Kilo time trial on a Track bike vs Stationary bike

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bruce.s400

New Member
Hi everyone, i dont know if question has place on a site like this but i havent found answers anywhere else on the net. Im gonna start off by saying that i've never gotten to ride a Track bike in my life. I know nothing about track & road bikes, i own a custom downhill bike and just have my share fun on her.

I'm a European Level u20 400m Sprinter who got into the gym a month ago because of an achilles tendon injury, and i was instructed to cycle on those stationary bikes that they have in order to work the upper legs without any risk of hurting the tendons. The other day i decided to put myself to a test:
"How far can i get on this bike in 60 seconds?"
i put the bike on level 20 (the highest resistance level) and went flatout from start to finish. (Or so i tried) turns out the bike registers 4 main parameters... [Level] [Distance] [RPM] [Time]
and by the time i hit 60 seconds, i registered a distance of 960m. Not bad i thought... two days later i retry and this time i reach 1020m in 60 seconds. I get home and research about the Kilo time trials, and i just remain there confused as the WR for the 1km trial is just 56 seconds; not too far from reach...

My question is: What are the variants of riding a stationary bike at a gym, and riding a track bike in a velodrome? How accurate are the measurement parameters on these gym bikes? Can they be a reliable source of info? How does it differ to a real time trial? How does wind affect performance? And what could my real potential be in a velodrome with a fixed gear time trial bike?
As an elite 400m sprinter i strongly believe that i have forged my body to pushing itself to the max of its aerobic capacity and muscular limits as the lactic acid attacks hard in my competitions, just like when i time trialed the gym bike, i feel they are equivalent in a way and its given me a type of edge in this quick-fire "Kilo" trial...
 

Ming the Merciless

There is no mercy
Location
Inside my skull
Only one way to find out. Get yourself down a velodrome. No amount of theory or opinion is going to answer it for you.
 

Sharky

Guru
Location
Kent
Find a safe, flattish and quiet stretch of road and measure exactly 1k.

Then time yourself from a standing start. Recover then do the same in the opposite direction and take an average of the two results.

Wont be the same as a velodrome, but it will give a meaningful measure.
 

CXRAndy

Guru
Location
Lincs
You need a simulator that has in its algorithm, drag weight and height. Probably London or Richmond flat course in Zwift on a Tacx Neo/2 would give you a good idea
 

Shortandcrisp

Über Member
Wouldn’t there be wind resistance (even in a velodrome) to overcome. Something a stationary bike doesn’t account for, or am I missing something?
 

fossyant

Ride It Like You Stole It!
Location
South Manchester
You need to try riding a real bike. Simulators like Zwift can be fairly accurate, but it's not cheap. Stuff in a gym, well, nothing like real world. As a sprinter you'll be fit, but it doesn't translate quite the same into running, just like cycling doesn't translate into running.
 

colly

Re member eR
Location
Leeds
Wind resistance, at 60kph, even over just 1000m, will have a huge effect.

On the other hand if the static bike you were riding has a built in factor for wind speed................you could be in for fame and fortune. ^_^^_^

Get youself to a velodrome and have a tester session.
 
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