It turns out that the reason my bike was "auto changing gear" yesterday was due to the fact that I'd sprung a link in my chain. So a new chain and cluster later and every thing's sweet..except my wallet of course. Or was the sprung link the effect not the cause?
I stupidly had a fairly late coffee yesterday and so was unable to sleep. What to do? watch TdF and suffer extreme fatigue today. So I saw and heard the shocker that the Aussies had..Robbie off the back, Stuey with broken ribs and a punctured lung and Michael Rogers with a dislocated shoulder. I feel sorry for Michael..one minute leader on the road, next minute sprawled on the ground and a little later still in the sag wagon. The word "Abandoned" can convey so much. Cadel...will he be able to make the next big step...is he just a follower or can he attack? The next few days will tell.
Yesterday's ride has caused my performance manager chart to leap upwards..it WAS a very hard ride with endless undulations. I was extremely over undulations by the time we got to the Sylvan dam.
And so to indoor trainers. I have a Tacx Swing Mag trainer which apparently has a 2kg fly wheel and maybe that's why I'm struggling with the power intervals I do at the higher RPM I'm s'posed to be doing.... Or is it? apparently this particular mag trainer was made to do high power at low revs. To steal a quote from a customer review " The first thing I should mention about this trainer is the (often brutal) resistance it offers. The easiest setting is perfect for those who want a light training session, the toughest setting is simply Herculean". Other mag trainers have lighter fly wheels. Looking at the cost, Fluid trainers are much more expensive...does this mean they're better? Am looking for info/lit search about this on the internet. so far I can only find links to forums
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2 comments:
The flywheel is not part of the resistance of the unit, it helps to, as much as possible, even out the resistance on a trainer to closer to road-feel, as the trainer offers even resistance, but the road (and track) does not, as it's smoothed by your momentum. If you think of the flywheel as being your momentum, it'll start to make sense. In general, the heavier the better for a flywheel. This is not related to the amount of resistance that the trainer can provide.
As to how much resistance you want? You have a power meter, use it! That'll tell you the truth.
Thanks for your input Bleve.
I'm swapping trainers with a friend and so will be able to see for myself if there is a difference or if the psych/boredom component is the main culprit. Naturally if I can't feel/find any difference between the 2 trainers I will immediately play the little old lady gender/age card!
The blurb about my trainer does say it is especially good for power at low RPM, which I don't actually need to improve, its power at higher RPM I need..well normal RPM for some..high for me!.
Its just very frustrating that I can manage > 200 watts for a very long time on the road but not on the trainer and the reason I know that to be true is because I use my powertap hub on the road, the track and the trainer. Sigh!
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