Machka 

The social aspect ... and the variety.


When I lived in Alberta, I had a trainer which I rode a few times a week, and I got outside as often as I could on the weekends, but a couple times a week I went to the community fitness centre and took the spinning class. The spinning class was appealing because there was a group of people all doing roughly the same thing, it was an opportunity to get out of the basement and into a bright airy room with huge windows, and I could make an evening of it ... I'd walk around the walking track a few times before the class, then I'd do the class, then it was off to the weights room and treadmill. Good variety.

Machka 

Machka 

And you know this from experience? From all the spinning classes you've taken?

Machka 

+1

Campag4life

You mentioned dumb. Drum roll...why is riding the rollers more beneficial than spin class?

GlennR

On a stationary bike you don't have to balance. The exaggerated climbing movements will throw you to the curb on a road bike.

Spinning does not mimic riding a road bike. Neither does riding on a trainer or rollers. You need to be outside on a bike with hills, and cars and fresh air. But it will allow you to stay in shape.

I've never seen a spinner, that has no road experience, hit the road at better than a "C" level over a extended ride. They usually fade after 20 miles.

Campag4life

Fair points. But other than the balance aspect which no doubt does mimic actual riding and enlists relevant muscles to riding, is the load really there on rollers to improve fitness? Many have the debate of rollers versus a trainer at home. Then there is the concentration and danger element of riding rollers. Been more than a few accidents at home on rollers and some would prefer a bit less concentration of a trainer.

To me, the question the OP posted is what about spin class? Spin class to me...mostly because of the level of spinners present isn't very helpful to riding a bike fast on the road. By contrast, riding a trainer at home to a specific program at particular 'loads' based upon resistance versus speed, has to pay dividends if one is willing to put this level of energy into it. No doubt a spin class could be tailored to do this but most don't.

BarryJo

My perspective, spin classes are pretty much a fixed workout with a pre-formulated number of mixed intervals over a 50-70 minute class, whereas in my basement I can mix it up with short, medium and long intervals mixed in with a healthy dose of longer z2 type workouts.
I'll take it one step further and say for me indoor training is even more effective than training outside as I am able to focus on the prescribed intervals without having to try and maintain the effort when going downhill or drafting off others on group rides.
I spent a summer in Florida, the weather was awful (I'm not one for heat and humidity), but I got in the best shape of my life while I was down there because there was nowhere safe to ride other than the MUP that runs along the Veterans HWY (Tampa north to Brooksville). I was staying at about the midpoint of the MUP, going south, because it was flat (200' elevation change over 50 miles), it was the only place I've ever ridden where I could actually do focused intervals over a 48 mile ride. Boring yes, but effective.
All that said the things I enjoyed about the spin classes, and why I think they work for getting ready for Spring, were the social aspect of training with friends, and the motivation the music and class instructor provided, 2 things I don't get training by myself. They might not get you in shape to do the local A ride, but they're going to help with getting ready for the Saturday morning coffee ride for sure.

edit: I spent a ridiculous amount of money on a set of e-motion rollers, among the best cycling investment I've ever made, these things are the absolute best for indoor training, the multiple resistance settings allow you to spin easy (0 resistance) to hard hill training on settings 2 and 3. And they are the closest you'll ever get to mimicking the effect of riding on the road. So another reason I find indoor training more effective than spin classes.

Campag4life

Pretty well said and I believe most that do spin classes do them precisely in the spirit you describe. Most that ride bikes don't have a pure A group mentality anyway. Btw, I am old and intermittently get dropped from the A group depending how aggressive i.e. how many racers are present.
I can only reflect my experience riding with those that do spin classes. To me, they aren't strong riders so the take away is they don't mimic real hard riding and therefore do not elevate fitness to that level. Riding with guys that brutalized themselves with TrainerRoad however is another matter. Many of those guys are super strong and as you say, they are stronger than most that don't train this way as an adjunct to riding on the road.

BarryJo

So what you're really saying here is you stand corrected with your previous statement, correct?

I think the point most are trying to make in this thread is doing spin classes 3x week are more helpful than spending a winter on the couch watching television.

Campag4life

Nope..don't stand corrected at all. Would admit if I did. There is no comparison between TrainerRoad and spinning class. None.
As to spending time on the couch versus spinning. That's just silly. Probably walking for an hour is better than spinning because it is weight bearing but even walking doesn't help much.

BarryJo

I meant between riding alone, even if using TrainerRoad (which I'm not familiar with, but I'm guessing it's socially interactive software), as opposed to training on group rides with people faster than yourself.
BTW - stating the obvious, group rides can actually impede a person's progress on the bike.

Stucky

Not advocating spinning [any more so than I'd advocate self-mutilation or suicide! ] but the one season that I used my spin bike, in addition to greatly expanding my cardio capacity (from Tabata drills- which also elevated my metabolism, so that I was at the lowest weight I had ever been- 15 minutes of Tabata did more for me than 34-mile rides in the hills!) but cranking up the resistance to simulate hills, and having to stand to pedal, also helped me to stand for longer periods on the real bike- something that I was never very good at.

But still....being indoors, on a stationary machine royally sucks!

deacon mark

Spin classes are crazy waist of time if you have an indoor trainer. Why go somewhere when you can get on your trainer and do whatever workout you want. I can ride high cadence or dial it in and out with the gears. I should note I use a Cyclops Wind trainer and I think other than the no headwind to deal with and turns it does a good job of feeling like the road. Nothing can duplicate long rides on the road to have a good base but indoor trainer can give you in one hour what probably is almost 90-100 minutes on the road strictly cardio. I got on the trainer and road non stop today 23 mph, I could not do that on the road as such since the variables changes too much. I just do not see the need for spin classes, I am not a spinner I am cyclist.

tigat

I've been weather and work limited for the past six weeks, and have been alternating between the trainer at home and the spin bike that sits beside the treadmill that my daughter uses at her club. Been working both of them pretty hard with intervals, simulated time trials, two a days to mimic commuting, etc.

