Good trainer with Variable Resistance

Equipment
1

Any suggestions on an indoor trainer with variable resistance?

I would like to be able to modulate the resistance so I can hold the same power with changes of 5-10rpm. (Maybe even 1-2rpm :slight_smile: but 5-10 is good enough) So, best dumb mag trainer with variable resistance.

I currently have a cyclops fluid trainer with a 12s cervelo p-series , but the problem with it is that the jumps on a 50t chainring from 17, 19, to 21, are too big. To hold the same power, shifting one gear results in a change in rpm of 20ish. E.g. at 300-315 watts I hold 82ish rpm in the 19t sprocket. But shifting to 21t makes me have to hold 100rpm. It’s Di2, so I cant force it to cross train and use the 34/14, 13, 12, 11. But even if i could, for some reason pedaling in the small ring feels bad. I used to do that on my previous bike, but didn’t like it as a solution.

Same problem occurs at every wattage. Especially because the fluid heats up, sometimes I’ll start an interval around 90rpm, but then with the same power it drops to 82, but I can’t shift out of it without having to hold 100-105rpm.

The saris/cyclops mag trainer is what I’m currently looking at.

But it looks like it has four discrete settings, and something with more fine tuned resistance would be optimal, so i could make small adjustments 1-2 rpm if desired.

(you’d think i could just get a cassette with a tighter gear ratio, but there are none on the market i can find that have 18, 19, 20, 21t sprockets. They all jump by 2 in those ranges, at least for some of them, and those are the four that i need. I solved this problem on my previous 11s bike by buying two cassettes and combining the sprockets so I could jump one tooth at a time. But I’d rather just buy a new trainer, because buying two cassettes every time you wear through them is a silly solution.)

Not interested in ERG. I prefer simplicity.
I prefer wheel on just because it’s what i know, but I’m open to direct drive suggestions if they’ll solve the issue of the jumps in resistance being too big.

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I hate to be the guy not responding to you question properly, but you are adding so much complexity it seems like ERG is the answer you are after. It’s so simple, if you want to change your cadence, you just pedal faster and the resistance stays the same. Have you tried using ERG mode? Maybe you could try one at your local bike shop and see if you like it?

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Even the cheapest direct drive trainers can do what you are asking. The function is called Erg mode.

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“Not interested in ERG.”
So not interested in the one solution designed to do exactly what you’re asking

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I did not want to be the first to say this but……,

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I had a feeling everyone would turn into a salesman for erg. :slight_smile:

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Sort of. I tried my friends wahoo kicker direct drive in manual mode, and did not like the weight of the fly wheel. Felt like it had way too much inertia and it was like pedaling downhill. Much harder to hold a power target after the acceleration phase was over.
I do all of my workouts with just my bike computer. And my understanding is to manually change the resistance in ERG mode you need to use an app, and my hands are sweaty enough that would be a royal pain. I use my watch to control my music cus touching my phones screen outside of endurance rides stops working very quickly. Hence my disinterest in ERG mode because they’re designed to mesh with zwift/trainerroad etc

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I have a Kickr. I never use ERG. I use my Garmin 530 to control the trainer.

I just change gears and adjust the slope/grade +/1 depending on what I want to do.

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This is not correct, many smart trainers are controllable with the most common bike computers

I’m sure there are more detailed write ups elsewhere but this was the first result as a proof of concept

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Thanks, that’s helpful

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I understand that, but this can be solved by changing into an easier gear. This will lower the flywheel speed and make the inertia much less while keeping the resistance (Watts) the same.

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When I had a fluid trainer and was contemplating a ‘smart trainer’, almost everyone said ‘DO IT!!’. I did and didn’t look back. The fluid trainer was odd at times, and some brands are ‘odder’ than others. (I’ve heard the ‘fluid’ can foam, and breakdown over time) This is from memory, but I really liked the smart trainer, it certainly rode differently.

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What PM data do you have on your 530? Are you able to use your normal PM, or does the kickr override it?

EDIT: according to the internet, after pairing the kickr I can unpair the power component to my head unit so I’ll be able to use my normal PM and have consistent data. So that solves that.

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Totally understand where you are coming from. Resistance mode feels way better than ERG for me and I’ve recently given up the later entirely.

I ride a stages bike so resistance can be modulated fairly tightly. Usually, 1 gear shift in the 50 gear dream drive is about 5RPM.

As far as a mag or fluid trainer, no great solution. Limitation of that training tool.

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15

Exactly. I record all power from my bike’s power meter. My bike computer sees the Kickr’s speed sensor and uses that.

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16

Thanks! I ordered the adapter axle for the kicker snap. I need to put away the bike/trainer after every use, so realized direct drive is impracticable. No reason the thru axles won’t be compatible, but easier to return an axle than a whole trainer–just in case.

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Direct drive was just a game changer for me. I’ll never go back to a wheel on trainer.

edit: honestly, I’d probably quit indoor cycling if I had to go back to wheel on. :slight_smile:

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Ive got an Elite Suito DD for that reason it folds up really slim.

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I had an Elite Volano, a direct drive fluid trainer, which worked quite well. Typically, I’d have to change cadence by 10–15 rpm. While that could mean I was not exactly at my preferred cadence, that’s what happens outdoors, too.

After the Volano broke, I got an Elite Suito. Most of the time, I use it in resistance mode, and I tweak the resistance setting in TR to match the gear/cadence I want to be in during the work intervals. Now that dumb trainers are a thing of the past (except used), I’d go for a cheap direct drive trainer. E. g. a Wahoo Kickr Core can be had for $500, I think, and I would have opted for that if it had been available at the time.

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Totally understand where you are coming from. Resistance mode feels way better than ERG for me

Agreed.

I really wished the UI on the TR phone app had bigger buttons for adjusting resistance mode. And an option for jumping between presets when doing intervals.

I’ve used ERG mode for years (and still do), but it’s still weird to me that pedaling slower in the same gear requires more torque (i.e. death spiral), whereas doing the same outdoors requires less torque. Maybe Wahoo or Garmin could add some controls to adjust ERG sensitivity, or hold the current resistance.

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