This is how I got into biking. My friends were doing spinning in the off season (snow, wind, sleet, Chesapeake polar bears---we're girls and wimpy). By spring we had a good group and they invited me to go biking with them. It's been an awful addiction since.

We still get together for spinning three times a week for 90 minutes at 5AM. All roadies, lots of hard work.

Ah, true

I attended my first spinning classes last spring ... twice a week for about 6 weeks. WOW!!

Here I'd sort of thought it was a bunch of people spinning the pedals at about 110 rpm with no resistance for a brief period of time, and calling that a workout. I was WRONG!!

Those 6 weeks improved my pedal stroke -- I was told that my pedal stroke had really smoothed out between last summer and this summer. And I think they made a contribution toward improving my strength so that climbing hills was fairly easy for me this year.

I am definitely going to be looking for another spinning class this winter.

I loved the standing parts.

And my instructor last year was a triathlete. He knew about riding bicycles on the road.

Unfortunately, I too love to spin in the off season. It's a process to start as my classes with the hot(ish) instructor is at 5:30 AM. I have to work up to going to bed early enough to get up that early.

I love spinning though. The 5:30 AM bit also helps as it gets it out of the way ..

Other times, I'm on rollers and I make love to the Bowflex on occasion

I went spinning twice a week last winter when I was too much of a wimp to ride outdoors, and it made a huge difference when I got back on the bike in the spring. My legs were just more ready to ride, and I did better than the friend who had not been spinning in the winter, even though she's a much stronger rider than I am. I had much more power, and I was able to use it, whether in the saddle or out of it. So I'll do it again this winter.

But I back the idea of the rider vs aerobics instructor. I do not do superfast spinning when I am standing out of the saddle, and I do not do the "jumps" when it's 5 seconds out of the saddle and then 5 seconds back in it. They are not moves I would ever do on a bike, and they make no sense to me on a stationary spinning machine.

But why oh why are the saddles so horrible, and why can't they make the machines a little bit more adjustable?

I go with my roomate every once in awhile for an hour spin at my school's gym. Its actually got him thinking about buying his own bike for commuting, Ive got him looking on C-list and ebay.

I started off on indoor bikes due to doctor's orders (I mean pre-road bike buying).
I still use spin classes for interval workouts, especially in the winter. Sometimes I just lack the motivation on my trainer. Just having a good playlist at the gym on a spin bike can be enough. I don't always do everything the instructor says (like "jumps"). It is very different from being on the road bike, but I think it's a good way to get through the cold months in decent shape. I do my best to get the bike set up as close as I can to the road bike. I think the flywheel makes standing a lot easier--the pedal stroke seems smoother, easier to stand with lower resistance, etc.

I don't think it is the standing part that bothers me, it is the mashing. I prefer high cadencing up hills, so turning up the resistance and mashing is not really training for the kind of riding I do usually... but it is not that big of a deal, I just count it as cross-training a bit.

I did a spinning class or two when I lived in Anchorage. It was at the fashionable "Alaska Club" in midtown. It had a real disco atmosphere (dark room, mirror ball on the ceiling, lous music, etc.). It was a good work out for cardio and the instructor badgered you a lot to keep the rpm's up and stay with the program. I don't think I could ever get hooked on it but it was fun as a novelty and a good change of pace from the trainer in the basement and spinervals.

Off season is for wussy.

Botto = wussy.

This thread is not pro-bike.

What I'd love to do is group Spinervals...that would make it a bit better...I don't like dues... gym is not really cool...but based on all this it sounds like I may want to get a week pass and hear 30 mins of a hard close to try it out..

Just got home from spinning class. I hate the trainer, and spinning is a good aerobic exercise as daylight hours fade. Muscle groups are different from cycling, but maybe complementary. The seats do suck. I wear old spd mtn bike shoes. If I pre-hydrate enough, water is not really necessary for an hour class that really lasts about 45 min. Looks dopey, but I wear a polypro headband to divert sweat - it really does pour out of you. Range of instructor ability is huge - from inspiring to get-off-the-bike and leave bad. I try to do a yogalates class before spinning.

Lately the weather's been pretty crappy around here so spinning is a great alternative. Sweat like a madman.

I am one of those guys :). Spinning is a great workout, and, in my opinion, can be an equal substitute to a hard set of intervals on the road.

You have to have the right instructor, or do your own routine to your own music.

Given where I work and live, I can only get on the road, two to three times a week. I supplement fitness with a couple of spin classes, and am able to continually improve.

