Cadence or wattage

[Flyboy]

I have set myself a small challenge in the gym , (see how fast I can do 10 miles on a spin bike)
Question , is it better to go for revs , or watts, I know they are related , but would I get further at a higher wattage than just spinning the bike out .
Reason it's in the gym is I don't have a road bike

 

[Bollo]

Short answer - cadence and distance are next to meaningless. Training with power is the way to go, but only if you're following a power-based training plan. Otherwise it's also pretty arbitrary. If you need a challenge that means something, try to establish your FTP.

 

[screenman]

I have set myself a small challenge in the gym , (see how fast I can do 10 miles on a spin bike)
Question , is it better to go for revs , or watts, I know they are related , but would I get further at a higher wattage than just spinning the bike out .
Reason it's in the gym is I don't have a road bike

Why not just see how fast you can go on whatever bike you have.

 

[vickster]

How do you do 10 miles on a spin bike, they don't go anywhere

Cancel the gym and use the monthly payments to finance a roadbike

 

[Dogtrousers]

Watts

The bike will measure how much power you are putting in and translate that to a virtual speed. And the more virtual speed the quicker you will virtually get to your virtual destination.

You will probably virtually change gear by changing the resistance (maybe, depending on the bike) and can use that to choose a comfortable cadence.

 

[Flyboy]

Reason it's in the gym , there are two of us doing it on the same bike , this is an ultra modern bike with full digital readout . I don't ride on the road much , just to get from one trail to the other .
Also being indoors the weather is constant , so you get a better result between riders .

 

[S-Express]

I have set myself a small challenge in the gym , (see how fast I can do 10 miles on a spin bike)
Question , is it better to go for revs , or watts, I know they are related , but would I get further at a higher wattage than just spinning the bike out .
Reason it's in the gym is I don't have a road bike

If you have a distance/time objective, then use distance/time as your measures. If distance/time is your objective, then cadence and watts are incidental.

 

[Flyboy]

I just want to do 10 miles as fast as I can , just wondered if it's better to spin , or push a bigger gear slower .

 

[Dogtrousers]

Actually, if your bike has a speed output then you can ignore both cadence and watts.

If, as I suspect, you're just wondering what the numbers mean and want to have a bit of fun, and pass the time, maximising one or the other, then maxing the watts will translate to a higher virtual speed and shorter time.

Or you could just mess around and see what has what effect.

 

[S-Express]

I just want to do 10 miles as fast as I can , just wondered if it's better to spin , or push a bigger gear slower .

You won't know until you try. Do whatever suits you better.

 

[Dogtrousers]

I just want to do 10 miles as fast as I can , just wondered if it's better to spin , or push a bigger gear slower .

There's no answer to that. Depends on you

 

[HLaB]

I just want to do 10 miles as fast as I can , just wondered if it's better to spin , or push a bigger gear slower .

You need to find the good balance for you. I find if I use to big a gear I tire out so I spin more but my best TT results have came where I've disregarded cadence and only paid attention to watts and cadence was only natural.

 

[screenman]

I just want to do 10 miles as fast as I can , just wondered if it's better to spin , or push a bigger gear slower .

That is a different question, and not anywhere near as easy to answer.

 

[Flyboy]

Ha ha ok . Have a go if you want

 

[S-Express]

Ha ha ok . Have a go if you want

We did earlier..