hell of using powercranks on an indoor trainer

vio765

it was very windy today. wind doesnt usually bother me, but i wont ride if the wind is blowing so hard that it is dangerous to ride. it was the kind of wind that blows 10mph and then gusts to 30 mph and stays there for several seconds. then its back down to 10mph. i was forced to use the indoor trainer (cyclops fluid2). i also ride on powercranks and have been doing so for about 2.5-3 months. im now to the point where im comfortable and can ride for extended periods of time. i am used to riding 80rpm @ 175W for about an hour and my avg HR is about 170ish (which i understand is normal when starting powercranks). when i got on the trainer, it was hell. i tried to mimic my "outside numbers" and i was fried after only 37minutes. i could not even do a cool down! boredom isnt a factor until about 2.5 hours and i was well-cooled by a HUGE fan. so what gives?

Piotr

OK, well,... let's see... how should I put this, ehhh... well, hmmm... I don't think there are a lot of PC users on this forum, but I'm eager to see what others have to say.

__________________
blog

Spunout

The trainer does not have momentum, and you cannot coast as you would outdoors.

I normally lose 20-40 watts at L5 when starting on the trainer. Powercranks would make this much worse.

Use different wattage zones for the trainer to compensate for the extra work required.

n crowley

Keep thinking of how much your efficiency is going to improve and this should make it easier to eventually get that 40 % increase in your power output.

vio765

yeah, they claim 40% increase in about a year? i do not believe it is that high for a majority og the people AND it depends on how they are used. but, considering i have been using them and using them often, i can seriously say that improvement will very much increase by a lot. with my old stiffy cranks, i could replicate my outdoor numbers and still be "ok", despite having no momentum. so natually i tried to do the same with the PCs. i will alter my power zones.