Do Spin Classes Help Improve Bike Speed?

All I have to go on is that my friend, same age and height, and close in weight; was a dramatically stronger climber than me right from the start even though I had started biking a little earlier. The only thing I could think of was he did spin classes regularly.

Could be that he is just stronger than me, but I'm trying the spin bike this winter. It is what you put into it.

Cycling on your own bike outside > cycling on your own bike on a trainer > spin class > exercise bike in a gym.

What is "speed" anyway???  Are you asking if spin classes will increase your fitness and ability to hold a pace???  Sure, if you are consistent and smart in your spinning.  Just like any other activity that mimics riding.  Is it the best way to train for cycling?  No, of course not.

To me, "speed" is you ability to accelerate and manipulate your pace in a quick manner.  To say you want to increase your speed I would focus on hill climbing, sprints and power pulls.  Because this would give the athlete explosive speed for sprinting and attacking.  For increasing overall pace, I would prescribe ride lots, ride varied terrain, ride consistently.

Mountain biking (on mountains of course) definitely seems to help strength/speed on a road bike for me. Mtn biking is much closer to a series of sprints than road biking in general, and forces you to get out of the saddle and really generate a lot of force for short periods of time, which is what you need for speed on a roadbike. Worth a look. 

The standing up is the part I don't like about spin class. I avoid standing out on the road so I figure training that way doesn't make sense, but I'm experimenting right now. It does give me a good opportunity to work on pedaling smooth even with higher cadence.

I just don't like being on my bike sitting still.

I guess speed is ambigous. It means different things to different people. I was referring to increasing the pace one can maintain. I am new to duathlons but it seems to me that acceleration is not as important. As oppose to in strictly bike racing. You may consider the Expresso bike as an exercise bike but kind of a blend between a spin bike and an excercise bike (e.g. Life Fitness type). Check it out at www.expresso.net. I have a trainer and rollers but it takes determination to ride for over an hour. On the spin bike, I tried different resistance and cadence and my legs don't get that same feeling the get when I do a hard ride. The Expresso bike seems to give me that. (Trust me, I do not work for Expresso)

I'm just wandered what you all do to train you biking during the winter. I have a race in March I am training for so I need to keep it going through the winter.

I ride my bike outdoors or on the trainer.  And I'm in Maryland, so my weather is comparable to yours.

My post just gave the "value" quotient that I subscribe to and suggest to people I talk with and will work with.  ANY sort of cycling activity will benefit you.  But the only way to really increase your overall pace for riding is to ride lots, ride often, ride varied terrain.  There is no magic to it.

Speaking only from my personal experience, I took at least two spin classes a week for over a year, so imagine my surprise the first time I got on my mtn bike and it was like starting all over again. OMG it was sooooo different. I had no idea. 

Don't get me wrong. Spinning is a blast!!! I LOVE it. Great cardio. Wonderful calorie burn. I learned to pull on the upstroke, position my body when standing for greater leverage, proper form for going from seated to standing (ie jumps), how to relax my upper body so that all the energy and power goes to my legs, how to use my core, introduction to clipping in and out, etc etc. But it did not give me a realistic preparation for the challenges of hill climbs on my mtn bike, upshifting, downshifting, handling downhills and curves, etc.

So now I use spin for variety, for fun, for socializing with my spinning pals, for having a blast spinning away to groovin music and for mega calorie burn. But to prepare for races, it's outdoor biking all the way.

It depends on the quality of your instructor.

 Is class like an aerobics class but on a bike?  This will not help you on a real bike.

 But is class like doing intervals on a bike?  If so, this will help you.  There are a couple of great spinning instructors in my area.  I try to keep their class my little secret!

 FWIW, I tend to place in my age group and have a high ranking in the bike.  The point again is the right instructor is good for you. 

x2

If the instructor ever says, "Ok, were going to do some sprints, ease the tension and get ready to stand up." It is a good time to jump off your spin bike and go find another instructor.

Thats true.

Most the instructors that I have tried are not cyclist. So their workouts sometimes do not apply to cycling.

I do agree that it is fun to ride to some good music and socialize.

Maybe it's just me. Or maybe it's just the classes I've taken and the instructors I've had. I trust the judgment and experience of all of you. But I do know what a shocker it was for me the first day I took my bike out of storage and climbed on for a ride around the neighborhood.

I don't know why it was such a great difference when I actually hit the road. I'd done both kinds of spin classes. The ones that include lots of long steady climbs, intervals, seated sprints, etc. And I'd done the ones that are like dancing on a bike. I realize the latter are for fun and calorie burn more than anything else. But even the technical ones taught by cyclists who do century rides and more, even with more than a year's worth of those type of spin classes I still was in for quite the surprise when I hit the actual road.  I'm not saying they didn't help me at all. Perhaps without them, my first outdoor ride would have been even tougher. But it didn't translate as much as I thought it would. That was my surprise and my personal experience.

