I’ve been using a Zwift runpod on my treadmill and found it to be a bit higher than my treadmill’s listed speed. Today I did a few minutes with a Stryd and it’s quite a bit lower than the treadmill speed. I’m doing a tempo run tomorrow and I’m sure that’ll give me better and more info too.
I’ve read that Stryd is the gold standard for accuracy and that treadmills are notoriously inaccurate (I’m also 200lbs which probably slows it down even more).
Should I accept that I’m slower than I thought (based on the Stryd)? I’m ok being slower than I thought. I just want accurate data.
I personally don’t have either but I do have the Runn sensor. I purchased it after doing research, finding it’s more accurate than any footpod will ever be. The Runn sensor is attached to the treadmill and measures the speed of the treadmill belt instead of foot speed. Stryd is better than Zwift pod but Runn will be more accurate and also measures your treadmill’s incline. So far Runn had been accurate within 5 sec/mile for me after about a dozen runs.
There will be a decent sized margin of error regardless of measurement source. No footpod is reliable, the runn is easy to miscalibrate, and most treadmills aren’t a reliable source of truth due to poor calibration or motor loading (there are some exceptions to that).
I just noticed that my Stryd and TT8 treadmill differ. Stryd pod in Zwift will read 3.0, 4.0, 5.0 etc and the TT8 treadmill is 3.2, 4.2, 5.2 and that is consistent at any speed. I only noticed that the Stryd is different when I can’t get the TT8 to pair in Zwift and I am forced to use the Stryd to connect as a treadmill using Bluetooth to get my avatar running and the Stryd as a foot pod using ant connection for the steps.