hshearer

While they suck in many ways, trainers do make a wonderful controlled environment for testing yourself. No variation from wind, terrain, pavement surface conditions, temperature, air density, clothing choices, interesting scenery, or friends to talk to or compete against. If you're riding a trainer this winter, might as well make the most of it and figure out what works best for you on the bike, hey?

So, what are your trainer experiment ideas? Any tinkering with bike fit? Fluid/nutrition experiments?

Here's mine... do I pedal most efficiently in the drops, on the hoods, on the bars, or in aerobars? I've been switching hand positions during my trainer base-mileage rides, and then, after a few minutes, taking note of what has happened to my speed. I thought I'd be fastest on the hoods or bar tops since that's where I'm most comfortable, but was suprised to see that I'm actually pretty consistently about 0.5 - 1 km/h faster when I'm in the drops, for what feels like the same effort. I'm not convinced that this is for real just yet, but I plan to keep watching those numbers, and I'll definitely be trying to spend more time in the drops from now on.

Carbonfiberboy 

HRM is key for trainer/roller workouts. You can't feel the little things, and like you say, one of the great things about indoor workouts is working on the little things. Been doing that for many years. I can get a 3 bpm drop just by straightening my back. So order one today.