Take a close look at your cadence. If you bounce around and don’t keep it steady, ERG with bounce around too and partly create a vicious circle.
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That doesn’t seem right. My references are Kickr 2017 (v2 or v3?) and Kickr v5. Around those powers, I see less than 15W standard deviation using TR PowerMatch with Erg. Probably 7-10W standard deviation with Erg only. My feeling is “Erg is unnaturally smooth” and something impossible to achieve outside (in the past I’ve posted a lot, with data).
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Anecdotally, I noticed yesterday that ERG mode on my H3, connected through ANT+ to TR on my laptop, was nowhere near as precise and consistent as connecting through BT.
In fact, it was much more like using Resistance mode as I had to switch between my small / big rings to hit my prescribed power targets (45" VO2 repeats).
So having just done a workout basically in resistance mode vs. usually doing ERG, I can only emphasize what has been said above - it is really about personal preference. There was no substantive difference in the quality of my workout yesterday vs. a similar workout the week before (except I had a slightly higher-than-prescribed average wattage on the intervals).
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Seems to differ by person.
Erg mode works ok for me for lower intensity workouts. But for higher intensity, I much prefer the more natural feel of resistance mode.
Typically, in the winter, I’ll do my intervals on Zwift in normal (non-erg) mode. Much higher level of success that way (vs in erg, I get 3/4 way through and all of a sudden maintaining a reasonable cadence is impossible). HR and TSS values are generally similar.
So… /shrug. No science here, just what my legs tell me.
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And just to make sure they are shared, here are the greatest hits for “ERG mode vs the world” with pretty much every possible angle covered. Grab some snack and drinks, or your pillow if you want bedtime reading to knock you out 
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Erg on my Kickr is an unnatural oscillation! I’ll have to experiment more. I’m just using the Wahoo app. And mostly I just pedal in resistance mode to power on my power meter so the Kickr’s numbers don’t matter.
Does anyone know if some maintenance might improve my Kickr? I’ve never done anything to it. It used to be close to my Stages and now it reads like 20 watts low. (I think the Stages is my most accurate power meter).
Which version Kickr?
- Can you share a link or picture to any of the workouts you’ve done in ERG? Would be a starting point to see if the data correlates to your feelings.
Is there any chance you have two apps & devices connected to the Kickr?
- This comment reminds me of the yo-yo that happens if I accidentally have TR & Zwift connected with control of the trainer.
- Each app is trying to set a different value and you get the back and forth action at the pedals. It is usually easy to see in a workout file as well.
- Is your Stages single-sided or dual-sided?
- If you have anything prior to the V5 / V6… how often (and when) do you perform a spindown calibration on the trainer?
I like ERG as it doesnt allow power to drift and takes the adjustment and thinking part of it. There are workouts at 124 W rest with 374 W intervals. If i do without ERG, sometimes i struggle with enough resistance or over resistance during the rests.
I guess being an ERG fan is the reason of my terrible pedal smoothness and struggles of holding the required power without overshooting it.
Summary: I think it is better without ERG but i am now too lazy for it
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For me erg keeps your recovery honest and not too fast. Especially for recovery rides it is easy to over do it.
Unfortunately my Kickr bike does not have resistance mode.
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Any chance you can access “Standard” mode if you are in TrainerRoad, or what is called “Level” mode in the Wahoo and other apps?
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That is similar to resistance mode, but actually has a progressive (non-linear) curve which is more like riding outside anyway.
I have used standard mode… haven’t tried “level mode.” Will have to look into that!
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Chad, thanks for the ideas. It’s a 2017 V3 Kickr.
I’m only using the Wahoo app to control it. My garmin records power from the Stages though it is also connected to the speed sensor on the Kickr.
I do the spin down every now and then but it doesn’t seem to make any difference.
I’ll have to look for a ride file tomorrow as I’m traveling. It’s not a big deal as I only just tried ERG for the first time in the last few months and 99% of the time I use resistance mode anyway.
I’ve searched on the issue unsuccessfully and have meaning to do some testing and maybe start a topic. Since it’s a low priority issues, I haven’t gotten around to it.
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I listened to this when it came out, and I was underwhelmed.
There are was a lot of conflating “mindlessly following the blue bars and ignoring RPE” with “trainer is in ERG mode”.
These are not the same thing. Many of the purported advantages of not using ERG mode can be had in ERG mode by adjusting the target. I do this all the time.
If you are keeping your cadence fairly stable, for most trainers with physical flywheels I doubt that there is much difference between ERG and resistance/slope mode. I certainly have not seen any evidence of this.
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the past few months have been a journey away from erg mode. When I got my trainer in 2017, erg was the best, with 8 speed drivetrain it really helped me nail all the workouts. Gradually over time I was able to pace outside workouts pretty well but still enjoyed the ease of erg. But upon heavy recommendation from folks, I stopped trying to do vo2 workouts in erg and from there have moved to doing all my workouts without erg. I still have 8 speed and sometimes it’s annoying, I have all the parts for an 11 speed upgrade and someday I’ll get around to installing and hopefully that’ll take my workouts up a level as far as dialing in power/cadence.
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Since I’ve started, I’ve always used erg as it was the mode of choice and recommended. But the resistance mode levels. How would you know is a sweet spot resistance level to follow? Would it be like a resistance feel on your gearing outdoors or is there a chart for TR resistance for ftp levels?
So how did u come to selecting your resistance level in TR for your workout? Did it feel harder or easier or somewhat familiar to when doing an outdoor ride kinda power and feel?
Here’s what I think: if you can ride @400W for 40 minutes but all you do is ride on erg mode…but somebody else can only ride at 280W for 40 minutes but rides 100% of the time in resistance mode…you’re gonna kick the shit out of that rider.
So, first and foremost, make progress on the work rate you can sustain for the greater portion of an hour. That is the primary thing. Whether you want to do that in erg mode or resistance mode is what’s called a TERTIARY MATTER. If fills time on a podcast but when the rubber meets the road there are plenty of riders that have similar ability but ride only erg mode & still make the podium.
Go do a couple spicy group rides…you’re gonna figure it out real quick.
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I don’t use TR anymore but I’d use resistance level 1 I think. On zwift sometimes I just ride a flat route or if it’s a long power session I’ll pick a mountain climb, all depends on the workout
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Resistance is a 1-100 setting range. I’d suggest trying between 20-40 and evaluate your gearing for high and low power levels.
Much like my recommendation for ERG, Resistance and Standard mode settings can be tweaked to use gearing close to what you use outside. Mix as needed to get the feel you want or expect to use.
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