LAJ

Strava estimate is garbage. The only way to compare the trainer you have, is with actual power.

WhyFi

Grrrrr. I was on the fence about riding while the girl was in preschool today, and ultimately decided against it because: a) it's suuuuper muggy, 2) I'm feeling a touch lazy, 3) I rode a century two days ago and iv) the Wed schedule is wide open for a long morning-to-afternoon ride.

... and then my wife tells me that she forgot to get her morning volunteering shift (at the boy's school) on the calendar for Wed and that she wants to head to a cabinet shop to talk about a kitchen remodel around lunch time, all of which translates to a ~2 hr window to ride and shower.

WhyFi

Some people see reasonable estimates with the Strava guesstimation, but there are a lot of variables, like the accuracy of your weight figures (you and the bike), minor gradient errors, rolling resistance assumptions, the fact that drafting isn't factored in (could still be a factor depending upon how fast you're climbing), etc.

On the other side of the equation... trainers suck. People often see lower power figures indoors for a variety of reasons, like the oft-cited oxygen depletion (unless you've got major wind tunnel action going on), lower motivation, the awkwardness of a completely stationary bike under you, the relentlessness of providing continual power vs the micro-rests taken for granted on the road, etc.

I wouldn't be concerned about it just yet. There will certainly be an acclimation period. Ride the trainer for a bit, get comfortable with it and confirm that it's providing a consistent baseline to serve as the foundation for your workouts.

datlas 

Agree. Although from looking at what Strava tells me, I think it's probably within 40% which is not terrible.

MoAlpha

Based on online calculators and the power measurements of the folks I'm riding with, the Strava estimate is consistently low for me on climbs and the trainer numbers are lower than that. I will have to try and calibrate the trainer better.

WhyFi

@Mo - Just to give you an idea, I have the Domane classified as a road bike on Strava and it's my default bike. I have the Haanjo classified as a cross bike (they don't have gravel) and have indicated that it is about 5lbs heavier. Because Strava defaults to the Domane, the original average power estimate for my preschool drop-off ride was ~90w. Changing the bike from the Domane to the Haanjo changed the estimate to 146w. This was on a short ride with very little elevation, so it makes me assume that the cross bike classification is upping the resistance estimates for the tires and possibly the position.

datlas 

I do advise you do the spindown calibration before each use of the trainer. It takes like 30 seconds. I don't bother with the whole warmup thing.

MoAlpha

Been doing that, but the roller pressure may be low.

Edit: ...or I may be incredibly puny. I am fine with having no Watts as long as I can find a stable FTP to train to indoors.

LesterOfPuppets

Have fun.

Trsnrtr

Well, headed out on my Propel and shifting went to crap so I turned around and only got 10.4 miles. I’m guessing it’s the Shimano cable curse.

Anyway, swapped bikes and am stopped for lunch with 38.5 miles done. May get the 75 in, yet.

datlas 

Honestly, I don't know if I would get hung up on the absolute number. As long as you are getting consistent numbers that reflect your effort so your training will be effective, that's what really matters.

LAJ

True, but to do differing workouts, it is important to have the right number. Busting through a workout makes you feel good, but doesn't do much good. On the other hand, not being able to complete them is disheartening, as well as physically and mentally taxing.

Getting a haircut with a side to side difference of 40%, isn't quite right, but I guess it would do.

datlas 

Oh, for training purposes and/or analysis the numbers are clearly awful garbage. But honestly, I am slightly impressed that they are as close as they are given what they are based upon.

Dannihilator

Last full day in Colorado, tomorrow I fly home.

MoAlpha

Agree, assuming the numbers bear a zero-order relationship to input.

datlas 

Unless you got a defective unit, should not be a problem.

Trsnrtr

After my "areo is stupid" bike crapped out on me (10.3 miles), my 40+ year old Italian steed finished the job (66.1 miles) for 76.4 miles. I took this pic for @Velo Vol . He was always quizzing me about my area leading the nation in pumpkin production.

Trsnrtr

One of my buddies accused me of leaving an empty gu pack under his windshield wiper. I sent him a pic to convince him I was 40 miles away, which I was at the time, but I did put the empty gel pack under his wiper early this morning.

MoAlpha

I can tell from the kudos on my 3.7 mi, downhill, commute that this prairie Odyssey put you in a magnanimous mood.

MoAlpha

Adjusted the roller pressure up to the recommended amount, heated the thing up, ran the calibration process, and bam! Lots of Watts!

Trsnrtr

Good effort! You'll do better next time!

Trsnrtr

My Prairie odyssey was 89º with a South wind of 18 mph. I'm toast as I'm sure that you are from your ride.

datlas 

DougRNS

Damn, you're looking skinny. How many pounds have you lost?

DougRNS

family forum, reported.
#LittleBluePill