srode1

I used external controls with a smart trainer for my intervals and found it to be more of a problem than benefit, but probably depends on what workouts you are doing and why. For me doing lots Steady State 3x20s / 4x15s etc I like to come in from the bottom side of my target power for the first one, and the target is set high enough that I fade near the end and have to drop power to keep going. I also use my breathing along with the bike computer to see how i'm doing staying in the target zone. A smart trainer with external control won't let you do this, it just keep ramping up the power if you back off and eventually grind to a stop. Now I just use the smart trainer to set resistance so I'm in the middle of the cassette near the target power, that way I can shift with small steps in RPMs to manage power output. I can keep my power much more stable and consistently at the target on my own than I can letting the trainer do it's thing to manage power. Using this approach I also have learned much better how to manage my efforts off the trainer through just listening to my body.

fstrnu

Very interesting. Sounds like a solid process. I'm very interested in trying this! Thanks for sharing it

redlude97

Zwift(and TR) let you adjust intensity +/- 10% during an interval in erg mode

caloso

I have an old non-smart fluid trainer. If I want to increase the resistance, all I have to do is pedal harder. I started off by just doing the same workouts I would outdoors, with wattage targets written on a piece of tape stuck to my stem. I would use a Garmin Ant+ dongle to track it on a laptop with Golden Cheetah. Or I'd just do the GCN workouts on YouTube.

This year, I got AppleTV to work in the garage properly and I just do Zwift canned workouts. They're all variations on the same theme.

fstrnu

lol

srode1

I tried that several times, it just never really worked all that well for me. Changing the resistance from my phone when I'm getting close to exhaustion and my laptop was never in reach with my layout was a pain. The other problem is when you have any issue with signal drop for a few seconds, it can start ramping up the power. Also if you want to get out of the saddle on long intervals like 3x25's to give your rear a break, the trainer can respond in a way that is not helpful at all, over correcting. Of course, these were my experiences with erg mode, lots of folks love it. I do like using Ergmode for ramp tests.

fstrnu

On-topic response list updated in OP.

Athens80

You detest paying monthly for monthly service. That's fine.

"Rent-seeking" is different. Zwift and TrainerRoad are not rent-seeking. As described on Investopedia:

newduguy

Yes, I detest monthly services, however I still use a couple, just not cycling software. I don't see why someone would pay a yearly subscription for training plans, a la TR, especially if they're doing the same plans over and over again.

While I wasn't using "rent-seeking" in its literal sense. In my opinion, the subscription based payment method in exchange for zero software ownership and incremental service upgrades and inevitable and perpetual monthly fee increases is terrible in my mind. I'd rather see Zwift go the route of other popular online games and make it free to play with additional in-game purchases. You already have a problem of virtual dopers and masses of people who don't know how to use or calibrate their PMs and trainers properly, so it's a crapshoot on rider experience anyways.

And now it looks like Rouvy and several other shop's are getting into the virtual cycling business. Soon you'll have a dozen subscriptions to choose from, and it'll be like how tv streaming is. If you wan't a little of everything, you need Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime, Crunchy Roll, and maybe Sling/DirectTV now. So with cycling, you can pay money for ERG-based training(TR, Sufferfest, Rouvy, other apps), pay more money for ERGVideos, and then pay even more for virtual racing a la Zwift. Or just do all of that (minus the social racing aspect of Zwift) in older, not so "cool" or glamorous software that may not how all of the latest and greatest bells and whistles.

​​​​​​​So pay your subscriptions! Please! I do sign up for free trials a few times out of the year to see how things have progressed.

rubiksoval

Your rider experience for indoor training is a crapshoot based on whether or not some other people are "cheating" on an online training platform? Why is that?

newduguy

If you're the type to use Zwift races as training sessions and have invested time (and money) in the platform, having other people cheat within the race can have a negative impact. That may not matter to you. It may not matter to me. It matters to some, I'm sure. Leader boards are real motivators.


We all use software differently to train. OP is like a religious fundie (no offence to religious fundies!) with his interval-worship and apparent love of training rides that are as fun as watching paint dry. I like a mix, but I don't subscribe to anything. Let me do intervals today. Let me do a 3d course tomorrow. Let me ride just so I can get some time in the saddle. I can do all of those very well with free software. But no, there's no social aspect, a la Zwift, nor is there a huge catalog of training plans and a searchable workout database a la Trainerroad. By the way, TR's mobile app is hands-down my favorite. It's slick and clean, and how they show the +/- workouts below the workout description is brilliant. I would love to see that functionality in an open-source package. The open-source community still can't put together a decent ERG database with coherent plans, so paying for that is the only way to get it right now....or do it yourself.


Give me a family plan for Zwift like Spotify does (I think Rouvy is doing a multi-rider deal). If TR went back to 9.99 a month or less, I still might pay. But even then I find trouble justifying it since I make my own ERG files and follow their podcast.


While I'm anti-subscription, I still pay them when there's value. I get convenience. However, I am not the norm.

fstrnu

Anyone familar with Elite MyTraining who would care to share their experience? Someone mentioned in another thread that this is free.

Machka 

You missed my response.

fstrnu

Machka 

Yes. Exactly. My point.

fstrnu

Anyone have experience with these?

https://maximumtrainer.com/home

Hurts Ergo

ERG Video