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Trainer advice - riding hard enough?



 
 
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  #1  
Old November 22nd 05, 05:25 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

I recently got a fluid trainer and have been riding it for an hour per day
in addition to my road riding.

My question is, why am I not sweating? Heh, obviously, I'm not working hard
enough.

Normally I had ridden a cheap old flywheel stationary bike, and with a
fairly minimal tightening of the strap over the flywheel, would work up a
significant sweat in about 5-8 minutes. The stress on the quads was
moderate. It was a different geometry to riding a road bike, but apparently
close enough. Usually what made me stop was my butt hurting, sometimes
feeling like I'm straining a ligament or tendon in my right leg, near the
butt. I got the trainer because the stationary bike pedal straps had ripped
off and it was getting annoying trying to duct tape my feet to the pedals,
lol.

Anyway, I was advised to ride the trainer in 'spin mode' and not to tighten
the roller too tightly to the rear wheel. "Just enough to keep it from
slipping", was the advice.

So I did this and I'm riding at about 95-100 rpm in my middle chainring, at
about 38x15, or 38x13 (it's a non-susp hybrid).

This doesn't give a whole lot of stress to the quads, but it does feel like
a reasonable workout. I'm not breathing hard by any stretch, but it's not
super-easy, either.

So what am I doing wrong?

If I go up another gear to 38x11, the trainer starts making significantly
more noise - not a big problem, but...

Should I tighten the roller more, or ride in a higher gear despite the
noise, or what? Obviously I'm willing to crank it up more, but worried a
little about the effect on the bike and the trainer, concerned about
wearing something out, or blowing out the fluid seal or something.

What do most of you ride your trainer in, gearing-wise? At what perceived
effort?

TIA

Hoff

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  #2  
Old November 22nd 05, 05:48 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?


Hoffer wrote:
I recently got a fluid trainer and have been riding it for an hour per day
in addition to my road riding.

My question is, why am I not sweating? Heh, obviously, I'm not working hard
enough.

Normally I had ridden a cheap old flywheel stationary bike, and with a
......


I always keep the resistance roller hard up against the rear wheel,
just the opposite of what you are doing. If I want to spin I can shift
to an easier gear. I have several trainer workouts (I've been doing
this for a long time) and some involve mashing in a hard gear. Unless
the roller is tight up against the wheel it will slip under these
conditions.

Speaking only from my experience,
Tom

  #3  
Old November 22nd 05, 05:56 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

Hoff wondered, re his lackluster trainer efforts:

So what am I doing wrong?


Get a cheap HR monitor and read up on HR-based training. You will
maximize your benefit.

D'ohBoy

  #4  
Old November 22nd 05, 06:10 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

On 22 Nov 2005 08:56:00 -0800, "D'ohBoy" wrote:

Hoff wondered, re his lackluster trainer efforts:

So what am I doing wrong?


Get a cheap HR monitor and read up on HR-based training. You will
maximize your benefit.

D'ohBoy


It's not a matter of effort. It's a matter of the amount of stress the
trainer will take - I was advised by the LBS not to be mashing and cranking
the roller so hard that it deforms the rear tire. I was advised to spin at
higher revs, and to adjust the roller to moderate tension just so the wheel
doesn't slip.

I'm quite capable of riding hard, and do very intense workouts on my road
bike.

What I asked was for experiences and perceived exertion level that people
did on a fluid trainer.

Do you ride a trainer? In what gearing do you ride? Is it a fluid trainer?
How hard do you crank down the roller? If you crank it hard does this not
wear out the rear tire?

Thanks,
Hoff

  #5  
Old November 22nd 05, 06:39 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?


Hoffer wrote:


It's not a matter of effort. It's a matter of the amount of stress the
trainer will take - I was advised by the LBS not to be mashing and cranking
the roller so hard that it deforms the rear tire. I was advised to spin at
higher revs, and to adjust the roller to moderate tension just so the wheel
doesn't slip.

I'm quite capable of riding hard, and do very intense workouts on my road
bike.

What I asked was for experiences and perceived exertion level that people
did on a fluid trainer.

Do you ride a trainer? In what gearing do you ride? Is it a fluid trainer?
How hard do you crank down the roller? If you crank it hard does this not
wear out the rear tire?

Thanks,
Hoff



I have a CycleOps fluid trainer. I really tighten down the roller
against the tire. I have a cheap old tire that I use for the trainer. I
vary the gearing a lot, but I frequently go up to 53x12 and stand up
for a minute or two to simulate climbing. This has never caused any
problems for me.

I find that I have to put a fair amount of effort into riding on the
trainer in order to get my heart rate up as compared to riding outside.
This is probably due to the fact there isn't much wind resistance or
elevation change in my garage....

I also find riding on the trainer horribly boring. A good playlist on
the I-pod helps to pass the time.

Peter.

  #6  
Old November 22nd 05, 06:40 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 12:10:50 -0500, wrote:

Do you ride a trainer? In what gearing do you ride? Is it a fluid trainer?
How hard do you crank down the roller? If you crank it hard does this not
wear out the rear tire?

