Hello, i’m using a kicker snap. I ran into a problem at the end of my ramp test using ERG mode. For the last 3 intervals, I held a consistent cadence of 100 but my power failed to increase. Given that the trainer was in ERG mode, shouldn’t the power have stepped up? I zoned out and was not looking at my power for the last few intervals. It came as quite the surprise when i looked up and saw i had been well under my target power for the last 2 intervals. Has anyone else had that experience?
Is this a possible kicker snap or trainerroad problem or perhaps even a me problem? See image below for my last 3 intervals from ramp test and notice how my cadence was constant
You need a harder gear. Trainers only provide so much resistance. For higher wattage it’s going to be a combination of a bigger gear and the resistance the trainer can provide.
You don’t say… wow, thank you for the info!! I was in a super low gear. I thought that I had read it was best for the trainer. I’ll bump it up just a bit for next ramp. Thanks again!
Sadly, “it depends”. Not all trainers are created equal, and not all can hit the highs and lows of all users without adding in shifting.
As a general guideline, low to mid price trainers are most likely to suffer from what are called Wattage Ceilings, and Wattage Floors. Essentially, these are limits to the max or min power a trainer can apply at a given gearing.
In your case, you were super low, which is good in some ways, but limiting since the resistance unit effectively hit it’s max power in that gear. The Snap is pretty good, and depending on your actual FTP power, you may be able to add a few gears (mid of the cassette for a test) and possibly avoid the need to shift. But don’t be surprised if you still have to shift to hit some highs or lows.
The main reason why I bought a kickr core instead of a flux… The flux is also known for this issue (but still a popular DD trainer, not sure though if the newer flux s/2 models are having this issue).
The kickr core is a former high end trainer in a cheaper housing (non adjustable feet and a slighly lighter flywheel). DCR and other reviewers are quite positive, after the initial issues of which all trainers seem to suffer
Good to know. I think I just need to shift up a few gears. The 390 was only ~10-15 watts away from my max interval, so shifting up a few gears should be sufficient to effectively raise that ceiling.
Yep! Small ring and close to biggest cassette. It seems like I need to start shifting. I’ve been relying 100% on erg mode but from yalls advice it seems erg is limited and gearing may be necessary in a few different situations, like when you hit the trainers floor/ceiling or when you need to quickly up the power output for an interval.
You likely just need to use a different gear combo, try doing it with the big ring. The issue is the trainer can only apply a certain max amount of resistance, the lower gearing allows you to over power that. I’d bet if you ran big ring and middle of the cassette, you could do the entire thing without having to shift.
