ERG mode for indoor cycling explained: what it is, how to use it – and when you shouldn’t…

abraham smithApril 6, 2023

0 0 5 minutes read

If you have a mid-to-high-end smart trainer and use some of the best cycling training apps such as B. Zwift, you have the opportunity to complete your indoor training in ERG mode. But what exactly does this setting do?

Simply put, when ERG mode is turned on, your bike trainer helps you ride at a set power output by automatically adjusting the resistance to match your cadence – no matter how fast or slow you rotate your legs, the trainer will keep pace you at this set wattage.

So if you have that option, should you use it? Are there benefits? Or are there even instances where using it would be detrimental to the goal of cycling training you have set out to do?

To help you get the most out of the settings offered by smart trainers, we’ll explain when setting ERG mode is best, how it will help maximize the fitness gains from your workout, and when to turn it off.

Table of Contents

What is ERG mode?

First, let’s dive a little deeper into ERG mode. ERG is the abbreviation for ergometer and controls the resistance in such a way that you can – theoretically – maintain a very stable power output.

Now power is made up of angular velocity (cadence) and torque (the force you put through the pedals) – what ERG does is balance these two to produce a constant wattage.

So let’s say you’re driving at 200 watts, this results from driving at 80 rpm which produces 2.5 Newton meters (Nm) of torque. The Smart Bike or Smart Trainer puts 2.5Nm of resistance into the flywheel, so you’re pushing 200 watts. If you increase the RPM to 90, the resistance required to produce 200W is now 2.2Nm, so the trainer will adjust and decrease the resistance. This also works in reverse as the RPM is decreased and the resistance increased.

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You can toggle ERG mode on or off on most training platforms, and it’s active when following either an in-app workout or a custom session you’ve imported.

Benefits of using ERG mode when cycling indoors

Male cyclist using ERG mode on his smart trainer for his indoor cycling session

(Image credit: Future)

One of the main benefits of using ERG mode is that you don’t have to focus on maintaining a power output during an interval because the trainer does all the work for you.

This is great for riders who do longer endurance Zone 2 rides and want to stay under a certain power output to ensure they aren’t riding too hard. And it’s also useful for those looking to make longer pace or sweet spot efforts where you want to maintain the higher power and not drift below your power goals as set by your bike training zones.

You may have noticed that just using your gears is also sometimes difficult to get just the right RPM to match your power output. This is where ERG is fantastic as you can change your RPM to how you feel most comfortable, whichever gear you decide to use, and the resistance will be applied accordingly to ensure your target power is met.

Disadvantages of using ERG mode for indoor cycling

However, there are some downsides to using ERG mode.

First, there is the question of whether the resistance is generated artificially. While this is similar to outdoor rock climbing in that gravity provides additional resistance, it’s not best for those looking to gain speed on hilly or flat terrain where changes in applied force and speed are highly variable. Sometimes it’s good to be able to adapt to these changes, as in some cases just training on climbs or in ERG mode can affect performance on the flat.

This has led some to believe that over-reliance on ERG may reduce our ability to actually sustainably produce electricity at higher levels (think sweetspot and higher) since we are so accustomed to needing an artificial resistance to oppose that we can fight back. There may be some truth to that, but even on the flat at speed we have drag to fight against.

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Others have suggested that ERG limits our mental capacity to maintain a set performance, but if anything, ERG can help at higher performance levels (threshold and above) since there is no way to give up or lower the performance level. Pushing yourself may be useful for some, but you also want to do without the artificial resistance.

Another disadvantage is the reaction speed of the ERG mode. The best smart trainers now have an ERG mode that responds very quickly to changes in resistance, speed, or an interval’s power goal. However, some trainers are not that good at it. Let’s say you have a series of microintervals, 20 seconds at 120% threshold, with 10 seconds rest at 40%, for 20 reps, a 10 minute block. Going from very high resistance to very low resistance for a short period of time can sometimes be delayed. So you may find that at the start of the 20 effort you have a very high RPM and low resistance and then when the 10 recovery comes around the resistance doesn’t always drop right off.

The ERG death spiral is probably the most well known problem when using ERG. A few articles have looked at bike power limiters, suggesting that our ability to maintain torque is the biggest factor in maintaining power output. If we are not able to apply the same torque, we reduce the gearing so we can spin a higher RPM and reduce the torque applied.

However, in ERG mode this isn’t that easy, and what often happens is that the RPMs drop more and more and the resistance applied by the trainer increases more and more. In the end, the trainer wins when your RPMs drop to a standstill and you have to overcome unbearable torque. Luckily, this is such a well-known problem that many high-end trainers now have an “anti-spiral-of-death” feature, where they detect when the resistance has gotten too much, reduce it, and allow you to to get back on track.

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Benefits of using Level or Resistance mode when cycling indoors

For sessions where you want maximum performance, such as B. Sprints, or micro-intervals with lots of resistance changes, riding in Level/Resistance mode is the best way. This includes keeping the resistance static on the hub and changing it with your gears, or you can adjust the settings to apply virtual gradients along with the resistance. This mode also allows you to decrease intensity during an effort if needed, rather than being limited to the power and resistance goal that ERG mode has set for you.

The other advantage of the level mode is that it’s a bit more ecological. This means it’s a bit more like the real world where you have resistance changes across gradients and the efforts are most likely not as smooth or past that constant resistance. There are also some suggestions that riding in Level mode is better to develop better pedaling efficiency than ERG mode.

When to use ERG mode?

Male cyclist using ERG mode on his smart trainer for his indoor cycling session

(Image credit: Future)

I’d say all of those little downsides of ERG and the upsides of Level are pretty marginal, and at the end of the day some of us might find it easier to complete a session in ERG mode simply because there’s one less thing to think about around.

My recommendation would be that for efforts where the power is constant (Zone 1 to Zone 3/4) and you want to keep it below or above a certain level, ERG mode is the way to go. If you want to run sessions of short repetitive efforts, maximals, sprints, or just want a session with more resistance variability, then the Level/Resistance mode is best to use. Using a mix of both ensures you don’t miss out on the benefits of either, and can help make your overall workout experience that little bit easier and more enjoyable.

abraham smithApril 6, 2023

0 0 5 minutes read