurred to me that the discrepancy with how I feel on the road (natural cadance ~ 90rpm, 180W is definitely hard) vs TR (I marked Monitor +5 at 100rpm / 180W+ as āeasyā) must be the gearing as well.
I think I Iām currently using 42/16, would I get more of a āroad feelā (less flywheel effect, more effort to maintain high rpm / wattage) to use a larger cog, ie 42/23?
Do you mean to say youāre training in a bigger gear, e.g. big front ring/small rear cog? The inertia when riding in a bigger gear definitely makes the workouts easier (in my experience). Because of that I train exclusively in the small front ring, and about halfway up the cassette.
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No, I keep the cadence fairly constant at 90+ rpm.
Over the years Iāve experimented with this and found exactly the same.
Being a MTBāer I train in the smallest gear (small chain ring, near the top of the cassette) my trainer will allow.
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Ditto
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Iāve a wahoo kickr and normally my workouts are the longer endurnace style where a bigger gear and faster fly wheel make the wokout easy ( relativly speaking).
However i had some vo2 repeats to do and using the same gear ( big at the front and mid at the back ) i could not hit the avg watts required ( 350w ) as it was yo-yoāing . I had to increase my cadence through the entire 45 seconds to maintain the target power.
Last night i had some 400w openers to threshold and ran my bike in the small front ring and mid block for a nice chain line and it was so much better. The trainer really make me work for the watts and seemed much more stable and able to control my power / cadence.
The rest of the work did feel like i was pedalling through mud - that would be the slower flywheel effect.
Iām going to try and train in the small ring for a while - definalty makes the workouts harderā¦ not sure if thats better, but probably more akin to riding outside off road up hills
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@sudarkoff,
Iām not an expert in this, but I do think a lot about this as an MTB Instructor and coach. While power IS power, how you generate it is key to effectively applying your FTP on the road and trail.
Gearing is fundamentally about torque, and combined with cadence, is about how hard and how frequently you apply power into your wheels. Check out the graphic below and the article link at the end. Itās not enough to apply power the same way on every ride on every hill. You have to be able adjust your pedaling skills to achieve the application you need. Flats are very different from climbing. On the flats, big hard gears and a moderate cadence can be fast; but on hills, fast legs in easier gears can give you the same power, BUT it is applied more frequently and continuously even with some cadence variation. Think about this graphic and what is means to your riding.
We all need to be good in all 4 of these quadrants. You canāt train all the time in the same gear and expect to be well rounded.
Good hunting.
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