Everything You Need To Know About ERG MODE
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 3 ก.ค. 2024
- If you are new to indoor training, or maybe you’ve been around for awhile but haven’t delved into other workout methods, you may be wondering about ERG mode. What is it? Why would you want to use it? Or maybe you’re struggling with it and are trying to figure out why. In any event, this video will tell you everything you need to know about ERG mode so that you can decide when, if, and how you want to use it. This can be very helpful for those of you on Zwift, but it also applies to the myriad other platforms available i.e. TrainerRoad, Rouvy, RGT, Sufferfest etc. ERG mode can be a very powerful tool, and I see many people steer clear of it because of misunderstanding or worse misinformation. I hope that this video will help to dispel some of that confusion and get more people to maximize on the training tools they have available. Let me know if you have any comments or questions and as always, thanks for watching!
0:00 Introduction / What is ERG mode?
5:15 Is ERG mode cheating?
6:46 But it's not like the real road!
9:27 It feels weird!
10:23 Equipment Concerns
13:13 You're doing it "wrong"
16:59 But what about interval changes?
18:47 The Sprial of Death
20:45 When NOT to use ERG mode
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Timestamps for those with more familiarity:
0:00 Introduction / What is ERG mode?
5:15 Is ERG mode cheating?
6:46 But it's not like the real road!
9:27 It feels weird!
10:23 Equipment Concerns
13:13 You're doing it "wrong"
16:59 But what about interval changes?
18:47 The Sprial of Death
20:45 When NOT to use ERG mode
Excellently communicated…thanks
I'm 55, overweight by 30 pounds and change, recently diagnosed as diabetic, and got back in to cycling about five months ago, just recently upgrading to a nice road/gravel hybrid and a Tacx Flux 2 indoor trainer to get fit. Coming across your channel has been like a ray of light, hope, and realness. I'm starting out with a lot of Level 2 for fat burn with occasional rides thru Watopia (or other worlds) for something extra. Knowing about ERG Mode, I'm confident, will make quite the difference on these workouts. Thank you for sharing this content and yourself!
Good effort fella. Keep on it and the benefits will come.
Great video. People complaining about it not being realistic obviously don't understand that this is a training tool.
It's not called a bike simulator...its literally called a bike trainer.
Since I discover ERG Mode, life is much easier doing the workouts, I don´t have to care about trying to reach the power, I only have to concentrate in time and cadence, furthermore I can choose any track in any world because I don´t mind the slope. But be sure to put the right FTP in the Zwift data because that´s the key point workouts calculate all your work to do.
Many thanks for your videos !!!
Never cease to amaze me how good of a teacher you are. Great job once again! Thanks
Awesome use of “lizard brain”. YOU ROCK!
I’m new to Smart trainers and I’ve been doing the FTP Builder programme on Zwift. On the strength session it tells you to turn ERG mode off and use gears for a low cadence effort for 10 seconds. I find that doing this and getting it right is near impossible. I like to get a row of gold stars too and this method stops this both for the effort and recovery :) I tried using ERG mode on my Tacx Flux 2 with Ant + and it worked very well, adjusting load in about 1 second and giving a consistent 275watts at 70 cadence. I was surprised. Great channel by the way. 3 weeks in and at 66 and a returning cyclist (elite runner in my late 20s) I’m seeing real change in resting HR, blood pressure, muscle tone and knee pain (arthritis). I feel much better too and will hopefully improve my FTP of 164. I’m already looking to what comes next Zwift workout wise and putting my increased fitness back onto the road. Training effect vs the road is so much more effective and efficient.
Nicely done. Thanks
great video, that actually helped me out a lot
Great breakdown of the confusing feature, cheers!
thank you so so much for your videos! i love the way you explain things :) great content also !
Excellent Explanation
Great video - got my Elite Suito this winter and the video discussed all things I noticed so far doing my training plan. Awesome, thank you!!
Thank you! This was one of best explanations of ERG mode. You rock.
Super informative! Thank you!
Another great video!
Very detailed video
great info.. again.. amazing
Super breakdown again 👍👍👍
Thank you so much for this. I feel i understand this a great deal more. Now I can train better and more effectively within zwift.
Sarah. Another great video and a comprehensive analysis of ERG mode. As you said in the video, each to their own. Personally I don't use ERG for training so that I "get the feel" of getting to and sustaining a certain power, but also with flexibility to alter set levels if I want to. Some users may prefer using ERG because, without it, issues arise with hitting and maintaining power over changes in gradient on platforms with simulated routes. However, if you can change the trainer difficulty (Zwift) or slope (RGT) [other platforms have similar settings] the gradient effects can be removed entirely without changing your other ride metrics (speed will decrease up hills and increase down hills and you'd cover exactly the same distance as you would with the gradient/slope not changed. That works for all platform that I know of except Rouvy where changing the slope actually changes the profile of the climbs, which makes it faster. I'd encourage riders to try changing the gradient settings (to zero) on most platforms then you can ride a structured workout and hit those intervals with raw power and get the feel of hitting and maintaining this without external influences (ERG). It gives you a better road feel and also adds flexibility to move away from (hopefully exceeding) set power levels in ERG. Keep up the good work.
