When you SHOULD and SHOULD NOT use ERG mode | Workout Wednesday

[@fredericopereira6444]

After the first week and a lotta frustration on my Wahoo Kickr I finally found out that ERG mode works perfectly for me, personally. It does not have to do with any power input difficulty per say... it's just that in the beginning it is really hard to maintain both the cadence and the power required - this means that when you are pedalling it is almost impossible to hit the desired wattage and cadence (specially at the same time). ERG mode just makes it much easier as it "makes you work" more or less according to your cadence. Basically it gives you less resistance at a higher cadence and more resistance at a lower cadence - which is satisfying because you can now start hitting those stars :)

[@fredericopereira6444]

@@Karan19880 everyone thinks they are Peter Sagan until they do an FTP test. No, your FTP is not better than what think; and no, zwift is not harder than real life. It is what it is and you are probably not as good as you think you are. That is it. Just accept it and move on.

[@fredericopereira6444]

@@Karan19880 nah mate. It think that nothing is off. Just give it some time. I was a road cyclist for a while before going into Zwift and it was a hard transition. Maybe you just need some time to adapt. Maybe it will make sense in due time.

[@robotomassi2011]

This is so good to hear. Trying to use ERG mode for Workouts that included 20/40 splits and I just couldn't do it, but know I can obviously push over my threshold on demand - even if I suffer doing so! I will take your advice to use it during the 'smoother' workouts that have less sharp peaks. Thanks!

[@suisinghoraceho2403]

Some of the newer trainers, like the neo 2Ts actually can handle the 40/20 or even 30/30 intervals. The trouble is we would naturally want to increase cadence when the power requirements suddenly switches up. As we switch up cadence and torque, the trainer thought we are over the power requirements and would compensate by decreasing resistance. We meanwhile would try to bring the power back by riding harder. And how we do that? Further increase cadence. As a result, the trainer goes into a different spiral reducing resistance. Really, the trick about using erg mode successfully is to have a constant cadence. Some of us on noisier trainers would also try to keep trainer quite by riding at low flywheel speed. That would reduce flywheel momentum and thus its ability to keep speed. On some platform (say TrainingPeaks), you can also set expected cadence. I know Wahoo, up till gen 3 would just ignore that. But other trainers may take that into consideration when in Erg mode.

[@Patrik6606]

I'm new to all this with a direct drive trainer and it was a bit confusing at first but I figured it out and as mentioned in the video, use erg on workouts where the power goal does not change frequently. Really nice when you do not have to shift all the time just pedal 😊

[@dewidavies7995]

Great video you are only one explain this clearly thanks. 😊

[@AshishBorakhadikar1003]

Finally a video which explains it in detail and not just says use it...its good for you. Thanks for such perfect explanation !!!!

[@raymonds2687]

This video had me in stitches, in a good way! I had the spiral of death doing an FTP test, result was a low score.

[@marupengod]

I ride erg mode in the zwift workouts, maintain a steady cadence, don’t shift, imagine the increase and decrease in resistance as going up or down a hill, as long as you maintain a steady cadence you’ll be fine. If it does feel like your heart is about to pop out of your chest lower the resistance level on the fly and keep going, you’ll do great i know it

[@janesworld1577]

how do you lower the resistance on the fly? in erg mode?

[@boostenmkiv]

I use ERG mode for every single planned workout, never tried it without. Other than my trainer dropping connection from time to time, get every gold star doing this.

[@EricRidesDirt]

Ya doing workouts in ERG mode is a guaranteed way to get all the gold stars. ERG mode is hit or miss with people and I find some people, like myself, really don't like it. It's all personal preference.

[@hollyc7539]

super helpful! hit the circle of death this morning and thought my kickr was defective. glad to know it's as simple as clicking off Erg Mode! would be helpful to know how you manipulate the incline during your longer / varied intensity workouts (ie. putting on resistance manually, when to back it off and how much you are using gear shifts during this time). Incline arrows can be difficult to click when you are in the middle of a tough session

[@EricRidesDirt]

I don't manage the trainer. I ride as I would outside and simple shift to change the effort

[@plants4thewin]

LOL...thank you. I just got my set up and Ive quit a few times. The spiral of death...been there three times. Great info...

