Why Zwift's Erg Mode is a Bad Idea

Well, really any Erg mode. We explore why it is that TC and the Boogeyman refuse to use Erg and why we think you should consider avoiding it too.

[@waynesmith4589]

Great video even if i don't agree in full . Erg is great under certain circumstances , it keeps you honest !! If you're continually being caught in the spiral of death you've probably over estimated your ability , you can always decrease the intensity accordingly . I can honestly say if it wasn't for ERG in certain circumstances i'd have bailed out or lowered the wattage when all it required was to dig in and suffer a bit , its like having a NAZI as a coach , say i'm doing 4 x 8 mins at 106% i'll use ERG and watch my HR , if it starts to get out of control i'll lower the intensity not wait until i'm in a death spiral . As for the sprints and short efforts couldn't agree more ERG is completely useless .

[@TacomaCyclist]

Thanks for the insight. And awesome username!

[@riggs621]

Superb video mate one of the most informative i have watched, ERG mode is great when you want to play with your phone or talk to your mates about football while you workout but it has no place in structured cycling workouts, as you say, a lot of crucial info is lost and we learn from failure never from success.

[@benjaminlin8386]

I am going to try resistent mode in TR workout tomorrow to see how my legs/HR response. One thing I found very interesting that when I am doing z2 WO in ERG mode, my HR stay around lower 120, but when I did z2 with pacer Cadence (2.5 wkg) in Zwift, I pushed out same average 15x watt, my HR is 13x, much higher. I think one point you mentioned is very useful that cadence is not always in your favor when you want to push certain watt in real world, but in ERG you always can do any interval in your nature cadence, that is totally not realistic. And I suspect that the variance of cadence will impact your HR and muscle fatigue a lot. Great video!

[@michellewilliams6560]

Thanks for the video.Until earlier this week I would have disagreed with you. As a new and out of shape zwifter a couple years ago, I could not keep up with the proper power and cadence without ERG. It was very frustrating to try to do workouts to improve and not be able to hit the numbers. ERG allowed me to feel what the intervals were supposed to do. After a very challenging group workout this week, I had to turn off ERG to save my knees because of the Death Spiral. I was amazed how much "easier" the workout became. I still struggled to meet the numbers, but was able to move around on the bike, stand up, shift gears and was just so much more comfortable. The workout became achievable.So, I guess ERG may have a place for a new inexperienced cyclist trying to figure out how the workouts are supposed to work, but I am totally in agreement with your assessment that ERG is not the greatest. Thanks for your videos!

[@cryptomando]

I really am happy you did this video. I'm just starting on my wahoo trainer and erg mode has been frustrating me because I end up spinning out of control or it gets too difficult thought it was broken.. Thanks again.

[@jasonw1777]

Thanks for this. I had a death spiral tonight and often find myself fighting the trainer to keep the power on target (constantly too high then low and back again), using the cadence more than anything to keep it steady...usually a lower cadence than I would on the road. I’ll turn it off and see how it goes

[@TacomaCyclist]

Let me know what you think when you've tried it a few times. Try to keep it smooth too.

[@cosmicheretic8129]

This is great info for starting with my first trainer! I want realism more than anything and ERG doesn't replicate the need to switch gearing for quick punchy climbs in MTB rides where I ride.

[@adamzabinski9486]

A lot of things I never thought about. I'm relatively new to zwift so will take that on board. Awesome video!

[@steventoth7895]

Good vid. When you turn off ERG you are presented with the incline slider as an alternative. How do you go about using this function? I'm assuming you use it in conjunction with your gears to fine tune given power?

[@TacomaCyclist]

Exactly! Just a little tweaking will get me in the cadence range that I want to be in. I don't mind just letting the resistance be as it is, but sometimes, it really feels like I'm always climbing, even doing half my FTP. 2 taps to the lower incline and it seems to fix the issue.

[@Alniemi]

Also after thinking about it I think maybe erg mode maybe good for really easy enduro workouts or maybe for tempo as well, I will have to try it

[@bradwalden7254]

Question I have just got a wahoo kickr bike what trainer difficulty should I have it on when riding around zwift ? Thanks for this video going to turn erg mode off on my workouts

[@TacomaCyclist]

Hey, congrats on the new bike! Should be awesome. Trainer difficulty is a personal choice. If possible, compare it to a real world climb near you and see what works. For example, I have a hill close to me that is very similar to the Watopia climb. My trainer seems to be closest to around 70 percent.

[@marcocote57]

Fantastic video !! that is exactly what and How I think ! i’m 53YO with a 320 FTP and i never used Erg mode for Zone to the higher Zone exist. Bang on!!

[@Hotshotzwifting]

Do you switch erg off before the start of the workout or when you hit the intervals?

