Purposely training on heavier bikes?
Bhima
Posts: 2,145
Anyone do this, in order to push the boundaries a bit more?
I'm forced to do it at the moment because all i've got is a Specialized Globe Hybrid bike without thin tyres and a lot of weight over the back wheel. I've always had really heavy mountain bikes but i've found that improvements in your fitness are more noticeable. You could be putting in the same effort as a session on a racing bike but the only difference you'll experience is slower speeds so, I guess it's safer while sprinting, in a way.
One day, i'll get a lighter road bike but I'm starting to wonder if it's really needed, as 30mph is actually quite easy now ( :shock: ), after 6 months of riding what i've got!
I'm forced to do it at the moment because all i've got is a Specialized Globe Hybrid bike without thin tyres and a lot of weight over the back wheel. I've always had really heavy mountain bikes but i've found that improvements in your fitness are more noticeable. You could be putting in the same effort as a session on a racing bike but the only difference you'll experience is slower speeds so, I guess it's safer while sprinting, in a way.
One day, i'll get a lighter road bike but I'm starting to wonder if it's really needed, as 30mph is actually quite easy now ( :shock: ), after 6 months of riding what i've got!
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nope.
edit: to getting a lighter bike!--
Obsessed is just a word elephants use to describe the dedicated. http://markliversedge.blogspot.com0 -
i have a cheap, heavy ish road bike I train on , do the group rides etc, could get a light weight bike to training on or better wheels, but just see it as better trianing , keeping up with everyone else on nice light bikes
when i get on a TT bike, oh does it feel different and give me a mental edge
If i was a lot faster, I would probably get a big heavy mountain bike for winter group rides so I would get a good group ride, got a feeling at least one of the local club does this already lol
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Bhima wrote:Anyone do this, in order to push the boundaries a bit more?
I'm forced to do it at the moment because all i've got is a Specialized Globe Hybrid bike without thin tyres and a lot of weight over the back wheel. I've always had really heavy mountain bikes but i've found that improvements in your fitness are more noticeable. You could be putting in the same effort as a session on a racing bike but the only difference you'll experience is slower speeds so, I guess it's safer while sprinting, in a way.
One day, i'll get a lighter road bike but I'm starting to wonder if it's really needed, as 30mph is actually quite easy now ( :shock: ), after 6 months of riding what i've got!
We look forward to seeing you picked up by a pro-team and riding in next years TDF
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Just ride harder to push the boundaries.Bhima wrote:Anyone do this, in order to push the boundaries a bit more?0 -
Bhima wrote:... all i've got is a Specialized Globe Hybrid bike...
Snap, ride the same thing for my commute. They are freakin heavy, and mine is poo brown, meaning no-one will nick it!"And the Lord said unto Cain, 'where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: I dropped him on the climb up to the motorway bridge'."
- eccolafilosofiadelpedale0 -
Do winter rides on fixed bike with Schwalbe Marathons/slime inners and a pannier with spare water, maps etc.
Getting back on "normal" bike feels like its filled with helium, especially on climbs.Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
or the corollary - your winter rides feel like misery!!bahzob wrote:Do winter rides on fixed bike with Schwalbe Marathons/slime inners and a pannier with spare water, maps etc.
Getting back on "normal" bike feels like its filled with helium, especially on climbs. --
Obsessed is just a word elephants use to describe the dedicated. http://markliversedge.blogspot.com0 -
Jonathan M wrote:We look forward to seeing you picked up by a pro-team and riding in next years TDF
Hehe! Don't know about that! Just to put that comment into context - it's easy to get to 30 but sustaining above 23 is HARD! I mean, in terms of acceleration up to 30, I've definitely improved massively.Alex_Simmons/RST wrote:
Just ride harder to push the boundaries.Bhima wrote:Anyone do this, in order to push the boundaries a bit more?
I'm just thinking, on a heavier bike, it's easier to get to the upper limit of the bike, because it's at a lower speed. Some runners run with weights in a rucksack because running "harder" isn't always an option.
