just finished my first trainerroad rides and now i am left with one, maybe two things that confuse me a bit…
i’m coming from zwift (using zwifts training plans) and from there i am used to cycling with a specific cadence the zwift app tells me. for example: this interval with 85, next 115, next 85, and so on. you don’t get the green check mark if you don’t hit correct cadence.
trainerroad does not do that at all, right? i see the current cadence but not with which cadence i am supposed to ride atm?
this might sound stupid, but i had the feeling that exactly this was one of the main reasons the zwift workouts made me faster. it forced me to ride with a cadence outside of my comfort zone.
is it really so unimportant at which cadence you do those intervals?
thats more or less my main question… there are two more little things though:
i have garmin rally pedals, the ones which measure my watts on each side… when i’m riding outside i get a ton of info in garmin connect - left/right balance, power phase and so on… i don’t see those for the trainerroad rides… although garmin rally is connected and shows “green” in my trainerroad account…?
i found that comment pretty often everywhere but i’ll add my voice to it - the missing of a “companion” app is a huge bummer.
TR has occasional cadence suggestions, but you don’t have to follow them.
The benefit of cadence is constantly debated, but in general, pedal at what feels comfortable or natural. Let cadence select itself. If you want to focus on high cadence for some drills ( or low cadence to simulate climbing) have at it. It is good to practice at different cadences because your cadence will vary in the real world.
But don’t overthink it…for the most part, just ride what feels good.
Target cadences are provided in the workout text if its relevant to that workout, the text will appear as the workout progresses. Usually this is where particularly low <60 or high >100 is desired for a slightly different physiological adaptation.
Cadence is really not important in cycling performance I think 75-95 is TR’s range for normal cycling but don’t quote me.
Unlike Zwift, everything you need for TR is in the app which runs on your mobile or laptop or whatever, Zwift has flaws in it’s main app which it compensates for with a companion app.
because i am rinding in front of a PC with a big monitor, yet the keyboard is too far away so for example during the ramp test i had to get off my bike to click “finish” and get back on to finish cool down…
The ability to use different cadences is a useful tool in your cycling arsenal but it won’t really influence how fast you get. That’s down to riding more and training more.
Different people gravitate towards a favoured cadence. I spin fast at 98-102, one guy i ride with does more like 80-85. We can both do 300W for an hour at that.
sure that’s a possible workaround… i´’d just prefer to see the instructions on a big screen in front of me when it’s there already… yes, i could mirror the mobile screen to the pc. or use a wireless keyboard. there are tons of workarounds. nothing seems as nice as a companion app though.
That one situation on the ramp test is really the only situation where you might have to get off the bike to mess with the computer. The only other time would be if something goes wrong like a disconnecting PM or something. In which case you’ll probably get off anyway.
Edit: I’ll add that since you’re not changing worlds (or doing whatever else you crazy Zwifters do) there’s a lot less interaction with the app during the rides. Really, the only other reason to what to click on the app during a ride is so that you can show the additional ride stats during the ride (like kJ’s, TSS, etc). But I do that maybe 10% of the time and even then it’s just out of curiosity.
Or increase the warmup and/or cooldown duration, or change intensity in resistance mode, or change mode, or reduce/increase the target power…
I’m changing my workout room layout, in the old setup there was a treadmill just besides me and I’d use its control panel to place a (wireless) keyboard near me. In the new layout, there will be a small table between the 2 trainers to put stuff - food, keyboard, etc.
I have to go and get my glasses at the end of the ramp test
I can’t remember anyone on the forum asking for a companion app, there’s no real point as the main app does everything you need.
Cadence: generally choose the cadence you want, sometimes the text will give hints but not all workouts have instructional text. Often during interval workouts I’ll do different intervals at different cadences - 85, 95, 105, etc. just to get used to something other than my self-selected cadence.
Power - TR just shows power but your left-right balance should still be in the fit file for analysis later, someone from TR might have to confirm that. Not really important in terms of completing workouts. About the only time I can think of where dual sided power meters would be of use in the TR world are in single leg drills when you are just using the right leg.
I think this is a great point…the Zwift Companion App was basically creted because the user interface w/ Zwift suh-suh-suh-suh-sucks. So they put a bandaid on it by creating the app…which IMO also kinda sucks, but that is a different thread.
If you search for ‘cadence’ in the workouts page, plenty of workouts are listed which presumably include cadence drills in the workout notes. But TR doesn’t force you to use any particular cadence. Personally, I’ve found my cadence has increased markedly since I’ve been following along with the on-screen cadence prompts in some of the workouts.
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