I believe the chosen frequency of the updates from trainer to platform are the issue rather than the actual bluetooth or ANT+ packet or transmission rate... Wired or wireless, the frequency of the updates and speed of the algorithm to process the data defines the reaction rate of the input stimuli. Great information on ERG mode. I've used it a lot for my training over the last 18 months and with the help of a coach, improved my FTP by 60+ watts.
Another great video Sara. Thanks!
I had never heard this argument that someone confused ERG Mode as an assistance by the smarttrainer to facilitate cycling ... but I understand that some may think so.
Personally I find ERG Mode quite useful for some exercises, particularly in series with a high number of repetitions at high power, as they allow me to concentrate exclusively on pedaling. In long series, I don’t usually use it so much because I feel the pedaling more uncomfortable.
Wow! If only I’d seen this before experiencing the Spiral of Death and not knowing how to extricate myself so I just slogged along doing shelf hour of excruciating leg presses 😹. Superb explanation of ERG mode, which I shared with my coach and encouraged him to share with other athletes as well. I subscribed to your channel and now going through a few more tutorials to be better prepared for future Zwift sessions!
So glad you found it helpful! I hated ERG until I learned to work with it and not against it (and deal with some of the Zwift nuances) I hoped this video would help others get an honest appraisal of it. Some people won't like it anyway, but at least they will have made a fair assessment. Thanks do much for the generous and kind words! 😀
Great video! Unless I missed it something you did not touch on as a benefit of ERG mode which is you can train at a constant cadence more or less ,it's difficult to do that on the road. The transition is still the difficult one to get smooth when moving up from say 100w to 170w The other thing is for when you start out using it don't look at the watts going up and down on the readout and try and bring your wattage up or down, leave it to the ERG mode keep same cadence it will average out the watts and hold your watts around what it should be. This was the first mistake I made when using ERG Mode I know you covered that in video but reaffirming does not hurt 😊
I made that mistake too, the first time I used it and got bogged down!
This probably explains why I usually can not hit all the “stars” in the low output warm up to an FTP test. I basically spin out and end up short of the output threshold. I’ll try adjusting my gearing to a straight line set up. Thx
Thanks for the video. Just about to buy a budget direct drive (Flux S model) from LBS as they do not have the wheel on I am looking at and the wheel ons they have is too close in price to the direct drive. So skipping the hassle of expensive wheel on as their is no point cost wise when adding in tires as the collection of old road tires is nearly gone using the classic trainer. Been holding off on workout mode while in Zpower due it felt not correct at higher power levels. Now I know when there issues that pop up in workouts how to fix or an better idea what is going on in the future.
If ERG mode makes it feel closer to real life, then life is Hell 😊. It should not be difficult for the software developers to detect the “Spiral of death”: If the cadence is less than 5 rpm, speed less than 5km/h, and a heart rate of 165 BPM or more on a flat road, then you know the player is in a world of pain and frustration with zero benefits. In fact, they should stop adding resistance until there is an improvement in the power output or the cadence increases over ~10 seconds.
Zwift is doing many things to encourage people, but ERG mode encourages people to give up, feel like a loser, or return the trainer as it must be defective 😊. Turning ERG mode off while in a world of pain is not easy. If I feel like torturing myself, I may try your tips of choosing the right gear and stick to it while increasing the cadence in time before “death” 😊 Thank you for these tips.
If you click near the bottom of the screen (HR/power graph area) an extra ERG icon appears to turn it on/off; so it can be done without the companion app
Hi, I think I got your point that trainer difficulty simulates totally unrealistic szenarios with respect to which slope is doable with a certain power, at least in a healthy way. But my personnel conclusion is slightly different from your suggestion. Instead of inreasing trainer difficulty I keep on spinning in Zwift, I feel better in doing so. But I accept my limits and avoid steep long climbs where I will not be able to realize a certain cadence.
I never use ERG mode for those short 30 second intervalls..the thing i find strange is the percived dificulty while trying to hold, lets say, 250w with Erg mode on and off. And it is clearly visible from my hr that it is harder. Got a brand new Tacx Neo and it has no problem holding those 250w at a steady pace, compared to my powermeter it is spot on, or max 2w lower. Anyone has the same expirience?
Got a bike fit from a proffesional almost everyone uses, the bike fits me and it is comfortable as it is now, i should probably mention it is a TT bike.
And when i am saying that there is a difference in my hr, i am talking about a difference of 7-10 bpm.
I have a sb20 stages on Apple tv. How do I switch erg mode off for racing 😊
Two questions: With ERG MODE off, do you experience up hill and down hill through your trainer? During a structured workout you can toggle ERG MODE on and off with the companion app. When ERG MODE is off it looks like it allows you to adjust the incline, is it making a constant incline or just adjusting the incline of the terrain you're riding on?.
