Interval Power Changes

Just wanting to know if people have this issue with their smart trainer. I feel I have to wait for the power to reach the next interval efficiently and quickly. I feel on my recovery sections for me to keep it at 110watts I can only spin between 70-80 cadence, ideally I’d spin at the same cadence as my intervals which would be between 90-100. When I got from 70-80 cadence to 90-100 it takes about 20 seconds for the power to reach its desired target. Is there a way to get it to kick in a lot quicker? Is the change of cadence causing this issue. I have an Elite Direto smart trainer.

What gearing are you using? I am guessing big ring?

If so, you may be hitting the wattage limit on the low end in that gearing. Try using a lower gear and see how that works.

See this for more detail.

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Okay great, thank you - I’ll give it a go during my next indoor workout. Does that mean when the power jumps up and I go into threshold/vo2 max wattage, I should shift up too?

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Defiantly tinker with your gears, pedal smooth as you can, whatever comfortable cadence and you’ll feel the trainer again. Even if you have to jump several gears

I had a frustrating problem of my trainer (1st gen Kickr) not immediately increasing/decreasing with tough intervals but changing gears helped prevent spinning on air and smacking a wall (literally felt like that sometimes!). So in the case of finishing a Vo2 interval, i’d drop down to smaller cog, maintaining a smooth cadence and during recovery valleys i’d gradually shift a few easier gears before the next interval.

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I have the Direto as well. I do all my training in erg mode and use my 39x19 gear. That works out well for everything from recovery to VO2 max intervals.

Example here:
https://www.trainerroad.com/career/krsevers/rides/51957173-cheaha

Worth noting that the power for the sprints gets up to target in ~2 seconds. I think that many people who complain about Elite trainers being slow to respond have left the default 6 second power smoothing on, which effects the data that are transmitted from the trainer to whatever software you’re using. Use the myEtraining app to change that number to 0 and you’ll see better responsiveness on the screen. It won’t change the actual resistance you’re feeling, but it will send less smoothed data.

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As above, you are probably good to stay in the small ring. But for sure. You should experiment and try all the options. Choose the setup (or shifting) as needed to hit your goals.