Lower cadence on indoor trainer re: lack of inertia

Quadsweep said:

Here is a quote from Jelly Belly Captain Kirk Albers that I have found to be true for myself as I can maintain a higher speed/power at about 88 to 90 rpm on the trainer as opposed to 98-102 on the road.

"Yeah, many riders find the lack of inertia with indoor trainers the cause of lower cadences. For shorter efforts on the trainer, I can usually summon up the motivation to ride at higher cadences, but it *seems* to take a bit of willpower."

There has been so much talk about the reasons that trainers feel different or elicit different powers etc that I will avoid comment on that front.

Suffice to say that I do find that I gravitate to lower cadences more naturally on the trainer vs outdoors and that there is no doubt that maintaining a high cadence on the trainer takes a big focus for me.

Very interesting - I find I maintain a higher cadence on the trainer than on the road.

Would be interesting to correlate the cadence differential to the perceived exertion differential.

Agree with Bruce - I find it easier to maintain a higher cadence on the trainer. It may be that overall I'm more focused there.

Bruce Diesel said:

Very interesting - I find I maintain a higher cadence on the trainer than on the road.

Would be interesting to correlate the cadence differential to the perceived exertion differential.

Are you using a power meter?

Quadsweep said:

Are you using a power meter?

Yes, two in fact - I ride with a Powertap on a Computrainer.

Quadsweep said:

"Yeah, many riders find the lack of inertia with indoor trainers the cause of lower cadences. For shorter efforts on the trainer, I can usually summon up the motivation to ride at higher cadences, but it *seems* to take a bit of willpower."

This "inertia/lack of it/too much of it" and its implications on power, cadence and hr goes over what I can understand.

Some say I generate less power on the trainer because of the lack of inertia, but yet I seem to be able to generate a bit more power outdoor while climbing compared to on flat.

And now you're bringing foward a quote of someone saying that lack of inertia explains a lower cadence but yet many people find that they actually self select a cadence that's a bit higher on a trainer.

So honnestly Quadsweep, I don't know. I need to be a bit more confident about a subject to issue statements or advices relative to it.

And for now, I just focuss on generating as much power as I can on the trainer and that's all. I think that the difference between my outdoor and indoor power is minimal now (at least for me). The only remaining difference is mostly motivational. At least that's what my hr monitor tells me (even against the odds of overheating, getting dehydrated and so on).

I think someone once said:

RChung said:

Cadence is a red herring. Focus on power, not cadence.