ERG mode negates any simulation of the environment so it only reacts to you. The incline mode in the companion app sets a fixed resistance similar to increasing or decreasing the grade but it also ignores world terrain 🙂
Thank you. That's great information. @@EverythingIsPhotogenic
Another great video from THE MASTER. BTW, I'm not aware of any direct drive trainers for older, vintage steel bikes with 126mm drop outs. So, short of cold setting the drop outs to a newer standard like 130mm, those bikes will need wheel-on trainers.
Anyone else on Elite Suito and Zwift being not so good with ERG?
Used erg mode and during one interval, where I lost focus, Zwift flashed a message to the effect of turning erg mode off, and then erg mode applied when things leveled off. My wording is not specific but I hope you get the idea. Perhaps Zwift has come up with something to counter the spiral.
Unfortunately ERG turns off after you've already substantially failed the interval and the spiral has taken hold. It certainly allows you to get back on before it adds resistance but it is not the same as the programs that allow you to recover before failure. At the point that ERG deactivates in Zwift you're already approaching a standstill if you're not there already. It's merely preventing you from dealing with the resistance it was feeding you before you failed. The spiral of death is still very much prevalent and highly repeatable. The lower wattage the interval is the less drastic and quicker the response, but they haven't changed the algorithm in years now. It's pretty middle of the road amongst training platforms, not the best but not the worst.
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic I’m very new to erg mode. I’ve watched a few videos, read a few articles but have only recently (like last week recently) used it. So I am definitely learning. Thanks for great videos!
Great video, but maybe you can help me? Running a Kickr with an Apple TV + companion app......trying to run workouts in erg mode with controller set to kickr. My problem is that the power requirement is not being controlled consistently by Zwift, is this a problem caused by internet connectivity issues, is it caused by Zwift server issues.
I’ve seen others report these issues on. Zwift forums but they seem to ignore them......thx
That is usually caused by one of two things manufacturer defect in the trainer (you can test that using the wahoo fitness app to make sure resistance is steady) or crappy bluetooth connectivity to the apple TV. You may have to get the ATV a little closer to the bike or some sort of interference. You might be able to play with the position of components in your system to see if that alleviates the issue. The connection needs to be strong on the controllable end. For those who have an environment that is not blue tooth friendly, there is a hardware solution to switch to ANT+ which us often more stable for riders. Shane Miller did a video on it, might be worth a look after your troubleshooting th-cam.com/video/KcLjXYrtZFQ/w-d-xo.html
Thanks for your reply, I don’t think it’s hardware, but the suggestion relating to positioning makes sense, I’ll give that a go. I think itmay have something to do with the companion app, because when I connect direct to ATV using only 2 Bluetooth connections, problem goes away.....thx again for your help 📒👍
Burn out with ego mode on now , please help to turn this off.
Great video. Very well explained! "Hey you need to do work now, asshole!" How did you get in my brain? Did you talk to Morgan?
Elite Drivo here. If I change cadence 1-2 secs right before interval increase to help me with transition to high power interval, Drivo will start decreasing power to match previous interval and it takes another 5-10 secs more to start matching new interval. This does NOT work for me. It can destroy more than half of your 30 secs interval. The only one best way for me is to just keep SAME cadence for last 2 secs of "old" interval and for first 3-5 secs of NEW interval or slowly increase cadence during new interval, but NEVER ever change cadence last 2 secs!!!
That sounds like a problem with the hardware. A trainer should not behave that way, not least of which in a response to cadence. I'm not exceptionally familiar with the Elite line, but that isn't right. I haven't seen reports of that frequently so it may be a manufacturing defect. That is not how ERG mode is designed. If that were the case, every time somebody got out of the saddle to stretch, that instantaneous spike would drop resistance, cadence drills same thing, the delay in selectivity is purposefully designed that way to eliminate errant reactivity. I would contact elite.
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic You can change cadence ANYTIME during ERG, only if you do big changes exactly +-2 secs around big changes in resistance due some big intervals it causes problems.
So it's only used for Zwift Workouts only? I kinda wish it worked with free rides after picking some route, so I can go and watch TH-cam and not worry about shifting. Oh well.
You can create your own workout and set any power level that you want, for any length of time that you want. Then you can pick any route that you want to ride along with your custom workout. No shifting required.
You could use an external program as well, your trainer likely has an app where you can set the trainer to manual workout mode and toggle the power to what you want. Just deactivate controllable in Zwift while leaving power connected.
A lotta good common cycling sense..you dont just get on a trainer and its a no brainer...ha tell the lizard brain it gotta think ! nice..
I know enough on ERG. Sorry. I turn it off. I’m strong. Not that strong. 270 watts. No better. No 450 for 30 mins Sosa up to Chalet Reynard. I Prefer to push on good legs than have ERG make me feel weak and terrible. Just me
Not sure what the point of this comment is, but ok. 🤷🏼♀️
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic I meant for me. It ruins the fun sorry was verbose comment. Meant , it kills me , zaps any fun. Almost like going back to turbo sessions pre Zwift
@@EverythingIsPhotogenic Lol, I'm confused as well. Not sure what Dan is saying...training is supposed to be hard and not always fun. I enjoy ERG mode as it allows me to concentrate on exactly what the workout block requires. Thanks again for a great video.