FWIW- Last year I gave it a try for a month just to see what it was all about. I didn't expect much. I had a powertap on the back wheel and a standard Kinetic trainer so TR wasn't going to do any cool control stuff- just show the workout and my progress against it while I rode. But after a few sessions I really liked it and signed up to get through the OS. I can't exactly explain why- but somehow being able to see the workout/progress on that bottom row while watching a video made the workouts more enjoyable (if there is such a thing with an OS workout). Anyway- the nice thing about their service is you can just sign up on a monthly basis- give it a shot and if you don't like it or don't see the value you are only out 1 month of fees. Some things you just can't really understand the value or benefit until you try it for yourself. I think TrainerRoad is one of those things.
PS- one word of warning. I think TrainerRoad is also a little bit of a gateway drug. For years I thought "eh, I don't really see why a Computrainer would be worth it" and after one season with TrainerRoad I was scouting the DCRainmaker blog like crazy and scheming a way to get a resistant controlled trainer in my pain cave. Now I'm totally loving TrainerRoad with my new Powerbeam Pro :-)
Nemo - if TR is controlling your power then are you staying in the same gear the entire time? Spinnervals is always telling you when to shift and what your cadence range should be plus the DVD has a countdown, shows the gear ratio, and the intensity level. I don't see the advantage of TR taking control away from me when I know the Power Zone I should be in and when to be in that zone. What I want from erg software is to be able to say...hey give me the tour of the Alps or some such, put the video on screen then control the power similar to a computrainer. Does it do that? Meanwhile, I'm trying to find someone who has used Cyclops virtual training and can compare the two. Despite the TR lovefest here, I am very happy with my powerbeam pro and Joule 3 watching movies or doing Spinnervals.
TR does not control the power. There is no ERG mode on it. Paul go out on Slow Twitch and look in the forum. Several people have posted that the really like the new Cycleops software. It looks pretty cool from what I saw off the site.
I just get everything setup last night, so I may be mistaken, but I do believe TR controls the power when used with a CT and there are ERG and SLOPE modes. But like I said, last night was my first rodeo...
@Al you are right I actually misspoke. with a Kickr or the Computrainer TR will control the workout. There is no erg mode within TR but if you have an erg option on your trainer TR will control.
Nemo - if TR is controlling your power then are you staying in the same gear the entire time? Spinnervals is always telling you when to shift and what your cadence range should be plus the DVD has a countdown, shows the gear ratio, and the intensity level. I don't see the advantage of TR taking control away from me when I know the Power Zone I should be in and when to be in that zone. What I want from erg software is to be able to say...hey give me the tour of the Alps or some such, put the video on screen then control the power similar to a computrainer. Does it do that? Meanwhile, I'm trying to find someone who has used Cyclops virtual training and can compare the two. Despite the TR lovefest here, I am very happy with my powerbeam pro and Joule 3 watching movies or doing Spinnervals.
Paul. I'm going to try to break this down into smaller chunks.
1- Just like a computrainer, you don't change gears, the erg function of the TrainerRoad software talks to your resistance controlled trainer (Kickr, Powerbeam, or Computrainer) and adjusts the resistance in order to control/change watts to meet the workout. So if the segment of the workout says the watts target is 180-200, then It doesn't matter if you spin at 80rpm or 120 rpm, the erg function controls the trainer to keep the watts at 180-200.
2- Your comment "Give me a tour of the alps and control the power" puts my head in a bit of a spin. See point 1 above comment. The point here is that the trainer is controlling the power, not the terraine. In the real world, unless you are riding a fixie, the hill doesn't dictate the power (it has some impact, but not entirely). So if I were to ride the tour of the alps in my granny gear, I'd have a much lower power output then if rode it in the big ring.
3- I've never tried Virtual Training. But my understanding is there is a free trial period with that software as well. Why don't you try both and do that comparison yourself? Or perhaps put that question out on the Gear forum where it will have a greater audience. It doesn't seem we have anyone within the OS that has that experience to share with you.
All, thanks for all the info...am up and running and done 3 workouts now and love it! I think I try a lot harder considering target and actual are right there on the screen. Aldo like that EN workouts are loaded as I was getting bored with the same spinervals DVDs!
I am loving Trainer Road, but I do have 2 questions that I am hoping someone can answer.
First- when the workout is complete and published, there is a series of abbreviations across the top of the workout and numbers for each section/interval are listed. What does all the information/data mean? I understand the average speed, but not the rest of it.