[@JoeJoe-lq6bd]

Disagree with this. In racing, you aren't trying to hit a specific power either. It's only in training that you are. If your goal is to get better at hitting numbers in training without ERG, of course you should shut it off. If it's to be better in racing or riding, I don't see how it's relevant. I've done both. ERG is, in my opinion, better for training because: (1) constantly trying to hit the power number is irrelevant to your fitness goals, (2) if you have an accurate power meter in your trainer, you'll be constantly adjusting gearing and cadence to make up for normal fluctuations that are much higher than people think, pretty much killing your workouts and (3) riding a trainer is still nothing like riding the road. We can pretend all we want but training indoors does not feel like riding outdoors. The factors outdoors are much different. Turning off ERG doesn't do anything to make them more similar. Other than for very short intervals/sprints, ERG mode makes a ton more sense.

[@martyhum6263]

I will try my FTP's with erg mode off, and see the difference for myself, thanks for the video!

[@mamatkebab]

Any idea how it goes after 3mth of ur commented here?

[@johnattard7992]

Very imformative - thanks.

[@TacomaCyclist]

Glad it was helpful!

[@raymondpeterson159]

Pros and cons to everything in life. Everyone is different. Do what works for you. Some people like just riding around outside. I like following a plan indoors with erg. It makes me feel time efficient and clinical. Compared to just riding around, plan makes me train all systems at supposedly scientific levels and lowers the risk of overtraining. Compared to outside, which often involves coasting, indoors with erg makes me feel like I have more quickly accumulate the desired "Y watts for X minutes". Moreover, 100% of the time indoors is at the prescribed workload. Outdoors, even though I've been accused of being a metronome, I find it nearly impossible to stay within the prescribe range. Outside, I've had intervals where I've nailed the prescribed average watts exactly but spent 0% of the interval within the prescribed range. Some outdoor skills, like quick changes in cadence, can be practiced indoors with erg. It takes a few rides outdoors to adjust but the skills come back quickly.

[@jurestiplosek3018]

Maybe erg is for beginners to learn using right cadence and gear to keep goal power.

[@andyolsen4517]

How do i get that jersey?

[@jurestiplosek3018]

Hi. I think that erg mode is more training to choose the right cadence to maintain the goal power

[@TacomaCyclist]

I completely understand what erg is. If you watch the video, you'll see why I don't like it.

[@jcbak]

Forgive the noob question, but how do I determine what resistance to use for each interval?

[@jeron1847]

This is not a noob question and is actually a very hard question. This question is studied a lot (also scientifically) and I suggest you to read into polarized training and watch the videos of Dylan Johnson on his channel. He is very knowledgeable and also presents some examples.

[@dewidavies7995]

How do I turn erg mode off.

[@TheMASDrummer]

I hate erg mode. I don't see why it's necessary. It's not that hard to meet the program's target power manually...you just shift gears. If my target power for the interval is 300w, I want to be able to ride 300w at 70rpm or 95rpm. I find that is impossible on erg.

[@dewidavies7995]

Erg mode is like driving a car with the hand brake on, the car will still go forward, but cost to wer, and ter . 😊

[@p44doyle44]

Erg mode is ok for sweet spot workouts and below. Long steady sweet spot just do in erg makes it easy. Any intervals off erg mode.

[@TacomaCyclist]

Definitely. When you can turn off the brain and put it in autopilot.

[@yaaqobwilson4427]

Can the FTP test be done with the erg mode off?

[@TacomaCyclist]

Absolutely! When the 20 minute block kicks in, erg turns off automatically even if you had it on. But you can keep it off the whole time if you want to.

[@jurestiplosek3018]

Sorry my mistake. You are right.

[@TacomaCyclist]

No need to apologize, mate. Opinions are good!

[@09ironman1]

nice video

[@aperdon7694]

Doing a workout and riding a certain route on Zwift don't go together. Also a fixed wattage is a bad idea. Better is a certain margin of 5-10 watts. Zwift should change the resistance like how you would do it yourself on for example a WattBike. So resistance should depend only on the workout and not on your wattage.

[@WilXuH]

When I forget it on it seems like the trainer is broken, lol

[@JeremyClow]

As a brand new Zwifter and wanting to get better, this was a great video. Thank you!

[@Alniemi]

WOW you said erg is not realistic just as I began to type the comment that I prefer non erg because its more like real life

[@NewEnglandDirtRoadie]

4:45 au contraire: kzbin.info/www/bejne/lavCnZVqecxqapY

[@dewidavies7995]

18 min into this video and he has not told me to turn erg mode off. You must be shit in time tials you talk to much , walk your talk. Do a video on erg mode off 🙏 😊thanks. 😊