WTF is it about turbo trainers..

[upsidedownmark]

Half a serious question, and half ranting

Slowly getting back to some vague semblance of shape after picking up a knee problem last year that's just gone on and on. Been using trainerroad on and off with a powertap. Of late I've started seeing peak 20min averages north of 200w cropping up within ~3hr rides out (non-turbo) despite my FTP being -er- considerably less than that, so I figured I might be seeing a return to fitness, and it was time to do another 20 minute test. Stuck the turbo in the garden with the laptop on an extension lead so I could at least escape the cave/get some fresh air.

Upshot is I hammered myself to the point of nearly puking to average 200w for 20 mins.. yet on a real ride I'm seeing similar or higher averages (by 10w or so), without nearly the RPE. Why?

• yes, i'm calibrating (zeroing) the PT properly, and it's been 'stomp' tested with good correlation. I'm pretty confident it's not lying.

[fromage]

What turbo have you got?

I had exactly the same thing on my cheaper turbo when I tried out a Turbo with a large flywheel(Kurt Kinetic Road Machine) I was able to replicate my road figures

[HurryUpAndWait]

I was reading the following the other day:

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/turbochar...

Pretty inspiring guy.

[Gizmoish]

Tailwind?

[Rocksteadyeddie]

HurryUpAndWait said:

I was reading the following the other day:

http://alex-cycle.blogspot.co.uk/2009/01/turbochar...

Pretty inspiring guy.

Really good piece that. This MUST be why I struggle to crack 500w on the Turbo

[upsidedownmark]

Interesting info indeed..

It's a cheapish tacx of some description, can't recall exactly what. Does have a flywheel, but..

Also, probably not *that* much airflow around the garden. Hmm.. Guess the only real answer is to test on-road, but finding somewhere to go balls out for 20mins is kinda tricky under normal circumstances. Maybe I'll just take my best 20 mins from a sprint tri or something..

[RGambo]

Doesn't matter what the turbo reads as long as it's consistant. If you are going to train on the turbo then do an FTP on the turbo and use the results from that to work out your zones.

[anonymous-user]

Good info.

Quite true as my FTP on the road is something I struggle to replicate on the turbo.

[okgo]

Yes, its common that you won't be able to match it, but you shouldn't be that far away. I am able to get very close to my best 20 min on the turbo the same as I can outside.

It doesn't really matter that much, but its strange that as part of a 3 hour ride you can do more than you can manage as an all out test. I'd say something is not right, I'm not sure what it may be, I've heard of some similar issues on rollers where the figures come out way higher than they do on the road...

Maybe if there are no 20 min stretches nearby just do 10 mins, the duration isn't that important, but it will give you a like for like.