How many ride a heavier bike to build endurance?
 

I have been riding my 29er lately which with its XL frame weighs in at 30+ pounds. I feel this will help me be a better road rider when I want to ride my road bike (size 60cm that weighs in at 20 pounds fully loaded). I think that by pushing the heavier bike my endurance and muscle tone will have beneficial results so that when I ride the road bike it will feel like I am putting out less effort for the same or better results (speed, distance).

So how many of you are riding a heavier bike in order to be able to ride your lighter bike with more ease?

I would prefer to ride a light bike faster to get the same amount of work done.
Sometimes I will take my heavy duty gravel bike on a road ride if I am going with a slow group of other riders.

No way. I'm going to ride the nicest, most appropriate bike that I have available for a given ride. If I want to up the effort, I've got gears and increasing wind resistance to take care of that.

Riding a heavy bike isn't harder, you just go slower.

Bingo. My two bikes are about 8lbs apart. The lighter one is a little faster.

But in truth, neither are "heavy." Forty pounds would be heavy. My porky one is 26.

A timely thread. I ride the BRC 43'lber all the time and I don't want to push myself too hard on it because it just takes so much damn effort to get up to significant speed and remain there. And, you slow down fast if not pedalling. Ironically, the lighter road bike is more of a workout because you are rewarded with speed and therefore want to push the bike harder.

I've ridden my MTB when going on a ride with my wife. She's a good rider, but hasn't put quite the mileage in I have, so I'd weigh myself down a little for those rides. Worked out fine... then we bought a tandem. :)

Endurance is a function of seat time, not bike weight.
Want greater endurance?
Go for longer rides.

-Bandera

For the endurance rides I have done, weight doesn't seem to be all that important. I have a Rivendell that weighs in at around 40 pounds fully loaded for a brevet and a Seven that's around 30. My average speed on the bike is not noticeably different on either one over long distances. I notice a little difference in acceleration and on big hills, but it doesn't seem to be significant enough to impact average speed in any material way. I can't keep up with the same fast guys on either bike.

Dragon Ball Z logic again. Get in the hyper gravity chamber and go Super Sayan.

In reality, it just makes rides harder.

On race day, go ahead and toss the 1050g tubulars on the bike instead of the 1600g crit wheels. Beyond that, you're just training to ride slow.

Back before I had a grown up job, I rode a pedicab full time. 3-6 days a week, 6pm until 3am most of the time. It weighed 190lbs empty. I was super strong at the time. It made me an excellent hiker, on a nice hike though, I had been trained to ride slow.

Agree with most of the above. Training is a function of the watts you produce. Whatever you are riding you are limited by your watts. If you put out 300 watts it doesn't matter what you are riding, you just go slower on the boat anchor.

I don't. I always say I should take my Sirrus out, but then when it comes to it, I grab the road bike. The heavier bike is for general tomfoolery, aka "biking" while the road bike is for "cycling" - I have to keep telling my wife there's a difference.

In addition to not using more energy, you are missing the "time in the saddle" benefits, or specificity of the road bike.

I ride heavier bikes than I need because I like the look/style/timelessness/fabrication of the frames.

I could easily buy a hollow sounding carbon bike with quality components...but that isn't appealing to me.

But sure- I'll gladly claim it's in the spirit of endurance training. That's why I'm not fast.

A tandem went by on our walk yesterday morning. my wife said she would be fine riding it with me but i would need to do all the peddling.

Part of why I am using the mountain bike is due to the fact it has platform pedals with the SPD clips on both sides so I can just hop on and ride which equals time in the saddle vs getting my kit and shoes on to ride the road bike.

I do have a 35 year old steel road bike, but I haven't spent much time on it in the last few years since I picked up the carbon bike.

Mine is kinda competitive when she wants to be. Once, while riding around White Rock Lake in Dallas, a guy pulled up behind us and said "Ooh, a tandem! Free ride!"
She almost tossed me out of the saddle when she engaged her turbo-legs. The poor guy looking for sweet sweet tandem draft fell back with a pained look on his face, unable to keep up.

Moments like that. :)

By that logic, you could ride a 40-lb gas pipe bike from the 50s with a rusty bottom bracket and huge knobby tires and become an absolute cycling monster. IMHO you can ride a heavier bike . . . or . . . you can ride your road bike harder and faster, up more hills, into the wind, etc. The fitness benefit doesn't depend on the bike, it depends on how much the rider puts into it. How much fun you have doing so is another matter.

My heavier bike is a 25 lb steelie. I don't ride it because it's heavier. I ride it because it's more comfortable on rough roads.

It may be tiny bit slower on climbs but our terrain is mostly roller coasters so over distance it all evens out with the carbon. We don't have any long enough continuous climbs to show any clear advantage to the carbon bike. But on smooth pavement it's a little less tiring over distance.

I have a comfort hybrid bike I use for errands. Massive aluminum tubes. Weighs about 40 lbs with racks, panniers, etc. Not sure it contributes to making me stronger. Riding my road bikes in a bigger gear and pushing harder makes me stronger on those bikes. Otherwise I'd spin and it all evens out.

I have a 2005 Schwinn SS DBX that I have set up with lower gearing, fatter tires, front/rear racks, fenders,etc. that is my commute/ errand and bad weather bike. It is much heavier than the 2 bikes I ride most of the time. I do not ride it for the purpose of a work out. That does not make sense to me. However, when I do ride it a fair amount for whatever reason, I sure do feel strong and fast when I get back on my favorite road wheels.

I've thought about gaining weight so I would get a better workout no matter which bike I am riding.

I don't intentionally ride my hybrid/fitness bike as a means to get stronger. It's simply for errands and tasks where I'm going to have to lock it up (no way I'm taking my other two bikes out if I'm not either on them, or within easy reach of them).

But as Delbiker1 says, I sure do feel stronger when I get back on my other bikes.

It is harder if you're riding in a group though. Changing to the cheaper tyres might help as well.

I ride longer to build endurance.

As long as you're keeping up with the group, of course you'll get a better work out/stronger on the heavier bike. That's why weenies like lighter bikes... it makes going fast easier. Get a trailer and load it with bricks.