I read recently that a number of Pros like to ride the turbo for an hour or so before having breakfast in the morning to jump start the old metabolic system. Which means that now I ride the trainer for an hour in the morning before breakfast. I think the Pros probably do it to lose weight, and I do it partly for that reason but also to burn off the hangover which comes as a result of my status as a semi-professional drinker.
I used to ride an old Tacx trainer, but I found riding the device only slightly preferable to shoving bamboo shoots under my fingernails. Then I got a LeMond Revolution and now I actually look forward to my morning sessions. I’d been interested in the LeMond Revolution trainers for some time, but it wasn’t until I discovered that the device is based on a direct-drive trainer that Greg’s coach built for him in the 80’s that I decided to embark on my new morning ritual at the mercy of one. After all, if it was good enough to help LeMan become a Tour de France winner, then surly it was good enough to help me get less fat and become less of a weakling.
The first thing you notice about these little numbers that you remove the rear wheel from your bike and mount the Revolution in its place. This means no wheel slippage on the mag and what amounts to a remarkably pleasant ride feel. The second thing you notice about the trainer is that its bloody hard to spin up; I start crossed in a 53×26 and can hardly turn the pedals at first, but there is no way I’m shifting into my little ring on a trainer on account of my not being a giant sissy. The third thing you notice is that it’s actually fun to ride; I turn on some old Cycling movies and before I know it, I find my buzzer going off indicating the hour has already passed. I had no idea riding a trainer didn’t have to suck.
But lets be clear: we are road cyclists, and we ride on the road. A long ride in the cold wind and rain is preferable to even an hour on an indoor trainer. But trainers do represent an important training tool and as such should be a part of every Cyclist’s arsenal. I’m on it every morning, and as the season looms I’m looking to it more and more for intervals and power work. Not to mention that as I prepare for my Hour ride on Festum Prophetae, I’m training Obree Style on my Revolution.
Before we get too carried away with this indoor riding business, let’s review some examples of acceptable reasons to ride a trainer:
Examples of unacceptable reasons to ride a trainer:
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I hope pasting in from Excel works, but @Frank you might find this table helpful - it is my own-derived power matrix for the Revolution trainer with gear down the left hand side, cadence across the top, and roughly what power that should translate to. I calculated this using the Lemond Power Pilot, which I have since "calibrated" against my SRM - LeMond gives about 7 - 9% lower readings, to be expected since there is the friction-loss from the power train to take into account (SRM measures at crank end, Power Pilot measures at cassette). Wow, that almost sounds credible when I read it back... have no idea if it's right, but it sounds like proper 'science'.
You'll need to visit Sheldon Brown to translate my girly (no offence, girls) 50 tooth compact to your macho 52/53 chainring (hey, I like my knees; and anyway, I Look SO Fantastic, my compact chainset acts as a brake on how awesome I look, which means other people will sometimes ride with me), but shouldn't be too hard.
Obviously, the important ratio for you to work out is the 53x14 at cadence of 90rpm, given you are going for the Hour on The Prophet's birthday (north of 350W?). You go, sir!
Oh, and welcome to the Revolution. Helps with the Turbo vs. Bordeaux debate, but only if you have ear mufflers or you live under a flight path of landing 747s
OK, it didn't work. I'll try pasting it as a picture, or @Frank, I'll email you the spreadsheet. Sorry for cluttering up feed... you might want to delete the above post.
@ChrissyOne not if I just got home from a ride I shouldn't! Is there a better way to spend the first couple of hours after a good ride than watching the race of the week/day?
@Ruud, @ChrissyOne that did spring to mind. I'm not riding my bike whilst watching the classics live. It'd make me feel a completely inadequate.
When I started using rollers I was using Sufferfest's downward spiral. It took a couple of attempts before I didn't automatically try to turn left at the end of the Trouée d'Arenberg with the pack.
The revolution is definitely a good trainer, but I have too much reverence for my ear drums and others in my family (who often sleep while I use the trainer) to use this option. It is by far the loudest trainer made, but I understand it has remarkable road feel. I just can't use it in my environment but I've been very happy (such as one can be while not moving on a bike) with my CompuTrainer.
On the matter of pre-breakfast trainer rides, I recall reading that Der Kaiser (Jan Ullrich) would ride 30 minutes on the trainer before every outdoor ride. Has anyone also heard this rumor? It motivated me to try to do this, but I found in the summer it was simply too hot and during the winter it would have me leaving the house sweaty into the cold. It seemed like a bad idea all around.
I use a Kinetic Rock n Roll trainer. Love it. It's essential here in WI with the winter and cold we're having this year. -4 today (before wind chill) and, as I found out on Sunday, many back roads are still covered in snow and ice.
@ChrissyOne
I was under the impression that Seattle was a bike friendly city and drivers were aware of cyclists. I live in a small town in Maryland and we're just starting to get bike lanes - the group that's doing it is also attempting to educate drivers about looking out for people on bikes. I don't know how well it's working because I see drivers within town limits acting like idiots. Oddly enough, the motorists on the back roads seem to be a lot more aware of cyclists, so I prefer to ride out there.
Also if you live somewhere with shit roads, hostile drivers and poor air quality, indoors starts to look like a better option. I'm clocking plenty of roller time these days and its mind numbingly glorious. I don't wear my old shit either. I kit up like a V hero in my spare room. My socks are perfect.
And when I drain a bidon I give it the hookers and blow...
I was sure I was going to get a pass until I scrolled down and read that.
I have faced the harsh and sad fact of indoor riding is that if I want to get really fast I will at some point have to succumb to the reality that doing intervals in a controlled measurable environment is superior to riding on the road. I suppose a track serves the same purpose, but the turbo is just better than the road for this purpose.
@Deakus
Removing eggshells from a broken egg requires my entire focus, I'm certain trying to do so much as carry on a conversation while doing such would cause me to fall on my face, forget riding rollers.