ballistic

I'm riding a two-day, 220ish-mile tour in May. My legs are in bad shape over these cold months. I need some ideas for conditioning. The tour's website says it is not for casual cyclists, and that you should ride about 400 miles during the two months prior to the tour.

It's too cold to ride outside. I can't spend money on cold-weather cycling clothing. Funds are tight. Also I'm hesitant to prop up my bike to ride it indoors. I worry about the wear-and-tear I'll put on the mechanisms. Am I just being paranoid?

If propping up my bike is the best option, what are some good but inexpensive trainers?

Homebrew01

"It's too cold to ride outside" - sometimes yes, sometimes no
"I can't spend money on cold-weather cycling clothing" - You don't need to spend big $ to be warm
"Am I just being paranoid" - yes
"good but inexpensive trainers" - I got one on sale for $89 from Performance a few years ago ... works fine

ballistic

So I should prepare to spend up to $100 for one? I also have to get a new saddle. I can only last about 30 miles on the stock one.

How uncool is it to do a tour like this with platform pedals?

jrobe

Yes, you are paranoid. Trainers won't hurt your bike in any way.

Also, don't waste money on a cheap trainer ($100 will only buy you a POS). I learned that lesson the hard way. If you don't want "legs that are in bad shape over these cold months," you need a decent trainer. Buy a Kurt Kinetic Road Machine and you will solve this problem for the rest of your life.

ballistic

I didn't mean the trainer would cause wear-and-tear. I meant all the riding in-place, like it's wear-and-tear it wouldn't normally receive since I'm not riding it outside.

I can't drop $300+ on the trainer when I have to get a new saddle, my bike serviced prior to the tour, and possibly clipless pedals and shoes.

datlas 

You don't have to spend a lot of money to do cold weather riding, just layer up.

ballistic

What about this guy?
https://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-1031R-...4110124&sr=1-1

miyata man

I ride all Winter nearly everyday in the following
+0 F: Thicker T-shirt (long sleeved when near 0) and a windbreaker with a winter hat and gloves. A cheap pair of nearly windproof nylon pants.
-0 F: T-shirt, breathable sweatshirt, wind breaker, winter hat and gloves. Downstairs get a thicker pair of socks and long underwear under the nylon pants.

Keep the ride short enough you don't lose extremities and remember to warm up and cool down. You want to start out being slightly chilled and keep the intensity high enough to stay warm. Ask anyone from somewhere dangerously frigid and they will agree that the cold is not measured in temperature but by the wind. The real key is being windproof and having proper ventilation. Well that and keeping water and food from freezing but its doubtful you will be leaving civilization to train for this event.

mattmatt300

look on craigslist for a trainer. you can find a good one under 100 if you are patient

Machka 

Why? On a trainer, the front wheel remains in place. There's no turning, no wear-and-tear on it at all. The rear wheel turns, but it turns when you ride outside too.

And as for winter clothing, go to your local thrift shop and pick up a wool sweater or two ... get merino if you can, but the heavier wool will do as well. You can probably get them for maybe $5 each. While you're at your thrift shop, have a look at jackets and see if you can find a light windbreaker ... preferably one with some ventilation in the back or under the arms. That'll take care of your upper body.

Now head to the women's section of Walmart and get a pair of workout tights ... they'll be in the workout clothing section, and usually go for somewhere between $8 and $12. While you're in Walmart go to the men's wool sock section and get some heavy duty wool socks. I recommend Kodiak. Go to the winter headband and glove section and get an inexpensive headband, a pair of mini-gloves, and a pair of thicker gloves. If Walmart stuff seems expensive, you should be able to find all of this in your local Dollar store. I haven't ever paid more than $1 for a winter headband.

Put it all together ... and for less than $40 you have winter cycling gear!

jamesdak 

Just layer up and get out there! I spent almost 2 hours Saturday riding in -2 F. weather. No big deal and I was pretty much comfortable the whole ride.

gsteinb

If I got heavy duty wool socks I'd need some new shoes to fit them.

jdon

Look for a cheap gym to join or use school facilities if you are a student. Most gyms have spin bikes to keep the legs in reasonable condition. Start riding again in April on your new saddle to get acustomed to it.

frpax

^ this.

Also, you say you cannot last past 30 miles on your saddle. How much past 30 have you actually done?

SingleSpeeDemon

Start with an actual spin class; actually take several as different instructors tend to have widely varying techniques. Find one that gets your heart rate up and makes your quads burn. Focus on that intensity for 45 minutes at a time, at least three days a week. Supplement spin class with intervals. Create a music track that fits the interval intensity you are using as going solo on a spin bike sucks. You're going to need all the motivation you can find to suffer through a proper workout. If you stick to this plan, you will be in good shape for when the weather takes a turn for the better. Having been from Pittsburgh, your area's climate is the same and you'll have a mix of good rideable days coming up. Get out whenever you can too.

StanSeven

If you mean the tours website says ride 400 miles total in the two months before the 220 two day tour, that's not enough. Just for a regular century, I would want 100 miles a week or 400 miles per month. You will be back-to-back centuries.

DXchulo

I hate to say it, but a trainer is the cheapest way to do it right now unless you have a really cheap gym nearby with free spinning classes. You can get everything you need to ride indoors for ~$100. If you don't have any cold riding gear, buying everything you need will cost significantly more than that. I'd say it's a better investment in the long run, but it's more expensive today.

As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't worry about "good" trainers versus "cheap" ones. Riding a trainer is going to suck no matter which one you're riding.

SFB

This, especially about the warm part.

I went for a 30 mile ride the other day, temp before wind chill was 14 degrees. I wore:

1 pair of tights (w/ chamois, this was $60...I could have figured something else out though).
2 pairs of long-johns
1 pair of light tights to cover long-johns ($15)
Covered it all with a pair of bibs
Wool socks
Long john shirt
cycling jersey
Covered with medium (ie, not "light" not "heavy") wind breaker.
Hat
Gloves

shovelhd

I paid $100 for my KK trainer on Craigslist. You'll find something although this is a tough time of year. I bought every one of my base layers at the Salvation Army for under $4 each. Picked up a couple of jerseys for $8 each. If you can't find merino wool, polypropylene fleece is very easy to find and cheap. I bought a used PI jacket with zip-off sleeves as a windbreak for $20 here in the classifieds. My lobster gloves were expensive at $40 but I only use them under freezing. Above that I use plain old cotton work gloves or lined leather gloves, under $10 at the department store. None of this has to be expensive.

However, you're talking about an event in May, living in Ohio. There's no need to ride much in the deep cold if you think you can get 1,000 miles in before May.

jdon

I just joined a gym in NJ for 10 bucks a month. I don't live there but am there often enough to make it worthwhile. When they aren't doing spin classes, they are available for use. Use something that helps motivation with intervals. Asimple MP3 from https://www.cardiocoach.com/ is my preference and they are cheap to download. I use 4 and 5.

miyata man

Alright, for no more than $25 you should be able to find someone with a crappy exercycle, moving cardio arms or not, to get you through the cold months. Sit your increasingly warming butt on it through Entertainment tonight every night with the wife. With zero resistance dialed in 30 minutes of casual pedaling will do more than the nothing you are obviously fighting off. Trash day the first actually warm week clears the piece of crap out of your life.

Machka 

You could pick up the Ascent ($130) or Nashbar ($150) fluid trainers and you'd be set. I have an older version of the Nashbar fluid trainer which works well.

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Catalog...egoryId=200416



Or get a jacket for $30 and wear the sweat shirts you already have in your closet underneath if it is still too chilly ...

https://www.nashbar.com/bikes/Catalog...egoryId=200485