Hi, I just started. I am having lots trouble standing. It’s clunking, I can’t spin well, it’s like there is not enough resistance. I have been in ERG mode and I have not shifted gears. Should I shift gears? Any advice will be much appreciated. Thank you.
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You could try reducing cadence when you stand. Some of the newer workouts will reduce the cadence target during standing sections, but not all do. I give up on the cadence target when I’m standing, and will often ride at ~70 rpm while standing vs 90-100 rpm while seated.
You shouldn’t need to shift gears, as ERG mode will increase the trainer resistance to maintain power at the reduced cadence.
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I had the identical issue. There was almost no way in ERG mode that I could stand. The resistance was just not there in ERG mode. Two things to explore.
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Switch to Level Mode. Then you can crank up the resistance to where ever necessary to be able to stand.
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Do the Half Monty test at a minimum to see if your FTP and MAP numbers are where they should be.
Good luck.
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You shouldn’t need resistance to stand, if you do (and this is constructive criticism, not criticism) you need to work on your pedalling dynamics in terms of how smoothly you can control the transition of weight between your feet.
In an ideal world, you should be able to stand with minimal resistance at either 20 rpm or spin at 90+
It’s primarily a case of core strength to manage your body position over your legs.
I mean, it’s not actually all that important to stand at all if you don’t want to, much less to be able to do it at low resistance, but it is a skill you can build.
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Thank you all very much! I will work with your suggestions. THANKS!!!
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In erg mode, for a given power, the force (torque) applied to the pedals is inversely related to the cadence. Lowering your cadence requires more force on the pedals to produce the same power. That can make it easier to stand.
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Hi, I am having something similar to this problem… the thing is the workout “requieres” certain cadence and certain power… and if I stand, there’s no way I can produce that power (i’m not powerhouse, but it’s really low for standing) at that cadence…
Also, I could have better core control, but as the trainer modifies resistance when you pass the power goal, you will be constantly being overpedalling (even if you achieved rpm and stability for 2-3 spins, as you’re 2x or more on the power goal, the trainer lightens and you just stumble…)
Also, can’t change to level, because the rest of the workout (the parts that you don’t stand) are spot on with the 4DP :s
This has happened either at low or high cadences… is as if the workout “asumes” that standing you’ll have “a little bit more” of power and not “a boatload more”…
I my case, I just go back to seated, mantain that cadence, but it’s clerarly a different effort to mantain that power seated
PS. Numbers example
110 RPM 160 watts (more or less my FTP)… when I stand it goes 300+ and after 1-2 is just free spinning (also, I’m not good at high cadences, and can’t stand at 110RPM without ANY kind of resistance)
Hope to have explained clearly. Any help is welcome 
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Hi @glosada , and welcome to the forum!
I think this is one of those things that requires a bit of practise. When you pedal with very low resistance in level mode, can you come out of the saddle? When you do that, can you control your cadence?
Have a look at the GCN video, it may help:
Its all in the technique, If you haven’t done it I’d recommend doing the “Elements of Style” session, you can find it by searching in the SYSTM app or filtering for Drills and Techniques.
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That’s the first one that I noticed the problem… At least on that one, it’s low cadence… but on Cadence Builds you have to do it at 110 …
Anyway, study & train & try again
Thanks @all
You could try at least part of the workout on level, and see if that helps with your standing.
That’s interesting. What trainer are you using, and how are you measuring power? The power shouldn’t spike like that unless you either change gears, increase cadence, or increase the trainer resistanct.
@glosada Also what gears are you in. Sometimes there are issues with certain wattages and gearing combinations.
If you’re spinning out while standing, I’m not surprised that your watts spike to 300. I suspect what’s happening is that your pedal speed massively increases when you stand on it without pushing backward with your upstroke leg. That spikes the power and gets the flywheel spinning so fast that you can’t pedal fast enough to keep up.
Practice helps. It took me months to go from where you are to better enough that I can usually avoid spinning out.
Clarification: the power spikes happen to me even on a KICKR v5 in ERG mode. The power surge is too fast for the machine to adjust.
At lower power it can be very hard to stand in Erg mode because your cadence will increase very quickly.
It took me over a year of using my indoor trainer before I became comfortable doing standing efforts longer than 15 seconds and at any power lower than my FTP. But even at lower power it is still difficult to stand when the cadence is over 70rpms and/or the resistance just isn’t there.
So don’t worry if it takes time and practice to get comfortable doing standing efforts. It helps do practice on tougher low cadence workouts like Power Station. And even tho G.O.A.T. isn’t supposed to be a standing effort, you can use it to practice on as the power is high enough and nice and even. Also, the harder efforts in The Shovel are good, too.
I find in ERG mode, I have to very deliberately slow my cadence to allow the trainer time to increase resistance. Once the resistance has stabilized, I can settle in at the cadence. If I stand and push hard, the trainer will decrease resistance instead and cadence will run away. It’s a bit tricky and unnatural. The process can be sped up a little by upshifting. I usually limit this to shifting between small and big rings. In ERG mode, I’m almost always in the small ring (34) and middle cog. (This keeps the trainer flywheel speed reasonable and allows quicker response to power and/or cadence changes.) If I need to make a quick big decrease in cadence, I’ll sometime shift to the big ring. Then shift when to the small ring again when it’s time to increase cadence.
Another thing that comes into play and contributes to clunk at the bottom of a stroke is the fact that the a bike on a trainer can’t move forward and back under you as you pedal like a bike does on the road. There’s an elasticity in that motion that takes up the lash in the drivetrain. Without that you get that clunk. A full motion platform helps a lot with this, though with its massive inertia (bike+trainer+platform), it’s not as good as the bike on the road.
Elite Suito T
It’s when I increase the cadence… the workout calls for “stand up and go for 110” but “standing up” I can’t make myself “not” push with my whole weight, so I get to 110 but the w spike…
Anyway, I tried the video and tips, and it’s starting to get better (I’ll need practice to get used to it). It’s WAY harder to standup like this (you “generate” watts with your downward-pushing-foot and also have to “cancel” them counter-generating with your now-not-upward-but-braking-foot… But at least I don’t free-spin )
The problem for me is that the excercise W objective is WAY too low for standing… but therein lies the excerise, and practice must be done
Thanks everyone
You are taking some of your weight with your arms?
I don’t think of it as cancelling with the non pushing foot, more a sensation of balancing like you would when freewheeling stood on the pedals.
That’s a great attitude, you’ll have it cracked in no time. all the best with your training 
wasn’t as much as I’m doing now… my arms hurt 
yeah, but “freewheeling” is standing up, you don’t generate power there… here you over-generate and then counter-generate to balance it
Thanks, that’s what we’re here for…
Of course you need resistance to stand. To take it to the extreme, imagine if there were no pedals (zero resistance) and you had to pedal your legs and just rely on your arms to somehow hold you in that position. Completely impossible. The issue is clearly too low resistance at beginner levels in relation to body weight.
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