Disaster is another mixed session.
And the Disaster -1, Disaster -2 (which is actually a great workout).
I’ve not been a subscriber of Sufferfest for a long time, but interesting to see on dcrainmaker.com that SF have gone with a transparent overlay which is good.
The amount of times I do lesser intensity workouts here on TrainerRoad and want to watch something in ‘Minimal’ only to have part of the screen obscured and miss important details has always been a bug bear of mine.
I was trying to watch Criterium Racing | Attacking vs. Patrolling | Race Analysis with TrainerRoad on YouTube this morning and this was my options.
Miss the stats
Miss some of the action
I know I’ve asked before https://www.trainerroad.com/forumt/feature-request-transparency-switch/2781 , but come on @Nate_Pearson this would be so useful, and we know you guys can work your magic and make it possible, as the newish ‘Extend Warmup’ and ‘Extend Cooldown’ overlay / button is transparent when the view is in ‘Minimal’?
We are currently working on making the extend warmup/cooldown button much less obtrusive, so stay tuned for updates on that
As for the minimal mode obscuring content on screen, I would recommend taking the background YouTube Video out of full-screen mode. By shrinking the window vertically, you will get black bars on the right and left sides, however, you will be able to see all of the content on screen.
Cheers!
Are you able to explain more about Best Bike Split and a power level for a course?
Thanks
@tshortt Custom WorkoutCreator . Take your favorite VO2 workout and add in some sweet spot.
I love these ideas.
Wow, full blown race.
Kinda. There are actually race simulation workouts in the catalog too.
It would be nice to see the iPad app support split screen. I’m always running TrainerRoad on my phone and watching netflix/youtube/whatever on the iPad and I miss stuff on the phone screen sometimes. A thin vertical setup with stacked cadence/workout text/power info would be nice to just put on the side of the iPad screen and notice things more easily.
(1) it has been already explained in past podcasts and they don’t want us to get distracted with unnecessary information at the screen and they judge that what is there is enough for an efficient training session(which I agree).
(3) unless they’ve recently removed this feature you should be able to adjust the intensity on the fly.
In the Beta app it’s moved to the status bar.
The replies have been awesome. This community is simply awesome! I agree this forum is one of TrainerRoad’s best features.
Just to address some of the responses to my original post, these are suggestions that, in my humble opinion, only add to the experience. I don’t think they necessarily take away the core of TR.
For example, the colored workout days in the calendar - you could say they are a distraction (and I respect your opinion), but I would argue that people don’t necessarily say “I choose TR over some other app because their calendar is white,” or “TR is better because their graphs are blue,” or “TR is superior because you don’t have the option to change the screen and it forces you to focus.” Sure, some (maybe a lot of?) people may like the screens as is, but it’s hard for me to imagine that these people may unsubscribe just because the app suddenly has a calendar with colored cards, or that that app now enables you to customize the screen.
As mentioned, I’m a TR loyalist and I understand that there are limited resources. A strong reason for my post was to keep TR on its toes. TR is attractive because of the structure it provides, but competitors are slowly gaining ground on the training plans aspect (though still far from TR). TR may need to counter this by canceling out the advantages of other apps: yoga, ability to change screen data, modify intensity per interval, etc.
Specific responses per item:
(1) You can choose to retain the screen as is. Having the option to customize only adds to TR.
(2) One of the posts was an eye-opener for me (RPE increases before workout). I’m actually the opposite - my adrenaline goes up when I know a hard interval is coming. So of the feature requests I mentioned, this is of least priority.
(3) Adjustable intervals: such that Vo2Max intervals are 130% of FTP instead of 120%, but then recovery intervals are still at 40% of FTP. I understand you can adjust intensities but (a) the iPad/laptop is hard to reach and (b) this changes the hard AND easy intervals. The point is adjusting only certain intervals, and not the entire workout, so that, for example, Vo2max aren’t too easy.
