Heavy bike/light bike!

[eldudino]

I've just got my first road bike and used it to commute to work for a couple of days and immediately noticed the difference in ease of motion compared to my Trek hybrid. I only used the new bike because the Trek was in getting a new hub but it started me thinking about the benefits of using a heavy bike for commuting as a training technique for weekend rides. Does anyone else do this?

I know Magnatom is looking for a drop bar winter bike because (I gather) he can't stand riding his old hybrid and part of me thinks this is a great idea, however part of me knows that the reason my fitness has improved is because I ride a heavy-heavy monster show of a bike to work and back every day so maybe an easy-pedaller isn't the right way to go - sorry Mags, you need to get on that heavy b*****d and build up them thighs!

 

[Twenty Inch]

Hyper-gravity training is a well-known technique.

 

[eldudino]

Hyper-gravity training is a well-known technique.

I didn't know that. Being a fatty (I'm still obese but only 0.2 off being 'over-weight' according to the BMI calculation) I missed out on physical exercise for the majority of my twenties so I've not been too familiar with things to make me sweat! The plus side of this is that I found it no trouble to push a full-bhuna double, having thought initially that I might struggle; I've not done any hills on it yet due to a chest infection but I'm looking forward to seeing how I fare.

 

[gf1959]

My dry-weather road bike is a reasonably light Giant,but i still use the old Peugeot both
for commutes and hilly exercise. It's 3kg heavier and less agile but it does a good job of
keeping me fit,and that's the main thing. I wouldn't want anything lighter than the Giant,nor would i want some clonking old heap that took 2 people to lift up if it fell over.
Hope that helps(of course it doesn't).

 

[MajorMantra]

Surely it's not the weight of your bike that determines improvements in your fitness - it's the intensity you aim for and the techniques you employ. If riding a tank of a bike were the best training technique then racers and pros would do it all the time. Instead they choose the much nicer option of riding very quickly on lightweight bikes.

Matthew

 

[HJ]

Just get a rack and add a couple of heavy panniers for training...

 

[eldudino]

Surely it's not the weight of your bike that determines improvements in your fitness - it's the intensity you aim for and the techniques you employ. If riding a tank of a bike were the best training technique then racers and pros would do it all the time. Instead they choose the much nicer option of riding very quickly on lightweight bikes.

Matthew

Agreed, however I don't have that luxury so I'll stick with the Trek Sherman MK4!

 

[eldudino]

Just get a rack and add a couple of heavy panniers for training...

On a carbon seat post? Nae chunce.

 

[HJ]

On a carbon seat post? Nae chunce.

I have a carbon seat post...

 

[boydj]

sorry Mags, you need to get on that heavy b*****d and build up them thighs!

You obviously have not seen Magnatom's thighs

 

[eldudino]

I have a carbon seat post...

I knew I should've explained! My rack/paniers are the clamp-on-the-seatpost type, I didn't think it was the done thing to clamp onto a carbon seat post. And you would have a carbon seatpost on a Norco, wouldn't you!

 

[magnatom]

Oi! What's all this talk about my thighs!

The problem with me cycling on the hybrid is that I don't really enjoy it. Riding the road bike makes me want to ride harder and faster. Riding the hybrid is just hard work.

 

[MacB]

Oi! What's all this talk about my thighs!

The problem with me cycling on the hybrid is that I don't really enjoy it. Riding the road bike makes me want to ride harder and faster. Riding the hybrid is just hard work.

I suspect that the ride position and the variety of hand positions make a difference as well. There're probably a lot of people that go from hybrid to road bike that also upgrade their selection process at the same time. They may know more about bikes, spend more time testing and choosing, and include some form of fitting service. Comparing my commuter to my weekend bike sees a difference of about 4mph for the same effort. But there is a weight difference, including panniers, of about 18lbs or 8kg. Both bikes have the same ride position and bars setup.

When commuting regularly I find a lot of pleasure in just riding the weekend bike. I'd worry that riding it, or a similarly weighted bike, every day, may reduce that feeling.

Re Mags point, I think he wouldn't feel as negatively towards a Winter road bike setup as he does his hybrid.

 

[Twenty Inch]

Surely it's not the weight of your bike that determines improvements in your fitness - it's the intensity you aim for and the techniques you employ. If riding a tank of a bike were the best training technique then racers and pros would do it all the time. Instead they choose the much nicer option of riding very quickly on lightweight bikes.

Matthew

Erm, if you think that weight has no effect on intensity, carry this shopping home for me, would you please?

 

[eldudino]

When commuting regularly I find a lot of pleasure in just riding the weekend bike. I'd worry that riding it, or a similarly weighted bike, every day, may reduce that feeling.

That's exactly what I was thinking. Such thoughts of getting a light weight commuter would only lead to looking at metal that I can't afford too, so it's a bit of a 'save me from myself' tactic too.

This morning I was commuting in and I averaged 18.5mph, if I was doing it on a road bike I'd want to be going quicker so come weekend ride time, I might feel a bit desensitised to the experience of riding a nice roadie. It's sort of comparable to using a family hatch to drive to work in, then saving your Caterham for the weekends.