Powermatch in Ramp test

Training
1

I find powermatch is great mostly, with 2 exceptions:

  • if my ant+ drops out, erg mode turns off and never turns back on - so i always watch that and press M to re-enable
    -No idea why, but it simply doesn’t seem to match in the same way during a ramp test

Anyone else experience different matching between ramp test and other workouts?

2

I am not a fan of Powermatch and never use it. Luckily my PM is almost exactly the same (within 1%) as my Kickr Snap in Erg mode. I had a bad experience with powermatch on my ramp test and subsequently in many comparison workouts since. So I always use my Kickr’s ERG and record separately my PM to my bike computer. After each workout I compare the power profiles on DC Rainmakers Analysis tool and they are spot on.

2 Likes
3

This is pretty odd @djhnz. As @MI-XC’s experiences illustrate, PowerMatch works well on some setups very well, and pretty poorly on others. We have future plans to improve the functionality of PowerMatch, but there is no ETA at this time.

I’m going to have a Support Agent reach out to you to investigate the strange RAMP test behavior and offer you some tips for optimizing your experiences with PowerMatch. Keep an eye out for an email from us. :+1:

2 Likes
4

Try using Bluetooth instead (with the approved Bluetooth adapter). I had all sorts of problems with ANT+ and PowerMatch when I first started, most notably that when it dropped, the power would stay wherever it was at until I paused it which was a nightmare during intervals. Felt to me like ANT+ got a lot of interference with other wireless stuff around my setup.

Bluetooth is much more stable. I still get the occasional drop or funny things like it not adjusting resistance accordingly for a few seconds but overall it’s a much better experience. Using the trainer power is the absolute best in terms of consistency throughout the workout but I hate that it reads about 10% lower than my PM (making workouts harder than they should be if I have it set using a FTP guaged from my PM instead) and I like to keep it the same as the readings outdoors.

5

I’m curious to hear what people with a power meter on their bike and a smart trainer do when it comes time to ramp test. I think the updates to Powermatch recently have been great for normal workouts, but I tried a ramp test last week with Powermatch on, and wasn’t super happy with how it turned out.

Suggestions? Opinions?

6

I use the trainer’s erg for the ramp and also run my PM to my Bolt. That way you will have a 1 minute max power from your trainer and a 1 minute max power from your PM. You can then compare the numbers and resulting FTP differences. If you choose to use Powermatch for future workouts use the FTP from your 1 minute power on your PM.

1 Like
7

I use powermatch for all of my TrainerRoad workouts - including ramp tests. Broadly speaking I don’t really run into any of the problems that people have described here and in other threads

FWIW I’m using the desktop app and have everything paired with ant+

8

Powermatch was fine with power2max and flux S combo for multiple ramp tests for me. I haven’t tried this in the new beta and am contemplating selling my fluxS now so that will be the end of ERG for me if I go that route.