Bike Trainer

If you’ve just started cycling training you may wonder why anyone would use a stationary bike trainer. If your used to the road or riding in a group surely there is nothing more tedious than riding for hours and getting nowhere. There are many reasons why using a bike trainer can be an important part of any broad based cycling training program beyond just not wanting to get your bike wet or your fingers and toes frozen in the winter.

• Controlled Conditions – When using a fluid trainer or other kind of bike trainer all those factors that make each ride, even on the same course, different – the wind, the road surface, the traffic, other riders, obstacles are absent. This allows you to measure your output and have data that has relevance to your progress. If you also use the same resistance, tire pressure and gearing for each workout you can effectively use your cadence monitor as a relative power metre reflecting your work load.

• Consistant Effort – It has been said that an hour on the bike trainer is worth two on the road. This is again due to the removal of other factors – no distractions, no free wheeling down hills, no traffic lights. You’re just going to be pedaling the whole time.

• Smooth Pedal Strokes (la souplaise) – Bike trainers give you the ability to develop a smoother pedal stroke by doing one-leg pedaling drills. This will show you exactly what they mean when they say ‘pedaling the full circle’.

• Save Time – If you have a limited amount of time to train a bike trainer removes the need to spend any of it getting to a suitable road for you workout. Few of us have the perfect stretch of road outside our door. A bike trainer also eliminates all those unknowns when you head out – like a puncture or equipment failure which extends your time out.

• Recovery – It’s been shown that 20 minutes low intensity riding can be the most effective recovery after a training session. There is some evidence to susggest it may be more effective for clearing lactic acid than massage. So your investment in a bike trainer can mean you won’t need that live in masseur after all.

• More Focused – The lack of cars, potholes, attractive joggers and other distractions not only make time on the bike trainer safer but also more focused. This means your training can be more intense.

• Avoid the Dark and Rain - While we should all be motivated enough to get out on the road no matter what the weather (the head wind and hail just make me stronger right? Ow, ow, ow…) there’s no question that a wet cold ride can put a serious dent in your enthusiasm. If having a bike trainer means that you train when previously you would have found an excuse then it has further worth right there.

What the bike trainer won’t do for you is

• Improve your riding skills. You will still need to get out on those group rides to continue your  riding skill on the road.

• Entertain you along the way. We recommend a bike training DVD to both keep you going and maximise the effectiveness of you time on the bike trainer. You’ll know from being on the road – you always go harder when there’s a rabbit to catch or someone to keep up with.

  There are some great bike training DVD’s available – bike through the alps with a bunch of pros and a cheering crowd the whole way.

• Remove the need for hydration. Don’t forget your still working hard, probably harder, on the bike trainer than when out on the road. All the things you know about nutrition and hydration still apply – the one difference is if you forget your drink bottle you can always just go get it, if you bonk you don’t have to make it home – you’re already there.

• Plan your training. The bike trainer is an extremely effective tool for a number of training needs. Plan a good training program and stick to it. Extremely effective interval training programs are available in Coach Bakers HIT e-book.

Finally find out about bike trainers before getting one. They can be a serious investment and there are different kinds of bike trainer from fluid trainers to wind trainers dependent on your budget and usage. Certainly they will save our time, maximise your results from training and potentially save you money on other equipment or services.