Can anyone recommend an exercise bike?

jph100

hi

been meaning to get back cycling for a while but for the moment im looking to buy an exercise bike to use at home while watchin tv or something.

can anyone recommend a good one to get? ideally i dont want to go above €400

thanks

CheGuedara

Ive a TACX Flow turbotrainer that's the business for when it's just too fckn wet to throw down a goot spin outside or putting down a quick few Ks after work.

It's pretty advanced regards features but it's easy to use and should be competent for however much you get back into cycling. I will warn you - indoor cycling is as close as a man can get to being a hamster on a wheel - so maybe buy a box set of some tv show and set it up in front of the goggle box while working.

Get it from Chainreaction for just more than 300 yoyos and the postage is free.

E@gle.

If you have a spare bike a Turbo trainer is a good option,

if you are going for an excerise bike get a fixed gear one

smithslist

CheGuedara wrote: »

Ive a TACX Flow turbotrainer that's the business

have bought one last week !!!!

Now I've got to go through the pain of putting it together......ah god damn tacx instructions !!!!!!

do you use any training dvds for it? (That you would recommend)

CheGuedara

smithslist wrote: »

Now I've got to go through the pain of putting it together......ah god damn tacx instructions !!!!!!

God Yeah, I remember them - chocolate fireguard stuff i.e. sure they're there but what's the point?. Serious head scratching for a wee bit before I got it set right but it's dialled in now. Can stick the road bike or mtb on without hassle now.

As for dvd's, haven't gone down the sport spec route, I just throw on something that'll entertain me. It's so easy to get bored when doing a long session.

For the training itself I'm mostly at interval and HR zone stuff, but some of the guides in the manual are good also. There's a few handy bits in Serious Cycling by Burke also re lactate training. Theres quite advanced training programs out there depending on what your goals are but I've found keeping it pretty simple and knowing your training plan before you start works best.

smithslist

CheGuedara wrote: »

Serious head scratching for a wee bit before I got it set right but it's dialled in now. Can stick the road bike or mtb on without hassle now.

well i intended to do it tonite, but the further i got was taking the trainer out of the box and looking at it, and putting it back in, but I don't have my turbo bike ready yet so i thought when that is ready i will set it up all together

CheGuedara wrote: »

It's so easy to get bored when doing a long session.

yeah i know

CheGuedara wrote: »

For the training itself I'm mostly at interval and HR zone stuff, but some of the guides in the manual are good also. There's a few handy bits in Serious Cycling by Burke also re lactate training. Theres quite advanced training programs out there depending on what your goals are but I've found keeping it pretty simple and knowing your training plan before you start works best.

Don't know that book, but ill check it out. are there self-written interval and HR zone sessions you do or do you get them from the book?

My question was based towards the specific training dvds that concentrate on pedaling technique, v02 max, lactate threshold etc that are available

thanks for the info

CheGuedara

smithslist wrote: »

are there self-written interval and HR zone sessions you do or do you get them from the book?

Ah right, well most of my sessions are a mix of what I've read about the place and and what I've found works for me. The books not a turbotrainer session manual though it does have some usefull bits regarding LT and interval work you can do - but not a prescribed course of turbo training. If you're intersted in learning about how to improve all aspects of your training from training (incl. planning it and LT stuff), to nutrition, warm ups and stretches, bike setup and tactics its very good. Now, the author is a physiologist and my own background is in physiology also so I can tell you there is some science in it, but it's not overpowering at all.

smithslist wrote: »

My question was based towards the specific training dvds that concentrate on pedaling technique, v02 max, lactate threshold etc that are available

I haven't gone down the road of watching DVDs covering pedaling technique, v02 max or lactate threshold at all. If pedalling technique is a primary concern I understand rollers are better than trainers as the bike is not fixed to a frame and therefor balance and technique are more important and can be improved upon. Still comes second to training on the road though.

Regarding VO2 max, LT determination and similar tests (anaerobic power etc) I believe its probably possible to estimate these from Wattage & HR info from the Flow trainer.

VO2max can be estimated by (not measured - spirometry equipment is required for this, and it's a maximal test so not to be attempted w/o assistance) the Astrand 6min test (http://www.brianmac.co.uk/cycle6min.htm). It's accuracy is generally regarded as pretty good. If you really want this done right though you might consider going to Peakhealth in Bray (http://www.peakhealth.ie/iopen24/defaultarticle.php?cArticlePath=13_16). They do full on sports physiology testing there

LT can be estimated by working at wattages increasing from maybe 100 in 20 watt increments every minute taking a HR @ each time point until a wattage that cannot be maintained for 15s+ is reached. Hop the results onto excel, graph it, and the deflection in HR will be a proxy for the ventilatory breakpoint that occurs at LT.

You might be able to estimate your anaerobic power by way of an attempt at a Wingate Anaerob. power test. Not to be touched if you've a dud ticker..

Hope this helps:)

smithslist

thanks for the info CheGuedara

jph100

hi thanks for all the help folks.

i shudda been more precise in my original post. when i mean im gettin back into cycling, i never cycled huge distances or anythin. i used to go for a quick spin for a bit of exercise to go with the work i do in the gym.

so i was more thinking of getting an exercise bike along the lines of ones u wud find in a gym. it never occurred to me to get a turbotrainer. wud these be much better than a gym bike? wud u need a decent bike for it?

thanks

Caroline_ie

They have a special on indoors bikes at lidl next week ... Might be interresting for you to go have a look at their prospectus.

