Originally Posted by
chaadster
Obviously the problem is merely one of perception, and you're just not as good at "perceiving effort" as you think you are, and need to push yourself harder on the stationary. I mean, there's nothing actually limiting your max HR when you're indoors...other than yourself. Maybe not being distracted when indoors lets you focus too much on your body, and you keep things in check and/or shut down earlier than you need to.
I dunno. I'm definitely working as hard or harder than I would ride outside. If you're familiar with Sufferfest's "Revolver," I can barely get my HR close to max on the intervals (max HR of 180), and rather top out at 162. I'm hammering away more than I ever would outside. Same thing with other workouts indoors; I feel like I need to adjust my zones by about 15-20 bpm lower so that I don't blow myself up right away.