I use trainer road with a smart trainer, but have no power meter on my bike. I wanted to do an extra endurance outside ride per week and used my heart rate monitor to be in the right zone. So: 1) How do I determine my heart rate zones? 2) Can the Trainerroad AI handle just the heart rate data and successfully interact with my current training plan?
Hey there!
TR itself doesn’t use HR as a way to track your zones (more info on why can be found here if you’re interested), though there are common ways to do so – here are a couple of examples from British Cycling:
Because HR can vary quite a bit from session to session, we recommend using Rate of Perceived Exertion when doing Outside Workouts.
The good news is that TR will still be able to adjust your plan as you train, even if you don’t use a power meter outdoors. You’ll still benefit from Red Light Green Light’s fatigue prevention features and Adaptive Training will continue to choose the right workouts for your current fitness levels as you move through your plan and complete workouts.
Hopefully that helps clear things up – feel free to let us know if you have any additional questions!