Trainer Road?

Dawn Cass · January 6, 2014 9:42AM

Hello all, will be my first OS and read a lot about Trainer Road. Any opinions about its value? What exactly does it do that you cannot track yourself? Thoughts? Thanks!!

lancelsu · January 6, 2014 10:13AM

Priceless in my opinion, especially for the small $10/month charge! I have mine hooked up with a powerbeam pro and love it.

Gaudir8 · January 6, 2014 10:38AM

@Dawn,

In addition to all the EN OS workouts on it there are about 400 other workouts. If you don't have power it has virtual power which enables you to have almost real life power so you can track your fitness improvements. I recently logged my 400th workout on it since I signed up. Many of the rides over 5 hours each and up to 8 hours several times. I could never get by with out it. It is just awesome in my opinion. Hopes this helps.

John Withrow · January 6, 2014 10:53AM

If you have a regular bike and Powermeter (read: not computrainer or kickr) then TR doesn't "do" anything. But with that said, once you use it, you will likely not every want to ride indoors without it. It is a fantastic interface. The EN workouts are already in there. So you don't have to "think", just follow what's on the big screen. And seeing your past and what is upcoming is a real motivator. Definitely worth trying to see if you'll like it, but I don't know many of have tried it who didn't get hooked.

tim cronk · January 6, 2014 11:20AM

Besides EN its the best money you can spend IMO.... $10 per month and you can turn it on and off monthly! Its a no-brainer.

Kerrie Freeborn · January 6, 2014 11:52AM

It's fantastic! It's easy to set up, I know I'm doing exactly the right workout, and the virtual power/HR on the screen (and I'm REALLY not technically inclined from a tri-perspective) is amazing. Made the trainer go from unproductive misery (for me) to a fun excellent workout - really! They have a yearly plan too, which I'll bought since I'll use it for interval sessions even when the weather improves.

rlh2000 · January 6, 2014 12:02PM

I love it because even though I now have a powermeter, I would hate to have to look back and forth between my garmin and my screen showing whatever movie/tv is getting me through that ride. With trainer road, the targets and my power are displayed right there at the bottom of the screen. Might sound trivial, but it is awesome!

Al Truscott · January 6, 2014 12:31PM

http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Trainer+Road:+Getting+Started

http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Trainer+Road+for+Outseason+Workouts

Paul Hough · January 6, 2014 1:20PM

So does Trainer Road do anything if you are using a Spinervals or Sufferfest DVD to train by? I.e., suppose I stick my "Pain Cave" DVD in the TV and follow the prescribed workout in the prescribed zones for the prescribed times. I am seeing my power, power zone, HR, cadence, speed, total time, total distance, TSS and more on my Joule 3. The DVD has the coach taking me through the workout, showing me on screen how much time left in the workout, what gearing I should be in, and what level of effort I should be working at (in addition to the coach giving you further explanation). What exactly does Trainer Road add to that?

Chris Ciannella · January 6, 2014 1:27PM

Where are the EN workouts on Trainer Road? I've searched for EN and Endurance Nation and nothing comes up

Thanks,

Chris

Chris Ciannella · January 6, 2014 1:33PM

Both Spinervals and Sufferfest videos are incorporated into Trainer Road. If you have a Kickr or a Computrainer, then Trainer Road will "control" your trainer to the prescribe wattage of those workouts. If you do not have those trainers, the TrainerRoad will tell you what your target wattage should be utilizing vitrual power. Check out the TrainerRoad website and they have all the info you need to answer pretty much any question you have.

Tour of Sufferlandria starts January 25th - you in?

John Withrow · January 6, 2014 1:36PM

@Chris-- http://members.endurancenation.us/Resources/Wiki/tabid/91/Default.aspx?topic=Trainer+Road+for+Outseason+Workouts

John Withrow · January 6, 2014 1:38PM

@Paul-- I love the Sufferfest videos in TR. You copy the file to your computer then drop the video into TR. Then instead of just getting generic "8" or "9" intensity level, it actually uses your own FTP and shows you your own Power goal for the given segment. It's really great!

Dawn Cass · January 6, 2014 1:58PM

All - thanks for the comments and it sounds like a great tool. I may give it a try for a month and see how it goes. I do have a power meter so like that it works off that. I don't have a Kickr or Computrainer however so guess mine will be virtual.

Appreciate the feedback!!

Al Truscott · January 6, 2014 2:06PM

Posted By Dawn Cass on 06 Jan 2014 01:58 PM

I do have a power meter so like that it works off that. I don't have a Kickr or Computrainer however so guess mine will be virtual.

Dawn - if you have a wireless power meter, like a PowerTap or Quarq, it is sending out ANT+ signals which can be received by an ANT+ USB stick you can buy (on Amazon & elsewhere), or you may already have if you have certain Garmin headunits. Plug the stick into your computer, install the driver, and then Trainer Road will receive the power signals from your bike, and display them on screen and use them for calculations. If you have a PowerTap, or have ANT+ speed/cadence snesnors, TR can also receive and display those as well.

John Withrow · January 6, 2014 2:08PM

With a Powermeter, it is not "virtual". ""Virtual Power" in TR is their "calculated" power from the known power curve of your trainer if you do not have a Powermeter. If you have a Computrainer or a Kicker, then TR takes over the interface and sets the resistance realtime so all you do is pedal.

With a Powermeter, you put an ANT+ stick in your computer and it turns your computer (or TV screen) into a giant bike computer. The TR numbers you see will essentiall be the same as what would come up on your Garmin screen. Except these numbers are also enhanced by a cool graph. Sounds simple, but the visual interface with your "bike computer" on the bigger screen with live history graphs is very effective IMHO.