I don't get what you are trying to say here. I have a spin bike at home which is the same model that we use at my gym. I measured everything and compared it to how my road bike is set up. Pedal to seat , seat distance from crank center, seat distance to handlebars as well. So aside from a the flywheel action I am not sure what the difference is. I feel that the two spinning classes I take a week have made me a stronger cyclist, but you also will not see anyone in that class pushing it as hard as I do. Time for a 5 min cool down F that. Time for a couple more flat out sprints and a 3 min cool down. I think they all think I am possessed or something.

For me, it is definitely much better than what I do at home on my trainer. At home, I might do some commercial intervals, but otherwise I just ride. I don't feel motivated to do anything more than that. But in spinning class, I'm WORKING!!

We had a nasty winter here in KC between January and March. Cold rains, ice, and three big snow storms. So I checked out a spin class that was taught by a cyclist. The first few sessions kicked my butt. I was that dude with the pool of sweat around his bike. Still, it was fun and a lot better than the damn trainer. He had a high-def projector that played scenes from Europe with loud thumping techno music. Five minutes into class I could not even see the screen.
He would do these extended all out sprint intervals that I could not keep up until late winter. Everytime I'd go back, I'd try to sprint as long as possible. I would also crank up the resistance pretty high, just barely below the point where you could not even spin the wheel during the "climbs". When class was over, I would feel absolutely spent.

Come spring I wanted to find out what kind of cycling shape I would be in. I easily kept off the winter poundage. But I was told that spinning didn't really translate into cycling performance.
I found that my power did not increase. No big surprise there- even at max resistance you cannot get the same feel as going up hills or against the wind. But my aerobic capacity was better. I could hold my top speed for longer periods of time before being totally winded.
On one of the first group rides of the year, I stayed at the front of the pack the entire time. When guys started attacking on hills, I found that I had the acceleration to match. This was not a group that I could keep up with previously.
I also think my pedal stroke improved greatly. This probably helped my overall efficiency.
Spinning was definitely better for my fitness than sipping whiskey all winter. And it sure beat the hell out of watching Seinfeld reruns on the trainer. I will probably do it again this winter, but still try as much as possible to get on the road.

Sorry.. I just have to do this...

You spin me right round, baby
Right round like a record, baby
Right round, round, round

During the racing season I typically ride 4 days a week and spin 2.
In the non-racing season I spin 4 days and ride 2.

Spinning has worked for me.

i started spinning before i started riding, and i personally love it. i don't go during the summer, because i figure why pay to do something indoors when i can ride outdoors for free, but i know it would definitely benefit my riding if i did. my favorite type of class is interval, but i like them all, and it doesn't hurt to have a good teacher that plays good music...

Spinning helps me relax and relieves my stress after a whole freaking day of work.
Those hormones keep me happy for couple hours afterwards :)

A lot of positive feedback on spinning classes. I tried one a few years ago and liked it enough. I think I 'll give it another shot.

It's not a replacement for riding, but if you can get past that it's a lot of fun and a great workout.
I've been spinning 1-2 times a week for about 2 years now. I'm not sure it makes me any faster on the bike, but it's definitely a great cardio workout and 1 hour of spinning is far more intense than 1 hour of riding.

The spinning instructors at my club are all cyclists, and many are on local race teams, so they definitely understand cycling.
They have "endurance spin" classes that are 2 and 3 hours every month or so. They play awesome music and keep the intensity high during the hour classes. The workouts are mainly out of the saddle, and I wouldn't want it any other way.

If you're just starting with spinning, give it a few times before deciding if it's right for you or not. I was skeptical when I first started, and hated the standing parts, but now I can sprint out of the saddle and love going to class. The fact that my classes are full of hot girls in tight shorts/shirts is a plus.

Oh yes, spinning class.

I used to go to a class run by a former track champion rider. Lots of trackies would show up. First time almost killed me. I had to dismount and go lay down on the mats. I quickly learned to pace myself better.
But over time I really came to love it. And the standing parts: I love the 6 minute intervals out of the saddle with high resistance. But the out for 5 seconds, down for 5, etc. would bother me. The main thing I did learn though, is that I'm no sprinter. The all out, out of the saddle sprints killed me everytime.

Not putting on the fans is just stupid, it limits your ability to push muscle and aerobic max. I've only attended two spin classes, in both I saw major knee injuries.

You can do all this in a fluid trainer class, on your own bike, or get a DVD -they go from level 5 to level barf.

How do you guys get over the saddles? Every time I've tried to ride one of the bikes at my schools gym has been a nightmare.

I am really surprised by the number of pro-spinning replies here. Get a fluid trainer and use your own bike at home.

I spin when I cannot ride in the afternoons; it's not ideal, but I'd rather spin than do nothing. For those who complained about being out of the seat too much...sit down.