Holding TT position on the Trainer harder than outside

Not sure if anyone else finds this

Holding TT position for over 10 mins on the trainer can feel very hard compared to outside. Different forces at work perhaps?

The moving of the bike outside helps muscles relax?

For me its because of the claustrophobia and reduced air flow.

Partly movement, also partly psychological in my case. Being able to feel the wind resistance and see how your position impacts speed is great incentive and positive reinforcement to get aero.

3 Likes

I’ve always had this issue as well. Can stay in the TT position for hours outside but can only last maybe 20 minutes inside before I need to get up for a bit.

I do oddly enough find it easier to stay in position during sweet spot and threshold vs recovery efforts. Adding a rocker plate also helped out a bit

4 Likes

Cooling and the resistance that airflow provides to take a bit of pressure off your front end

2 Likes

I hate riding the aero position on the trainer even when dialed in comfortably. Just feels awful without the little bits of movement and feeling the actually speed difference compared to sitting up.

3 Likes

Amen brother. It’s harder, not sure as to why. But outside miles in the TT position counts as well,

1 Like

What feels bad for you on the bike inside?

1 Like

I think my neck and shoulders. Have to really work and tension builds in shoulders. Outside not an issue though. I probably don’t do enough in TT position indoors to be honest. I use an older bike for workouts. I’m going to be signing up for the TR ironman plan for next year so think I’ll have to suck it up and adapt

1 Like

If you don’t already do so, try elevating the front axle higher than the rear axle. 1" [25mm] is a good starting point. I theorize that this leads to a slight weight shift, that hopefully helps offset the lack of forward motion and wind resistance we experience when outside.

As mentioned above, adding a rocker plate or even very squishy mat can help with saddle comfort, even though you didn’t say anything about that.

Additionally, consider where you are looking and have any training app displayed. Some people set up high screens, and I find that problematic. At best, I think a screen should be no higher than you look when you are rolling down the road. This leads to needing a much lower screen than some might expect. I like it with the center of the screen where I am looking down the road and the top no higher than my head, when in on the hoods.

2 Likes

I was actually going to come back to this thread to mention this same thing. When I’m on the road bike on the trainer I like the axles the same height. But when I’ve got the tri bike on there I find that comfort is better if I raise up the front wheel a little bit

1 Like

This is a common problem / complaint…I can hold my TT position outside for hours with no adaptation period required. Put me on my bike and I am good to go. Inside, I can’t hold it for more than a few minutes.

As cartman noted, I think the lack of air resistance is a big part of it. Picking up speed and going faster in incentive to get and stay low and you are immediately rewarded for it. Not so inside…

And chad is spot-on on how to rectify the issue…raise the front wheel at least an inch, maybe even higher. I did TBMV I-III last offseason on my TT bike, but needed to get the front wheel up on a climbing block to make it possible. Once I did, I was good to go.

1 Like

Thanks all, much appreciated.

I’ve just read this so will try the front wheel but it is elevated. So I did a test, 4x5mins. 1st and 4th rep with shoulders 40mm arm pads moved closer. Watts fell on these reps. Pads put 40mm further apart, power up and no pain at all. I know some adaption required but I feel watts falling off, I’ll not get the aero savings. Obviously only a wind tunnel can tell. Interestingly having the pads slightly wider allows you to shrug and put the head forward.

I hope this post helps someone else, from the photo below my elbows actually go in! Now they are under me i can support myself and perhaps more aero. I guess pros can get elbows almost touching and still breath correctly

1 Like
  • Yup, that is one reason I try to get mid to wide pad position for my fits.

  • Additionally, narrow elbows can tighten the chest and impact breathing.

  • So those plus your shrug comment are reasons I tend to avoid super narrow elbows.

1 Like

Thanks Chad, was amazed to see how those points kept the power steady whilst going very narrow just could not hold it at all. I guess even the guys and girls going into wind tunnels need to consider the above points

1 Like

Indeed. Aero is great, but there is always a balance since the power side is not to be neglected.

That’s what makes aero fitting with power consideration so hard, and nearly impossible for people without access to a wind tunnel or velodrome & associated analysis tools.

Considering that, I tend to push the comfort and power angle more than pure aero when helping with fits. I’d rather someone lose a few watts on aero being a tad sub-optimal, but be able to hold that position better and longer, and hopefully hold better power.

2 Likes

Very good point, I believe perhaps save 4-5 watts over the elbow position but lose 20-30 watts not being able to put power out or hold it properly. I use the kismet carbon pads to hold the elbows in but certainly a fine balance. I 100% agree and no worse feeling than strolling to breath due to elbows almost touching

1 Like