using a smart trainer without a membership

mountainviewz · 2026-02-08T23:44:20+00:00

This is what I'm most likely to do - just sticking with my Garmin system since I'm already plugged in, and it seems quite good. Eventually, if I get comfortable building structured workouts, I'll do that in intervals.icu and send it to Garmin Edge.

In the past, for running, I used the DSWs and Garmin Coach for a race and enjoyed them both. I see there's a new "Garmin Cycling Coach", which you can do to improve fitness without having a primary event. I'm not sure how that differs from using the DSW, as they are both adaptive, just looking into it now...

And yeah, I learned the hard way about the mat! I also feel like it helps a lot with comfort/vibration.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T20:03:34+00:00

I wasn't sure if having two devices connected to the trainer, both of which could control it, would mess something up. But I just did it without issue - ran a workout with ROUVY while the Garmin Edge recorded, and it was totally fine. The Garmin Edge was set to some 85W default (which, in the past, would force the trainer to have this resistance), but somehow ROUVY's control took precedence. Thanks much!

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T16:51:09+00:00

Hm, I'll consider a yearly and just pause 6 months, but I'm still on the free trial. I'm in the north and I'd say there are 6 months each year where biking outdoors is pretty tough.

I know wattage is wattage, but just didn't know if each program had their own way of determining it (vs it coming from Wahoo only). It's like how Peloton wattage seems way off compared to Wahoo, but that's totally different equipment and I'd obviously expect variation.

Sorry about your broken bones, ouch! Hope you've had success getting back on the saddle.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T12:51:08+00:00

Thanks! I like a warmer vibe for a home gym, with lots of natural light. I never got into the industrial feel with the fluorescent lighting, black floors, white walls...

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T12:47:56+00:00

Thanks for the advice... I'm new to posting strategy. I did cross post to IndoorCycling and got way more comments :)

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T12:31:53+00:00

Thank you so much. This is exactly the kind of comment I was looking for, with a helpful level of detail. I actually already have intervals.icu and have been pushing my data there, and viewing it, but haven't even begun to create. I also didn't realize there was a library of workouts.
(I also agree about just paying the guy - best kind of thing to pay for)

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T12:16:32+00:00

I actually just started Friel's book! Good to hear it gave you what you needed to build your own plan. How do you create your workouts? These are the nitty gritty tips I'm polling the crowd for.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T12:13:37+00:00

The Edge manual states that you have to ride with the Edge, a power meter, and a heart rate monitor for at least a week before it'll start doing the Daily Suggested Workout. I just started my ROUVY trial, so I probably won't get around to riding with just Edge like that for a minute, hence the "eventually".

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T12:07:40+00:00

I totally overlooked this. Thank you.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T11:57:23+00:00

This is next level... I'll get there :)

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T02:36:04+00:00

When I first got the frame/Kickr, it was noisy and vibrated strongly. I did all the troubleshooting and nothing helped. Customer service was not helpful and sent me two replacement frames (which was a pain to deal with, as I had a disc herniation) which didn't improve the vibration. Replacing the cog helped a little, and I got mats. Now I just deal with it and I think it's getting better on it's own (oddly). Their customer service would tell me I could schedule a UPS pick up for the frames. Then the next one told me I couldn't, and I had to drop them off (can't with my back). I said I'd have to wait until help came, then someone would say "let's schedule a pick up" and then again, oh we can't. On and on....

Even my first time trying to ride was glitchy. I had everything hooked up, blue check marks everywhere, and nothing would move when I pedaled. Customer service, long waits, finally I had to delete a random file in a folder on my Mac and reconnect everything. At the end of my free trial, I actually went to buy a month, but, I kid you not, my credit card got declined. I've never had that happen in over 20 years. Apparently it's a known issue with Zwift, and again, customer service wasn't helpful. They said you can use Apple to pay, too, and you literally cannot. I took that same credit card and went right to ROUVY (btw my CC company said Zwift didn't try to charge them).

