I use TR and sometimes I like to send my workout to my Edge and do it outside like I’m on the discovery channel.
But TR builds the workout in a way that my Garmin edge 840 displays the “target power” as “step lap avg”.
So instead of being able to show 280-300w as my target, the edge shows a bar graph, avg step power, then current power which is often covered by my varia radar.
Maybe it’s an issue on the Garmin side as well, but I saw some posts saying it’s because of the way TR builds the workout file.
Yup, this worked on my 530, but the target power data field changed on the new 840. The article even prefaces it that it works for the 30 series edge devices.
Note: feel free to post a screenshot of what your display screen looks like if it’s different
Just to clarify, “Step Avg Power” is the same as “Lap Avg Power” in this case.
Since you mentioned your Varia Radar is covering some of the data fields, it may be worth playing around with the display settings. I think that there are different ways that you can have the Varia data displayed on your screen so that it’s not interfering with your data.
Another thought – you could also add a custom field to display your current power, too! That way, you can manipulate what kind of smoothing you get.
Your screenshot is the default workout screen from garmin it does show the target power range, but for a custom screen it will only show the target at the beginning of the interval but not after that, this is the recommended TR screen on my 840, the target doesn’t really show the power but shows where you are compared to the target up or down. Garming doesn’t let you change the default workout screen or create a new one based on it, I like that it does have everything I’d want for the interval but wish I could modify some of the other fields like cadence and total time, since I have no use for speed or interval distance
I believe your custom workout screen shows the target power in the second field from the top, if you choose a layout where this particular field is larger. I was frustrated with TR manual on how to setup a custom workout screen as well since it does not seem to apply to the 840.
This is the closest I have gotten to a useful screen. I guess my compliant is with Garmin, because the primary target data field is not done very well, and yet its the most important data field.
If I need to see the bar graph to anticipate what step is ahead I can easily switch to the default Garmin workout screen. If I choose the 5 field layout then the primary target data field shrinks and it’s hard to read especially if the varia gets triggered.
Has anyone used a third party app for customizing the data screens through garmin IQ?
I use TrainingPeaks to send workouts to my 840. The default screen looks like this:
Swipe up and you see the entire workout, and can fast forward or backward:
Works really well. I want to be on the default workout screen for easy access to seeing the entire workout and to pause or skip ahead/back.
TP allows specifying power and cadence targets, and you can see both of those in the middle of the default workout screen.
TP outputs workouts with 3-sec power, and so the green box is showing current 181W 3-sec power relative to the target of 157-184W. The average power for the lap in this example is 163W. The 530 had a horizontal red/yellow/green bar & triangle, which I preferred, but this vertical one is still useful.
The bottom row I’ve configured to show Heart Rate and Speed. You can change that to anything you want.
Here is what the default screen looks like when Varia alert comes in:
I can still easily read my current 3-sec power, lap average power, current cadence, target power/cadence, etc.
Here is an example of a custom screen I made:
looks like I did an impromptu 30-sec acceleration.
we are not alone, and I agree it’s a problem with how garmin manages its data fields, here’s on garmin forum complaining about pretty much the same stuff
it shouldn’t be hard for garmin to add on a software update a single line or even single 1/2 line field showing the target range. we all know from TR that step/lap power doesn’t matter, if you deviate you still want to stay as much as possible in the range and not compensate, which is what garmin software tries to make you do with the “red / green” bars!
Then why does TR output workouts with that embedded in the file? It made the default workout screen on my 530 less useful. Two and a half years ago I did a full write up and feature request on it:
What I meant is the average/normalized power for the interval which is what the 840/540 shows now along with your current 3s power, I don’t see much use for that in the “target power” field, garmin is only showing if your average power for the interval is within the range, but doesn’t really tell you what the range is in the “recommended tr screen”
It just a matter of what info garmin shows depending or the “size” of the field in the screen
I’ve used those data fields from Sir5 and really appreciate them. If you search you can find posts from him about them here. He was asking for input on earlier versions and tuned things based on feedback - very responsive and helpful.
Did an outdoor workout for the first time on my new 840 yesterday and was not very happy with the default workout screen, hence me making it here. I just downloaded the “Target Power Range” and “NextTarPow” data fields from Sir5 on the IQ store. I haven’t used them yet, but the range field is exactly what I wanted, and the Next Target Power field is something I hadn’t considered previously but am excited to have. Looking forward to seeing how these function on my next outdoor workout.