Lumen

jph100 wrote: »

so i was more thinking of getting an exercise bike along the lines of ones u wud find in a gym. it never occurred to me to get a turbotrainer. wud these be much better than a gym bike? wud u need a decent bike for it?

I have always found gym bikes to be rubbish compared to a real bike on a trainer. You can use proper clipless pedals, which feel nicer, and the drivetrain is much more "clickety click", if that makes any sense.

There might possibly be economy advantages to an exercise bike, but at least with a trainer you can take the bike out for a proper ride and therefore only part of the equipment will be gathering cobwebs in the attic.

jph100

yeah the lidl one seems decent enough. cheers for spotting it.

are the turbotrainers better to get though? as i said im not a competitive cylcist or anything but if it wud be better for me than a gym bike id look at it.

i presumed only competive cylcists had that type of gear. wud u need a good bike to use the turbotrainer?

thanks

Lumen

jph100 wrote: »

i presumed only competive cylcists had that type of gear. wud u need a good bike to use the turbotrainer?

No and no. You don't even need brakes (or functioning gears, arguably).

Knobby tyres would be even more irritating than on the road, but as long as the bike is comfortable and the drivetrain works, it will be fine.

I have a turbotrainer gathering dust in the attic if you want to borrow it (D15).

jph100

Lumen wrote: »

No and no. You don't even need brakes (or functioning gears, arguably).

Knobby tyres would be even more irritating than on the road, but as long as the bike is comfortable and the drivetrain works, it will be fine.

I have a turbotrainer gathering dust in the attic if you want to borrow it (D15).

hi thanks very much for the offer but ive saved a few bob to spend on exercise gear so i might aswell buy a brand new one.

so just to recap! - wat wud the benefits of a turbotrainer be over a gym bike?
- and which turbotrainer wud people recommend?

thanks

CheGuedara

jph100 wrote: »

wat wud the benefits of a turbotrainer be over a gym bike?
- and which turbotrainer wud people recommend? thanks

Hi jph, Ya def don't need to be pro and a good bike is totally not necessary an ordinary bike is abs fine. I think the main advantantages as I see em with turbo trainers are that

1. you dont have an exercise bike, notorious for being a poor reflection of cycling itself due to the usually sketchy tuning of resistance and usually not reflective of a persons position on a bike when actually cycling (and generally have rediculous uncomfortable saddles). This is why they're commonly found in attic storage, or as a form of clothes horse in peoples houses -everyones seen em in someones house, usually in the corner of a spare room clothes on hangers dangling from the bars, or bottom of a bedroom with towels drying on it.

2. It allows you to use your own bike, no matter when or if you change it in doors when either the weather is too bad or dark outside. The advantage being it puts you on a real bike with real gears that you are familiar with and set up as you use it.

3. They allow for strength(power), endurance and aerobic training, where the exercise bike is really more exclusively aimed at aerobic training.

4.They are (usually) very accurate in how you can train on them, you can do advanced stuff, or you can do simple things just mimicing the resistance of doing a hilly cycle (or even just a flat one if you just want to spin the legs)

5. On a practical measure, the turbo trainers are very compact and fold up just about small enough to fit under a couch or bed which cant be said for the clothes horse, ahem, I mean exercise bike.

And if the gym bikes you've been using have those HR monitors built in some turbotrainers have recievers for HR monitors built in so you could do exactly what you've been doing in the gym but with the all the advantages assoc with using your own bike.

I'd take lumen up on the offer of trying it out first, the Tacx Flow that I'm using is very good and anyone between beginner and racer could make good use of it, but they're a bit of an expense if you're unsure of if you'd use it. Then if you decide to go for it look at ones by Tacx, Elite and Cycleops - they'd have the best reputations. Oh, and def throw some cheap tyres (slicks if using a MTB) onto the bike before you start, they can be tough on rubber.

jph100

thanks evryone for their help.

ive decided to chance getting a turbo trainer. is it best to get one online or do shops in dublin city centre have them?

thanks

Funkyzeit

jph100 wrote: »

thanks evryone for their help.

ive decided to chance getting a turbo trainer. is it best to get one online or do shops in dublin city centre have them?

thanks

Online IMO. chainreactions (I bought mine with them) or wiggle is probably your best bet.

jph100

Funkyzeit wrote: »

Online IMO. chainreactions (I bought mine with them) or wiggle is probably your best bet.

cheers for that. which is the best one to get on chainreactions?

thanks

Funkyzeit

jph100 wrote: »

cheers for that. which is the best one to get on chainreactions?

thanks

Well I splashed out and got the Tacx I-Magic (the VR/Real Video trainer) only cause I knew I'd use it more (and I love it). Various threads on including this one which Quigs Snr gives a load if info on.


http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=2055357571&highlight=magic

A cheaper alternative might be the Tacx Soft Gel .

Be aware Tacx instructions are AWFUL (as dicsussed on an earlier thread
this week) !!