(4) My point was for TR to schedule yoga/stretching/strength sessions for me (spoon fed). I find that if a just schedule a recurring workout, I normally don’t follow it. But if TR says I need to do yoga today (as in it’s part of the training plan), I am compelled to follow. This may be a mental thing though, so again not sure how best to incorporate this.
(5) This may not be applicable to pure cyclists, since TR does the job perfectly. But as a triathlete who schedules non-cycling workouts, it’s easier to see hard, moderate, and easy days. TSS is not shown on the iPad - maybe showing this number is a quicker fix? I use Safari on an iPad.
Cheers!
That’s looking backwards. No company ever survived, let alone thrived, by trying to mimic what other companies have already established. It would very quickly turn into TR running around trying to catch butterflies instead of forging ahead, creating the future instead of trying to duplicate the past.
Not only that, but I get the feeling that TR doesn’t want to compete with those other cycling apps. TR does what TR does and, it appears, those other apps are attempting to compete with TR. Think of it this way, Tesla and GM are both automobile companies…and that’s where the similarities end.
No. I recognized in my post that TR is a leader in structured training, and said others are creeping into this area. If TR counters by introducing these features, then this advantage is negated. Holding these features constant for both apps, I’d choose the app with the superior structure. If, on the contrary, the other apps develop their structured plans such that it’s at par with TR (again in my mind this is far into the future), then it puts TR at a disadvantage.
Applying best practices isn’t looking backwards. Not sure how you think that’s the case.
Apple is the market leader. But even they don’t fail to recognize that some of Google/Samsung/others’ innovations need to be adopted (or “mimicked” if you like). That’s why they now have split screens, Apple Pencil, Apple Music, edge-to-edge displays, wireless charging, and more.
I’m with you.
I dont see any need for colour coded intervals…I can see what zone each interval is in just by looking at it. Actually for me having a whole bunch of colours in the workout screen would make it worse for me…I prefer it how it is.
And I can already adjust the intensity of the intervals anytime I want in the workout.
I prefer TR to stick with what has made them great…making improvements that make me faster. Colour coding days in the calendar or intervals isn’t going to do that for me
Yes I’ve agreed color-coded intervals aren’t necessary.
Color-coded cards in the workout screen can make a triathlete faster because it makes scheduling easier (e.g., avoiding consecutive hard days) and helps us avoid overtraining, thereby training with more consistency.
Being able to adjust the intensity of select intervals (without having to reach the laptop/iPad) can certainly make you a faster cyclist because it makes the workouts adaptable to the rider. Emphasis is on “select intervals.”
I believe Nate accidentally showed an upcoming feature (don’t believe he confirmed it) in a screenshot in a different topic.
It was either additional to the TSS or as a replacement but it showed colored rings in the calendar.
EDIT: Now I think about it, I think it replaced the IF factor, instead of TSS
It showed green, yellow and red colored rings next to the workout.
A lot of people took that the color coding as a marker for how intensive the workout would be.
Guess they are already working towards one of your points.
I agree and disagree. It wouldn’t hurt for TR to have a more attractive, engaging and modern workout screen. Look at this forum compared to other cycling forums. The TR forum is very modern, creative, color coded and engaging. It has all the modern conveniences that one would expect from a forward thinking company. I now find it painful when I visit other cycling forums. Are you telling me some of that couldn’t bleed over to the workout screen?
Will it make me a faster cyclist? Probably not. Will it improve TR? Absolutely. It would increase the overall product appeal which would in turn keep customers and gain new ones. More customers means an ever increasing profitable TR company which would in turn allow TR to make further improvements. So indirectly, it may just make me a faster cyclist.
Then again, there will always be those who hate change and will threaten to leave TR if they don’t keep everything the same and never evolve .
It would be nice to see the iPad app support split screen. I’m always running TrainerRoad on my phone and watching netflix/youtube/whatever and I miss stuff sometimes. A thin vertical setup with stacked cadence/workout text/power info would be nice to just put on the side of the iPad screen and notice things more easily
+1 for this!!