I am looking for some advice on how to set up the Kickr bike to use with TR.
Coming from a fluid wheel on dumb trainer with Favero Assioma pedals, this is my first smart trainer and I am still trying to figure out the best setup for the indoor season.
I am not concerned about power matching and/or differences between Assioma and Kickr bike, this has been addressed by many other users. My question is whether I should I use the BT or the ANT+ connection? The BT has ERG and Standard mode, while the ANT+ has ERG and Resistance modes. Also the ANT+ allows for calibration, while the BT connection does not. I have tested each of these modes using my Galaxy S20 phone + TR app. For a more accurate comparison, I did the same workout (West Vidette +1) on four different occasions, each time trying a new configuration.
- BT + ERG mode worked fine, with some minor fluctuations around the target power. If I increased/decreased my cadence, power was jumping around for a few seconds, but eventually settled close to the target. I assume this is normal functioning for the ERG mode.
- BT + Standard mode. It seemed that TR was trying to control the bike to adjust for the target resistance, but there was a lot more fluctuation in power/resistance compared with ERG mode.
In both BT modes I deliberately decreased and increased my cadence to (subjectively) assess how TR controls the resistance to adjust for these changes. ERG mode was really nice, but Standard worked too. - ANT+ ERG mode. Worked just as well as the BT+ERG mode, had zero issues in adjusting the resistance.
- ANT+ Resistance. Absolutely useless!! Resistance was not adjusted by the software. I tried changing my cadence, shifting through the whole gear range, but nothing helped. For all these changes after an initial small increase in resistance for a few seconds, it eventually dropped to the 60-90 watts range.
My goal is to eventually use TR on a windows 10 laptop connected to a bigger screen via hdmi cable. The laptop has a BT connection, but I haven’t tested it with TR and the Kickr bike yet.
Here are my questions:
- Should I buy an ANT+ dongle and use it in ANT+ ERG mode, or would the BT connection be enough? I have only used TR as a training platform so far, and from the info I gathered it seems that for structured interval training I should only use ERG mode.
- This winter I might venture into some occasional Zwift rides. Since those are not structured rides, what is the best mode to ride those in?
- If using ANT+ connection, do I need to calibrate the Kickr bike?
- What mode to use for a free ride where there is no target power to match?
I searched the forum for answers, but I could not locate information for these specific questions.
Thank you!