Help Solving This Mystery

Support
1

Background: Coming from TR using virtual power (Kurt Kinect Road Machine) to XERT using Assioma Duo with Kurt Kinect Road Machine. Removed Cadence sensor on bike, speed sensor kept.

Workout: 120%FT 5x30sec 4 mins off, 5 Sets, duration 1 hour. (Similar issue on various workouts).

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Screenshot 1:
Sleeping Beauty +4 (Today… Nov 9, 2022 performed using Connect IQ player on Garmin 1040)
Sleeping Beauty +4 (Oct 21. 2022 performed on TR using android app)

Issue:
After making the switch all subsequent workouts feel harder, power output is much lower however wheel speed and distance have increased, TSS or XSS is lower. Fitness scores have stalled and remained flatlined. Simple endurance workouts feel harder and is reflected in Avg. and Max HR.

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Screenshot 2: (Oct 21, TR workout)
Max Power: 471, Max Speed 41.8, Max Hr 168, Avg Hr 135
Felt good, could have hit a Breakthrough had i pushed a little hard, which to be honest would have been possible if I was using the Xert app at the time.

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Screenshot 3 (Nov, 9 ConnectIQ Xert Workout)
Max power: 385, Max Speed 48.9, Max HR 176, Avg Hr 142
Felt good, tried for that Breakthough but got my timing a bit off, made a gear adjustment but really seeing how far my MPA was I dont think I could have even come close, but I tried and gassed out. Maybe had a some more in me but the workout was already a bit challenging.

Like i previously said, this occurs on all workouts (custom and native xert) where speed and distance are up but power is way down, RPE is up maybe 1 or 2 points.

I resisted at first to post anything in anticipation of a self-correct (either gear, my own body, recovery…) but this one has me a bit demotivated, especially seeing my fitness numbers just flatline for the past 8 days.

Any input is greatly appreciated.

2

Might help if you post your XPMC chart (Year or YTD) without Recovery Load shown.
What is decay set to under Account Settings, Profile tab?
Are you following any particular type of progression at the moment?
Does that model trainer operate with ERG control, or do you switch gears/cadence as resistance changes?

3

My decay is set to Optima (Default), program type set to Continuous with Improvement Rate set to Moderate 1.

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XPMC Chart from Aug 28 which I when I decided to get back on the bike after a very long break. Most of the workouts are from TR but made the switch to Xert on Friday Oct, 28.

Informally I try to follow a Polarized model with 2 HIT efforts and 3-4 endurance rides for the week. My training load for these HIT workouts are usually high 80s to mid 90s which gives me a 1 to 2 points bump in fitness score (using Intervals.icu).

The trainer is a wheel on dump trainer, and I use gears/cadence to control resistance. Been using it for years and I’m comfortable switching gears and matching cadence to achieve desired resistance.

4

Xert is a data-driven model. The more data the better. :+1:
You have reached the minimum recommended (90 days) but you don’t have enough maximal efforts to failure on file to accurately determine your fitness signature.
The decline in TP is due to the default decay setting (optimal) with a lack of BT events.

For your next HI workout go to the Workout Library and search for “test for breakthrough”. Pick one that interests you and exceed targets where able without blowing up. On any interval(s) designed to bring you to failure, spin up right before you about to fail and go all out for 5-7 seconds minimum.
That should generate a BT and update your signature accordingly.

If you’d like to post your BT to this topic, view the activity details and click on the BT report icon.
BTreportIcon

Once satisfied your signature is dialed in you could switch to No Decay if you anticipate spending the majority of your time riding low intensity base endurance. Signature changes in this case will adhere to increase/decrease in training load. You will still want to test again (validate signature) and change back to Optimal if you don’t achieve BTs during your normal training. XATA will warn you if no BT’s detected in over 3 weeks. That means time to test your mettle which doesn’t require anything more than a BT workout with at least one failure point with MPA drawn down.

N.B. If interested in buying yourself a present :wink: here’s a great deal ($279 USD) if your rims are compatible (all alloy) – 4iiii Shop USA: Fliiiight -side smart trainers -
Or consider Zwift’s new smart trainer which is presently sold out.

5

I’m not sure if I’ve mis-read, but isn’t the issue just a different powermeter? The old kinetic wheel-on was reporting too high, hence your signature is a bit inflated and workouts are now harder. (Speed and distance are completely irrelevant, especially if coming from the wheel-on trainer that overstates power).

6

At first it seemed logical that it may be a simple case of the virtual power reading higher than the assiomas and it may in fact be that. But assuming that is correct and the virtual power was overstated why would the speed/distance be higher with lower power readings/output on the assiomas.

For the record I agree speed/distance doesn’t matter much in the grand scheme of things, but its the only metric I currently have in hopes of understanding whats happening.

7

If the speed is coming from the kinetic, speed being up implies power according to kinetic would also be up (if you were recording it), which would be consistent with how you feel? The ‘problem’ seems to only be that Assiomas are reading lower (but I’d trust them, over the kinetic).

You can try recording both power from kinetic and power from Assiomas for the same ride, to verify it…?

8

Thanks @wescaine, speed is coming from a garmin speed sensor mounted on the bike (rear wheel). This has been the setup in both the older TR workouts and now Xert.

9

Ok, so point remains the same, as higher wheel speed equals higher resistance / power on the kinetic trainer

10

@Aharrow is your old TR data that you have imported entirely virtual power based? If so I don’t think it’s worth importing, it’s going to be way out compared to a real power meter and will mess up Xert’s analysis.

11

In terms of speed & distance - my opinion is that it’s not worth worrying about, none of it is real when you are stationary.

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