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Reverence: LeMond Revolution

The LeMond Revolution

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:

Strength and/or interval training.
Pedaling technique work.
Hour Record simulation training.
Pre-breakfast rides to help lose weight, assuming you still hit the road after breakfast.
Recovery from injury.

Examples of unacceptable reasons to ride a trainer:

Its raining outside and you don’t want to get wet.
Its cold outside and you don’t want to get cold.
Its windy outside and you don’t want to get blown around.
Its cold and wet outside and you don’t want to get cold and wet.
Its cold and wet and windy out and you don’t want to get blown around while getting cold and wet.

[dmalbum path=”/velominati.com/content/Photo Galleries/frank@velominati.com/Revolution/”/]

frank

The founder of Velominati and curator of The Rules, Frank was born in the Dutch colonies of Minnesota. His boundless physical talents are carefully canceled out by his equally boundless enthusiasm for drinking. Coffee, beer, wine, if it’s in a container, he will enjoy it, a lot of it. He currently lives in Seattle. He loves riding in the rain and scheduling visits with the Man with the Hammer just to be reminded of the privilege it is to feel completely depleted. He holds down a technology job the description of which no-one really understands and his interests outside of Cycling and drinking are Cycling and drinking. As devoted aesthete, the only thing more important to him than riding a bike well is looking good doing it. Frank is co-author along with the other Keepers of the Cog of the popular book, The Rules, The Way of the Cycling Disciple and also writes a monthly column for the magazine, Cyclist. He is also currently working on the first follow-up to The Rules, tentatively entitled The Hardmen. Email him directly at rouleur@velominati.com.

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View Comments

Mike_P says:

Jan 21 2014 at 6:41 am

I just read that Team Sky have signed a deal with Wahoo for their trainers. Good enough reason to buy a Lemond.

I'm with @Chris re the need for my trainer and rollers. Time poor, kid rich. I couldn't do without my home training devices. But every minute I spend on them is a minute I'd rather be on the road.
frank says:

Jan 21 2014 at 7:17 am

@Boltzmann

Mrs Boltzmann and I continue to put the trainer time in on our >10 yr old LeMond RevMaster - indestructible beast that it is! Quiet, stout, and will likely outlast us.

At what noise level does the Revolution operate?

That's one thing I should add about the Revolution; it is not quiet. I have the newer model which I'm given to understand is quieter than the original, but it is still very loud.
Buck Rogers says:

Jan 21 2014 at 7:50 am

A few years ago I used to use a Cyclops Fluid trainer until I used it so much the fluid ran all over my floor (guess I gutted the bastard-I think being in Iraq and riding it so much didn't help) and so I switched to a Kurt Kinetic Pro fluid trainer and that was great but I bought a used set of Kreitler Dyno-Myte Rollers, 2.25 inch drums, on ebay and I have never looked back.

If I have to ride indoors, the rollers it is for me. I still watch the cycling videos and can do the sufferfest vids as well. I can spin it up to 120 cadence or down to 60 and stand on a huge gear and get the massive leg burn for 5 minutes at a time.

The Leman trainer does sound great but rollers are quiet, require a shit load of skill (which comes surprisingly fast and help road skills in my opinion) and you can adequately KILL yourself on them as good as any indoor trainer.

Just my two cents.
The Oracle says:

Jan 21 2014 at 8:13 am

@Deakus that video is absolutely absurd. Everyone knows you caramelize the onions before adding the eggs. Jeez.
Mike_P says:

Jan 21 2014 at 8:14 am

@Buck Rogers

A few years ago I used to use a Cyclops Fluid trainer until I used it so much the fluid ran all over my floor (guess I gutted the bastard-I think being in Iraq and riding it so much didn't help) and so I switched to a Kurt Kinetic Pro fluid trainer and that was great but I bought a used set of Kreitler Dyno-Myte Rollers, 2.25 inch drums, on ebay and I have never looked back.

If I have to ride indoors, the rollers it is for me. I still watch the cycling videos and can do the sufferfest vids as well. I can spin it up to 120 cadence or down to 60 and stand on a huge gear and get the massive leg burn for 5 minutes at a time.

The LeMan trainer does sound great but rollers are quiet, require a shit load of skill (which comes surprisingly fast and help road skills in my opinion) and you can adequately KILL yourself on them as good as any indoor trainer.

Just my two cents.

Shit load of skill indeed. I love my rollers but I'm screwed if I can watch a cycling movie while I'm on them. That's a sure-fire ticket to an embarrassing floor, bike, rider combo.
Buck Rogers says:

Jan 21 2014 at 8:20 am

@Mike_P Actually, I also cannot switch out a movie while riding. I can stand on the rollers for a long time but it requires full concentration.

And yes, I have hit the floor more than once, esp when I first started using them. I now have chairs on either side so that I can grab one quickly if I start to lose my balance!
Ruud says:

Jan 21 2014 at 8:31 am

My earlier comment, I realize more and more, was not only a personal take, it's also facilitated by my living in Holland, as in: relatively mild winters and less and less contact with drivers thanks not only to bike paths everywhere, but also country roads that are off-limits for cars during rush hour. Easy for me to me to dislike these things!
Buck Rogers says:

Jan 21 2014 at 9:14 am

@Deakus JeeeZHUS! Talk about MAD SKILLS! Now THAT was impressive!
frank says:

Jan 21 2014 at 10:16 am

@scotjonscot

I'm sorry, but when the high is -26C, I'm on the trainer. No, on second thought I'm not sorry.

Gord Gallant has put you to shame.
ChrissyOne says:

Jan 21 2014 at 10:19 am

@cyclebrarian

@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.

The problem is that I live in a small town across Puget Sound from Seattle, but I work downtown. The country road where I live are exquisite for riding, and I can go out my front door and put in 100km of gorgeous riding. But the roads have inadequate shoulders, are rough and poorly maintained in places, and the drivers are a mixed bag of courteous sympathizers and homicidal maniacs.
Seattle itself has *slightly* better drivers, but far worse roads. In my younger days (in the mid 90's) I did in fact do the bicycle commute to downtown - nearly 50km per day. But after countless close calls and even being hit by a van once, it lost its appeal. Now to make it work, I'd have to leave an hour earlier, and get home an hour later, all for the privilege of riding through the crappy streets of West Seattle. I'd rather get home earlier and ride on my quiet country roads. It's just the dark winter months that become a problem, so the trainer has supplemented that time nicely.