I have heard this talked about a bunch but no real data. I have just always used my power from my trainer for no particular reason other than it was just always set up.
I have a power meter on my bike and in a few weeks I will use the power meter but don’t want to change now in the mid of a training block.
So my question really is has anyone done this and did the power match closely?
Are you asking if anyone has changed from smart trainer to power meter in the middle of the block?
I would wait until the block is over, perform a ramp test using the power meter and then move forward using the power meter and the FTP from it.
There is the power match function but can’t comment on it as I am not familiar.
I was just wondering if folks had changed it and noticed the trainer was off by any or not
No two devices are going to give you the EXACT same power reading.
If you are asking if smart trainers normally read higher or lower than an on bike power meter, not sure but I am sure others can chime in.
On my original generation kickr the difference was substantial. The kickr measured significantly higher power than any of the power meters I compared it with. With my newer kickr core the gap is much lower although it still is not a 100% match
It depends on what power meter you’re running and the trainer.
I’d echo the comments above. Finish your block of training and retest with the PM you are going to use going forwards.
My experience with a Direto shows it tracks 5-10W below my PM’s but more often you hear the opposite, either way they are unlikely to be identical, aside from anything else they will be measuring power at different points of the drive chain.
One easy way to find out if its open to you is to use TR with the smart trainer which by the sound of it you do and to pair another head unit to the Power Meter and compare them.
Agree.
My Stages PM and Kickr 2017 are usually within 3-10W of each other. Your setup will be different and so as @JulianM stated its best to use ANT+ to pair with bike computer and compare TR to computer. Or don’t bother, and just switch to TR’s power match at the start of your next training phase.
As @bbarrera mentioned, Power Match allows you to get the best of both worlds. It allows you to use the Power from your Power Meter to control the ERG response on your Trainer. In other words, the TrainerRoad App acts as an intermediary that bypasses the power meter within the Trainer in favor of your crank mounted power meter.
You can learn more about setting up PowerMatch here:
Cheers!