I am using a power meter (Team ZWATT) with dumb trainer (Tacx Booster) and am not sure how to treat shorter intervals (5 to 10 second sprints) properly. Should I:
Start mashing with the start of the interval (it can take 2-3 second before I reach goal power)
Wind up some of the intensity a few seconds before (no lost seconds) while shifting to harder gear.
In the past I had good experience with changing trainer resistance before the start to limit the cadence difference… until I broke the lever.
On the very short stuff, treat it as maximal, rather than a target goal. Unless the text says otherwise.
This is something I struggle with on a smart trainer, the resistance will decrease too fast to the “target” power when I really want to go for it. I try to remember to put it in slope mode but it doesn’t always work out that way. (Hey TR staff, maybe implement that in automatically for the sprint efforts like you have for the ftp test!)
I put in a feature request for that a while back! Basically, a box you can check and then a slider that says “switch to SLOPE mode for efforts lasting < XXX seconds” You can set the interval duration where it switches based on your prefs.
I do wonder though if 5-10" intervals can be as effective on a trainer compared to doing them outside. You just can’t work the bike the same way.