Time on the bike trainer...

Could be all in your mind. I'd have to do a search to remember correctly, however, there have been posts over the winter here saying that 1 hr road = 45 min trainer as a rough guideline.

I've been opposite though. I can ride on the trainer for hours, but when I get out on the road, I feel like I'm getting my ass kicked. Probably because of the road conditions out where I live, and also the varying hills give my lower back a harder workout than the level setting on my tire riser - regardless of the gears I change into.....

ALSO, I'm on a Cycle Ops Fluid 2. If I torque down the resistance roller as per instructions (2 1/2 turns after it touches the tire), it is more difficult for me to pedal for a given gear on the trainer versus the (flat) road. I know someone else on this trainer who feels the same. What kind of trainer are you on?

Very basic Nashbar. I'd love something fancier but too rich for my pocketbook at this time, so the Nashbar will have to do!

But thanks for the 1hr road=45min trainer. That helps. Makes me feel less of a dope!

D

Is it just me, or does anybody's butt hurt like hell when you are on the trainer. I don't even use mine. And the few times I have it's been only for about a half hour or so. It's like I fixate on it (my butt) or something. I don't even notice my butt when I am out riding, even for long rides.

I find the trainer harder, I thin for several reasons. 1. I get mentally more tired on the trainer. No changing scenery, just turning over the pedals. 2. No breeze! I'm in the garage in dead air. At least going down the road you generate some cooling breeze.

Fixating on your butt?... just you I think!! (o: JK

It's probably just that you are so cotton pickin bored, that you focus more on what you're feeling, since you don't have the beautiful outdoors to entertain you. Also the boredom of the 'course'--no hills, no turns, no bike handling. Of course THAT could be me!!

I guess you just need to pray for a really short winter season, wherever you are, Amy!!

D

Ohhh! That ratio is even better! Thanks, Gary. And I'll keep all talk of the cursed W and trainers to a minimum.

Bless you--

D

My trainer workouts are way way harder than just riding on the roads. But then again, I can't just get on the trainer and pedal at one speed for the whole workout. I'd go mad. Or madder.

To keep my mind in it, I have to do intervals or pyramids or some other sort of variation. I wind up way more tired after a trainer workout.

As for the lack of breeze, I have a portable fan that I drag out and point directly at my face.

Edited by madkat 2005-08-26 1:11 AM

Hi,

my training buddies tell me that one hr on the road is equal to about 45 mins on the trainer.

The reason that the trainer is harder is that you have to pedal continuously to maintain pace and RPM, while on the road you have opportunities for change of pace and coasting as the terrain changes.

The no breeze is uncomfortable and a small fan helps that. I still drip like a faucet and end up with huge puddles under my bike - and my dogs trying to get a drink off my steaming arms....

I do my trainer workouts in front of the television, which sure helps the boredom and motivation. I cannot do them with no distraction. I do all my short workouts on the trainer (about 3 a week, usually an hour duration, including some one leg drills) and my long workout on the road (have to go out of town to where there is safe road to ride and less pollution) (btw - I live in Manila, Philippines). We don't have problem with cold weather, only wet weather.... like the torrential rain that spoiled my supposed run last night.

Have a nice weekend. I am off to Hong Kong tomorrow for a work function, after my long am run (and will meet up with and brick with a big group of Hong Kong triathletes on Sunday morning). Fun Huh!

Sally

Also, don't forget, you don't coast on a trianer. And when your on your trainer, you rarely get the chance to catch and pass that person you see up ahead.

The interesting thing about trainers is it is really easy to work up a sweat. But it should be noted that there are a lot of articles that state that trainers should be used in a limited fashion. In fact many state that you really should not use more than 1 hour at a time. Trainers like spinning bikes actually put higher levels of stress on the knees due to the fly wheel. Though for winter workouts, I enjoy riding them more than my trainer in my basement.

This is the only article I could find quickly online.. This from ironmanlive.com

"Limit workouts to 75-minutes. Longer than this and you are risking burning yourself out. Trainer workouts are best suited to being 45- to 75-minutes in duration. Trainer riding is not well suited to long duration endurance training. " http://vnews.ironmanlive.com/vnews/topstories/1120756923.

But first we get Fall and that's a nice time to go riding. Call me crazy but I'd prefer riding in 32 degree weather over 80 degree weather. For one your water stays cool and two the cars drive slower.

While it may feel like time stands still on a trainer, one hour = one hour. An hour on a trainer can be a more effecient use of time then an hour on the road, but it's still an hour of aerobic activity.

It's true that you don't coast (well you shouldn't be anyway) on a trainer, and you don't have stop signs/lights. Also you don't have tail winds, but of course you don't have head and side winds either.

While you can simulate climbing by raising the front wheel and going into a big gear with high resistance (if your trainer has adjustable resistance), but it still doesn't match the challenge of climbing on the road.

A bike doesn't flex in a trainer the way it does on the road, so most people will find them less comfortable in the posterior.

Rollers are a little less harsh, and the need to focus on balance makes the workout more challenging and more resembling to a road workout. A resistance unit is neccessary to use it for big gear work.

But if you're one of those freaks who likes to do long (3,4,5,6 hours) on a trainer, I would avoid rollers. I would also seek profeessional help.

scott

I have to agree on that 1:1 statement. I am one of those freaks who "likes" (well, tolerated) 3-4 hrs on the trainer in the winter time.

Don't cha wish your girlfriend was a freak like me? (I love singing that song)

As far as seeking professioal help, as I've posted before in a different forum today, I train because it's cheaper than therapy.

I think there is no hard and fast rule. I ride my trainer by heart rate. I will do ladders and intervals both during various sessions and when I step up the effort, I make sure my heart rate is in a particular zone. If I ride my trainer, I will track the hours but never the distance, regardless of what a bike computer calculates.

I just figure I takes me about an hour to ride 20 miles, so if I want to similate a 20 mile ride, I will go for 1 hour.

I also find my upper body does not get the same workout on the trainer, so I will engage the muscles in my upper body like I was climbing for a period during each ride. I will also jump off the trainer at the end of my cool down and do two sets of 50 pushups to similate fatigue levels of a ride on the road.

Good luck with figuring out how to sort all these answers out!

Mike

And what do you all think about rollers? I am new to this and have just starting at the different options for this (sorry) Winter. Are rollers as efficient as the back wheel trainers? Can I use my bike's speedometer (odometer) with rollers? Am I wrong or do the lower end trainers not give you your speed?

And yes, I do wish my GF was a freak like you.