[@mlegrand]

Great video Eric! I rarely use ERG mode but I've been using it more recently for a few workouts and things. Thanks for the suggestion on when to use and avoid. Love me some spiral of death 😂

[@EricRidesDirt]

Thanks, I find that people either love it or hate it. It has been interesting to hear people’s opinions and reasoning.

[@kaufmanjeffreys]

I learned the hard way when I bought my Kickr smart bike. Once I turned it off. It helped and my rides were better SIM... it was definitely a change from my Kinetic smart trainer. I am looking forward to learning more about my bike and improving my fitness level. Thanks for a great video

[@lucianadrian88]

I bought a spinning bike and after an hour i already hate it because i used it with Zwift. The ERG mode is trying to achieve the power needed by adding resistance when you drop cadence. Is like you are trying to ride a hill with one low gear and at a point you stall. This is spiral of death.

[@a.s.6616]

I did ftp ramp test with erg and it went to spiral of death😂 so frustrating

[@GreenPistachio]

ERG for planned workouts. Sim mode for racing or freeriding.

[@kimwarner6050]

Thank you, I have been struggling. I cycle with a 95 cadence and tried taking a ftp test 3 times. My last ftp was 95. I was actually shocked. My power for a four hour ride using assiomo pedals is 130. I know I weak, but not that week. I'll try again with no erg mode

[@ScottCraighead]

That's a really amazingly clear explanation, really clears things up. But how the hell are people thinking the smart trainer is adding wattage in ERG mode?

[@souhirchouikha3878]

thx Eric- ill surely put that ERG mode off and ride on - thank you so so much

[@ricecrash5225]

Awesome mate ! Thank you. Just tried to do 15 min intervals at my FTP but felt like 150% of my FTP 😂😂 I think I experienced the spiral of death.

[@warrencarswell7814]

I have a wahoo kickr. Using zwift and the companion app. I can not find the erg/sim mode anywhere. There is no “game” button to select on the companion app. How do I find it?

[@zipworks]

I think you are underselling ERG mode - all you need to do is focus on keeping you're preferred cadence and the resistance will adjust to meet the workout intervals. So much more work to achieve the same effect without ERG mode, I use it for 99% of my workouts. Where I find it works less well is really short intervals like 10-20 secs, then it just doesn't keep up and those intervals end up being less hard than intended.

[@EricRidesDirt]

It depends on what you are looking to achieve. If you are riding for fitness then you are 100% correct. However, if you are training to race than learning to hold a steady power without any aid is a vital aspect of training. ERG mode only hurts your training if you are training to race

[@casasecranks]

Agree. My Elite’s erg mode is great. I just need to focus on cadence and it does the rest. Yes, short intervals work better without it but for anything else erg is my choice. When racing I just pay attention to my ftp and time in zones. So I’m not bothered in replicating racing when training indoors

[@jackiemiller2612]

Really helpful, thanks!

[@CamperMan727]

How do you switch to erg mode while on a zwift group ride? Or can you only use erg in workouts?

[@dieterbierman9803]

I go to a local cycling gym designated to training on a skillbike (by technogym). Most sessions are in ERG mode, and I find it helps me push myself by sticking to the target and duration. You can do short burst intervals on it as well, but you gotta have a bit of "feeling" for the bike. There is a built in thing that if you drop dead on the cadence it gives you a couple of seconds to pick it back up before it adds resistance again.

[@YoubiTheGreat]

I’ve been on Zwift for 3 months with an Indoor Bike (MekBelt SM36). I was able to build a FTP of 144 to start with and then, it went up to 161. Tempo was really hard and I wasn’t able to finish it. Bought a Wahoo Kickr V5, started to workout in it this Monday. It was too easy so I think it is about calibration but it feels weird. 85W was feeling like 145W when power was increasing so if you have any input in that, would be appreciated.

[@rmg797]

Hmmm...Ive always used erg mode for most of my workouts because it really is the magic button so I don't have to think about it. Im not sure why you say it isn't because it is. No shifting. Just pedal and the smart trainer does the work for me. I turn erg off when it is a race specific workout and I need to do all the work of getting it in the right gear myself. erg mode just keeps you from having to shift. erg mode also keeps you from feeling the effects of grade during your workout. erg mode on means the math is being applied to your speed. erg mode off means the math is being applied to resistance.

