power best bang to powerbust

It can take a few rides to adjust if you're not used to riding on a trainer. Does your routine include periodic trainer rides, or was this your first indoor ride in a while?

frenchyge said:

It can take a few rides to adjust if you're not used to riding on a trainer. Does your routine include periodic trainer rides, or was this your first indoor ride in a while?

this was the first ride back in about a month or so, but now i think i will be inside once/twice a week , do you periodically ride your trainer all year long?

No, because there's really no reason for me to keep a proficiency in trainer riding. The only time it matters is in a situation where you wanted to be able to test indoors or outdoors and have the results be consistent.

I have a few 'sore glutes' rides at the beginning of winter, and a few 'sore quads' rides in early spring. After those adjustment periods, the power levels seem to line back up for me.

frenchyge said:

No, because there's really no reason for me to keep a proficiency in trainer riding. The only time it matters is in a situation where you wanted to be able to test indoors or outdoors and have the results be consistent.

I have a few 'sore glutes' rides at the beginning of winter, and a few 'sore quads' rides in early spring. After those adjustment periods, the power levels seem to line back up for me.

Interesting something I found with my trainer (Kurt road machine)-I seem to be able to create more "power" (still just judging by speed) using the 39 ring in front and a smaller cog in the rear. It seems to have more of a 'momentum' feel, whereas I get the sore glute feeling using the 53/17-19.

whoawhoa said:

Interesting something I found with my trainer (Kurt road machine)-I seem to be able to create more "power" (still just judging by speed) using the 39 ring in front and a smaller cog in the rear. It seems to have more of a 'momentum' feel, whereas I get the sore glute feeling using the 53/17-19.

I wonder if the slightly increased drivetrain efficiency of the small/small combo would have anything to do with that??

Old Junker said:

did my first 20min interval on the weekend 255w OUTside, i did my best avg np 6x4 intervals on tuesdayOutside 272w npavg, moving right along i did my worst 6x4 min npavg yesterdaythurs indoor only 238np but this was after my first 20 min indoors of ONLY 236np,
i lost 20 watts on my 20 min and 44w on my intervals in 48 hours?? was i holding myself back knowing i had a 6x4 to do after my 20 minute, hr avg were very close only thing different was going inside ??? but this diff seems to big😕

hmmmm maybe you are catching a cold or virus??

Old Junker said:

did my first 20min interval on the weekend 255w OUTside, i did my best avg np 6x4 intervals on tuesdayOutside 272w npavg, moving right along i did my worst 6x4 min npavg yesterdaythurs indoor only 238np but this was after my first 20 min indoors of ONLY 236np,
i lost 20 watts on my 20 min and 44w on my intervals in 48 hours?? was i holding myself back knowing i had a 6x4 to do after my 20 minute, hr avg were very close only thing different was going inside ??? but this diff seems to big😕

Sounds like you were not recovered sufficiently from Tuesday's efforts. Completing sets of L4 & L5 intervals (if that's what they were) with just 48hrs in between might be a little much to expect if you are a new to this sort of intensity. Perhaps another day or two between might help?
Also - many, including me, (but not all) find power harder to generate indoors.

Alex Simmons said:

- many, including me, (but not all) find power harder to generate indoors.

how much watts do you lose indoors vs outdoors

Old Junker said:

how much watts do you lose indoors vs outdoors

Similar to what you experienced but I hardly ever ride a trainer, most of my rides are on bike outside ('cause I can) and at other times I much prefer rollers. I'm sure that if I rode trainer regularly I would get used to it and power would approach my on-road levels (that is what others experience).

Different trainers have different feel - the low inertia of the roller generally takes a little adjusting to. The other thing to consider is that riding indoors can see a significant build up of heat in your body and this can have a big impact on your ability to go hard for long periods. Very important to keep cool with a strong fan at minimum and air-con if possible.

RipVanCommittee said:

I wonder if the slightly increased drivetrain efficiency of the small/small combo would have anything to do with that??

You mean decreased? Smaller gears are less mechanically efficient, and cross chaining would only exacerbate any loss of power attributable to drivetrain inefficiencies.

whoawhoa said:

Interesting something I found with my trainer (Kurt road machine)-I seem to be able to create more "power" (still just judging by speed) using the 39 ring in front and a smaller cog in the rear. It seems to have more of a 'momentum' feel, whereas I get the sore glute feeling using the 53/17-19.

If you use a Polar Power meter, it can read higher for the same gear ratio when using smaller gears because (just my thoughts, not established fact) the chain is closer to the sensor, and it reads the tension in the chain. I know I can put out slightly more sustained power in a 39-14 than a 53-19 (roughly same ratio) up a long climb, but speed is the same and my physiolocial meter (measured in ouch factor) is the same.

wilmar13 said:

You mean decreased? Smaller gears are less mechanically efficient, and cross chaining would only exacerbate any loss of power attributable to drivetrain inefficiencies.

Yeah, I orginally thought that as well, but it seems that chain speed and chain tension have more of an effect on drivetrain efficiency than gear size. There's a mind-numbing discussion of this on BTR if you're so inclinded....and it's pretty convincing in favor of the smaller gears.

As far as the cross chaining, I'm assuming the stated gear combos mentioned are really about the same.

Anecdotally, I've tested this on a trainer, and at 25mph, i've found a pretty repeatable 6-8 watt difference in favor of the small/small combo. Of course, that's almost within the published margin of error of the PT--but I have been able to repeat it on 4 different tests.

RipVanCommittee said:

Yeah, I orginally thought that as well, but it seems that chain speed and chain tension have more of an effect on drivetrain efficiency than gear size. There's a mind-numbing discussion of this on BTR if you're so inclinded....and it's pretty convincing in favor of the smaller gears.

Interesting concept... what is BTR?