Don't get me wrong. I still love spin classes and try to do at least one a week. Wish I had time to do more. But I realize I need to spend more time on my outdoor bike in order to get comfortable on the road, comfortable with the feel and handling of my bike and to really progress. Especially with hills. I can do back to back spin classes but put me on a long steep hill outside, and it's not pretty. I try to do the same things they taught me in spin class but it's so much harder. For example, jumps (alternating between seated and standing) is so much harder when I'm struggling to balance the bike and stay on the far right. I find myself pulling on the handlebars, something I don't do in class.

My top speed outside is 12-14 mph. Pushing and pulling with all my might and that's as fast as I can go. On a hilly ride it's more like 10-11 mph. I'm in awe of those of you who can fly on the bike. I look at your logs in disbelief wondering HOW DO THEY DO THAT?!!

But the more I talk with you, the more all of you tell me that comes from hours and hours out there, riding. I am listening. Now I just need to re-do my schedule. Again.

I know several pro triathletes and top age-groupers who have done (and do) a good bit of their training on Spinner(R) bikes and in Spinning(R) classes.

It's all about the instructor, who should really be more of a coach, and your goals/input.

Spinning(R) is a program, not a "spin" class (technically the words SPIN, Spinning and Spinner are trademarked in any reference to indoor cycling). If the instructor is Spinning(R) certified and is teaching in accordance with the Spinning(R) program, you have good communication with them, and you're using appropriate resistance on the bike, you can do a lot for your road riding (not your handling skills, though!), since that is exactly what it is based on. It is most helpful to find an instructor who is all of the above, is a roadie, and does some of their own training on Spinner(R) bikes and/or in Spinning(R) classes.

Speaking as a Spinning(R) instructor who teaches the folks who helped create it, I sadly admit that your chances of finding all of this are slim.

In  my observation in spin classes, most people tend to not use a proper amount of tension on the bike.

 The best comment I heard from an instructor is you get out of class what you put into it.

 With that in mind, the only time it should not feel like you are working is when you are in a recovery phase.  But a recovery phase does not necessarily mean you are freewheeling down hill.

When I am in recovery phase I lighten up the tension but increase my cadence.  This is a good way to flush lactic acid out of the legs and get ready for the next interval.

 When I travel and get a bad instructor, I will key off of their music and loosely follow the instructor.  I won't "side to side" or "bounce" or "sway".  Basically, if you do not do it on a bike do not do it in a spin class.  When the instructor goes that route, I will climb if that is loosely their intention or I will do sprints if that was what they were trying to get at.

 The funniest thing I have ever seen in a class was an instructor with a huge knee brace.  When he announced the first interval was "bouncy world" the knee brace suddenly made sense.

Wouldn't some of the same negatives people have against spin class also translate to cycling on their trainer?  I know there is the benefit of training on your bike that you will ride in races and all, but other than being more familar with the bike, what else is the advantage of using a trainer? 

 anyways, I have a spin bike.  What are the best "home" spin workouts?  I have some of the dvds that came with the bike and while tough, I wanted to see if there was something better.

Hilly rides on 10-speed, all-steel frame mtn bike. Tough workout but TONS of calorie burn which I really need.

Because:

1) You ARE on your own bike.

2) You are doing your own prescribed workout, not what some instructor yells at you.

3) It is hard to do anything longer than an hour in a spin class.  You can go for hours on your trainer.

4) Depending on the trainer you have, the resistence will be more realistic to road feel.

5) You ARE on your own bike.

Increasing power and sprinting????  These are short lived adaptations just like speed work in running.  They increase your VO2 max. when done properly, but gains in VO2 max. last only a few weeks.  The whole point of indoor training in the winter is to work on form and aerobic base NOT increase your VO2 max.  Are you a track cyclist with an inddor meet in a few weeks???  Are you racing cyclocross and trying to peak for Regionals??  Then have at it!!

Everyone thinks that doing sprints and hill climbs will help you increase your overall pace.  They don't (yes I know, they do in some fashion, but not in the way people seem to think).  They help you to become a better sprinter and climber!!  Obviously if you are doing nothing else, you will see gains, but it is not the recipe to becoming a better rider.  You want to really increase your pace?  Broken record here ......... Ride lots .......... ride often ........ ride varied terrain.

they could if:

1. you set up your spin bike as close to your road/tri bike as possible

2. you have a good spin instructor

3. but mainly you have a plan when you ride i.e. you goal for the session is to imporve your VO2 max, threshold, Tempo, etc.