Thanks,
Hoff


Yes, it ****s the tyre. The roller only needs to press on the tyre
hard enough to prevent slip, the resistance is provided by the
hydraulic brake in your "fluid". Don't worry about breaking anything -
those things are built for elites to do workouts in the 500W+ range at
40mph (that's 110rpm on a 56x12 gear)

Kinky Cowboy*

*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary

  #7  
Old November 22nd 05, 06:56 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

On 22 Nov 2005 09:39:11 -0800, "Peter Van Buren"
wrote:


Hoffer wrote:


It's not a matter of effort. It's a matter of the amount of stress the
trainer will take - I was advised by the LBS not to be mashing and cranking
the roller so hard that it deforms the rear tire. I was advised to spin at
higher revs, and to adjust the roller to moderate tension just so the wheel
doesn't slip.

I'm quite capable of riding hard, and do very intense workouts on my road
bike.

What I asked was for experiences and perceived exertion level that people
did on a fluid trainer.

Do you ride a trainer? In what gearing do you ride? Is it a fluid trainer?
How hard do you crank down the roller? If you crank it hard does this not
wear out the rear tire?

Thanks,
Hoff



I have a CycleOps fluid trainer. I really tighten down the roller
against the tire. I have a cheap old tire that I use for the trainer. I
vary the gearing a lot, but I frequently go up to 53x12 and stand up
for a minute or two to simulate climbing. This has never caused any
problems for me.

I find that I have to put a fair amount of effort into riding on the
trainer in order to get my heart rate up as compared to riding outside.
This is probably due to the fact there isn't much wind resistance or
elevation change in my garage....

I also find riding on the trainer horribly boring. A good playlist on
the I-pod helps to pass the time.

Peter.


Excellent, Peter. This is just what I was hoping to get in a reply. I've
also thought about trying to stand and pedal, glad to hear it's working for
you.

Oddly I don't find riding the trainer that boring - I actually enjoy it. I
usually watch tv, sometimes even watch the exer-babes doing a workout on
Fit-TV, lol.

Next time I ride I'll increase the roller pressure and up the gearing.

Appreciate it!

Thanks,
Hoff

  #8  
Old November 22nd 05, 06:56 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 17:40:54 +0000, Kinky Cowboy wrote:

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 12:10:50 -0500, wrote:

Do you ride a trainer? In what gearing do you ride? Is it a fluid trainer?
How hard do you crank down the roller? If you crank it hard does this not
wear out the rear tire?

Thanks,
Hoff


Yes, it ****s the tyre. The roller only needs to press on the tyre
hard enough to prevent slip, the resistance is provided by the
hydraulic brake in your "fluid". Don't worry about breaking anything -
those things are built for elites to do workouts in the 500W+ range at
40mph (that's 110rpm on a 56x12 gear)

Kinky Cowboy*


OK, great. Thanks a lot!

Hoff.



*Batteries not included
May contain traces of nuts
Your milage may vary


  #9  
Old November 22nd 05, 08:31 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

On Tue, 22 Nov 2005 11:25:56 -0500, wrote:

I recently got a fluid trainer and have been riding it for an hour per day
in addition to my road riding.

My question is, why am I not sweating? Heh, obviously, I'm not working hard
enough.



Add a heart monitor, keep your heart rate close to outside rides.


---
Bob Anderson*Bitwisebob
Eugene Oregon
  #10  
Old November 22nd 05, 08:47 PM posted to rec.bicycles.tech
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Posts: n/a
Default Trainer advice - riding hard enough?

Hoffer wrote:
On 22 Nov 2005 08:56:00 -0800, "D'ohBoy" wrote:


Hoff wondered, re his lackluster trainer efforts:


So what am I doing wrong?


Get a cheap HR monitor and read up on HR-based training. You will
maximize your benefit.

D'ohBoy



It's not a matter of effort. It's a matter of the amount of stress the
trainer will take - I was advised by the LBS not to be mashing and cranking
the roller so hard that it deforms the rear tire. I was advised to spin at
higher revs, and to adjust the roller to moderate tension just so the wheel
doesn't slip.

I'm quite capable of riding hard, and do very intense workouts on my road
bike.

What I asked was for experiences and perceived exertion level that people
did on a fluid trainer.

Do you ride a trainer? In what gearing do you ride? Is it a fluid trainer?
How hard do you crank down the roller? If you crank it hard does this not
wear out the rear tire?


I have a mag trainer (Blackburn). I don't ride that often on it, so I
haven't had a concern with tire wear. I can work arbitrarily hard by
setting the resistance/gear. I usually sweat very heavily, even with a
fan. I find it hard to sustain the HR that I can when I road ride, but I
think that's a matter of motivation more than a limit of the trainer.

My favorite bike to ride with it is a fixed gear. I have to dial in the
resistance with the trainer exclusively, but I can also pedal backwards,
which is kind of fun. I was surprised to find that I can maintain the
same output either way.

I stand a little to stretch every so often, but I am careful, I don't
think the loads on the dropouts are the best thing for the frame.
 




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