[@EricRidesDirt]

It's definitely a personal preference. I know some people really like it and others don't. Can't be wrong so long as you are riding :)

[@rollandjoeseph]

Old video so I'm not expecting a response but I just did a ride in erg mode and experienced the spirl of death a few times. I was keeping an eye on the graph where I'm at on the upper right corner but I could shift well enough to do a 10% hill and I kept bonking out, very frustrating I wanted to throw my trainer out my window!

[@EricRidesDirt]

Your experience is very common. I don't really have any suggestions to help you, maybe another comment has a suggestion. Your experience is one of the many reasons I never use ERG mode

[@rollandjoeseph]

Thx for replying

[@mozpassion8996]

Hi Eric, is Erg mode good to do over and unders? like 2min at 200W then 30s at 300w, 6 times?

[@ck21985]

Some of the Times i use it.. Sometimes not

[@Vam1500]

Can you free ride on zwift in erg mode? I plan on doing zone 2 rides but then I hate people passing me so I inevitably start riding harder and get out of zone 2. I need something to rein me in.

[@tonyr1637]

Free ride in the sense that you can choose the course you want to ride but in order to use ERG mode you need to be doing a workout in game.

[@RaketenRonny500]

Idk if this is still relevant for you but I just created a custom workout with one block of z2 for two hours, this allows me to just pedal along basically ignoring other riders

[@cristiansan]

hey, I dont have a "Game" tab in my Zwift Companion :( (I can see Home, Clubs, Events, etc but no "Game" one)

[@EricRidesDirt]

I find that the game tab has a mind of its own. If it its not their, try reloading the app. I have rides where it never shows up.

[@patrickzimmerly3737]

Have been using ERG on Kickr in zwift workouts, but it screws with my cadence... IF I try a workout without ERG DO I then have to manually shift?

[@rollandjoeseph]

Yes

[@simondobbins7509]

Tried my first ftp ramp with erg mode. Very quickly got into that spiral of death. I was pushing harder to get my cadence up while the trainer was increasing and decreasing resistance trying to compensate which very quickly made it near impossible to turn the cranks. Awful first experience lol

[@EricRidesDirt]

Haha, yup, that can quickly happen. Hoping your next attempt goes better.

[@CycoWarriorx]

@@EricRidesDirt question, so if I’m doing a Ramp test, I should not use erg and just use sim?

[@juanmunoz1869]

@@CycoWarriorx following for an answer, I’ve always just left it in one gear and let the trainer build the resistance. Turned the crank until I can’t no more.

[@carlosbaez3267]

Is ok to use ERG mode in race events or TT events?

[@EricRidesDirt]

Zwift won't let you.

[@ultrastoat3298]

Knew I wasn’t crazy. Just got a Kickr and wanted to throw the thing in the trash. On screen it’s telling me to do 200 watts but I’m at max effort on the pedals and then all of a sudden it would release all the resistance at once and then do it again. Absolutely ridiculous. I figured it was somehow tied to cadence but I couldn’t figure it out. I will be disabling this ERG nonsense until I have to patience to try and learn how you are supposed to use it.

[@sergiomonteiro3743]

Same today!!!! First time and couldnt go above 250.... Annoying!! So, it is this ERG?

[@moustafamortada]

Same today!! Thank you

[@moustafamortada]

I just opened KZbin to check I wasn’t crazy today

[@ultrastoat3298]

After a little practice I now know that you have to really pay attention to the zone transition. What I’ve been doing is really upping up the cadence about 3 seconds before transitioning into a harder zone to make it easier to “catch” the sharp resistance increase.

[@domenic1310]

On my companion I don’t see game tab

[@EricRidesDirt]

It is not perfect. Sometimes it takes a few refreshes to show up.

[@trbeyond]

Ftp of 340? 😳😳

[@EricRidesDirt]

haha maybe at one point. Too many holiday cookies recently.

