Originally Posted by
zjrog
@
Thomas15 I have Wahoo Blue Speed and Cadence sensors on many of my bikes, and prefer that for cadence vs the iNride estimation. I don't do much "climbing", so don't get to "Super Tuck" much. One thing I hate about Half Smart and climbing, no matter how much I spin, or don't, my speed is regulated by Zwift, again as an estimate. I honestly think with added resistance, I could get more speed climbing.
I recently had a physical therapy based bike fit, that included time on a wheel off trainer. A Tacx Neo2. I really liked it, and it felt a lot different than I expected. Which is why I think I could power through. So I see value in the true Smart Trainer. I also am cheap. So a mere $350 or so gets me the Kurt Kinetic Smart Control head, so I could just swap that for my fluid head. But going wheel off does seem more efficient.
So yes. After being terrified after a cardiology visit, I became religious with HRM usage. I nearly panicked recently as. Y 5 year old Wahoo Tickr started dropping out. So I ordered the Tickr X as a replacement. And I have started looking at Heart Rate Variability. But that's outside the scope of this topic...
I believe you are correct that more resistance will give more speed on climbs. That is my experience anyway. Of course you have to expend more energy also.
I have a difficult time maintaining anything over 85 RPM for very long, on the long slogs like the Alpe my cadence is in the 60s with a power of about max 2.8-2.9 w/kg., adv. 2.6-2.7 w/kg. I weigh 65.8 kg and 61 years old, FTP 176. My HR if I'm riding with others will be 170-180+ which can be scary I will admit. I've only been riding for about a year, I wasn't in terrible shape before but not tone either. I seem to do better climbing rather than sprints, which is great as I live in the mountains.
I have a Tickr and also an inexpensive optical arm HRM. I use the optical way more than the Tickr.