I am running into a few different issues running ERG workouts on a Tacx Flux S. I’m not sure if it is related to dual-recording on a Garmin Edge 530, and still need to run an experiment to see if the issues persist in the absence of dual-recording. I’m documenting to see if anyone else has run into similar issues and may have some ideas on how to resolve.
Thank you!
Sometimes the trainer holds the target interval power after the interval has ended, such that the power does not decrease at all to match the rest interval target power.
Sometimes the trainer is unable to hit the interval target power, by a wide margin (eg: target 378, actual avg 219). I experimented by changing from ERG to “resistance mode” and manually shifting to harder gears ~3 seconds before the start of an interval, and that did not resolve the issue. I suspect this issue may be related to the following problem.
ERG mode is only able to control the trainer within a 15-20W band. For example, if the target wattage changes by 40W from one interval to the next, the trainer only changes ~15-20W even accounting for time to allow the trainer to ramp up (or down) to match the new target power. As a workaround, I need to manually shift 2-3 gears when encountering this situation, which defeats the purpose of ERG.
Recording workouts on Garmin Edge 530; issues exist whether recording as a standard activity profile with GPS turned off, or as an indoor trainer activity profile in free ride mode with 0% slope
Garmin must connect trainer as sensor only. NOT as trainer because then it will try to control the trainer!
Disconnect any trainer on your Garmin and have it search for power/speed/cadence sensor from trainer.
Hello,
I agree with MedTechCD that connecting trainer to two control devices (one with ANT+ second with BLE) is most common cause of loosing control issues - please confirm that this in not your case. Second issue usually is caused by limitation of trainer itself and can be solved by setting higher/lower gear on the bike.
For third issue - could you please check if this improves with higher cadence?
It looks like there has been two more recent posts where different users have run into Issue 1 (not sure what trainers were involved there) and another separate user (@Cjeanson) recently reported an ERG control issue with a tacx flux 2, which sound maybe similar to Issue 3.
I tested things today with and without a Garmin Edge 530 connected. Garmin ride profile was set-up to read the trainer data as a power meter and cadence sensor. Here’s what I found:
Issue 1
I wasn’t able to replicate issue 1 in either scenario (Edge connected, or Edge disconnected).
Issue 2
This issue was still present but maybe somewhat better with the Edge disconnected, however still not a great experience. I need to shift 3 gears to get anywhere close to the target power. I never needed to do this with TR or the Tacx app, so the trainer is capable of large jumps in power; in other words not a hardware limitation based many rides with other apps.
Issue 3
This issue was present with both Edge connected and disconnected. I played around with cadence (higher and lower) per @MarekM suggestion, and it did not change the outcome. The power was less “jumpy” in both scenarios than it was in the screenshot from the first post, but the app still only controlled the power accurately within a ~15-20W band, resulting in the need to shift the bike to accommodate changes in power outside of that 15-20W band.
Not sure what to do next. It’s a bit unusable for high intensity intervals, but decent enough for uncomplicated endurance rides given the price. I’m sure it’s a challenge delivering a consistent experience across so many different trainer models, and am hopeful a future version may resolve some of this stuff.
