Hi all. I have been training regularly on my trainer for years and have always had issues with saddle discomfort. I have a good bike fit, wear expensive bibs which I chose solely on Chamois comfort for trainer use, motion plates on my Tacx Neo 2t (which have helped greatly) and I use the most comfortable saddle I have ever had after trying out just about every saddle ever made…at least it seemed that way. The discomfort is directly related to my Clydesdale racing category eligibility and seems to be common among heavier riders, especially on the trainer.
Today I am able to ride semi-comfortably for 90mins and get through a 3 hour trainer session as long as I take frequent standing opportunities. These are necessary every 15 minutes at the beginning of the ride and those periods shorten to about every 5 minutes by the end of the ride.
In order to stand I switch to resistance mode so I can keep riding at my power target with a low standing cadence. I do this because it takes erg mode too long to adjust. This leads to a few power spikes and valleys and also can lead to momentarily elevated heartrate during sweet spot/endurance intervals.
Does this lead to issues with AI ftp calculations and/or adaptive training?
I shift in ERG mode instead of waiting for it to adjust. There’s no need to swap to Res/Std modes just for standing efforts, unless you really want to do so.
Just apply good shifting practice (preload and unload on the shifting sequence) and it is about like shifting while on a slight hill or into a headwind.
I don’t think we have hard info on this, but I doubt what you describe is leading to odd interpretations with AT. Might be best to email TR directly with a very unique question like this.
Hey there! @mcneese.chad posted some great tips for you regarding shifting and standing.
I’d say it’s no problem as long as those spikes/dips in power are kept relatively short. With some practice, you can get to the point where transitioning between seated/standing work causes little to no change in power output.
Small changes in power and cadence won’t make a difference to AI FTP Detection or Adaptive Training, especially when we look at the big picture of your fitness. Heart rate and cadence don’t impact AI FTP Detection or AT at this time, so no need to worry about those metrics in this instance.
I checked out a few rides on your account, and the power spikes and valleys you described aren’t bad! Overall, your workouts look consistent, and if being able to stand allows you to get through your longer sessions with more comfort, that’s definitely more important than making your power graph look “perfect.”
The main thing that would affect AT would be if you were pausing/getting off the bike in the middle of your intervals or extending your recovery between efforts. That would cause AT to classify the workout as “Did Not Pass,” but that doesn’t seem to be an issue for you in this case.
Hopefully that helps answer your question! Feel free to let me know if you need any clarification.
With all of the additions and improvements made over the year to AI detection is it still the same for taking saddle breaks mid indoor ride? I have 2 hour Z2 today and know I will need to get off the bike for a butt break or to pee. Does this impact the survey at the end?
