Turbo training v cycling outdoors

[Mick F]

Forget turbos, and get rollers.
You need to concentrate to stay on, and you can use any bike without removing wheels and stuff.
Hop on, and pedal like fury.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
So why do you do 15 minutes and get off (Mick F rollers)

[Mick F]

Why?
Me, personally?

That's a personality thing.
I ride a bike for pleasure these days, and sometimes I find that I can't get out when I want to and need to keep my cycling legs in gear for when I can get out.

Doing 15min sessions - maybe three over a couple of hours - suits me fine and keeps me in the groove. Tomorrow, for instance, is supposed to be the best day of this week so I should get out and ride. However, I have other things to do that keeps me away from riding as far as I want to, so I may not go riding. Trouble is, I may have to get the rollers out again .............. so I may go out for 30miles into the wide wide world instead.

If I was really interested in fitness and performance, I would get on the rollers and pedal like heck and work up a sweat every single day.
........ but I'm not.

[whoof]

Forget turbos, and get rollers.
You need to concentrate to stay on, and you can use any bike without removing wheels and stuff.
Hop on, and pedal like fury.

I like rollers, far more interesting than a turbo trainer. They can be very useful for improving pedalling technique with a high cadence, smooth action and bike handling.
But if you want to do controlled high intensity short efforts i.e. intervals then a turbo trainer is far better and I say that as someone who hated riding a turbo trainer.

[NATURAL ANKLING]

Hi,
I gather that rollers are good as they simulate correct cycling.
Note that like I have in the past, if you use a turbo exclusively then the lower leg muscles will complain when a proper bike is ridden again but I don't see that affecting most riders, I got that after thrashing on a turbo for months then doing a century
But a turbos good for drinking, wiping your brow and sitting up with no hands to rest your back and removing shirt without slipping off, I tend to do one hour bursts

[Mark1978]

Hi,
I gather that rollers are good as they simulate correct cycling.
Note that like I have in the past, if you use a turbo exclusively then the lower leg muscles will complain when a proper bike is ridden again but I don't see that affecting most riders, I got that after thrashing on a turbo for months then doing a century
But a turbos good for drinking, wiping your brow and sitting up with no hands to rest your back and removing shirt without slipping off, I tend to do one hour bursts

Up at 5am, on the turbo from 5.30-6.30am, bath the bairns, off to work by 7.15am

[Richard D]

Rollers? With my inability to stay upright? You're having a laugh.

I'm only allowed on the turbo trainer because there is almost no chance whatsoever that I'll fall over.

I redeemed myself by doing an hour on the evil turbo last night, then an extra 45 minutes in front of the TV on the recumbent bike.

The physio has been mostly concerned about getting me walking again, then getting me walking without (much of) a limp. The surgeon's only recently cleared me for doing proper, hard, load-bearing exercise, as my broken bone was taking a long time to heal, but in the meantime I was doing gentle - and then not so gentle - stuff on the recumbent. I get the impression that the physio is not that interested in my cycling exploits; he was pretty worried that I'd started to do some light stuff at the eight-week mark, and suggested that I might like to "build up gradually, like increase the distances by1km per week". Heck, at that rate it would have taken forever to get where I am now. Though he has been excellent at he joint mobility and walking stuff. It'll be interesting to see if the physio starts to get any harder now I'm healing, although I suspect that he's already eyeing up the "discharge" box on the form.

But I remain firmly of the opinion that the best way to ride a bike is in the great outdoors, and only ice, strong wind or really prolonged bouts of heavy rain (or doctor's orders) excuse the use of something as unpleasant as an indoor turbo trainer.

[ossie]

Riding a bike is good for my physical health. Doing it outside is good for my mental health.

Late in the day on this and I totally agree.It was bloody cold today, I hated the first 20 minutes but loved the next 2 hours. In addition just before nodding off tonight in I'll be retracing the route in my mind and taking in everything I saw and how I felt...these are the after effects that cement this hobby for me and positively improve my mental outlook on life. I still go through my last tour day by day at night, great way to relax and fall asleep

A turbo has a place and Ive used it several times this winter but its simply to keep the legs turning over in inclement weather before I can get out into the sticks again and take it all in.

[landsurfer]

My under used turbo trainer is for sale.
It's just a mag type from Chain Reaction. Not for me. Rather be outside. I don't go cycling if it's raining, but if it rains when I'm out I enjoy the ride anyway.
30 years of training for TT's ... in all weather's, is behind me . . .

[hamster]

+1.
I sold my turbo as I realised I would rather ride in the rain and dark than stare at the garage wall.

Indoor training doesn't do much for bike handling and zero for hazard perception, all of which are critical skills.