Seems like lot of time/work/effort for minimal benefit. Base it on the mission statement - will it make you a faster cyclist?
Also I usually am watching a film/program on Netflix and rather not have Chad talking over it.
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If you prefer to watch a film/program then I guess this feature would be of no benefit to you. Personally I try and follow the drills on the assumption that they will make me faster. The way they are done now I tend to miss bits. I wouldnāt miss it if I was listening to it.
So on the basis that the drills make you faster and I am missing some bits I think it would be of benefit. How much benefits remains to be seen obviously.
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R. Lee Ermey would have been good
(NSFW)
Come to think about it, there is some passing resemblanceā¦
(Mod: please feel free to remove link if there is too much profanity in the vid)
Given limited development resources, I would place this feature low on the priority list. I probably would not use it so Iād rather see other improvements first.
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FWIW, I would absolutely love to see this feature implemented. Presumably the audio could be toggled on and off for those that donāt need/want it. As others have said, when working hard, I donāt always look at the screen and am often frustrated to look up just as text disappears. I love the in-ride instructions ā They are valuable advice and definitely help to break up intervals.
Moreover, I think adding this feature is very much in-line with TRās purpose and aesthetics:
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The in-ride instructions definitely help make you faster. If people are missing them (and clearly, some of us are), then audio narration would help make those of us faster.
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TRās approach is ābring your own entertainmentā. Thatās great, unless bringing your own entertainment means that you wind up missing the instructions because youāre watching something else during a ride. With audio narration, you would get the benefit of the instructions even if watching something else.
Lastly, the instructional text sends do NOT work for me when using TR on my iPad pro. The toggle is set to on, but I only get an audio cue right before an interval ends/begins. When text appears within an interval, there is no audible warning.
OK, I lied. One more comment / request: even with the volume on my iPad turned all the way up, I still find the audio prompts before interval changes to be on the low side. It would be great if you could make them louder.
Thatās all!!!
Thanks for a great product. Iām a recent TR convert and Iām head over heels in love with the platform. Keep up the good work!
Best,
Adam
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Oops! I obviously meant āthe instructional text soundsā.
Along these lines I was also thinking it would be handy to have some sort of links to different podcast episodes that may be relevant in particular plans. Eg: Iām doing Short power build so have been going back through topics on VO2 intervals etc. I know itās a first world request but thought itād be handy given there is such a great catalogue of advice in the podcasts.
I would be so down to have narration! Sometimes if i donāt have an interval coming i just like to zone out on something other than my smartphone screenā¦ Iāll usually have my tv on in the background and my headphones on, ready to turn on when it gets too hardā¦
Donāt remember which one it was but there was a workout getting you to go from tops to drops i think (or hoods to drops) and it wouldve been a lot easier to hear it rather than look at it.
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Something I thought of while suffering through Broken Finger +1: Iād love to have a feature where Coach Chad would provide a voiceover for his workout notes. When reading them, I try to imagine his voice telling me that itāll hurt, but only for 30 more seconds. Of course Coach Chad being Coach Chad, that means thereās still 1 minute left in the interval. In all seriousness, itād be a super cool feature and not terribly hard to implement. Iāll even spring for the massive quantities of soothing tea required for his vocal cords after doing the voiceovers.
Well, after making sure I listened carefully I did hear the beep for the dialog. However the beep sounds at the same time the dialog starts so if I hear the beep I have to immediately look at the screen. How about a beep one second(or 2!) before the dialog starts? Then I can lift my sorry head up to the display in time.
Thanks
Most OS have text to voice already built in as part of the āassistiveā range of options. You would probably need to hover the mouse over it or something though. Itād be too interactive.
Personally Iād find it annoying anyway (as I like radio). I like the idea of it shuffling up Starwars Style though.
āA long time ago in a galaxy far, far away Chad & Nate were cycling up a hill with a slightly higher than normal cadence with a power just below FTPā¦ā
I am fairly new to TR and find myself constantly missing the tips while training. I have tried turning volume up and all and donāt hear any alerts. Is it possible in the near future to add the options for voice? Would love to hear the notes versus reading and dying at the same time
Stony
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We do not have plans to add voice support in the near future, Iām sorry 
.
Our Support Team should be able to help you troubleshoot your alert noises though if youāre interested. Jsut let them know the device youāre using, and they should be able to get things sorted out for you. You can reach us at support@trainerroad.com.
I had this when using the app on an Android device - although I had the main volume up, notifications were muted and for some reason this TR sound has been implemented as a notification. If youāre on Android, itās worth checking your settings for that.
Considering some of the text is repeated (Eg. Isolated leg drills, quadrant drills) it wouldnāt take as much recording as text time!
Iām listening to nasty music during most workouts, so audio comments (and the notification tone, which I disabled day 1) are not my cup of tea.
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I watch a lot of tv during training. I mean, you know, mostly videos of people riding bikes either in a virtual world or otherwise. Sometimes I need my phone for other things while trainerroad is running, and that works pretty well I have to say. I appreciate that erg mode is still running the bike in the background while I switch over for a quick message, etc. Itās a great app.
Butā¦and Iām going to laugh if this is already a thing and I just donāt know about it. (I checked the forum, one post in 2018) I thought it would be fun if the text of the workout could be spoken aloud from within the app, and I thought it would be fun if some of the podcast members would take some time in a studio to read the text.
The base idea is an audio file associated to a workout (that you select) and you can click, play audio or not that matches the timing and text of the workout itself. (I see there is already a radio button for instructional text sounds)
The reason for the āin-app purchaseā thing is that I would certainly want the trainerroad podcast members on my voice roster and I definitely would like them to be reimbursed for their time. BUT, you could always have other people/groups do their own, or your own coach could put their voice in. 
You get the idea.
Then if I wanted to play along with the text I could do it without having to flip the screen back, or look down at my stem. And I could get Chad, Amber, Nate, Pete or Jonathan to tell me to get aero, work the pedal drills or congratulate myself on completing a hard workout.
Great app. thx.
Prior to Cycling (started at age 39 in Nov '20 - started using TR since 13th June '21), I used to run using the Nike Run Club (NRC), more particularly using the Guided Runs by Coach Bennett.
I recollect an instance where a guided 13.1k Dress Rehearsal Run, helped me overcome fatigue and exhaustion to train for and complete my First Ever Half marathon!
A similar reference can be drawn in TR, where a voice guided instructional workout (along with the text) can help us complete the toughest workouts. The recollection value of spoken words is instant. It really helps to know that the Coach is looking over your performance.
Come on, we want to hear Coach Chadās voice when we need that final push to complete the tough ones!