Today I woke up to 40 sunny degrees and hit the real road. There was no noticeable drop-off from my last real ride. There were, however, some opportunities, like the short steep climbs, that I can't mimic on the training devices in a meaningful way.

As to the OP's original question, my take is that any good rider that uses the training devices intentionally will benefit from them, but a dedicated spinner without much real world saddle time is not going to suddenly transform into a great road rider.

BarryJo

A lot of people don't have indoor trainers, but do have access to a gym. Whether or not spin classes are more beneficial than running on a treadmill, an eliptical trainer, or stationary bike is debatable, in my estimation you'd get more bike fit doing the spin classes than on the other stuff.
I agree however, if you do have a decent indoor trainer and have the mental fortitude to train alone, Trainer > Spin Class.

deacon mark

[QUOTE=BarryJo;17499179]A lot of people don't have indoor trainers, but do have access to a gym. Whether or not spin classes are more beneficial than running on a treadmill, an eliptical trainer, or stationary bike is debatable, in my estimation you'd get more bike fit doing the spin classes than on the other stuff.
I agree however, if you do have a decent indoor trainer and have the mental fortitude to train alone, Trainer > Spin Class.[/QUO
As a lifelong runner I can answer this one. Running on a treadmill can be every bit as good as the road. You just cannot always train on a treadmill and then try and run a road race. When Alberto Salazar won the ultra marathon Commradres in South Africa it was his treadmill work out the suggested he was in the shape to do it. The treadmill never lets up.

gregf83 

Everything you mentioned about riding on a trainer could be done in a class, the only difference being that you'd be with other people. People are social animals and just like a group ride some gain motivation when riding with others.

FIVE ONE SIX

of course they help with conditioning. i rode pretty tough spin classes, mostly interval classes 2 or 3 times a week for 9 months, before i went on my first road ride. and on my second road ride i was keeping up with fast B and slow A riders for 35-40 miles with with no problem...

FLvector

Ha, that's where I typically ride after work during the week, then usually do other rural rides away from the trail since it is a bit boring as you say. The Suncoast Trail you are referring to is ideal for doing intervals since you can focus without worry of traffic and many stops. You'll often see very fast groups, tri riders and others training on the trail and I've likely seen you on the trail. If you get down this way again, give me a shout. I agree with your comment about the e-motion rollers. I'd be very tempted to buy them, but the weather is almost always ridable. I don't mind the heat and humidity.

wallrat

You get out what you put in. On training road rides, are you doing max effort? I think that's where spinning helps. Spin classes seem to keep the motivation up and drive you to work harder that you typically would on a solo ride. Of course this all depends on the individual.

Personally, I've only been to a handful of spin classes. I don't train indoors either since NCal has 4 season riding. The best thing about spin classes, for me, is to people watch.

caloso

I'm Not sure what this has to do with anything. Everyone is at least a Cat 5. It's the beginners' category. The only requirement is a race reg fee and one-day license. On the other hand, I'm a 3 but that doesn't qualify me to teach a spinning class.

As to the original question, spinning certainly can improve your fitness, but fitness is only a small part of riding a bike well.

BarryJo

Small world, one of my favorite rides down there was a Saturday AM ride out of Anderson Snow, I never knew there were hills in FL, but we'd always manage to get 2500' of climbing over a 3 hour ride.
Another ride I enjoyed was the Sunday AM San Antonio ride, more hills more fun.

I understand, I was responding to Campag's post where he stated "Most in spinning class aren't even CAT 5's or equivalent".

voraus

From my experience spinning has helped me improve cardiovascular output and endurance. That's probably always a good thing for an athlete.

I am a bike commuter so I don't do the serious miles that some of you do. Spinning has definitely improved my outdoor riding but not a direct correlation. At the club I belong to we do a thing called Group Ride. It's a commercial spin format put out by some outfit in Georgia. Their protocol has 10 5 minute tracks set to music with a cadence from 60 to 130. Surprisingly (to me) the very high cadence work seems to have helped me pedal with a more consistent stroke. I rarely break 80 on the road but if you pedal 130-140 in the gym you must pedal a round, equal (between the legs) pedal stroke, otherwise you wobble and can't really maintain the pace.

I also don't stand on any of the tracks. My weight has too much benefit to this posture on a spin bike. Climbing on a spin bike really isn't climbing with no gravity penalty for weight. I stay seated and try to pedal a consistent cadence. I tend to over clock (ride faster than the recommended cadence) on the 'climb' tracks. A seated, heavy resistance on a spin bike makes my knees sore. I will pedal a slightly lighter resistance and more of a road (for me) cadence of 60-80. All the training for climbing I do are out on the road or in the weight room.

pdedes

The conventional spin class has got to be the hardest workout I've ever done, but I'm masochistic and liberal with the tensioning. That said, other than for fitness, I don't think the bulk of the type of intervals done are beneficial for road racing. There are a number of spin/cycling studios now that are run by cycling coaches, you can bring your own bike and you can do race specific preparation with your peers. These environments will provide better feedback, allow you to compare yourself with your peers and prepare you specifically for the types of efforts you would encounter on the road in competitive situations.