Indoor Training on Zwift: To ERG or not to ERG? Which power meter should I use: the one on my bike or the Wahoo power meter?

Training & Coaching
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Hi! I am an ultrarunner from India, who transitioned into learning cycling a few months back. I own a CEEPO Mamba-R with a SRAM Force AXS 12s with a built in Quarq power meter. I am using the Wahoo Kickr Core with a Zwift COG and Zwift Click (to change gears) to ride indoors. I have a few questions for you and would appreciate your advice in making me a better cyclist. (1) Should I use the Kickr Core’s power meter or the bike’s built-in Quarq Power meter? (2) Should I use the Kickr Core’s Cadence or the bike’s built-in Quarq Power meter for cadence? (3) Is it ok to do aerobic endurance rides in the ERG mode or not? (4) Is it ok to do HIIT or low cadence rides in the ERG mode or not?

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HI @Jatin. you have quite few questions here so let me try to break it down a bit based on my own experience. I’m triathlete with background as National level competitive swimmer.

ERG or Not ERG. There is definitely a balance you need to strike because there are pros and cons of using ERG:
Pros of using ERG I observed:

  • It forces you to stay within you prescribed Watts. you can slightly adjust within your range based on how you feel given day but keeps you in check no matter what your motivation level is
  • It is easy to adhere to watts without constant shifting especially for sessions like 30/30
    Cons of ERG:
  • If you use it too often you lose feel of gears and how heavy or light the feel
  • you may lose attachment to the actual training session since many people watch movies or podcasts (We all have done it)

This is how i use ERG based on those learnings:

  • I typically use it for sessions like Strength Endurance (low cadence) or Vo2 sessions (30/30). easy to control prescribed power
  • I try not to use it for Race Pace sessions where i can play around a bit more dynamically based on how i feel which is similar to race day (i also try to do Race Pace sessions outdoor)
  • For longer aerobic sessions i try to to go outdoor as much as possible (you don’t want to lose feel of actual outdoor bike rides)

Which power meter to use? Trainer (like KICKR) or Bike (like Quarq). I think probably most important is to decide on one and use it. Reason is. Actual power doesn’t really matter as much as consistent reading to make sure you can see if you are improving or not. i had to make the same decision si i decided to use Wahoo KICKR all the time even though i have quarq on the bike. Another reason for me is i have other bikes that i put on trainer so Wahoo gives me the same reading no matter what bike i have on it. Most important is also to make sure you enjoy the sessions (e.g. If you love watching movies during indoor rides ERG maybe the best :)) Hope all this will help you?

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I like using the power meter on my bike, since I’ll be using it outside as well. But my experience was that they were pretty close other than the Watt or three difference you might expect from different measurement points (Crank v hub).

I hate erg so will let someone else address that question.

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Hi, Pawel! Thank you for detailed and logical response. As a newbie, the reason I like using the ERG mode is like you rightly said, “forces you to stay within your prescribed Watts.” My rationale was to keep moving my legs at a certain power for the time duration in order to build muscle memory. But, I do get your point that this might not translate well into the real world. I will slowly start incorporating your and other suggestions into my training, as I gain experience in cycling. It’s currently the rainy season here, and given the worsening driving behaviour of vehicles during rains, I just prefer riding indoors when it’s raining heavy outside.

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Thank you for your response, Martin.

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