[@scientia_potentia_est]

4:15 100% agree! Doing 20/40 sec splits (from 175W to 380W) on a Saris Hammer (1st Gen model from like 2017) direct drive trainer is horrible. Weirdly for me it's the opposite of the spiral of death - the resistance doesn't increase fast enough during the 20-sec high power split and so when I put more power on the pedals to reach the 380W target, the flywheel spins like crazy and my cadence goes too high during the 40-sec recovery phase. This gets progressively worse on the next interval to the point where the flywheel is going so fast that I can't put any power at all on the pedals (without going at like 200 rpm lol). Totally disappointed on these trainers tbh

[@dna100]

Ah, the spiral of death.... been there

[@mplen1989]

I’m gonna add my own two cents as I had a terrible experience with Erg mode yesterday doing zone 4 + intervals at power levels I could not sustain for the allotted time at roughly 80rpm. Got through the first two 8 minute segments but had no gas for the shorter intervals with higher watts. Could it have been fuel or an off day?! Maybe. But as my cadence dipped the workout became harder and harder until i eventually pushed on the crank so hard my chain came off. I agree that ERG is good for zone 2 levels or if you’re comfortable at a certain power level. Otherwise riding by feel with it off May help recruit new muscles and help one actually finish interval segments at a threshold that is more accurate

[@MultiGjuro]

After 3 years of erg mode I totally agree with you...also the most stupid and wrong choice of ftp test is ramp test in erg mode.....and of course vo2 max intervals.....erg mode is for zone 2 and recovery rides...nothing else

[@Bungle2010]

What's the issue with using ERG mode for a ramp test? I would have thought it would be just the ticket?

[@kengipson5529]

Hello, I am riding a cross bike with a 1X42 drive with an 11-32 cassette and did a ramp test on Zwift for ftp when I first got my trainer and I was spinning out in the hardest gear I have. During and ftp test would the trainer be set to incline by default? What do you recommend for that kind of gearing? Thanks

[@EricRidesDirt]

For a ramp test on Zwift you should not need to shift at all. It starts off easy in the beginning then Zwift controls the resistance as the test progresses. What trainer are you using?

[@kengipson5529]

@@EricRidesDirt Wahoo Kickr

[@EricRidesDirt]

Interesting, Zwift should simply take control of the resistance, no shifiting required. Not sure what to tell you with that one. Sorry

[@kengipson5529]

@@EricRidesDirt I haven't done another FTP test but I'll go thru all the settings and try again this week. Thanks for the responses

[@EricRidesDirt]

Ya happy to help. When you do it again make sure your trainer is connected as the controllable device and remember that in the beginning the test is easy so only having 100ish watts of resistance to start is normal. Don't shift, let the trainer increase the resistance for you as the test progresses

[@beachedbeluga]

Sneaky humble brag with that FTP

[@EricRidesDirt]

Don't know what you are talking about 😜

[@dewidavies7995]

One problem I like to peddling 85cadance+

[@EricRidesDirt]

Why can't you shift gears to get that cadence?

[@Check-it-out]

Why is cycling a ‘game’ ? Cycling is dead serious ! Oh… I forgot… Zwift is not about cycling.

[@jslute]

I dont.Its cheating,my opinion.

[@chrisgraham6031]

How is it cheating? It’s for workout mode.

[@jslute]

@@chrisgraham6031 How is it a workout if the trainer maintains the watts?

[@chrisgraham6031]

@@jslute It's not maintaining the watts, it's just automatically changing the resistance so the power remains constant with changes in cadence/flywheel speed. The idea of ERG is that you don't have to shift gears, or manually change resistance mode to hit a target power. It can also handy, as you can chose whether to hit your power targets at high or low flywheel speeds, which changes muscles used.

[@jslute]

@@chrisgraham6031 So exactly when would you use it?I am new at this.

[@chrisgraham6031]

@@jslute So imagine you've got a VO2 max in session, where you're going from a power below threshold, up to 115% ftp. In standard mode, you either have to change up a load of gears to speed up the flywheel, or manually adjust the difficulty, or both. With ERG mode, you instead stay in the same gear and attack hard into the change. The turbo will automatically increase the resistance so the power needed to keep the flywheel at its current speed matches the power target of the interval. Think of it as having a coach manually adjusting the resistance of the turbo so that you always stay at the same power regardless of how quick your cadence is in a specific gear. You speed up, resistance goes down, and vice versa.

[@dewidavies7995]

Newbe, on zwift, stages sb20,