Commuter bikes better exercise than road bikes
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Commuter bikes better exercise than road bikes
I gave my coworker a nice road bike because I thought it would make her commute to work a lot quicker and it was too small for me. Today she told me that she got a heartrate monitor, and on flat ground her heartrate is a full 20 BPM faster on the commuter bike. She is afraid of going fast, so she is unable to get her heartrate up on flat ground with the road bike. This is an argument for a situation where a heavier slower bike being a better tool for working out than a specialized sports bicycle.
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Or, she could grind a heavy gear and drive her HR to explosion range
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If she learned to push the road bike to a faster speed, her workout would be just as good.
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Of course, if you want to go at x speed, a heavier/less efficient bike will need more effort. Nothing new.
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Road bikes aren't right for everyone. It's easy to forget that BikeForums posters tend to divide into two groups: people who like to ride bikes that are optimized for performance and people who like to complain about the people in the first group.
Not that Larry's friend is in either category. It's also easy to forget that the vast majority of bike riders don't know or care about BikeForums.
Not that Larry's friend is in either category. It's also easy to forget that the vast majority of bike riders don't know or care about BikeForums.
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12V truck battery on the rack.
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I had a slow commuter bike, actually 2 of them in succession (won the nicer but still slow second bike in a raffle). They were so slow that I never rode them all the way to or from work because it took too long. As soon as I bought a road bike I started doing the 31 mile round trip regularly. This is an argument for the faster road bike being a better workout than a heavier and slower bike.
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I gave my coworker a nice road bike because I thought it would make her commute to work a lot quicker and it was too small for me. Today she told me that she got a heartrate monitor, and on flat ground her heartrate is a full 20 BPM faster on the commuter bike. She is afraid of going fast, so she is unable to get her heartrate up on flat ground with the road bike. This is an argument for a situation where a heavier slower bike being a better tool for working out than a specialized sports bicycle.
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Costs me at least 50 watts to ride my MTB vs road bike at 18 mph.
Otto
Last edited by ofajen; 09-14-23 at 05:32 PM.
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a trike converted to a unicycle would give more of a workout. Especially if it's converted using all dumpster found parts.
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This is one situation where for one person and her specific physical and psychological conditions, a specific sort of workout suited her better than some other sort.
it is an argument for designing a workout to suit each exerciser.
As has been mentioned elsewhere, "better" workout is not a monolithic term. A weightlifter, a ballerina, a football lineman, a sprinter, a marathoner, a triathlete ... each will need a different workout to achieve the desired improvements.
Nothing new here. Just good, old-fashioned, and extremely rare common sense.
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Along the lines of Maelochs post, she will get the best workouts on the bike she feels most comfortable on such that she rides it more often.
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I'd also posit that the bike that requires the most effort, under the guise of "better workout" is also the least effective at being a bicycle
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A "better workout" is heavily influenced by a whole host of subjective nonsense I tell myself in order to feel a certain way .... hah hah. I'd rather just love the ride, regardless of any quantification of it. Forget the computers and tracking nonsense, just enjoy the scenery, even on a commute.
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“It never gets easier; you just go faster.” -- Greg LeMond
It's not about the danged equipment, it's about how hard you work.
It's not about the danged equipment, it's about how hard you work.
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The closer between my century rides, the stronger I get and less cramps I get. Doesn't matter if I ride my 73 lb Rohloff14 or 50 lb with SA 5w.
Not everyday of course.
Not everyday of course.
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