Do you have a dedicated bike for your trainer?
08-06-14, 10:10 AM
#1
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Do you have a dedicated bike for your trainer?
Just bought a trainer and wondering if I should pick up a used or lower end bike to use primarily on the trainer rather than use my everyday road bike.
Does using a bike on the trainer put excess wear and tear on any parts (besides the rear tire)?
Do you have a bike that is just dedicated to your trainer?
Does using a bike on the trainer put excess wear and tear on any parts (besides the rear tire)?
Do you have a bike that is just dedicated to your trainer?
08-06-14, 10:18 AM
#2
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Yes, I do. It's an old Trek steel frame. I use it to avoid the trouble of installing and removing my road bike from the trainer.
08-06-14, 10:41 AM
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Yes, but only because I have so many bikes, I might as well just leave one on the trainer.
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08-06-14, 10:45 AM
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No. If you want to pick up a wheel, that might be worth it. If you get a bike, better make sure the position is exactly the same as your "real" bike and the saddle is the same.
08-06-14, 11:40 AM
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08-06-14, 02:19 PM
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I have a dedicated bike on my trainer and its position and saddle are NOTHING like the bike I ride. No reason that it needs to be.
08-06-14, 06:28 PM
#11
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Yes ... and I'm really looking forward to having bicycle and trainer all set up again. It's been a while!
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08-06-14, 06:40 PM
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08-06-14, 07:13 PM
#13
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If you have a dedicated bike....do you also have a dedicated room for the trainer+bike+big ass fan+TV/computer?
The spare bike part I have, the spare room is more problematic....
The spare bike part I have, the spare room is more problematic....
08-06-14, 07:30 PM
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Agreed. It's good to have a spare bike so if you want to go for a ride and discover a problem with your regular bike you can hop on the spare. And sometimes you may need a replacement part that isn't immediately available. Once you have the spare bike anyway you might as well keep it on the trainer until it's needed elsewhere.
08-07-14, 03:27 AM
#16
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I use the same bike on the trainer as I do on the road. I even use the same rear tire as I use when I train outside.
I do about half of my hours on the trainer annually. Last year I rode about 220 hours and I'm pretty sure more than half of the hours, 110-120 hours, were on the trainer. From May 2012 I put all my rides on Strava if you want to check. I've been using a trainer since I first started racing, a long time ago. I ride the trainer pretty regularly, as much as I train anyway, year round. During March-August I prefer to race so those rides will be outside. Because I've been training infrequently outside of racing I don't have many trainer rides this year.
If you want to train specifically for riding then replicating your position is a good idea. Your saddle->crank relationship of course, but your saddle->bar relationship is also important. Your bar drop (or not) helps determine which muscles you recruit (or not). For example if you have a very upright position on the trainer and a lower position out on the road you may be surprised at how poorly you ride in certain situations (or, in different words, you may be surprised at how sore you get from a not-very-hard ride outside). On the other hand if you ride a properly fit bike on the trainer, your work on the trainer will pretty much directly correspond to your riding outside. Even national level riders, stuck inside due to wintery conditions out, will step off the trainer and immediately start doing well in races. This is because they're fit and they know how to race but it's also because their work on the trainer is relevant to their racing on the road.
If you're riding for aerobic fitness then having the same fit indoors and out is not as significant.
I do about half of my hours on the trainer annually. Last year I rode about 220 hours and I'm pretty sure more than half of the hours, 110-120 hours, were on the trainer. From May 2012 I put all my rides on Strava if you want to check. I've been using a trainer since I first started racing, a long time ago. I ride the trainer pretty regularly, as much as I train anyway, year round. During March-August I prefer to race so those rides will be outside. Because I've been training infrequently outside of racing I don't have many trainer rides this year.
If you want to train specifically for riding then replicating your position is a good idea. Your saddle->crank relationship of course, but your saddle->bar relationship is also important. Your bar drop (or not) helps determine which muscles you recruit (or not). For example if you have a very upright position on the trainer and a lower position out on the road you may be surprised at how poorly you ride in certain situations (or, in different words, you may be surprised at how sore you get from a not-very-hard ride outside). On the other hand if you ride a properly fit bike on the trainer, your work on the trainer will pretty much directly correspond to your riding outside. Even national level riders, stuck inside due to wintery conditions out, will step off the trainer and immediately start doing well in races. This is because they're fit and they know how to race but it's also because their work on the trainer is relevant to their racing on the road.
If you're riding for aerobic fitness then having the same fit indoors and out is not as significant.
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08-07-14, 07:47 AM
#17
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I use the same bike on the trainer as I do on the road. I even use the same rear tire as I use when I train outside.
I do about half of my hours on the trainer annually. Last year I rode about 220 hours and I'm pretty sure more than half of the hours, 110-120 hours, were on the trainer. From May 2012 I put all my rides on Strava if you want to check. I've been using a trainer since I first started racing, a long time ago. I ride the trainer pretty regularly, as much as I train anyway, year round. During March-August I prefer to race so those rides will be outside. Because I've been training infrequently outside of racing I don't have many trainer rides this year.
If you want to train specifically for riding then replicating your position is a good idea. Your saddle->crank relationship of course, but your saddle->bar relationship is also important. Your bar drop (or not) helps determine which muscles you recruit (or not). For example if you have a very upright position on the trainer and a lower position out on the road you may be surprised at how poorly you ride in certain situations (or, in different words, you may be surprised at how sore you get from a not-very-hard ride outside). On the other hand if you ride a properly fit bike on the trainer, your work on the trainer will pretty much directly correspond to your riding outside. Even national level riders, stuck inside due to wintery conditions out, will step off the trainer and immediately start doing well in races. This is because they're fit and they know how to race but it's also because their work on the trainer is relevant to their racing on the road.
If you're riding for aerobic fitness then having the same fit indoors and out is not as significant.
I do about half of my hours on the trainer annually. Last year I rode about 220 hours and I'm pretty sure more than half of the hours, 110-120 hours, were on the trainer. From May 2012 I put all my rides on Strava if you want to check. I've been using a trainer since I first started racing, a long time ago. I ride the trainer pretty regularly, as much as I train anyway, year round. During March-August I prefer to race so those rides will be outside. Because I've been training infrequently outside of racing I don't have many trainer rides this year.
If you want to train specifically for riding then replicating your position is a good idea. Your saddle->crank relationship of course, but your saddle->bar relationship is also important. Your bar drop (or not) helps determine which muscles you recruit (or not). For example if you have a very upright position on the trainer and a lower position out on the road you may be surprised at how poorly you ride in certain situations (or, in different words, you may be surprised at how sore you get from a not-very-hard ride outside). On the other hand if you ride a properly fit bike on the trainer, your work on the trainer will pretty much directly correspond to your riding outside. Even national level riders, stuck inside due to wintery conditions out, will step off the trainer and immediately start doing well in races. This is because they're fit and they know how to race but it's also because their work on the trainer is relevant to their racing on the road.
If you're riding for aerobic fitness then having the same fit indoors and out is not as significant.
08-07-14, 08:13 AM
#18
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I had picked up a used bike to commute with, and the plan is once it gets cold it will stay with the trainer.
08-11-14, 02:19 PM
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Definitely. You are going to sweat like a monster on that trainer and the bike will get thrashed. No sense putting a road worthy bike through that kind of torture. Just make sure your position on the dedicated bike is similar to your usual road bike.
localroute
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08-11-14, 02:20 PM
#20
Senior Member
My bike is not dedicated. It is thoroughly noncommital.
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