Torn between TR and Systm!?

Related article that I think applies.

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On my Tacx Flux S, erg resistance on SYSTM would drop every 20s, to a ~150w floor. I tried everything I could think of to recalibrate, reinstall, switch to Bluetooth, remove connections, turn off all other electrics in the house, run on a different Wi-Fi network, so frustrating.

TR just works, without the constant power dropoff.

I had similar regular drop-out issue with my JetBlack Volt in December 2022, turned out it was a firmware issue, JetBlack released a patch that fixed it. Have you contacted Wahoo or Tacx technical support?

As others have said, I think either platform has it’s merits and personal preference comes into it and only you can decide that. 5 w/kg is pretty high and I wonder what the actual reason for that target is. I.e (most) people will be training for an event or race rather than a specific 5 w/kg target. Why 5 w/kg why not 4.5? :wink:Maybe you are doing an hour long event but it doesn’t really matter, your reason for your target is personal to you. But I would have thought for that target you would be pretty experienced. IMO, both systm and TR get you to a point of diminishing returns and do this really well. The weakness in both approaches is that they aren’t individual and that is fine, they do what they do and do it well. But as you get more advanced it becomes harder to eek out performance improvements without intervention from either yourself or a coach. Coaches are more expensive than either platform but there is a reason for that (good) coaches will identify where you have opportunities to improve and will tailor your program accordingly, they also have a better idea of when you need to back off etc. if you are self coached, even if you use TR you will tweak the plan accordingly. So I would say personal preference with an appreciation of what following either will achieve depending on your level of ability and experience already.

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Yes, that’s true - forgot about that - i usually leave it locked.

So I did pay $15 for a month of SYSTM, used it a few times and back to TR. Personally, I hate that 4DP test and I hate that it’s the only way (besides manually) to adjust FTP. Regardless if AI FTP is super accurate or not, I think it’s a way better way of adjusting difficulty.

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It’s not the only way. You can do the Half Monty which gives you MAP, FTP, and cycling threshold heart rate. It’s a ramp test.

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Why do people opt for one or the other?

TR does NOT have a free 30 days, it’s a 30 day money back guarantee.

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I have the Kickr bike and have been using SYSTM for about two years. Presently in a trial period of TR and would say that the tilt/grade feature with the KB not being used on TR is not a reason to not try TR. I will probably wind up keeping both platforms for now to see where they are in a year. I’ve been using TR for riding pretty exclusively for a month, but make frequent use of the yoga/strength on SYSTM.

To use the tilt function in TR (at least with the Kickr Climb), you have to be connected to the app via Bluetooth. I made that mistake for a while too as I traditionally use ANT+ via MacBook to connect. One day I was using my iPad and connected to BT and was surprised (and kinda freaked out as I was caught off guard) when my climb started to elevate during a threshold effort.

I would assume it would work the same way for the bike, but not 100% sure on that. Are you using BT to connect?

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I can totally see that. You start with a template, and make changes from there with rider and coach feedback. The issue is if the rider tells the coach ā€œI need less intensityā€ (as an example) and the coach ignores it.

I had a coach for a year about 5 years ago and he did a fantastic job. They may have been template workouts, but the feedback definitely wasn’t. Though, given that I was such a high volume rider (20+ hours a week), I doubt I was getting a template…

Never have that problem with SYSTM when using ANT+ dongle with laptop

With SYSTM I like the different content the have for entertainment value, their is loads of variety. Yeah with the TR sessions you can load up YouTube, Netflix etc. but it’s on less thing to have to think about when starting early morning sessions.

I believe TR is the best choice but this is because I believe in the AI system. Believing in whatever system / platform you choose is probably the most significant aspect. Pick an appropriate plan that’s consistently doable and trust the system implicitly without questioning.

Hope this helps.
Peter

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^This.
I use TR year round as my ā€œcycling homeā€ but i’ll supplement it with other platforms depending on where i am in the year and what sort of other entertainment i want.

e.g. Fulgaz in the winter for long, multi-hour base riding, and SYSTM in the spring for blasting really hard sessions as i find their workouts & videos can really push me into the dark places :smile: , or Zwift at random times of the year for racing.

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I’ve used both Wahoo SYSTM and TrainerRoad… In my opinion, TR is much better. Why? I like the adaptive training and it seems to me that the new CEO of Wahoo is attempting to compete with Pelotron. I think their focus is less on helping athletes and more on recruiting couch potatoes to signup for a recurring revenue subscription. I own a Wahoo erg, HR monitor, cadence sensor, speed sensor and their Powrlink pedals (to record outdoor data) so I was deeply embedded in their ecosystem & platform… After using the SYSTM for awhile, I’ve switched back to TR. I’m using the Wahoo app to record outdoor rides and strength training and that uploads to Strava and Strava then pushes data to my TR account for the adaptive algorithms.

I’m a long time TR and SYSTM (previously Sufferfest) user and find they compliment each other pretty nicely.

I’m a coached athlete, so haven’t used TR’s training plans since about 2019, but I still do a ton of indoor riding and import the workouts my coach prescribes in TP into TR. I’ll occasionally use a TR workout to find an alternate workout if needed on a certain day, such as if I’m time constrained. I really like the TR calendar and it’s my preferred platform to review workouts and races in. My coach and I also do use the AI FTP tool to anchor my workouts and have found it to work really well.

SYSTM remains a great option to mix in some great high intensity stuff. There have been quite a few days over the years where I was tired and felt unmotivated to do a workout in TR, but then gave a SYSTM workout a go and between the music and race footage all of a sudden I had the energy to get it done. It’s not something that you can pull off every day, but it’s a great little tool to have on some days. There are also a couple of great longer Tempo and SS workouts that I love mixing in every now and then - like Cobbler and ISLAGIATT. The addons in SYSTM are also very good. The Abi Carver (Yoga15) yoga sessions are very good and easy to do before or after rides. There is some basic strength training stuff that could be useful if you don’t have gym equipment and the Mental Training program is worth going through at least once.

I’ve tried Rouvy and Swift but bounced hard off both. TR and SYSTM are the two that I keep renewing.

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