Smart Trainers Vs. Traditional Resistance Trainers
I love to ride outside. I want to keep riding outside, but it is plain painful for me to ride when it is less than thirty degrees out there. So I jump on the trainer a few times a week. The Smart Trainer has made indoor riding much more enjoyable.
The main difference between the traditional resistance trainers (for example, CycleOps Fluid 2) and the smart control trainers is the ability to control the resistance (measured in watts) on a smart trainer with an app.
When using traditional resistance trainers you have to shift and tell yourself to pedal harder or pedal easier during the workout. If you wanted to do 3 minutes hard, you would have to make yourself keep it up for 3 minutes. You could quit at 2.5 minutes and just pedal easier for the remaining 30 seconds.
On a smart control trainer the resistance is controlled by the app. If a 3 minute effort is next in the workout then you must commit. If you try to pedal easier after 2.5 minutes then the resistance stays the same; the smart trainer doesn't let you go easier. It helps to keep you honest on a workout. If you ever need a break you can just stop pedaling.
On the flip side, if you need an easy day and happen to be someone who is an overachiever, the smart trainers will aid in keeping you at an easier pace. If the smart trainer is set at a certain resistance for the workout, and you pedal faster, it keeps the resistance the same by reducing the force per pedal stroke.
The other important difference between smart and traditional trainers is that they tell you the wattage you are putting out. Watts are directly related to calories and physical effort. If you want to track calories burned, apps will provide that data from the force applied to the pedals. While some people use heart rate to monitor physical effort, watts are far more accurate with less variability compared to heart rate.
Come by ready to ride and you can demo our Wahoo Kickr Snap trainers. Bring your bike and any other gear you normally ride with.