gym cycles ??

lilactime

whens the weather is awful ( like today ) i go to the gym , usually do a session on one of the stationary gym cycles ( dont remeber proper name ) how beneficial are they ? certainly get a sweat on , but shopping bike saddle , and set up is awful .

JWSurrey

Our local club has a regular weekly 90 minute gym (spin) session on a weekday evening.
I think we all find it very beneficial.

No weather/darkness/get the bike ready issues - Just turn up after work, and go for it!
Plus, you can go as hard as you like, for as long as you like, as there's no need to worry about getting home!
Very motivating, and easy to over-do it with a good instructor and music blaring out.

I like to go harder on these sessions than I do on the road - there was some talk about short sharp sessions being good for training, and beneficial to stop plateauing.

fluff.

Yep, spinning bikes are alot closer to riding than the normal gym bike. You can set them up fairly close to how your proper bike is, and most of them have some form of clipless pedals attached. Depending on the gym you may have a few of them mixed in with standards bikes in the main gym area, as well as the spinning classes. Personally I didn't enjoy the classes I tried that much, is far too much shouting at you to do this and that, and they do push you very hard. Instead I took a HRM and an ipod and did my own thing

Cajun

I highly recommend the eMotion Rollers....I've had mine about 5 months and there's nothing like them....can't ride off and definitely will improve your spin and balance..
http://www.insiderideuk.co.uk/
Check out their site and view the videos

Mark Alexander

the spin bikes are the closest but they simply aren't the same. I ended up having to stop using them as they were hurting my knees even using the SPD's. you'd be better off with a turbo or rollers.
There isn't any substitute for riding though.

JWSurrey

Our gym has some fancy German spin bikes from a name beginning with a K - Before each session, we adjust seat fore-aft location over the pedals, to avoid knee injuries, and adjust the handlebar height and saddle tilt too - They have built-in heart rate, wattage, mileage monitors and SPD/toe strap pedals, which make then great for cycling.
Depends on your gym's spin bikes, I guess.

The turbo at home also gets a look-in, which I use with the heart rate monitor.

Akmal

i personally enjoy my spin sessions a few of the trainers at my gym have participated in many triathalon and cycling events and if you do enough spin sessions you can feel the difference if its for fat burning or building endurance if the weather outsides too cold and wet.

doyler78

JWSurrey wrote:

Our gym has some fancy German spin bikes from a name beginning with a K - Before each session, we adjust seat fore-aft location over the pedals, to avoid knee injuries, and adjust the handlebar height and saddle tilt too - They have built-in heart rate, wattage, mileage monitors and SPD/toe strap pedals, which make then great for cycling.
Depends on your gym's spin bikes, I guess.

The turbo at home also gets a look-in, which I use with the heart rate monitor.

Nice - nothing so special in LA Fitness. No spd either just bog standard. Can raise or lower the saddle and the handlebars. That's it. Used to use them but prefer the gym bike as it has wattage and heart rate monitoring and I can set a specific heart rate on the machine and it will automatically adjust the resistance to achieve that heart rate. Good therefore for getting targeted training such as a high intensity workout or a recovery ride. Not as easy to control all that on the road, or at least I find anyway.

chill123

THere is some nobishness among roadies regarding gym bikes. use them a fair bit as we hae a guym at work. They are great for intervals training, especially if you take your heart rate monitor in with you.

There is an article on indoor cycle training here that may be of use.[/url]

robmanic1

I use an "excercise" bike fairly regularly, especially for recovery rides of 1/2 hour or so, when it's not worth getting kitted up and going out. It is uncomfortable as feck with a big wide-ass saddle, but i get the old cycling DVD's on the computer and away I go. It's a poor substitute, granted, but works well at keeping the legs spinning. I can see me using it quite a lot this "summer" (wot a bummer!)

Mike Lyon

Use them in the gym at work also, can't do any harm. Although i did the built in fit test result - v'poor, hmm with av rpm of 144 cant see how that works?