Anyway, i'm trying this on a mountain bike at the weekend so i'll let you know if there's any improvements on my standard bike afterwards.0 -
I'm using the Jan Ullrich method - I added the weight to me rather than the bike!
I've been through the weight gain/loss cycle before and I found that I felt super-strong once I didn't have 65 pounds of lard to cart up the hills.
Mind you, I wouldn't actually recommend it. It's too much like hard work... :?0 -
Having thought about it, I have decided that this approach is rubbish and will be sticking with my 'best' bike all through the winter. My former 'winter' bike is now demoted to commuting...
There are some good practical reasons to have a winter bike - mudguards, lights, saving the wear on the best bike, but training benefit? I would say no.0 -
liversedge wrote:
or the corollary - your winter rides feel like misery!!bahzob wrote:Do winter rides on fixed bike with Schwalbe Marathons/slime inners and a pannier with spare water, maps etc.
Getting back on "normal" bike feels like its filled with helium, especially on climbs. Thankfully not though..actually I got into riding this way for the zen simplicity of it all (not worrying about punctures helps), training benefits came later . Plus the panniers help keep my jelly babies from sticking together in the rain Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
"Getting back to a 'normal' bike feels like it's filled with helium...".
Yes, but for how long? Usually only for one or two rides at most. I'm with Alex Simmons on this one.0 -
I agree with Alex S too. My winter bike isn't "heavy". It's a titanium Sunday September and is not much heavier than my Serotta carbon with titanium lugs, even with mudguards attached. It is a different geometry from the "racing" bike, to allow for the mudguards, so does not have quite the same accelaration capacity, but is still a reasonably light and "fast" bike and is good for hilly rides. I would recommend having a winter bike, for low maintenance reasons and for keeping yourself dry and comfortable for longer - so able to ride for longer, but that's all. An over-heavy bike just makes you work hard, for no real reward, and you are likely not to go as far, or as fast on it. I agree that if you want to work harder, you should use bigger gears (at more or less the same cadence), not change down so quickly on hills, and/or do some intervals on flatter rides.0
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Each to his own I guess. Around where I live, during winter one thing you dont especially want to do is go far and fast. Weather is likely to be unpredicatable at best and road surfaces treacherous so I want to go more slowly than during summer, but still work hard when training plan requires. Riding a heavy bike that allows Marathon 28s to be fitted gives a triple benefit:
- Less likely to puncture
- Better grip in bad weather
- I can plan and go out on 3-5 hour rides pretty sure I will be able to hit training target.Martin S. Newbury RC0 -
i do
my winter bikes probably about 12kg0 -
This winter my training is done on:
Cheap heavy roady for training on dry.
Cheap extra heavy MTB for wet days. (Tyres give a tad more confidence).
30-40 mile loop & I focus on doing the loop faster = progress. Really simple.
Quality roadie & MTB's come out when I go play. This way play is really fun. Feels like floating.Embrace cynicism…. see the bigger picture!!!!0 -
It's never too heavy for winter training - get a saddlebag and fill it with bags of sand or as many bricks as you can fit in it. Joking ?? Well, no actually, I do have recollections of a couple of guys who did do this in the 'good old days' and the thing was, they were amongst our best !!0
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a few years back now.....a chap in my old road club announced at the end of the season that he was going to do all of the winter club runs and training rides on his mountain bike. And sure enough, he did. On everything from 50 mile club runs to the 80/90 mile training rides, he got slaughtered every time - dropped, and dropped again - but he always finished the ride. We all thought he was mad.
Halfway through next season, he had gone from 3rd cat to 1st. Seriously, nobody could believe it was the same guy.
Trouble is, most of us enjoyed the club runs too much to go out and take that much punishment - or maybe we just didn't want it as much as he did. Either way, it worked...
These days, my winter hack is a slick-tyred MTB.. 0 -
Slick tyres? :roll:"And the Lord said unto Cain, 'where is Abel thy brother?' And he said, 'I know not: I dropped him on the climb up to the motorway bridge'."
- eccolafilosofiadelpedale0
