skinnyguy

I was going to perform a FTP test on my trainer w/ the powertap i just purchased. it is an older wired unit so interference should not be a problem. I was reading around on the net about erratic readings. has anyone had problems with this. i wanted to do it on my trainer so i have the same environment to duplicate the test many times throughout the year. seems logical to me.

Apus^2

Never had any issue on the trainer doing a 20 minute test. A lot of people have trouble achieving the same wattage indoor as they do outdoor, so keep that in mind if you do the bulk of your training outside and your testing inside.

rbart4506

Never had an issue with my wireless unit indoors...And yes test both indoors and outdoors...There is a difference...

Plus! You are in Ontario...It is not winter so you should not be on a trainer yet

wanders

No interference issues with wireless... but I don't think there are enough fans on the planet to keep me from overheating in my basement. I'm about 10% lower indoors vs. out.

topflightpro

Yep, I too have found that I produce significantly lower wattages on an indoor training than during outdoor workouts.

That said, I tend to do a lot of interval workouts on the trainer, so, having an FTP based on trainer work is valuable info.

Hida Yanra

I'll concur with the chorus line, FTP indoor does not equal FTP outdoors.
I track both during the times of year when I'm riding indoors & outside.

miwoodar

+1...I'm way lower on my trainer. I can get pretty close on my rollers though.

skinnyguy

I will let you know how it goes.

skinnyguy

Test 24min W/U then 1hr TT on the trainer: Avg watts= 280.5. Weighed in 56.42kg so I am at 4.97w/kg. Good ride not ideal prep but I am happy with that. I feel good as I just finished my racing season 2 weeks ago and haven't had a long ride in a few weeks. Winter plan to hit the weights and gain some muscle so I am better on the flats.

wanders

1 hr. @ 280w indoors. I quit.

miwoodar

You're not the only one, Wanders.

Dang, Skinny.

skinnyguy

that was 34.1km/h on my trainer. I did 35.14 about 2 months ago at the peak of my season but that was also at 58kg and before I had a PM to measure my output. I am doing my 1min and 5min tests on friday to complete some more of my power profile so I can start training with my PM now that i have one. to bad I am trapped in a cadets body. will keep you updated if you like.

rbart4506

Ok...Remind me not to ride with Skinnyguy

Then again, it really wouldn't matter the ride wouldn't last very long for me....

Nice work!

brian416

5w/kg on a trainer. Wow.....

Psimet2001 

FTP on trainer....story of my life.

After trainers, powertaps, Quarq, and computrainers a plenty over the last couple of seasons - I ride pretty much the same no matter where it is. I am sure I could probably post a better actual FTP test number if I did it outdoors, but honestly I don't have anywhere that I want to go in order to do that in a safe manner....nor the desire to know the number.

It's crazy though when you can do an FTP 20 min test indoors and then go outside and have a higher average power for a 30 minute crit. In my case though it's from the anerobic engine I have. My crits are just a really long series of sprints and coasting. FTP with constant power output is like asking me to put a 8 inch sharpened stick through my eyeballs.

ridethecliche

Nicely done. Now go do it outside and profit.

kaiserboy

+1.....way lower on the trainer.

skinnyguy

well my power profile is a little more complete today.

workout which was done outside today:

20min w/u
5min threshold 5 min ri
1min all out 5min ri (530w average 9.39 w/kg)
10min @ 200w
5min all out (352 w average 6.24w.kg)
10min ri
1min all out (could not better my previous)
5min ri
1min all out (same)
2x15sec 2 min ri to test best 5 sec power (780w 13.82w/kg)

limp home

so i learned today that i have the 5 sec power of a school girl and excellent 1 min and 5min power. my snap is obviously a huge weakness of mine but i am not sure i would sacrifice my training time trying to make it better.

miwoodar

Well done.

FWIW, my jump is at least 500 watts lower on the trainer. Not being able to throw the bike around completely ruins my mojo.

Yep

Your hour on the trainer at FTP was pretty impressive. Makes me think your true FTP has got to be higher than that...

guadzilla

I find that I am consistently around 30W lower on the trainer than I am on the road - based on both testing and RPE.

Ironically, I've also noticed that the power reading on my Kurt Kinetic wired computer is about 30W higher than the PT (had posted a question about this here last year, actually), so I use more or less the same numbers on both my trainer and the road, and it works out ok.

I just tested my CP20 as 250W* (on the KK computer) on the trainer last week, just before starting my build phase - am going to test it on the road next weekend and I expect the numbers to be similar.

*Of course, for me that is only a measly ~3.5W/kg so excuse me while I go kill myself after seeing skinnyguy's numbers.

echappist

get in line: i hear it stretches around the block

skinnyguy

I think you are right. The ftp test was done inside and the other outside. Also on my ftp test i started out to hard and faded near the end so now when I redo my ftp test I will be able to pace myself since that was the first test I have done with a power meter.