How long can I use an indoor bike

[Fastturtle]

Hi all. I have been looking everywhere for this information but haven't had any luck.
For health reasons I am now using my exercise bike instead of my road bike due to the cold etc. I have been doing 45 - 60 minutes every other day on my magnetic exercise bike. To try and keep interested in this I thought about doing longer sessions on the weekends. But I don't know if the bike can handle it. I have a foldable bike which is smaller than a normal bike. Can this or any magnetic bike handle a 4-6 hour session? Any information would be great. Thanks.

[Marcus Aurelius]

They are mostly designed for short sharp sessions, but I don’t see why it couldn’t take a big session. I’d be interested to hear how it fares.

[Fastturtle]

Thanks. I have been looking at spin bikes. My current bike made some clunking noises the other day after 60 minutes and it was red hot. This is why I asked the question.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
What was redhot?
The only thing that's going to suffer using an indoor bike (an outdoor bike on a turbo trainer?) Is the tire.
Also I found that if you were intending to get back on the road you might have Some inner thigh and lower leg pain, Initially maybe on your first ride or a few, but this will clear up quickly.
Just talking from experience there.

40 minutes is good, try to do an hour, if I struggle for an hour at one rate, then just split it into two 30 minutes , No need to stop in between just reduce the intensity after the first 30 minutes, then build up again to finish.
I think it's also beneficial to do interval training even on the turbo.
So say warmup for 10 minutes, Then I tend to stand up every five minutes even changing up a gear if you want/sitting or standing.
Even now 60 minutes on the turbo can be hell for me, So I set my recorder/computer et cetera at 15 minute intervals, then I just look at the statistics later on.
Just analysing statistics inject some interest and variety in what is just bloody hard work.

okay, I've got that all wrong you're using a dedicated sit up and beg type old exercise bike?
I would buy a cheap turbo, both Aldi and Lidl's have sold them for £30 in their sales.
then by an old bike, or are usable one that can always be used as a spare bike.
Initially if you use a slick tyres unless you wanna fork out £20 plus for a turbo tire, Halfords do aturbo trainer tire for £15 I think .

add a Speedo on the bike and you're done.
The advantages of having a real bike on the turbo is that when and if you resort to proper road bike riding or even returned to mountain bike riding along the paths et cetera is that ergonomically you're not gonna find any problems.
Those old exercise bikes really are rubbish and are more than likely make your backache because they're too upright.

Of course it's possible due to ill-health you'll never intend to get out on a bike.
In any case I would suggest a bike and turbo trainer with a cycle computer, that's a basic distance and time average speed et cetera even with some calorie counting thrown in, this just adds a bit of incentive for your training.

[whoof]

I used to know someone who if their training schedule said 'Sunday 4 hours' and it was raining they would do it on a turbo trainer. No damage except possibly to their mental well-being.


If your tyres are getting hot this happens after just a few few minutes. Contiental do tyres specifically for use on a turbo-trainer which shouldn''t be used on the road. 4 hours on a normal tyre will probably get close to wearing it flat.

[Fastturtle]

Thanks for your replies. The indoor bike I have is a magnetic sit up and beg one. With 8 settings and palm sensors for heart rate. I got it for my room as I don't have a lot of space. I am hoping to clear some shed space next year to get a trainer and go on zwift. But for now I have to deal with what I have. I might be getting a spin bike. I think this might solve my short term problem. The thing that was getting hot was the plastic case that was around the little fly wheel.

[Overthehills]

Hi, l would ditch your current trainer and get a simple Tacx trainer that you can put your roadbike on and use the Tacx cable resistance adjust on the handlebar. A couple of reasons, the Tacx will be bombproof and secondly, assuming your position on your current roadbike is set up correctly, you will have more flexibility with gearing and you will be cycling with your body in the correct position. I have done beyond 2hrs in this setup and the Tacx never complained, but 2hrs is a long time on a trainer, l needed music, a TV, etc, good luck, through the winter it is a safe ( no dark roads) and effective way of getting or keeping fit.

[Fastturtle]

Thanks.

[Polisman]

I would really recommend this Spin bike. We use one in winter when it's too crappy to venture outside. It's £150 posted and is really quite good quality.

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre ... 1971900872

[Fastturtle]

Thanks. I will have a look.

[Fastturtle]

Thanks everyone for your replies. I was wondering. Is 60 minutes every other day all I need to do? When I am out side I gage my time by how much fun I am having more than a required training time. The exercise bike is more concerntrated. Is doing a 2-3 hour session not beneficial? If I was on a normal bike using an indoor trainer and on zwift I could easily do longer sessions but a stationary bike Infront of the Tele? Maybe not so good. Any thoughts would be great thanks.

[Polisman]

A lot of people nowadays use indoor bikes and turbos to do interval training, long and short intervals. Basically short thirty minutes sessions at high intensity with rests in between. It van me very beneficial for improving fitness and maintaining a 'level' over winter.

[Fastturtle]

Thanks.

[eileithyia]

My mental health and sit bones start to suffer at around 1h15-1h30, I mostly do 1hr- 1h15 sessions, approx 20 miles. Remember when on a static bike you are probably pedalling all the time. This was brought home to me when I use tacx films, following a couple of riders, when they come to a junction they ease up and even stop pedalling while on the turbo you continue to pedal at same rate... if you stop the turbo stops etc...
So essentially you only need to a short session to emulate being out on the road, on the road you ease up, freewheel, stop and start at junctions etc. Even when i time trial out on the road there are occasions where I will stop pedalling while negotiating a junction.

I do not believe longer sessions on a static bike are necessarily beneficial unless you are trying to hit a specific distance target.

[Vorpal]

I think it depends upon what you want to accomplish...

Just for exercise and general fitness, you're better off with (for example) 45 minutes hour per day than 5 hours on Saturday. For keeping bike fit, at least twice per week, and more often is better.

If, on the other hand, you want to maintain stamina for longer rides, 3 + hour sessions once a week on a spinning bike or turbo trainer can certainly help.

But as eileithyia said, a turbo or spinning session is more work than riding on the road. However, it's a good idea to use a structured session to get the most out of it.