Power on rgt

Using kicker bike first time on rgt power seems to be off sitting at 200 watts feels more like 250 watts have trainer difficulty at 100% and wondering if this is a normal feeling

Where do you usually train - on Systm/Zwift or something else?
The ‘feeling’ (for instance) between RGT and Zwift is very different because Zwifts difficulty is set at 50% by default, whereas RGT is as you have discovered set at 100%.
The Trainer Difficulty can be compared to a virtual cassette adjustment. It’s a bit more complicated for the Kickr Bike unless you understand the gear ratios (I don’t) :wink: but for a direct drive or wheel-on trainer, 100% should give the same ‘feeling’ as the cassette/chainring that is in use at the time. If you had (say) an 11/28 cassette, you might find that unsuitable for Ventoux or Stelvio. Reducing the setting virtually increases the size of the cassette’s biggest ring. So by reducing the setting to maybe 70% you would experience the feeling of an 11/34 instead :slight_smile: The setting is arbitrary so you adjust it down or up until it ‘feels’ right for the cadence you want to ride at. If the training software you have been using uses a different ‘intensity setting’ then that may explain what you are experiencing. Watts are Watts on any platform - that won’t change, but the simulated gearing can’t be guaranteed to be the same :slight_smile: I hope that helps :slight_smile:

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Train on systm

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Will have a play about with the gearing and see what works best

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I’ve only done one RGT ride so far but I gradually cranked down the trainer difficulty to 65% before it started to feel like real world to me. The wattage didn’t seem wrong, but the virtual gearing (I’m on KICKR bike) and level of effort didn’t match what I’d expect on an open road.

At 100%, I was needing to put out over 200W to spin like 80rpm in a 34x28 (virtual) gear on flat terrain. In the real world, I’d need to be at like 4% grade to do that power/cadence/gear combo.

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This is exactly the correct approach.
Adjust the trainer difficulty setting until it suits you.
I set mine initially to 50% then went from there.

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If this seems like a dumb question, please excuse my ignorance. Could this adjustment potentially minimize or eliminate the need to switch between the big and small front chainrings?

Trying to wrap my head around the proper use of this functionality. Initially, I viewed this as the same as workout intensity adjustment on SYSTM. Obviously, I misinterpreted this adjustment.

It is the virtual equivalent of increasing the size of your rear cog. It will still require the same wattage to climb the hill, just measured out in smaller chunks :slight_smile:
And yes potentially the feature could be used to reduce the need to switch between the front rings although it may not eliminate it depending on how extreme the course is.

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Are there keyboard shortcuts in RGT to increase/decrease the power target in a workout, or is the only option to work through the menu structure and select harder or easier?

I’m not sure of keyboard shortcuts.
But they can be accessed through the optional remote app. Which can be downloaded to your phone or a tablet. It used to be called RGT remote so I’m presuming is now called wahoo RGT remote.

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Found it. Thanks!

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I have been using Sufferfest/Systm for about a year with Kickr Bike. Finding the RGT rides much harder resistance wise. Also find on level ground the resistance seems too low and and I get to a high enough gear to have higher power. On hills it can get very difficult and can’t get low enough. On one hand the RGT workouts are very difficult and I feel like I might be gaining more. On the other the experience is uneven and I would like to go back and forth between RGT and Systm and feel like they will be very different from an exertion standpoint.

have you tried reducing the trainer difficulty in the RGT| settings

No. I have only seen the FTP adjustment. I am using an iPad. There seems to be some input above about a remote app. Will see if I can find it. The lack of documentation for RGT is interesting. I anticipated the Kicker Bike would behave similarly across apps. Perhaps that parity will come over time. I am also trying to figure out if I can get my headwind to work automatically as it does with systm.

In sensors (it might be options) there is a trainer difficulty, it is set to high in RGT, you mght want to try reducing it to 50% and see how it behaves after that

You might want to go into your Wahoo app and look at the bike profile you have programmed into your KICKR. It’s possible that the profile you’re using has too narrow a simulated drivetrain for your needs. You may want to consider reprogramming it to offer a wider range of gears.

I think the difference that you’re experiencing between RGT and SYSTM can be explained by the difference between the functions of the two apps. The former is a cycling simulator that seeks to reproduce the effort required to ride IRL. The latter is a workout delivery platform that’s only loosely linked to real-world gradient, speed, and mileage.

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Both make sense. Thanks for the input. I will try another cycle setup and see how that feels.

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If you have been using Sysm it’s basically a ERG mode program. That controls the resistance based on your training.
RGT defaults to 100 % of the GPS of the route.
You need to use the gearing in the kicker bike.


You have the ability to change the gearing on the kicker bike so use it and don’t go back to anything without 100% difficulty because if you wanna ride outside it’s gonna be 100% of the GPS of the ride

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Is FTP recalculated automatically if I change trainer difficulty in RGT?

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No - it remains exactly the same :slight_smile:
Trainer difficulty simply gives you a variable virtual cassette size. So if you have an 11/28 now, then lowering trainer difficulty moves you to a larger cassette - say an 11/34. The setting isn’t exact in any way and you go by feel.
Imagine riding Ventoux in real life on an 11/28 - you would want to go to buy an 11/34! The Trainer Difficulty does that for you in RGT :slight_smile: You still create the same power (watts) but you can spin faster and will go slower - like swapping to a mountain bike :slight_smile:

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