Two weeks in and Zero "Trainer Road Workouts"?

I was curious when I’d hit my required workouts for the AI FTP estimate. I went to my activities list, filtered by Trainer Road Workout type and…zero.

This is puzzling because I’ve done each workout. So it must be the way I’m completing them.

Where’s my misstep? Can I fix it so the past rides are detected? how can I fix it going forward?

Generated a plan based on A & B rides.

For each TR workout I do the following:

  1. Edit workout and toggle to Outdoor (required for send to garmin)
  2. Send to Garmin
  3. Perform workout.
    3a. If Indoor, I do the workout on my peloton using my watch. I then sync the workout to garmin using P2G which maps the Peloton metrics into a TracX smart trainer workout. So you get all the power, HR, cadence, etc. From there, it’s sync’d back to TR.
    3b. If outdoor, I do the ride out doors using my garmin. Then sync it back to TR.
  4. Verify that the sync’d workout is Associated With the Trainer Road workout

All but a handful of these have been indoor on the Peloton since it’s still pretty cold and rainy in the PNW and I’m definitely time crunched. So 3a is the most typical.

I don’t think doing the workout as Outdoor workouts don’t count towards your 10 workouts required for AIFTP.

Similarly, how you are doing them on a Peloton is basically the same thing…it is not using the actual workout natively, but “backfilling” the workout into TR via your Garmin.

2 Likes

Hey there,

For workouts to be classified as “indoor TR workouts,” they must be completed in the TR app. Pushing the workouts to your watch makes TR see them as “Outside Workouts” since they are being marked as “Outside” and pushed to an external fitness computer.

For the rides to count toward the 10 rides needed for AI FTP Detection, you’ll have to load them up in the TR app and complete them through there.

Hope that helps clarify – feel free to let us know if you have any other questions!

The problem is that there won’t be any metrics if I do it on the phone. So, I assume, that wouldn’t work at all.

Does that mean AIFTP only works if you have a power enabled trainer compatible with TR?

edit

I think Zackery’s response answers this question. I guess it’s ramp tests for me. Or I can use the estimated FTP from Intervals.

Right now, I’m using intervals.icu’s eFTP which is pretty darn close to what I get when I do a 20m test. Is there a way to have TR auto-update to that value?

There isn’t a way to automatically update it, but you can manually enter/edit your FTP on your TR Account page.

1 Like

To add to what @ZackeryWeimer said above, you can also do the workouts in Zwift, if that is an option for you, provided that your TR and Zwift accounts are connected, so that your TR workouts get pushed to Zwift.

1 Like

Do you have a power meter on the bike you’re riding outdoors? If so, can you put your bike on a dumb trainer and do the workouts that way? Or maybe borrow a trainer from someone for a couple of weeks? Or maybe just buy a reasonable smart trainer? If you live in the PNW, this might be a great investment!

I have a PM on one of my outdoor bikes that I intend to do most of my structured training on.

yeah, I could get a trainer. But it’s “one more thing” that’s somewhat duplicated by the Peloton…which has a really accurate PM on it. I did see Rainmaker talking up the JetBlack Victory that’s “only” $400.

But you know how it is, I’d rather upgrade to an edge 840 or something I don’t have over duplicating something I do.

I did get rid of my dumb trainer some time ago after getting the Peloton. smh

that is REALLY annoying. since Garmin doesnt get Peloton info. Only Strava gets peloton, because it cant handle it apparently without use of yet another service to convert the file.

My peloton rides do filter in via strava, but the one time I did last week I did one on peloton, it didnt come over form peloton via strava.

since you have a peloton at home you need this:

You can seamlessly broadcast it to your phone app or straight to a garmin device.

1 Like

since Garmin doesnt get Peloton info.

Actually, there’s an AWESOME workaround for that.

An app called P2G (Peloton 2 Garmin) takes all the raw metrics from the Peloton site and maps them into an activity schema for the TacX trainer. Then pushes that into your Garmin Connect.

I use Garmin Connect as the center of my sync’ing. So everything pushes INTO Garmin and pulls FROM garmin (so no dupes by double sync’ing).

So all my peloton rides are functionally the same as TacX rides for anything sync’ing from Garmin.

edit

I should mention P2G is free and open source.

Doesn’t work with the BIke+…which is unfortunate. The Peloton Bike has terrible Power accuracy (and is a lot cheaper). So if I had that, it’d be easier to justify buying a decent Smart Trainer with power.

The Bike+ has excellent power accuracy. Same +/- percent as dedicated power meters like Garmin Pedals, quarq, etc. And per my post above looks like TacX rides to all my the apps I sync to (strava, intervals, training peaks, garmin, TR, etc.)

I’d be cautious of the power accuracy from a peloton bike. I had a Proform 22 with iFIT for two years, who make the Peloton bikes, and it was estimating my FTP in the 400s, when it is much much lower. Maybe they have improved the plus but it looks identical to what I owned.

2 Likes

Peloton is notorious for inaccurate power from one bike to the next.

Anecdotally, my buddy who has zero cycling background (early 40’s), hasn’t done anything athletically since we played lacrosse together in college, uses his Peloton sporadically and hits power numbers that would make Pogacar blush.

2 Likes

For their Bike product, yes. The Bike+ has proven accurate and consistent. Rainmaker has a great (as usual) in-depth review.

There’s also a lot of confirmation on the Bike+ from folks on r/Velo and other forums that slap their garmin pedals on there.

So I think they did pretty good with the Bike+ w.r.t. power. Now that damned seat adjustment…they could do better.

Yes, from one bike to the next they are all over the place, but most of them are within range. occasionally, you will get one that is way out. 40% low or 40% high. one of the ones we bought, 200 watts was basically a threshold effort. We had that frame replaced by peloton within the first year after a few failed corrections.

I’ve trained on 50 different bikes and own 3 to establish this observation.

But is you get an average reading peloton bike that is your primary training vehicle, you can use TR workouts and use that bikes reading for your power

I’m really curious if yours was a Bike+ or a Peloton Bike. his would be the first I’ve seen of reviewers or self reports of the Bike+ being that wildly off.