Turning my regular bike into an excercise bike ...?

B

Bansaw

0
Now its getting colder I am still looking to cycle,- but do it indoors.

I hear there are devices that fit to the back wheel that turn your bike into an exercise bike. (They use magnetics to provide resistance I think)...

Anyway, would you recommend I go for one of these, and which one, or would you recommend I just buy a regular exercise bike?

Thanks,,
 
Bansaw said:
Now its getting colder I am still looking to cycle,- but do it indoors.

I hear there are devices that fit to the back wheel that turn your bike into an exercise bike. (They use magnetics to provide resistance I think)...

Anyway, would you recommend I go for one of these, and which one, or would you recommend I just buy a regular exercise bike?

Thanks,,
Click to expand...

Yes, you are referring to trainers. , , and your local bike shop all carry them. I prefer trainers to all but top-of-the-line stationary bikes, so trainers are the way to go when it gets cold or wet outside.

There are all kinds of options, depending on how much you want to spend.
 
I'm kinda partial to the CompuTrainer, but it's pretty expensive. Is there anything comparable (just fewer bells and whistles) that is a little less expensive?

g8r80, which one do you have?
 
i_love_muscle said:
I'm kinda partial to the CompuTrainer, but it's pretty expensive. Is there anything comparable (just fewer bells and whistles) that is a little less expensive?

g8r80, which one do you have?
Click to expand...

I have a Nashbar fluid trainer. I use the trainer and am learning how to use rollers (still working on the balance issue). I live in Florida and we can ride outside year-round.
 
Since I own a spinner bike, a trainer, and rollers I think I can shed some light on this subject.

For indoor cycling, your options are:

- stationary bicycle
- spinner bike
- trainer
- rollers

The first is your traditional gym-like bike. It doesn't have the same position as a bike but provides a similar workout but I wouldn't look to one of these if you're expecting to hop on your bike come spring and expect to be fit.

A spinner bike is what they have in the classes. The bike has a heavy flywheel and it is a fixed gear... meaning there is no coasting. You need to either let the pedals spin to a halt or use your muscles to get it to stop. While this bike is not exactly like a bicycle, it will allow you to work on a perfect pedal stroke due to its fixed gear-like behavior and closely resembles a bicycle.

A trainer is a device that allows you to mount your bicycle's rear tire onto a roller and apply resistance. This is pretty darn close to riding outside but there is some debate as to whether the trainer is harder or easier... IMO... eaiser. There are two types of trainers... magenetic and fluid. If you're looking for something is going to last, get a fluid trainer and don't cheap out since the less expensive units tend to leak over time. My personal favorite which I also own is the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine. It is an extremely well built product and their customer service is exceptional. If you buy one, do not get the wattage meter... it is crap.

And finally... rollers. In my opinion, rollers are about as close as you can get to riding on the road. You basically have three cylinders spaced to allow your rear wheel to sit between two and your front wheel to rest on the near side. While carefully balancing on these very narrow cylinders, you are able to ride. I guarantee that once you master riding rollers, your handling skills will be greatly improved. While most rollers do not have any method of resistance (there are some that do), this is still a good workout. If you go down this road, place the rollers between a doorway so you can hang on while learning how to balance on them.
 
Trainer ftw. Why? Because you're using the exact same muscles and positioning as you would when cycling cause you're using the same bike.
 
Because some people live in areas where they can't ride road bikes on the road in the winter and if you want to continue training, you need to do so indoors.

I don't think most people would choose to ride their $2500-$10,000 bike outside in -30° weather, in the snow, ice, slush, gravel, salt, etc. and to try to stay out of the way of the spray from buses, SUVs, et al.

I'll stick to the indoors, thanks ;)
 
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