Hello!
Is it possible to have a single account controlling several trainers (7) where they would perform simultaneously the same workout? This would be necessary for a kids cycling club training indoors in winter.
No this is not possible. I have never heard of anyone doing this. The problem is generally everyone designs workouts that are based on % of FTP, and each person has a different FTP. When you send a target to a trainer then it needs to be in watts not % of FTP. Why not just have multiple kids setup with multiple devices and press start at the same time?
thank you for your answers. to elaborate a little more: the kids are small - U7, U9, U11. the club is also small and doesn’t have a lot of financial resources - it managed to aquire 7 trainers but paying for 7 zwift or any other training app accounts would be a little steep. so this was also something that would have been solved by using a single TrainerDay account.
so, the idea was to find the easiest way to put 7 small kids on trainers and not spend time with preparations or problems with associated displays (imagine 7 kids screaming that their phone/tablet is not charged, the app doesn’t work etc). everyone would face the same workout with the same %FTP requirements* for the same amount of time. maybe at the end there is also a scoreboard, kids love to race.
maybe i don’t understand very well how smart trainers work, so my question was a bit silly. i’m sorry if this is the case.
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*i don’t know about the U7/U9 but in the U11 group everyone has a very similar FTP, around 105-110.
I am more than happy to help you brain storm on this. Regarding the accounts, probably TrainerDay free is enough but you still need 7 phones or devices. We actually have a way to fake a scoreboard. But I was thinking you were wanting ERG mode but since you don’t exactly know what you want. This is likely not what you want 
. You might want slope mode so for sure free trainerday works for that. Slope is where you control the intensity manually. Same FTP then they could do the same workout in ERG but scoreboards would all be the same unless you kill the kids and some don’t finish since intensity is fully regulated. One important thing is what training devices do you have?
thank you for the quick response and helpfulness!
the trainers are wahoo kick cores, 6 of them i guess are the most recent model. in all fairness, they were aquired for the older groups (+U11) since most of them already use trainers at home. but since they are in the club, the coach (not me, i’m just one of the parents) thought would be nice to include them in the training of the smaller kids.
regarding ERG - i thought it basically meant that the trainer resistance to pedaling is controlled by an external app and by doing this the trainer could simulate, among other things, slopes/climbings. in this regard i was thinking that maybe the kids could practice, together, for example, some XCO races that they have during the cycling season (using a gpx file). or some specific workout controlled by the coach.
right now, the kids use the trainers with no app connected, doing intervals timed by the coach.
Yes ERG means resistance is controlled but also it means every kid does exactly the same workout so seeing a leaderboard with 7 matching scores does would make less sense to me. But maybe I am missing something. Maybe they would be inspired everyone seeing their friends suffering the same as them.
This is a fun little project that could be independent of TD app. I would consider having my developer build a very minimalist version and just open source it. We could not provide much support or any feature requests most likely. If you had a motivated parent just about anyone with technical skills and motivation to learn/build can create something like this with AI or if we built the foundation they could enhance it.
You should have mac or PC and Ant+ adapter (about 80$) for the adapater. Then everything could be on the computer screen and shown on a monitor (all 7 kids at once).
oh, this would be way beyond what i was hoping for!
i think there is a mix of concepts regarding the ERG, i should separate them in writing as they are in my mind:
• the predefined workout (same scores on the leaderboard because there is no “distance” involved, only time and, in apps like zwift, staying in some FTP and cadence intervals. and yes, a scoreboard would not make sense in this case.
• but there is also the predefined route (not necessarily displayed on a associated device) where the user can switch gears and there is a “distance” with some slopes simulated by ERG. this is the case where a scoreboard would make more sense.
anyway, thank you very much for your feedback and proposal!
The ideas of “routes” without visually seeing hills does not necessarily make sense. Really slopes and hills don’t really mean anything without the visuals of climbing. Most people will go a bit harder on climbs but you can go easy up hill and hard on flats if you prefer. So ERG is mostly about focusing specifically on targets of mixing rests and harder sections. Yes it is possible for workouts to go from slope mode (manual control) to ERG control. We allow creating workouts like this. Then yes the rider could go at their comfort level for the slope mode sections and be forced into ERG for specific sections where they feel like it.
I would really want the coach involved in this discussion at some level as I would hate to invest time in this before he is fully committed to it