Why is my power all over the place?

I have been training on a Kickr and have just been relying on the power info provided by the trainer. Yesterday I added Garmin Vector 3 pedals to my bike and did a test ride and it seems to be bouncing all over the place. When I was just using the trainer, my power was relatively consistent. I have the erg set to auto Take a look at these two screenshots. Is this normal? I have power smoothing set to the default 5 and power match set to auto. Am I missing something? TIA!!
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The Kickr is known to smooth power curves to unnatural levels. What you are seeing here is actually the correct power profile

Welcome to the real world :raised_hands:t3:

Edit: also power smoothing simply affects the power number you see on the screen during your interval, so a 3 or 5 second average for 3 or 5 second smoothing, but doesn’t change the graph

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:point_up: Totally normal.
Your comparing power that’s measured after 2x drivetrains vs at the source. Welcome to the dark side.

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Awesome! This is good to know. At first I was completely confused at what I must have done wrong. I am super stoked to have the power meter and to be able to officially take my training outdoors (when the snow melts).

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As mentioned, the default setting (discussed in the video) applies massive smoothing to power data while in ERG mode. The power meter pedals are showing “real” power that is more variable than we expect it to be.

Per the video, you can turn off the smoothing in ERG and see data that is much more like what you see from the pedals.

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Normal. Actually great job. You are doing well hovering around the prescribed power. Better than I do!

Erg mode will do that. :stuck_out_tongue_winking_eye:

I also notice that the smoothness of the graph will change with gearing. Again, totally normal and nothing to worry about.

Try doing some work on smoothing out and increasing your cadence. Instead of a jerky cadence trace on the workout graphic, aim for a smooth, even line. This will take time and effort but you’ll be rewarded with a better pedalling technique. Do the various drills in many of the SSB workouts - quadrants, kick and pull, elevated cadence, etc. Low intensity rides such as Taku are ideal for doing work in this area. Don’t just mindlessly twaddle along during these workouts - do some work on improving some aspect of your technique.

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