Near the end of every ramp test, I reach a point where I can still turn the pedals but cannot meet my power target. Is that the point of failure? Do you go until you literally cannot turn the pedals regardless of whether you are meeting the power target?
Are you in erg mode or not? In erg mode if you can’t meet the power target then turning the pedals generally becomes impossible very quickly! I think continuing to ride at lower power can potentially mess up the FTP calculation so if hitting the target is no longer possible best to stop it there.
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Thanks. Yes —Erg mode on smart rollers. I wonder if they don’t function the same as a regular trainer. I’ve always quit as soon as I am not meeting power, but I know there is a lot more go in my legs.
Definitely stop if you can’t hit the power target.
You can absolutely turn the pedals in ERG mode even if you’re not hitting the target power. I did this on a ramp test earlier this year. I was just trying to gut it out during a group test, wasn’t paying attention and ended up pushing through 3 steps when my cadence dropped to the low 30s. This was needless suffering as my power output did not increase on the last 2 steps and did not improve my ftp result.
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That sounds…dangerous.
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. Yup —Living on the edge!
My pain cave is a hallway.
Good to know. Thanks!!
I guess it depends on the trainer. I certainly cannot continue below the power target in ERG mode on a Tacx Neo… resistance keeps increasing and death spiral ensues. Maybe 5 max seconds to complete failure once that happens
The whole point of to find you peak 1 min during a ramp (increasing load). TR looks for the peak 1 min power so no point continuing once you’re past that point
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The answer is - it depends. Most probably, you are hitting the maximum power your setup can absorb under the current conditions, so even though TR is asking for more resistance, none is available. This is common with lower-end trainers, and with controllable rollers. The cure is simple: change gears to spin the trainer (or rollers in your case) faster.
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