Testing without power on a trainer
Contrary to my previous post about cold weather riding gear, I'm starting to feel like I'll be spending more time riding in the pain cave than I originally thought. Based on some recent conversations with fellow riders, I'm getting the impression that feeling comfortable while riding outside when it's less than 30 degrees is rather difficult. And then of course there's the daylight issue, or lack thereof. So anyway I think I'll be inside a lot this winter.
That said, I don't train with power. Maybe next year, but it's just not in the budget for this year. So the question is, can I do decent tests on the trainer with HR alone? I don't yet own a trainer although plan on to buy one this week, so the entire experience of riding on a trainer is still a little foreign to me.
Jason
Comments
Sure! Do the bike test on the trainer so you know where you are heart rate wise. The common mistake training HR on a trainer is to start the interval too hard. It will feel easy at first, then you won't be able to maintain it after a few minutes. By that time HR will be higher than your training zone number. With practise, you'll better judge how hard to start the interval, what it feels like so you don't overshoot your intended heart rate zone. People trained HR for years b4 power meters. But once you train with power, you'll feel naked with only HR.
that just my 2 cents.
ps, just a thought...I don't know what your budget is, but you might look for a used Computrainer. That will get you a trainer and power, then look for power for your bike in the spring.
Ebay has decent deals on trainers. I got a CycleOps Fluid 2 Trainer for $150. Works great. I peak at the Computrainers but they still tend to go for 1100-1400 on ebay for the full system....if anyone sees them for a few hundo cheaper.... save it for me? hehe
So this brings up another question. I recently ordered a cadence meter for my 310xt, it should be here today. So not only have I never been on a trainer, but I've never had a cadence meter, either. So, how accurate is the cadence meter / trainer combo compared with real world speed and distance?
Jason
Installed the Garmin cadence sensor 2 weeks ago. Took a little to get it calibrated. Make sure the separate pedal and wheel attachments are each very close to the sensor. its easy to tinker with.
I really like the extra data, especially cadence.
Is this on a trainer? I read that the recent 3.0 firmware upgrade for the 310xt fixed something with the GPS overriding cadence data, maybe you'll want to check that out if you haven't already.
Jason
Speed on the trainer? Is this really accurate and worth worrying about?
Jason,
Keep in mind that we only have HR athletes doing a couple tests in the OS for a reason: if all you have is HR and are on a trainer, than we can't really extract any objective data from your test. All we are really doing, with the first test, is establishing your HR training zones. We do a second test because you likely have learned to pace the test better and/or have seen some movement in your training zones in that first 4wks. But after that, we don't really have HR athletes do tests because we don't extract any objective data from the tests, as we would with power.
So if we were to have you test again in Week 8, we'd basically have you drill yourself on the trainer so we can say "yep...your LTHR is still 168bpm...congrats...carry on!" IOW, not very useful.
The exception to this if you have a long climb that you can do outside under repeatable conditions. If so, you can use time and speed up the climb as a goal, validation of the work, etc.
@Jason -- Thanks. Yes it was on a trainer. I just saw the update was available --- guess it is time to do it. Also saw that we have the same race schedule. When did you start OS?
Fair enough. Thanks Mike.