Second- if I completed the initial 20min OS test and TR and the FTP numbers are correct, do each of the workouts for the outseason adjust accordingly based on what zone you are supposed to be in? From my limited experience this does not look like the case, and if this isn't the case, then how do I modify the OS workout for my specific zones?
1. What are all those abbreviations at the top of my Trainer Road summary, and the numbers that go with them in each interval? Great question, it gets to the core of some learning you should undertake to make yourself more effective in your training and, eventually, racing. These all refer to various aspects of using "power" when training. The best way to get into all that is to go to this page in the wiki, and simply work your way down the first 5 or 6 links. For "graduation", you could buy the Power Webinar, which most who've used it say is the best $60 or so they have spent inside of EN. Going thru all this stuff should take you several weeks. Take your time, absorb, and you;ll come out the other side well equipped to take the next steps in training.
2. Yes, if you did the test within TR, and confirmed you wanted to use the results as your FTP, the workouts should modify themselves accordingly. You can check this by going into your Trainer Road profile, and see what your FTP is. If it agrees with the number you got when you tested, you're good to go.
OK, i did my first wo with TR and got it... question is who loads in the EN workouts? the one i did today, OS Sat Wk4 ADV, had the wrong rest intervals for the 2 FTP intervals, i did as written in plan not as shown in TR, is there anyway to edit these? is there a person we can have check all?? kind of defeats the purpose when you aren't following the lines... btw, caused me to work harder and nail the top of my Z3 intervals!
Comments
PS- one word of warning. I think TrainerRoad is also a little bit of a gateway drug. For years I thought "eh, I don't really see why a Computrainer would be worth it" and after one season with TrainerRoad I was scouting the DCRainmaker blog like crazy and scheming a way to get a resistant controlled trainer in my pain cave. Now I'm totally loving TrainerRoad with my new Powerbeam Pro :-)
I just get everything setup last night, so I may be mistaken, but I do believe TR controls the power when used with a CT and there are ERG and SLOPE modes. But like I said, last night was my first rodeo...
Paul. I'm going to try to break this down into smaller chunks.
1- Just like a computrainer, you don't change gears, the erg function of the TrainerRoad software talks to your resistance controlled trainer (Kickr, Powerbeam, or Computrainer) and adjusts the resistance in order to control/change watts to meet the workout. So if the segment of the workout says the watts target is 180-200, then It doesn't matter if you spin at 80rpm or 120 rpm, the erg function controls the trainer to keep the watts at 180-200.
2- Your comment "Give me a tour of the alps and control the power" puts my head in a bit of a spin. See point 1 above comment. The point here is that the trainer is controlling the power, not the terraine. In the real world, unless you are riding a fixie, the hill doesn't dictate the power (it has some impact, but not entirely). So if I were to ride the tour of the alps in my granny gear, I'd have a much lower power output then if rode it in the big ring.
3- I've never tried Virtual Training. But my understanding is there is a free trial period with that software as well. Why don't you try both and do that comparison yourself? Or perhaps put that question out on the Gear forum where it will have a greater audience. It doesn't seem we have anyone within the OS that has that experience to share with you.
Does anyone know how the KJ(Cal) are derived in TR? Is this based on weight, wattage and HR or some subset of the three?
I am loving Trainer Road, but I do have 2 questions that I am hoping someone can answer.
First- when the workout is complete and published, there is a series of abbreviations across the top of the workout and numbers for each section/interval are listed. What does all the information/data mean? I understand the average speed, but not the rest of it.
Second- if I completed the initial 20min OS test and TR and the FTP numbers are correct, do each of the workouts for the outseason adjust accordingly based on what zone you are supposed to be in? From my limited experience this does not look like the case, and if this isn't the case, then how do I modify the OS workout for my specific zones?
Thanks,
mm
Mandy - You have two questions:
1. What are all those abbreviations at the top of my Trainer Road summary, and the numbers that go with them in each interval? Great question, it gets to the core of some learning you should undertake to make yourself more effective in your training and, eventually, racing. These all refer to various aspects of using "power" when training. The best way to get into all that is to go to this page in the wiki, and simply work your way down the first 5 or 6 links. For "graduation", you could buy the Power Webinar, which most who've used it say is the best $60 or so they have spent inside of EN. Going thru all this stuff should take you several weeks. Take your time, absorb, and you;ll come out the other side well equipped to take the next steps in training.
http://members.endurancenation.us/R...+Resources
2. Yes, if you did the test within TR, and confirmed you wanted to use the results as your FTP, the workouts should modify themselves accordingly. You can check this by going into your Trainer Road profile, and see what your FTP is. If it agrees with the number you got when you tested, you're good to go.