Home Troubleshooting Before/During a Workout

Before/During a Workout

By Cooper Richardson and 2 others

• 6 articles

Smart Trainer: Wattage Floor

Sometimes, when riding low-wattage intervals, riders may experience what we call the "wattage floor" - essentially the trainer's lower mechanical limit. When this happens, riders may not hit their target watts for recovery intervals since the target power is beneath the "wattage floor" of the trainer. Simply put, a wattage floor is when the number of watts it takes just to turn the pedals is higher than the target power. Depending on your gearing, might take 100 watts just to make the flywheel spin! When you come into contact with the wattage floor, it will often appear as though your power is "floating" above the target power. Each trainer is slightly different, but most commonly riders will encounter the wattage floor when riding recover intervals below 100 watts. WattageFloor2.png Fixing a Wattage Floor The good news is that the wattage floor is usually pretty easy to avoid. If you find that you're running into the wattage floor, check your trainer's manual to see what gearing they recommend. Switching into an easier gearing combination should resolve a wattage floor, though we'd recommend going with the trainer manufacturer's recommendation before trying this. The trainer's wattage floor is lower when using easy gearing combinations, so down-shifting should allow you to reach those low power targets.

Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

No Power Readings

Are you new to TrainerRoad and your power isn't registering? Here's a list of the most common problems and how to fix them. Virtual Power Users VirtualPower converts speed on the trainer into power. For that to happen, we need to make sure we're getting speed readings from your device. 1. Make sure you have an ANT+ or Bluetooth Smart speed or speed/cadence sensor paired under the devices tab in the desktop software. You can get our software here: www.trainerroad.com/install 2. Make sure your speed sensor is "awake" when pairing. So make sure the back wheel is spinning when you're trying to pair. 3. Make sure you have a magnet on your rear wheel to register speed. Make sure that the magnet is close enough to the speed sensor to register. This is the number one problem. Speed sensor magnets should pass close enough to the sensor to trigger a revolution, but not so close as to touch the sensor when it passes. In other words make sure there is a small gap. Another way to check speed readings is to pair your speed/cadence sensor with another head unit like a Garmin 500. If it reads on your Garmin (while indoors) but not in TrainerRoad then please contact us at [email protected]. 4. If you're having problems pairing, make sure that the battery is semi new and that you don't have any other wireless interference. Here's some info about making sure your ANT+ is setup right. 5. Under the devices tab make sure "Power Source" is set to your trainer. VP_electron.png VP_RN1.PNG no_power_readings_1.png If you still have problems, contact us at [email protected] and we'll help you out. Power Meter Users If you have a power meter paired with TrainerRoad and you are not getting power readings then there are a couple things to check. 1. Make sure VirtualPower is not enabled. 2. Check to see if another head unit like a Garmin 500 will pick up your power readings. 3. Check your power meter battery. The older the battery, the weaker the wireless data will travel from your power meter. 4. Get your ANT+ USB stick close to your power meter. This will rule out interference and half powered batteries Still have a problem? If you still have problems, contact us at [email protected] to get things sorted out.

Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

Can't Log Into Application

Mac Keychain Prompt If you've been prompted to enter your Mac Password after updating the TrainerRoad application, this is totally normal. It usually occurs after an update to the underlying framework of our application. If you receive the prompt it should look something like the one below. image__1_.png To successfully clear the prompt, you'll need to enter your Mac System password not your TrainerRoad password. After entering the password, be sure to select "Always Allow". It's also quite normal for this prompt to persist more than one time. Therefore, you may find that you need to enter your password and select Always Allow more than once. It should disappear after a number of attempts. Windows Login Problems If you're having general issues logging in to our Windows desktop application, let's first ensure you're on the most recent version of TrainerRoad. To do so, simply uninstall the version you have now and download a new one here. If you run into the same issue after updating, we'll go through some steps to clear potentially corrupted folders related to the TrainerRoad application. Follow These Steps to Clear AppData 1. Open the Windows explorer, and type %localappdata% in the search bar. 30179590-ba88-4ee9-9ae3-758200236b77.png What you're doing above, is essentially navigating to the folder without having to click through a ton of folders first. 2. Once you're there, delete the "TrainerRoadData" folder. image-20200819-204730.png 3. We should also delete the “TrainerRoad” folder. By typing in the search bar %appdata%. 4. Then find “TrainerRoad” and delete the folder. image-20200819-204610.png 5. Once you've cleared both of those files, empty the trash can/bin. 6. Finally, go ahead and open TrainerRoad and attempt to login as usual. Uninstall/Reinstall on Windows If you are still having issues logging in on Windows after running through the steps above, try the following: 1. Uninstall TrainerRoad from your Windows device. 2. Follow the Clear App Data steps listed above again. 3. Restart your Windows computer. 4. Reinstall TrainerRoad here. Password/Username An incorrectly input username or password are the two most common reasons behind a user's inability to log in. First, make sure there aren't any typos in your username and password. login_electron.png If you forgot your password, you can reset your password by following these instructions. Web Connection The TrainerRoad application needs access to the Internet once every 30 days to verify you're an active user. If you haven't logged in for a while with a Web connection, connect to the Internet and then try logging in again. Check Firewalls Some firewalls may be set up such that they are blocking access to our website and disallowing the TrainerRoad app from connecting to the server. Check your firewall's settings to make sure that TrainerRoad is not a blocked site. If you still cannot log in, contact our support team at [email protected].

Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

Device Dropouts

Sensor Battery When a device battery gets low, the reception distance decreases. Try replacing the device battery. Some devices report their battery condition over ANT+ and we display that on the Devices page. But it is not a universal feature, and speed/cadence sensors can't report it due to a protocol limitation. If your head unit picks up the signal, but TrainerRoad does not try moving your bike setup closer to your computer or phone. Sometimes a couple of feet can make a big difference. Interference Wireless devices such as 2.4 GHz routers, wireless speakers and wireless mice may interfere with the ANT+ and Bluetooth signal. ANT+ and Bluetooth use the 2.4 GHz band. Try moving any other wireless devices a couple of feet away. If you suspect your router to be interfering, you can change your wireless channel. Obstructions Is something blocking the sensor? Try removing any physical obstructions between the sensor and the ANT+/Bluetooth device Direct Line of Sight Do your best to ensure that your computer has the most direct line of sight possible to your sensors. Simply put, the closer and more level your devices are to your phone or computer, the better readings you will get. Computer battery setting Some PC's have variable battery settings. If your battery is set to "balanced", your computer may not be allocating enough power to the USB ports for the ANT+ stick or built in Bluetooth receiver to work well. Switch your power-management setting to "high performance". Still having connection issues? Email our support staff at [email protected]. We'll help you out! ANT+ Device Dropouts Here are a few things you can do to alleviate ANT+ device dropouts. Scroll down for help with Bluetooth Dropouts. Get the ANT+ USB stick closer to your devices Placing the ANT USB stick closer to your sensors will make the USB stick more likely to pick up an ANT signal. To do this, you can move your computer or iOS device closer to your sensors. If on a computer, you can also use a USB extension cable to get the USB stick closer to your devices. Software Disable Garmin ANT Agent/Express and any other software that can take over the ANT+ USB stick. Bluetooth Smart (4.0) Dropouts Interference Other wireless devices such as wireless speakers and keyboards can sometimes cause interference with your BT 4.0 devices. Try turning them off or moving them away from your setup. Still having connection issues? Email our support staff at [email protected]. We'll help you out!

Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

Missing Workouts

Not seeing the workout that you want to ride? Let's find it. Are there filters that might be hiding them? When we added in filters, it greatly improved the way that users could find the exact workout that would work for them. But the one drawback is that some filters that were selected might limit the workouts you see if you haven't de-selected that filter. Fixing this is super quick though. First click on the workouts filters: filters_electron3.png At the bottom of the workouts filter there is a reset option. Try selecting that and see if you are able to see the workouts by going into the section where it should be. From here, you can also search within the filter to find your workout quicker. filters_electron_5.png Did it sync properly? Sometimes a ride just gets lost in the mix. To fix this, click on the workout from the Calendar tab. Then click on the three dots in the upper right corner and select Re-Sync Ride. re-sync_electron.png resync_RN1.PNG resync_RN2.PNG Missing a custom workout? If you're not seeing your custom workout in the Custom Workouts section, the app might not know that it is available. Click on the filters and reset them first. filters_electron_5.png Make sure that your workout has been published in the Workout Creator and has synced to the TrainerRoad servers so that it is ready to be used. After you publish the workout in the Workout Creator you may need to log in and out of the app and publish the workout again. MS_WC.png If you're sure that it's published but it's still not showing up, the app might not have retrieved it from the server. The quick fix for this is to refresh the workouts while in the Custom Workouts section by pressing the refresh button in the upper right hand corner of the app. custom_electron.png Still not seeing a workout? Email us at [email protected] and we'll help you find those missing workouts.

Last updated on Aug 13, 2026

Power Spikes

Getting some crazy high power numbers? Here's how to fix it. Alleviating Power Spikes (VirtualPower) The primary cause of power spikes while using VirtualPower is a misaligned speed sensor. Since VirtualPower is derived from speed readings, anything affecting speed readings will also affect VirtualPower readings. Sometimes a rider's speed sensor or speed sensor magnet can be jostled out of position. The speed sensor will send erroneous, very high speed readings to TrainerRoad if the speed sensor is touching or "clipping" the magnet. To solve this problem, simply reposition the speed sensor and magnet. Alleviating Power Spikes (Power Meter/Smart Trainer) Make sure your power meter or smart trainer has been calibrated properly. Still have a problem? Don't hesitate to contact our support staff at [email protected] if you continue to experience power spikes after troubleshooting.

Last updated on Aug 13, 2026