Turbo Trainer Advice

Thanks srs biz this beer is at stake!

EPO.

beer is at stake!

Aha, didn’t realise how serious this was.

If you have access to a PD curve, it’ll take the guess work out of this.

Generally, you should be able to hold threshold for 15-20’ fairly comfortably and repeatedly with a decent rest between efforts. Sweetspot for much longer (an hour or more depending on how trained you are).

You both have similar w/kg FTP’s, so should be fairly evenly matched when the road rises. But your extra watts should help you on the flats, so make them count when you can.

Stage1; Slightly down hill average;
Distance 26.4km at 246w average 39:54
Pretty empty at the end.

Turbo is definitely making the noise when coasting.

I have been training on the turbo on/off for the last year and a bit.
I recently started using my do-it-all bike on the turbo (Kickr Core). It fits me like a glove when riding it off the turbo, with many years and km of tested adjustments.

However it is rather painful to sit on it on the turbo for more than 30min, becoming painful for anything longer than an hour. This is quite baffling given how comfortable it is off the turbo.

The most painful are the contact points on my sit bones, not necessarily getting saddle sores, but rather numbness due to pressure which then induces me to change position and eventually overcompensate and generate all sorts of pains. I've already tried several different bibs, not much difference to notice even when using better newer ones.

At the moment this is the only bike I can use on the turbo.

What changes should I consider? Is my saddle width right? More compliant seatpost? Anyone else dealt with the same issues?

I’d imagine it’s the sustained power/ efforts you are putting out that you wouldn’t usually for the fit.
I’d suggest saddle change or move it forward but there are definitely more qualified here to comment

how much are you getting off the saddle and changing riding position?

It's most likely because the bike can't move around under you when it's locked into the trainer. The saddle pressure is focused onto one specific spot, which wouldn't happen outside.

It's why rocker plates have become popular for some.

https://zwiftinsider.com/rockit-launcher/

Not getting much off the saddle at all, except to get some respite when it gets painful.

In terms of changing position i shift tiny bits back and forth when the legs are usually more tired to sqeeze different muscles, sometimes change to a bit more "aero" and occasionally sit up when I recover between intervals. don't think I could shift around much more than that

This wouldn't happen with the previous setup, which wasn't even right for me since I was using someone else's bike/turbo setup. It would be uncomfortable, but not even remotely as much

Any suggestions for tactics?

DEPLOY 90000W from the start.
DO NOT STOP
WIN

Put your saddle down a bit then! It was my bike and my legs are shorter than yours!

I get that on the turbo but on the road too. All it takes is an about threshold long effort and little movement in the bike to go numb.
I just move in the saddle. If I'm in the turbo I'll get out of the saddle for a minute.

I will give it a go, still doesn't add up in my head tho as it's fine on the road

I’d be very wary of changing your setup based on it being uncomfortable on the turbo. If it really fits you like a glove and you’re happy doing long real world miles on it, there’s nothing to change.

The comments above about needing to alter position and stand up occasionally are spot on. This happens unconsciously when riding on the road, so we don’t think to do it in the turbo.

Any suggestions for tactics?

Put your weight in as 40Kg, profit.

According to Mitch Docker on the Life in the Peloton podcast this 'weight doping' is a thing.

Is there a forum recommended mat?

The Wahoo one would match my Kickr nicely but it's pricey.

I'd like one that rolls up due to where I keep it.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/400827196827

Not only is this @dbr recommended, it's also the most popular mat on Amazon.

It's cheaper to buy it direct though, avoiding Amazon/eBay:
https://www.pedalpro.com/pedalpro-pvc-exercise-bike-floor-protector-mat.html

Lelz

intervals.icu

Does this give you an ftp based on your recent efforts when you sign in? It’s given me a number which might be accurate but not sure where it came from.

It calculates FTP based on power from all-out efforts around 2 or 3 mins, it tracks mine pretty accurately compared with TR. Bit lower, but I think it's actually more realistic.

Looking forward to my first season of HCing with a PM to see what it thinks of race efforts. Fingers crossed I get to race in September...

Estimated FTP is calculated using power curves from FastFitness.Tips and Morton's 3 parameter critical power model (ref). The algorithm requires just 1 maximal effort of between 180 seconds and 30 minutes.

Good to know. It was about 15w higher than I thought but I haven't done an FTP or ramp test for ages and been doing a fair bit of indoor riding!

Guess I'll schedule in a ramp test. Joy.

I got a puncture? Or the turbo? Is this a thing? What?