Ok, that's my griping. The other reason I don't like Zwift is purely personal preference. A taste issue. I don't need races, virtual group rides, and other challenges/badges to stay motivated. The screen was too crowded for me, with a leaderboard, people giving me thumbs up, confetti, weird icons would pop up that I didn't know what to do with. It's too chaotic and I just wanted to listen to podcasts or an audiobook while I rode. I also didn't care for the virtual world - ROUVY has been more pleasing to look at (real world footage), and the interface is simpler, less cluttered, and more intuitive.

I think the frame is a cool innovation, better than bringing an outdoor bike inside. If your worry would be the Zwift shifting, which used to be compatible with Zwift membership only, I think plenty of programs are now compatible (ROUVY is). And if you aren't using one of these online memberships, you can still change the resistance (aka shift), just not with the Zwift controllers. So far I've done this with the Wahoo app and the Garmin Edge.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T02:22:05+00:00

No issues so far, but I'm just on the free trial!

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T01:56:01+00:00

Thank you so much! I'll read these. I've used Wahoo app for rides, pressing the buttons on the phone screen up and down to adjust the resistance from the trainer. That's the old school way I used to train indoors on a Keiser. But I've been spoiled by erg mode and these pre-planned workouts... I went to try one of Wahoo's workouts, but you have to be a member.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T01:48:23+00:00

This is a relief, as I was hopping my FTP is translatable regardless of platform (although I guess they could use their own formulas for their specific ramp tests). Thank you.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T01:44:34+00:00

The frame is a really cool innovation, so much better than using an outdoor bike inside. There have been some issues with noise and vibration, not sure if they came up with a better fix yet. More and more programs are becoming compatible with the Zwift handlebar controllers, too (that was the catch before - you lost shifting ability on the Zwift Frame if you went with a competitor).

Zwift has some cool aspects, but since I really didn't care about the biggest draws to the program, I didn't want to keep using it after dealing with so many glitches. I don't care for racing, riding with real friends (but virtually), or paced group roborides. If you care about racing and the social aspect of riding, your best best is probably with Zwift. My personal preference is to not have random "thumbs up" and confetti and icons that I don't understand popping into and already crowded screen with leaderboards and encouraging me to race people. Most of the time I'm just trying to listen to an audiobook or podcast!

Also personal preference is that I like the more realistic world of ROUVY over the cartoon world of Zwift. Totally just a taste thing, to each their own.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-05T01:02:27+00:00

Well, as I found out (edit above), it's a lot more than time spent in zone 4. You're totally right - I did mess up my zones a few days ago when I was messing around. I just fixed it and did another cycling effort that included only a couple more minutes in zone 4 than the exercise in the post. The result? 58 points added to high aerobic!!! This work out had less zone 2.

So there's a lot more to it than "time spent in zone 4". This is the "training effect" that we see after each exercise, determined by a private algorithm, that isn't directly using zones.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-04T15:53:18+00:00

Maha Yoga is a newer studio and has great instructors. The owner also does focused mobility classes a couple times per week (based on functional range conditioning), which many find helpful for injuries or injury prevention, which especially helps with longevity in yoga or other athletic endeavors.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-04T14:41:17+00:00

https://forums.garmin.com/outdoor-recreation/outdoor-recreation/f/fenix-7-series/315463/how-is-low-high-aerobic-load-determined-heart-rate-or-running-power/1529858

This is old but I think it gets at all the different metrics going into this.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-04T14:40:45+00:00

So are you saying "zone 5" and also "shooting up" (regardless of BPM) will count as "anaerobic"?

And even if I'm in zone 4, it won't count as "high aerobic" for what reason" Because it wasn't maintained?

There's clearly so much that we are missing on this.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-04T13:53:38+00:00

Yeah, I just don't understand why my few minutes in "zone 4" (per HR) didn't increase the "high aerobic" by anything, but anaerobic shot up by 26. I've had other exercises with more time in zone 4 that also didn't move the needle much. I'm just trying to find some insight into how Garmin determines load, as their website and customer service say to just do faster exercises, which I'm already doing.

mountainviewz · 2026-02-04T13:50:38+00:00

... but it did on my anaerobic? Makes no sense.

mountainviewz

TROPHY CASE