"old fashioned" stationary bikes...
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2016-02-08 5:27 AM |
353 | Subject: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... I train on one of those stationary bikes made circa 1995 at the gym. I use the random hill program and cycle at a level 10 or 12. I am able to complete 12 miles in 29 minutes now (decreased from about 38 minutes in November). Just wondering how this would convert to the road since I haven't biked outside since Oct. When I did though my speed was about 17 mph. How much would I have improved? Anyone still use these exercise bikes |
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2016-02-08 6:23 AM in reply to: 0 |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... No idea exactly how the speed would compare (it depends on the bike and how it calculates "speed" or "power", but if you have improved your "speed" consistently on the same stationary, then that ought to be reflected in improved speed/strength on the bike outside, since both depend on power. Exactly how much will depend on your position on the bike, etc. Before I got my bike trainer, I did 90% of my training on a gym stationary. That one was a bit more modern than the one you describe--it had a watt meter--but similar in terms of resistance levels. Improvements in speed/power on that stationary did correspond to improvements in speed on my road bike; it just wasn't really possible to compare speed (or power) very precisely between the stationary and a real bike outside. As I recall, the computer on the stationary seemed to overestimate my speed relative to my road bike (saying I was averaging 30 kph for a 2-hour ride, when in fact it was more like 27 on my road bike), but underestimate my power. (I did a 20-minute FTP test on the stationary and on my road bike with a Computrainer with only a few weeks of minimal training between them, and the Computrainer test was about 20 watts higher.) There was clearly some kind of algorithm that the stationary's computer was using to calculate "speed" and power based on resistance level and cadence, and in my case it overemphasized my cadence (which tends toward the high end when pushing for high watts on a test) when calculating speed, while it seemed to put more emphasis on resistance than the Computrainer (and the power meter I have now) did when calculating power. If there was really a close match between stationary speed and outdoor speed, might want to look into getting your pro card. 29 minutes for a sprint tri bike split sounds really fast! Definitely top age-grouper level for women. My guess is you have improved substantially, but the stationary is giving you higher speed numbers than you'd get outside. Guessing that as a lightweight woman, you're also a fairly high-cadence rider and the computer is playing the same tricks it played for me. But it would not surprise me if, after getting used to the outdoor bike again, you could push closer to 19 mph now. Edited by Hot Runner 2016-02-08 6:24 AM |
2016-02-08 10:25 AM in reply to: Caroleena |
Member 1748 Exton, PA | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... Originally posted by Caroleena I train on one of those stationary bikes made circa 1995 at the gym. I use the random hill program and cycle at a level 10 or 12. I am able to complete 12 miles in 29 minutes now (decreased from about 38 minutes in November). Just wondering how this would convert to the road since I haven't biked outside since Oct. When I did though my speed was about 17 mph. How much would I have improved? Anyone still use these exercise bikes The speed never correlates to riding outside. Even on your own bike on a trainer the speed will not be the same. Your making improvements, so when you go outside you will see the improvements there too. You just don't know how much until you hit the road. |
2016-02-08 6:42 PM in reply to: Hot Runner |
353 | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... Originally posted by Hot Runner Thanks Hot Runner! I would be very happy with 19mph! |
2016-02-08 6:44 PM in reply to: mike761 |
353 | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... Originally posted by mike761 The speed never correlates to riding outside. Even on your own bike on a trainer the speed will not be the same. Your making improvements, so when you go outside you will see the improvements there too. You just don't know how much until you hit the road. Guess I will have to stay in suspense until sometime in March, when it finally is over 55 degrees |
2016-02-09 10:08 AM in reply to: Caroleena |
137 Birmingham, Alabama | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... I also ride one of these bikes a couple time a week at the gym at my office. The previous comments are spot on. It certainly helps your fitness for road cycling, but the data doesn't transfer. I don't know if you use a cadence sensor and/or HRM when you ride, but I've been using both at the gym (I put the cadence sensor in my shoe) so I can at least carry over a similar cadence and heart rate when I get back on the road. It isn't much, but at least I'll know I'm giving roughly the same level of exertion. |
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2016-02-09 11:13 AM in reply to: #5165907 |
91 | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... I did that at my local gym years ago...So it was definitely an old fashioned gym bike. Did 2 - 3 rides per week ...by the spring I had developed some real leg/hip pain...the setups on the old bikes seem to be much different from road and especially tri bikes. I do all my winter bike training now on one of my tri bike in my cellar |
2016-02-09 11:32 AM in reply to: Caroleena |
1660 | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... As said above, the indoor bike speeds rarely corrately to outdoors, and can be quite off.
Fortunately, you can just ride hard on perceived effort and still make real gains transferable to outdoor riding - I don't even follow the metrics on the gym bikes that I use when I do lunchtime bike workouts and just go for the pain. (I have a powermeter, HRM, etc. for home and racing, but you don't NEED all that stuff to work hard.)
You can also use the indoor bike speed as a marker of how hard you're working - get that indoor speed up and you're improving!
Just as a small reality check though, if you could actually hold an outdoor pace of 12mph over 29 minutes, and do that for a full Olympic distance race of 24ish miles, you'd be averaging a hair over 24mph which even on a fast course, is typically fast enough to be in the top 5% all bike times in the MENS category, and would likely beat the entire women's AG field by a fair margin. |
2016-02-09 5:59 PM in reply to: yazmaster |
Master 8247 Eugene, Oregon | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... Thus the pro card comment! I think most likely it is overestimating her "speed" due to high cadence, as it did for me. Although it wasn't a question about training, heart rate can be a good way to compare workout intensity of indoor and outdoor riding (although it may be off if there are big differences in temperature), and to structure workouts. Another thing would be to check cadence and aim to do most riding at a resistance level where one can sustain a similar cadence at a similar effort level (or heart rate) to riding outdoors, regardless of what feedback the bike is giving about "speed" or "power". This was basically how I chose cadence/resistance on the stationary bike. This makes it less likely that one will simply be spinning away madly in pursuit of high "speed", or pushing gears that are too hard. The resistance levels on those bikes and the position that many of them have make overdoing the resistance and injuring knees, etc. a real concern. |
2016-02-12 3:55 PM in reply to: Caroleena |
10 Augusta, Georgia | Subject: RE: "old fashioned" stationary bikes... As people have already stated above, there is not much correlation between indoor stationary bikes and actually riding outside. But just staying on top of everything during the cold months where you aren't able to ride as much outside should still show some improvements once you do get back to outdoor riding. |
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