Nemo Brauch · January 6, 2014 2:15PM

Just a follow-on to mention that in addition to the Computrainer and Kicker, TR will also interface with the Powerbeam Pro.

Paul Hough · January 6, 2014 4:09PM

@ Chris & John - I am not just interested in Trainer Road taking control of my powerbeam, I want to know if it displays the same video and voice over you hear if you are watching the DVD? Or is it just some plain computer display? Also, what happens if you have TR controlling your powerbeam and you BLOW UP...would you just end up stopping pedalling?

FYI - I can already set my PowerBeam to any watts level (in increments of 10) and force myself to ride that wattage or end up coming to a stop.

John Withrow · January 6, 2014 4:28PM

I don't have a Powerbeam or CT or Kickr, so I have no idea about the power setting for controlling resistance. I use Rollers. But at anytime, you can move the power target. There is a little toggle that starts at 100% and with a click of the mouse you can move it up or down as far as you want if you start to blow up. For the Sufferfest videos, I usually do them at like 95-97% because they are ridiculous...

You see the exact same video with the exact same sound and voice, etc... Except there there is a little Trainerroad bar at the bottom of the screen that displays your power target, actual power, HR, and Cadence. And you see a small graph of what is upcoming as far as power goes. Nice to have a real number to target instead of just some RPE goal.

John Withrow · January 6, 2014 5:23PM

You can also check out this short video. It's mostly about how to load a video in TR, but you can briefly see what the tR bar looks like along the bottom of the video.

http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yK5-boDjV4E

Dawn Cass · January 6, 2014 8:21PM

@Al - nice, and more interested now. I currently have the quarq pm, and the garmin edge 810. To make sure I follow your thread...if I sign up to trainer road, it can communicate with the edge, which is already communicating with the pm? Or do I need to buy and ant+ USB stick for the interaction? Sorry if silly questions but I am a new be when it comes to this!! ;-)

Al Truscott · January 6, 2014 8:47PM

Dawn - see John's explanation. With TR, the Quarq will be sending out radio signals (via ANT+) which are received by both the 810 and the computer (via and ANT+ USB stick). Think of the computer then as a more powerful and flexible and better looking 810. Like the difference between using a 1960's B&W TV vs a 2010 42" flat screen with all the bells and whistles. Both show the "same" picture, but you can do so much more with the newer model, and it looks better to boot.

Bottom line - yeah, if you have a power meter already, you do need and ANT+ USB stick if you want to take advantage of what TR can provide in terms of display and analytics.

Dawn Cass · January 7, 2014 1:31PM

@John - Thanks for the above, and I guess any ANT+ USB stick should work, correct? I see a garmin one on Amazon. I have a garmin head unit, and the quarq PM...guessing the garmin stick should work?

Nemo Brauch · January 7, 2014 1:37PM

Yup- the ANT+ protocol is standard so any stick should work- Garmin included.

John Withrow · January 7, 2014 1:48PM

Any ANT+ stick will work. They are all basically the same with slightly different packaging. Mine came with my Garmin watches.

dcrainmaker actually likes the SUUNTO one better and it's cheaper on Amazon than the Garmin one. http://www.dcrainmaker.com/2012/02/much-better-usb-ant-stick-for-your.html

http://www.amazon.com/Suunto-Movestick-Mini-One-Size/dp/B004YJSD20/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1389123398&sr=8-3&keywords=garmin+usb+ant+stick

Pro Tip: I also bought one of these http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001MT1EQM/ref=oh_details_o01_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 because my computer is pretty far away from my bike (and now I never get data drops), and I also have a cable that hooks my computer up to my TV so I can see my workouts on my 42" bigscreen... But you don't need any of these things to start...

Paul Hough · January 7, 2014 2:09PM

@ John - the video was very informative. Does that work on an IPAD or a computer only? I have a 19" TV in front of my trainer but it is RIGHT in front of my trainer. I don't have enough room in my pain cave to move far enough back to watch a big screen although that sounds really cool!

Al Truscott · January 7, 2014 2:21PM

Posted By Paul Hough on 07 Jan 2014 02:09 PM

@ John - the video was very informative. Does that work on an IPAD or a computer only? I have a 19" TV in front of my trainer but it is RIGHT in front of my trainer. I don't have enough room in my pain cave to move far enough back to watch a big screen although that sounds really cool!

There may be some Rube Goldberg way to use an Ipad with TR, but I haven't found it yet. One key problem: the needed ANT USB stick isn't recognized by the iPad, even if you have the iPad to USB port converter used for cameras, etc. Other, more fundamental: you can't download the needed TR software to an iPad, and there's no app (yet).

John Withrow · January 7, 2014 2:53PM

@Paul, you could either use a laptop, or get a crappy $150 computer on eBay and use your existing TV as your monitor. I use a wireless keyboard and mouse, so the computer can really be anywhere in the room.

Paul Hough · January 7, 2014 4:45PM

Hmm - I could steal my daughters laptop for pain cave time, or conversely, skip TR and use CYCLOPs video erg which I've already downloaded to the IPAD and which ST users assures me works somehow, I just haven't tried it again. I would throw down the old age card on this tech crap but Al has already made me look bad.

Dawn Cass · January 7, 2014 6:32PM

Thanks all, just ordered the Suunto and you are right, it gets much better reviews. While I wait for delivery, need to sign up for TR and figure out how to get started! Thread has gotten me excited to give it a go! In the meantime, run test tomorrow. ;-)

Chris Ciannella · January 10, 2014 10:01AM

@ Paul - TR displays the video and the voice/music you hear while watching the DVD. Based on your FTP, TR also will tell you what power level you should be riding at during the videos. Its pretty awesome.

Head over to their website. They do a very good job of explaining how everything works - very easy to set up to.

Hope that helps,

Chris

Trainer Road?

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