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KK Road Machine Flywheel Question

morpheusmorpheus
in General Training Discussions

KK Road Machine comes with a 6.25lb flywheel.  I have the extra 12lb Pro Flywheel added to it.  Since I've had the trainer, about 2 years.

Just wondering if or what the impact is on these 15' and 20' intervals.

 

Comments

  • morpheusmorpheus
    called KK. left a message. waiting for some official feedback.

    in the meantime, took the extra Pro Flywheel off for the first time before tonights workout.

    Yes, it makes a difference. It's just my experience after only one workout, but here's what I expect to see ...

    1. cadence is easier to maintain in the higher numbers like 90+
    2. FTP will get a free boost, maybe not that big of a jump
    3. holding FTP for the longer intervals will be much more manageable, ie...more successful FTP work intervals since the watts don't start dropping at around 12' due to the fatigue from the high 18lb flywheel resistance.

    One more workout, Saturday, to adjust before the 2nd test of the OS on Monday. That'll tell me more.

  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson

    This must be one of those YMMV things. My experience is that the larger flywheel has a much better feel to it in the FTP intervals and leads to a much smoother pedal stroke that is much more like being outdoors. I only remove the flywheel for VO2 max workouts where the spin up gives crazy-high power numbers for the first few seconds (again, similar to being outdoors...).

  • morpheusmorpheus
    Yeah, I haven't figured this one out, yet. 3 workouts done since the change, including 1 FTP test, and all 3 went better than I would've imagined. Not so much better that it looks fishy, my legs just felt better.

    Now, this may simply be because I was in a slump and I've come around. Don't know. But, I plan on finishing the OS with this change. By the end, I'll be outside most of the time anyway.

    Sure wish I could get a person at Kurt Kinetic that could give some background to it.
  • mgraffeomgraffeo
    I'd guess that it depends on how good you are at power transfer over the top of the pedal stroke. To me, it's always felt much easier to initiate the pedal stroke outdoors than on the trainer, until this year when I started working on eliminating some of my quad-dominant movement patterns. With the old patterns, I'd imagine that I'd totally wear out halfway into the longer intervals with a heavier flywheel.
  • charrischarris

    If you believe the "Inertial load" theory (not everyone does):


     

    it should be "easier" with the heavier flywheel.

     

    But I think Mike's right - depending on what your pedal stroke/technique looks like, it's possible it could be harder.
  • morpheusmorpheus
    @Mike - circles vs pistons for the pedal stroke? me -> circles and power is pretty consistent thru the stroke (as far as I can tell)

    @Craig- thx for the link, good info.

    BTW, Kurt Kinetic called, confirmed that there is no difference other than longer to spin up and longer coasting.

    I'm chalking it up to fitness/fatigue. Tho, I do seem to hold my watts better with a slightly higher cadence which is a little easier to hold with the 6.5lb flywheel vs the 18lbs.

    Still gonna stay with the change thru the rest of the OS.
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