New to trainers - offline workouts, ramp test without ERG mode

Equipment
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Hi there, I’m a TR user for about 7-8 months. Until now I did all my sessions outside and I love it. I’m about to get my first trainer. I live in a flat and the only place where I can train is a garage/cellar where my bikes and tools are stored. There isn’t any internet connection but there is electricity. Before I’ll buy proper trainer I’d like to try it first. I have an option to get lightly used Feedback Omnium Over-Drive trainer for reasonable price. From podcasts I know I’ll need also a decent fan(s).
My primary goal is to do the ramp tests and 1-2 sessions a week in case of rain. Will I be able to do the ramp tests on this trainer? Do I need to have special tire to do the 2 sessions a week? What do you do/watch during workouts?

Thanks a lot! Martin

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So to the last point first - there are lots of old threads on entertainment:

Personally I either listen to the podcast, or the radio … weirdly I tend not to listen purely to music, as I prefer to occasionally hear a real speaking voice … go figure :grinning:

(no knowledge of that turbo, sorry, but I’m sure others will)

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Hi,
Fans are nice and I couldn’t ride without one now, but I trained for years without one.

Also the specific trainer tyre again is nice but not essential. Up until buying a wheel off trainer I would regularly ride the same tyre and and off road. It certainly wears out a bit quicker, and by reading posts on this forum, the wear rate seems to be trainer/user specific,
If I knew I was going to be solely riding indoors I would put an old worn out tyre on.

I have done workouts with just my mobile phone and used the data on that.

I am not familiar with the trainer you speak off.

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I think you will will need a WiFi connection to do any of the workouts in indoor mode, and that includes the various FTP tests. Please, correct me if I am wrong?

You don’t need a smart trainer to do the workouts, I use a Kinetic bike trainer and TR calculates the relative power. The workouts focus lot on Cadence and power, so having sensors for speed/cadence, and probably HR belt are necessary, and you will most likely need a Dongle for the device, to pick up the signal from the sensors; I mention the latter as it took me 3-4 weeks to get one online due to the pandemic freight delays.

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The Omnium website says they are compatible with TR. Training tyres can be a worthwhile investment, not essential, but equally just using a clean (no grit to damage the trainer cylinders) but old tyre can do the same job. In either case the implication is a separate training wheel and cassette, so maybe just putting up with faster wear on your road tyre is worthwhile?

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  • As long as you have launched the TR app with an internet connection after installing it, the app will have the workouts loaded.
  • That means you can run any workout in the TR library, including the tests.
  • You will need to connect to the internet when you want any completed workout(s) to your career and calendar.
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Thank you explaining that. I wasn’t sure if TR downloaded each workout in total, or just setup a live runtime downloaded link. I presume, then, that the end of workout calculation is also performed on the device, before subsequent loading to the online calendar.

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  • Correct. You can see the primary ride stats right on the device. But it takes a web connection to upload to TR and give you the full analysis options. It will do that automatically the next time it’s connection.