Trainers really do help

[Citius]

But then your balance and control skills degrade, leaving you less able to properly exploit the fitness. They should be used as part of a balanced diet, with consideration for the big picture.

You think people who ride on turbos will eventually forget how to ride bikes?

 

[screenman]

Definitely agree with you............BUT I tend to use mine only in winter so as to keep up some level of fitness. It is sooooo boring that I can only manage 45 minutes max'.........say 3 times per week but flat out it helps a lot.

I think that may say more about you than the machine.

 

[Vapin' Joe]

I don't really like using them, but I can see how they are useful when you are racing. I wish I'd had one back in the day to help increase leg speed. I know you can do it on the road but it is much easier to pedal at a constant 100rpm for a set period when there are no traffic hazards to concentrate on.

 

[Deleted member 1258]

I recently scrapped my turbo, I hadn't used it for a couple of years, before that I was doing a winter training routine every winter for about twenty years, wore out two turbo's in that time, initially I got great benefit from it but the gains tailed off and in the end I was just keeping my fitness up. But I retire soon and I'm thinking maybe I'll buy another and start again, there will be no work to get in the way. My fitness has dropped off since I stopped training and I'm starting to think maybe I'd like some of that fitness back.

 

[Accy cyclist]

Is it me or are turbo trainers not as good for the lungs as real bike riding? I bought one recently, my heart rate is high during use but i don't cough and splutter like i do when outdoors on the roads. Anyway,i did 2 hours non stop this afternoon while watching the Alps stage of the TdF. Very satisfying it was too!