Elite Nero - Assioma pedals - TR - finally well tuned

Hi,
As I searched for few months the right way to tune my setup, I finally succed. And I want to share with people who could need my setip!
my equipment:
-Nero Elite smart trainer
-assioma duo pedals
-TR on computer (bluetooth)
-garmin 530 (to check and measure the cycling dynamics - Allways more data :slight_smile: !)

I had issues with speed response, the PID of the whole regulating force in the trainer was not optimal at all, and as I begin short burst intervell, I needed a more accurate, responsive system. by trying, error, and thinking, I succeed to get all of these!

So here is the setup:
1-the nero elite trainer should be configured using the android app frome nero and must be paired with the pedals, it uses it as power reading.
image

2-trainer road should be paired with the pedals (to read the power) and uses cadence AND power, BUT the power match should be disabled. so that nero rule the ERG alone, and TR send the target power to nero.
image

I double checked with the garmin 530 via ant+, and the power is from the assioma power source!
before:


after:

I hope it will help someone!
Best
Clément

3 Likes

Hi! Thanks for posting all of this information. It’s detailed and I appreciate that. I’ve also got a Nero and am trying to smooth out the wrinkles of resistance. Considering I sold the Arion Smart and bought these, the Nero is much better at tracking due to temperature compensation, but still not great in things like VO2.

I use a non-drive side single crank 4iiii power meter.

Todays VO2 Sleeping Beauty Workout:

Almost all of the workout was spent below the target. It’s not even hitting the “asked-for” FTP. I thought the PID loop would have it overshoot and then undershoot etc slowly closing in on the target.

I tried your suggestion, used my iPhone with the Elite app and connected the power meter to the Nero.


I selected Half Power to ON as that made sense to me.

Then I tested a Sleeping Beauty interval:
image

Better?

Do you have a sequence for powering on and connecting devices? Normally I get TR fired up but I’m thinking it might be best to power the Nero, give the pedals a spin and then turn TR on.

Also, I’m running TR using ANT+ dongle on a PC - the Arion Smart ONLY connected using ANT+.

Thought I’d update after a VO2 workout. The trainer seemed to jump up to the target power level alot better when the power meter is linked to the trainer itself.

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@spreader have you found that the power remains consistent by using PML on the Elite app?

I have a similar setup to you, just got the Nero (used) and have the stages left crank power meter. Today was my first real workout with the trainer (V02 max) and the power was all over the place. On ERG mode with PowerMatch (New), the resistance got way too high, to the point that the wheels started slipping, only after jumping to the lowest gear the resistance seemed to adjust. I spent the whole workout playing with the settings, the best I got it to work was using manual mode with -50 offset, but then that caused the opposite problem, I didn’t get the crazy jump in resistance, but then the resistance kept adjusting and I had to jump to the highest gear to keep the power on target.

Did you calibrate the trainer before setting up Power Meter Link? Do you (or anyone else) know if I need to use ANT+ to connect to the device running TR?

I’ll try to calibrate and test with PML tomorrow to see if I get better results. I am really liking the feeling of using rollers, but the power response is unusable this way.

Hi, I did notice that proper pressure tire reduce power tracking error. When I trained with low pressure, I get poor power tracking, When I increase pressure, that my tires did not deform on the roller, I got good response from the trainer… I Hope it will help!

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I power up the trainer, then spin the cranks to wake the power arm up and hopefully that means it syncs to the Nero.

Then I open TrainerRoad. Ensure the crank arm is set to power meter and then calibrate the crank arm.

Edit: I use ANT+ dongle to a PC to connect both the Nero, 4iiii crank arm and Garmin HR chest strap.

Thank you for your reply @Spreader!

Tried again, another VO2 session, I calibrated the roller with their app before, enable PML and disabled PowerMatch. I discovered than having a high wheel speed before the jump helped avoid the power swings. Still, the roller didn’t seem to match the power well. In a smaller gear it was impossible to keep the power on target. On a higher gear the roller seemed to adjust the power but it always seemed to aim for 20 watts below the target, even though the cadence is relatively stable.

I’ll probably experiment next with the Elite app and my head unit to see how the power levels compare.

I’m still wondering how to tell if the roller is paired to the power meter. There are no user manuals from the roller on the Elite website, the yellow light keeps blinking, but I have no idea if that is expected.

Looking at your image, the 3rd & 4th blocks don’t look all that bad. I find my trainer also tends to be a little lower than what TR is asking for, never higher. I figure after a while it will balance out by over estimating the FTP or the progression level. As long as it’s repeatable…

As for the jump into 1st & 2nd … I find that I need to be in the big ring 10s ahead of the power jump. I’ll slow down the cadence or just ramp up to the minimum wattage at whatever wheelspeed it is.

I find that if I wait to go big ring right as the power also ramps up it overshoots wildly like that!

Edit: Here’s an above threshold interval workout from today. Always tracking under. Usually its 5-10W under (2-4%) but near the end it’s getting sloppy at as much as 15W (6%). I don’t know. Prior to this I had the Arion smart rollers and they didn’t have thermal compensation, so as a block progressed the trainer would get very sloppy at tracking what was being asked of it. This is better (at least).

I’ve realized that part of it is that there is a difference between the feedback loop when training with just the trainer and with the power meter. I switched back to my direct drive trainer yesterday for VO2 sprints (I found the rollers to be useless there), but this time using the measurement from the power meter, and I also found it challenging to keep the power on target, even with power match, which wasn’t the case with the trainer measurement.

I still think the rollers with PML are tracking a bit under, which is consistent with what you have shared. Today I trained with the rollers and power match and while the power measurement is more noisy I found it slightly easier to stay on target.

By the way, it has also been my experience that I need to in the right gear when power jumps to avoid the power swings. I’ll keep an eye for the roller getting sloppy by the end of the session.

Hopefully as my fitness improves and I get more experience with the rollers it will get easier to keep on target.

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Now try and transfer this over to an iPad. Another bag of problems. Because iPad only has bluetooth, and the power meter is connecting to the Nero using bluetooth, the only option for power is the trainer itself. And for some reason it’s displaying 300W when desired resistance is 135W (and it feels like 135W in the legs)!