Turbo Uncertainty

[mcneese.chad]

@Day

At the end of 2 hours it told me I had cycled 15 miles (so 7.5mph throughout) which also seems odd.

I know every bike is different but indoors I usually cover 18+ miles per hour.

• https://support.trainerroad.com/hc/en-us/articles/203103294-Speed-Distance-on-an-Indoor-Trainer

• When using ERG mode, its effectively possible to use a range of gearing, from your lowest to your highest gear. You will be applying the same power in Watts, but the wheel speed at the trainer can be wildly different.

• A workout in the lowest gear (which sounds like what you did) will report a low distance and speed for a workout at a given wattage (say 150w average).

• A workout in the higher gearing will report a higher speed and distance for the same 150w workout and time.

• This is why speed and distance on a trainer, especially on ERG mode is not a reliable metric. If you use the same gearing, you can at least compare from session to session.

• It is also not appropriate to compare those speeds and distances to anything done outside. Way to many other variables even beyond what is mentioned above (wind, road roughness, etc.).