Spin cycle or bike

yes

I go to spin classes in the winter when it's too cold and snowy to ride. They help. Just make sure to push yourself!

I did spin classes last winter, which was very long here, and I noticed a big improvement when I got out on the road this year. I know some people like their trainers, but I need the motivation of the class to go that hard for so long. I do a 75 minute class and I'm literally drenched in sweat when it's done. I feel it improves my cardio engine above and beyond just building cycling strength.

I also like to spin.  But the pure biking community look down at spin bikes.  But they can be a strange group.....

They are similar in almost every way if you hold the same HR for the same time.  The actual bike is refreshing and you will have a lot of spin time in the winter so hit the bike as much as possible.  If you need a light, find a good one.  From a pleasure aspect you can't beat the open road-use it as much as possible cause you will miss it in Feb.  From a time or control of environment perspective you can't beat the trainer or a good spin cycle.  I do not know the actual ratio, but it has been pointed out to me that when you hit the open roads you spend some time slowing for stop signs and running down hills and the like so an hour on a trainer is greater than on a bike.  I had not thought of it that way.  Either way, I would not go stricktly inside less time constraints or weather dictated.  I do think it is advisable to use a HR monitor indoors or it is easy to just put in time rather than quality.  Spin classes will help with the quality.  That's my 2 cents !

Isnt the reason spin cycle is not the first choice because the motion applied to the pedal does not duplicate the motion applied on the road.  Pull up vs push down?  Pushing down hurts my knees on the run.

If you wear cycling shoes in spin class, isn't it pretty much the same? Feels that way to me, anyway. Actually, I sweat tons more in spin class than I ever do out on the road. Perhaps the wind evaporates most of it before it starts dripping down my face.

Edited by nscrbug 2008-09-11 9:07 PM

I dramatically improved my road results through adding in a weekly spin class.  I was not expecting that at all, .....  I HIGHLY recommend at least giving it a shot during the winter months.

I think it adds to your overall training.  Think of it this way, if you don't spin then you are not putting any training in those days....go for it.

Spin classes are a darn good workout. Don't think of it as bike vs spin class, think of it as a change of pace workout. Yes some instructors do thing you wouldn't do on the open road and it isn't the same but at the same time I don't have a 9 minute hill gradually steepening hill anywhere near me either. In the winter and spring I usually do back to back spin classes on Saturday mornings (staying on the bike and spinning between) which gives me a very high quality 2 hour + workout. Treat spin class as an interval session or a hill session. Plus you get the advantages of training with a group, get to socialize , and get a workout to your personal ability level at the same time (and in general the scenery isn't bad).

Personally, most of the hills I do in training have been in spin class and in my opinion, it has certainly helped my performance.

I do tons of spinning during the winter. I teach class twice a week and once it gets colder out I'm going to hold a movie night for all the triathletes and cyclists on campus. There's a projector screen in the spin room so I'm once a week we're going to rent a movie and watch it on the projector while we spin. I figure it will be a good (and fun!) way to get a two hour ride in during the winter.

Also, I've always found I push myself much harder on a spin bike during class then I ever would solo on a trainer.