Gyms and Bike Training

[triskele]

Perforce of rubbish weather and Darkness I find that I'm doing my allotted bike training at the gym. This is on those gym CV bikes (upright models, not recliners) and after my early experiences last year I find that they don''t really mirror the effect of real cycling at all but I wonder what other peoples opinions are? Is it a case of close but no cigar and at least it's working my system in the required zones, or just junk?

[ray]

i use to go and use the spin class bikes if used the gym for cycling

is a turbo out of the question?

[robertquantrell]

i use the spin bikes in the gym instead of the CV ones

put some music on the iPod and do a session based on music and its beat, so you end up doing an interval type workout, much better than the CV machines which are IMO, cr*p

[etruscantim]

If you have clips on the feet they aren't bad IMHO. They obviously aren't as good as doing the real, but are okay for the occassional session. Sometimes I do my hard sets on gym bikes, it allows good data feedback mid-ride. For big gear work I find them poor, as the resistance settings are all wrong. For high cadence stuff they are better though, you can spin hard. And mind the thermal stress factor - keep a fan handy!

[joey]

Yes, i did my first spin class yesterday and it will be my last, far too hot, no fans and no clue as to how long the efforts were going to last. The machine was an X-bike which was sort of ok apart from the moving (deliberate) front end, just about good enough to use instead of a turbo in an emergency, but i could smell burning by the end.

[robert]

Joey - sounds like you had a bad one. Don't judge spinning by those low standards - too hot is against H&S, no fans/air con just as bad, cues should be given as to what to expect, and I've never heard of the front end moving on a stationary bike! That doesn't sound very safe....

[trex]

I think the x-bike is a new invention Robert it was on that "Something for the weekend show" the other week. Looked like a poor excuse for not doing some proper exercise to me.

[robert]

ugh! Sounds like one of those "you ride the bike with your legs and use the upper body to row" things I see on Eurosport!

The CV bikes are pants - the adjustments don't allow for correct set up, so the possibility of doing damage is far greater than, say, a spin bike. Oh, and the saddles are made for Giant Haystacks to sit on!

[belaqua]

When I couldn't turbo when my sister would stay - I would go and use the spin bikes (strictly we were not meant to use them outside of the class but no-one ever told me off). It isn't quite the same as your own bike but it's better than the uprights. The only thing is that you couldn't measure your rpm or anything but I just went on heart rate and time. It was a tough session though - mainly because of the boredom.

[triskele]

robert said:

ugh! Sounds like one of those "you ride the bike with your legs and use the upper body to row" things I see on Eurosport!

The CV bikes are pants - the adjustments don't allow for correct set up, so the possibility of doing damage is far greater than, say, a spin bike. Oh, and the saddles are made for Giant Haystacks to sit on!

More or less my sentiments - although I must stress these are plain upright style bikes, not the cross-trainer types that work the arms as well.

The set up in my eyes is all wrong - a weird hadlebar set-up (for reference my gym has Star Trac upright bikes and no real measure of how fast/far you are going - but they do give a cardio workout, obviously.

My simple question is this - how useful are they?

(I'm pretty sure I will be investing in a turbo but I think it is still an important question that needs to be addressed. I did what I thought was plenty "bike training" on these things earlier this year [before I got hold of a proper road bike] but when I got down to the real thing the difference was immense)

And my knee hurts more.

[joey]

It was one of these:
www.x-biking.com/Home/ContentMerchandising.aspx?SiteCode=web&PageID=ContentXBikeDetails

[robert]

WTF ?

Looks well dodgy to me - far too overcomplicated and full of bells and whistles to distract you from the main purpose of cyling: training so that you work harder for longer with less effort.

[joey]

I found a better example.
www.fitnessx.co.uk/shop/x-bikes.html?gclid=CJLX4ZyL8YgCFTVYQgod7WUypA

[robert]

PMSL !!!!!

[trex]

On the "Something for the Weekend" show I saw them on it was Westlife giving them an extensive review... maybe that says something as do they not life in a "little world of their own" as they claimed in one of their numerous no. 1's

[jules]

They have those yellow x-train bikes at my gym. I just lock the handlebars still & once you have done that its just like another spin bike but a little more adjustable. Spin classes at my gym are taken by a cyclist and offer a really good workout. Soooo much better than sitting on a turbo

[jontyler]

I work in a gym with these x-bikes. They are kind of configured as if you're going up hill so to get a good position (if you want to mimic the flat) nick a step from the step class and place it under the rear end. You might need a spanner to quickly adjust the tilt of the saddle but thats a two second job. My favorite tri-bar pad ends up being a couple of old boxing gloves.
As for the movment of the bars never found it a problem. Actually helps when in the aero postion to get balanced left to right.
That said the gym are about to move back to the fixed wheel type so the grunts can still pedal in a bmx position whilst reading heat and holding back the sweat.

[robert]

jontyler said:

so to get a good position nick a step from the step class and place it under the rear end.

I would advise against ANYONE doing this - it is not safe and the benefits to be gained are minimal. For good reason it's contraindicated by the main spinning/indoor cycling certifications.

[timmy]

...if you've got a sympathetic gym manager they might let you bring your own bike and turbo into the gym and find a space and bash away. Ours was ok last winter with it and a couple of us even managed simulated indoor oly tris. Set the bike up on turbo, jump into the pool for 1500m, straight out of water onto bike, do a brisk 25miles then onto the nearest treadmill for 10k. If you're next to each other on the treadmill it does get a bit competitive - could be an alternative to the 30minute challenge?