Winter Training

[POYNER111]

Hi

I have just got back into road cycling after a 3 -4 year break, and am quickly loosing all the weight I put on and loving it.

I'm keen to keep it up over the winter but not in the rain, so I was looking at turbo trainers etc.

Does anyone have an opinion on whats best, the turbo trainer or parabolic rollers ?

I like the idea of the rollers, and the bike not being fixed so you have to maintain balance, but they look a bit cheap, is that the case.

Neil

 

[fossyant]

Winter is probably less wet then the summer....

Still get out on the bike, get the right clothes.

 

[Landslide]

It's AUGUST!!!!!

Please refrain from depressing me with this talk of winter!

 

[GilesM]

No such thing as bad weather, just the wrong clothes.

I once had a set of rollers but I just couldn't use them, you get bored and too hot after about 5 minutes, in the end the only thing I used them for was warming up before hill climbs.

Giles

 

[Dayvo]

Hi

I have just got back into road cycling after a 3 -4 year break, and am quickly loosing all the weight I put on and loving it.

I'm keen to keep it up over the winter but not in the rain, so I was looking at turbo trainers etc.

Does anyone have an opinion on whats best, the turbo trainer or parabolic rollers ?

I like the idea of the rollers, and the bike not being fixed so you have to maintain balance, but they look a bit cheap, is that the case.

Neil

You might want to entertain the thought of spinning classes! An hour of whichever degree of difficulty you want, with good, loud, pumping music, a class full of fit birds like-minded cyclists/spinners/health-freaks, and a warm shower close at hand afterwards!

 

[Blue]

It doesn't matter what clothes you wear, riding in bad winter weather is sh;t.

A turbo is the best bit of winter kit I ever bought.

 

[ChrisRoberts]

Have to agree with the above comment from Blue. Turbo trainer is the best bit of kit I too have ever bought. I've had 3 in my time.

First one was a Tacx mag trainer and was more than adequate. I lost it in a house move from Lancaster to London 6 years ago.

I then bought a BETO Airflow Turbo Trainer - I was skint, it was cheap and as it turned out incredibly reliable. Very good bit of winter kit indeed, though the Airflow ones are a bit limited. I've just sold this on ebay - my neighbour complained, in a very polite way, about the noise level so I went and bought a ...

..CycleOps Mag trainer and after a bit of fiddling about and buying a Turbo tyre it is brilliant. Did 55 minutes on it this morning. It's nearly silent, certainly when compared to the Airflow trainer. I've bought a spare wheel with a normal trye and have a wheel/tyre for turbo training and I'm good to go.

Turbo Training is not for everyone, but personally, I love it. Put my iPod on, make sure I have a fan - or two - blowing in my face, watch old footage of TdF, Giro et al and cycle away until the sweat pours from me and I fall from the bike with exhaustion (a slight exaggeration but I try and go at it quite hard)...then my shower is only a short hop across the landing and I'm done.

By the way, does anyone have reliable figures for calorie burning/fat burning, when using Turbo trainer? i:e is it as good for you as road cycling?

Chris

 

[Bigtallfatbloke]

last winter I rode all the way through it...I had the right clothes and lost a lot of weight as a result. This winter I will try the same plan, but i have to admit that riding in bad weather is indeed pretty sh*t mostly...so i turbo does appeal, especially if I get a new bike soon.

 

[Blue]

last winter I rode all the way through it...I had the right clothes and lost a lot of weight as a result.

The exercise burned the cals, not the clothes. You will still burn cals on a turbo.

It may be just me, however, I think that not only is cycling in bad weather crap but it can also be more dangerous as drivers may have a harder time seeing a cyclist etc.