Hello everyone, I have been using TrainerRoad for a few months now, have a Kickr18. Also have a Stages LS Power Meter. My first FTP experience was outdoors and to cut a long story short I know the power numbers on a trainer compared to riding outside can vary. Just use the ramp test as my baseline now. I am from a running background and have always used HR in the past but clearly Power is King when it comes to making accurate assessments when cycling. When running I am very aware of my pacing, distance etc so I know when I am at or beyond my limits for a certain distances. I am starting to understand the Power numbers and how it āfeelsā on the bike. I would ultimately like to be in the position where I can translate these numbers to my outside rides to get the same benefit and knowledge I can get from running. As a result, I would like to have my power numbers when I am outside match as closely as possible to training indoors. Is Power Match the answer?
If so, this brings me to my next question, ERG mode. During intense TR workouts I love the fact that ERG mode just ālocksā me into the required power, I just need to focus on cadence or if things get so tough I just close my eyes and push through the pain knowing I am holding the right power.
Forgive me if this is a stupid question but will ERG mode still work if I use Power Match?
I have a kickr (original model) and kickr core and use power match + ERG mode 100% of the time - works great. I do it for the same reasons @mikedav13s outlined - I want to have the same power numbers as the basis of my training and my outside ride
Just tried Baxter -2 as a test with Kickr18 and Stages LH crank power meter. Donāt think ERG mode worked at all, spent the hour just chasing the increased power with more cadence. If I backed off the pedals the resistance didnāt increase to equal the power, the power just dropped off or increased if I pedialled too fast. Sent details to support for comment. But I can say the power source was correct in the file, Stages not Kickr and Power Match was set to āAUTOā and mode is āERGā. So it looked correct from what I could see.
One thing that looked right was the Power output shown in TR and my on the head unit. Pretty close, think if I changed it from 3 second average to 5 it would be closer.
Iām sometimes feel like Iām having the same issue - forced to increase cadence to maintain target power, and when I try to drop off cadence to force it to increase resistance (say to get it back down to 85 rpm) it struggles and wants to spin back up again. I donāt want to be continually doing this ether as Iām trying to hold target power.
No PM on bike - just smart trainer - elite direto for power readings.
Interested to hear other folks thoughts on this one.
Thanks
If it doesnāt work ā maybe contact support?
Many things can interfere connection between PM, Trainer and TR-device. Support can walk you through this.
Instead is using Power Match, I set my Kickr to be controlled with my power meter. In the Wahoo Fitness iOS app (sorry, this isnāt available on Android for some weird reason), choose Sensors, your Kickr, then scroll to the bottom and enable āControl w/ ANT+ Power Meter.ā Key in your meterās. ANT+ ID and youāre good to go.
Iāve personally found this to work more fluidly than Power Match, though keep in mind that it still wonāt be quite as fluids as just using your trainer power with ERG mode.
@mikedav13s which headunit? What are you running TR on? Bluetooth or ANT+?
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@bbarrera I was just running the head unit to compare the Power numbers in the TR App. I use an Elemnt Bolt which connects to PM via Ant+. I then connect Trainer (Kickr18) to IOS TR App via BT, Stages PM also connects to TR via BT.
Thanks for the tip @summerson, so does ERG mode actually work with this configuration? In other words the correct resistance is applied to the Trainer no matter what your Cadence is to ensure you are at the right Power level?
It does for me, though itās slower to repond than just using the trainer itself. But I prefer the accuracy of using my actual power meter, so itās worth it.
Yep. Already logged a support request but the connections were fine, the data file was recording from the correct source and the trainer and pm was definitely connected / paired to the TR app.
I sometimes experience the same thing and Iām convinced that doing a proper spindown and power meter calibration fix it 9 times out of 10. Sometimes I even restart Trainer Road or reboot my computer and the power immediately feels more responsive in Erg Mode.
Pro tip: Try focusing only on your cadence rather than the power - I try to almost completely ignore the power number as itās very distracting (as Iām constantly trying to adjust cadence to help match the power), and when I keep my cadence stable it really seems to work as intended.
Ok Iām still kinda lost. I want to use power from my powermeter to control trainer road. I want it to be the best it can be with less lag as possible. Now when using power meters for trainer road I just switch to powermatch, I donāt do anything with my wahoo app. I do the same with zwift. Are you saying to change it in the wahoo app . When I do that what does trainer road do. Do I still connect my powermatch on trainer road, or use just erg mode. Or do I cut erg mode off when using powermatch on trainer road. Iāve used zwift and trainer road with my powermeter before. I just have never done it in the wahoo app. I thought the wahoo app is pointless if Iām having a 3rd party app take control. I could be wrong
Iām not sure of the intricacies of how ERG or Powermatch work, but holding cadence more or less constant seems to be the key. I guess it makes sense if you want one variable to change predictably (resistance on your ERG trainer) to hold the other element constant (cadence).
Yup. For using ERG, keeping a steady and predictable cadence is the most important thing you can do. I recommend just watching your cadence, and ignore power. When you do that, the app and trainer do what they are programmed to do just fine.