Not complaining but is anyone else seeing higher power output and better W/bpm on a trainer vs outdoors? I’m using my Stages L as power source so there shouldn’t be a mistake in the numbers. This is my first season on a direct drive trainer and I was expecting the other way around due to overheating etc.
Any theories? More relaxed due to no outside influences (traffic etc)? Slightly lower cadence?
@Nicklas_Karlsson
You’re not alone. Zwift Insider has an article that discusses this observation.
With the exception that I feel I get better results on the trainer
You may have a dominant right leg. Stages Left hand crank doubles the power from the left leg. So an imbalance with a stringer right leg will read higher on a trainer
Possible but one would think the same would apply outdoors, too
But your turbo is reporting power indoors. Not the stages?
He said he is using the Stages as a power source, so I think he is using it for both indoors and outdoors. He would have the trainer as controllable.
This is a common setup on Zwift.
Misread your comment sorry.
There are more people who produce more watts outside than inside, but I find that for me this is also not true. One of the reasons is that I can focus more indoors (because of lack of traffic) and also I don’t have problems with the heat. (Been riding indoors for 15 years now…). Maybe you also perform better in the heat. And as your name sounds Scandinavian you may not ride in warm enough and wind free enough conditions outside to produce your best watts.
Same for me I think. One simple answer can be that you don’t need to stop or slow down because of traffic or something else. A more complicated one is that you don’t have to focus on traffic, to me this is a big one. Less stress from traffic and I can put all the effort on the pedals.
Yes, I use the same power meter for indoors and outdoors. Mostly for consistency but I also feel that my Stages has less lag in the reading than the trainer.
Actually, I prefer cooler weather as I’m prone to overheating. 15C (60F) is optimal, in summer (Finland) we had 33C (90F) and my heartbeat skyrocketed in those temperatures even when hydrated.
I’ve noticed that outdoors my cadence is 90 and indoors about 10 lower for some reason, perhaps that is a factor also. And I feel like can concentrate more on pedaling while keeping and eye on not going to hard on the inclines
I get higher peaks outside vs the trainer as I find it easier to push overly hard with the bike moving side-to-side (P1 pedals).
That said I seldom ride outside anymore. Too many people with cell phones up to their ears.
Hey Nicklas, I am the same as you. Been zwifting constantly for a year and when I move onto roads I’m quite a bit up on my exercsion for less watts. Not sure if it’s the gradients/poor road quality/freewheeling down hills/temperature/traffic that are the issue but I’d have expected most others to be in the same position as us, if that were the case!