heavy cheap fixed gear bikes for strength training?
01-06-13, 06:25 PM
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heavy cheap fixed gear bikes for strength training?
Does anyone else use a heavy cheap fixed gear for strength training? I like my geared bikes, but I keep a westport cruiser from walmart, specifically for building leg strength, it's a heavy fixed gear, and it seems to really give me a workout going up and down the small but steep hills around here, I figure it's cheap, and I already owned it, why not use the weight to my advantage? It wouldnt hold up for every day use, and the dam tires are already rotting, but at least it's being used for something
01-06-13, 06:46 PM
#4
Still kicking.
You realize that you could have gotten something good and changed it to harder gearing.
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01-06-13, 06:51 PM
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01-06-13, 07:12 PM
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what you're supposed to realize is that the effort you exert is independent of your equipment.
the bike doesn't make you stronger, it's you choosing or having to ride it harder.
if you want the "loaded down" effect, just overgear your bike as Dannihilator suggested.
the bike doesn't make you stronger, it's you choosing or having to ride it harder.
if you want the "loaded down" effect, just overgear your bike as Dannihilator suggested.
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Last edited by TMonk; 01-06-13 at 08:42 PM. Reason: wording
01-06-13, 07:34 PM
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I know this goofy mtb racer who rides heavy bolt-on wheels with downhill tires to strength train for xc mtb races. Pretty ridiculous, but the dude is crazy strong.
01-06-13, 07:39 PM
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I realize that, if I was riding a geared bike I would use the gears to go uphill, but instead I use this fixed gear with it's extra weight, I didnt know these could be upgraded, and are apparently USA made?
01-06-13, 08:42 PM
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300W up a 5% incline at 70rpm is 300W up a 5% incline at 70 rpm.
On a loaded touring bike, this may net you all of 10 mph.
On a carbon race bike, you're gonna go a lot faster.
Your body doesn't know the difference
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
Last edited by TMonk; 01-06-13 at 08:45 PM.
01-06-13, 08:50 PM
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/end nitpicking rant
OP, I think this is really a gearing issue as Danni suggested. If you have sufficiently low gear(s) on your bike, the weight is inconsequential. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think by "strength" you mean "torque" - putting a heavy load on each pedal stroke due to being overgeared.
And yes, you can absolutely increase your "strength" by riding a heavy bike with a big gear. Sorry to nitpick. It's just the gear thats making u strong (not the weight of the bike) is all im sayin'
OP, I think this is really a gearing issue as Danni suggested. If you have sufficiently low gear(s) on your bike, the weight is inconsequential. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think by "strength" you mean "torque" - putting a heavy load on each pedal stroke due to being overgeared.
And yes, you can absolutely increase your "strength" by riding a heavy bike with a big gear. Sorry to nitpick. It's just the gear thats making u strong (not the weight of the bike) is all im sayin'
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
01-06-13, 09:20 PM
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/end nitpicking rant
OP, I think this is really a gearing issue as Danni suggested. If you have sufficiently low gear(s) on your bike, the weight is inconsequential. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think by "strength" you mean "torque" - putting a heavy load on each pedal stroke due to being overgeared.
And yes, you can absolutely increase your "strength" by riding a heavy bike with a big gear. Sorry to nitpick. It's just the gear thats making u strong (not the weight of the bike) is all im sayin'
OP, I think this is really a gearing issue as Danni suggested. If you have sufficiently low gear(s) on your bike, the weight is inconsequential. Correct me if i'm wrong, but I think by "strength" you mean "torque" - putting a heavy load on each pedal stroke due to being overgeared.
And yes, you can absolutely increase your "strength" by riding a heavy bike with a big gear. Sorry to nitpick. It's just the gear thats making u strong (not the weight of the bike) is all im sayin'
01-06-13, 09:30 PM
#12
Still kicking.
Is this a beach cruiser, not a fixed gear?
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01-06-13, 09:39 PM
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01-06-13, 09:44 PM
#14
Still kicking.
Beach cruisers usually are not fixed gears, they are SS with a coaster brake.
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01-06-13, 10:11 PM
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drunken (or hungover on the way to breakfast) beach cruisers on the boardwalk ftw
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
01-06-13, 11:23 PM
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01-06-13, 11:29 PM
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now thats some total bull**** right there!
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"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
"Your beauty is an aeroplane;
so high, my heart cannot bear the strain." -A.C. Jobim, Triste
01-06-13, 11:30 PM
#18
Still kicking.
I throw a mtb around and chop wood.
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Appreciate the old bikes more than the new.
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01-06-13, 11:46 PM
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:)
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I had an instructor who just swung around a sledgehammer in his backyard for exercise. This guy was strong.
01-07-13, 01:00 AM
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Does anyone else use a heavy cheap fixed gear for strength training? I like my geared bikes, but I keep a westport cruiser from walmart, specifically for building leg strength, it's a heavy fixed gear, and it seems to really give me a workout going up and down the small but steep hills around here, I figure it's cheap, and I already owned it, why not use the weight to my advantage? It wouldnt hold up for every day use, and the dam tires are already rotting, but at least it's being used for something
01-07-13, 01:15 AM
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>
difference in weight from your training bike to even the ****tiest fixed gear they sell at a department store
what i'm saying here, without metaphor, is that a better workout is to simply GO HARDER
01-07-13, 02:21 AM
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remove seatpost, fill frame with fishing weights. hulk.
01-07-13, 02:46 AM
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I'm a large, economy sized wombat.
