Wouldn't you get a better workout with a heavier bike ?
 

Featherweight bike seems good for speed like if racing or Tour De France.

But, what if cubicle worker go for bike rides for exercise ? Not racing.

If it’s for exercise, is it counterproductive to have a light/fast bike.?

For exercise, won't a heavy $150 WalMart mountain bike give you a better workout ?

Better to ride the tank Huffy for 1 hour than to ride the AeroSpace bike for 6 hours to get the same calories burned ?

Less is more ? Or in this case, more is more ?


There are 2 very distinct use cases for a bicycle:

If I wanted to travel as far as I could (using bike to commute to work, or as a legitimate transportation vehicle), then I’d want the lightest bike I can get, to increase range.

But, for fitness and exercise, I’d want the heaviest bike I can get.

The only situation I can see a lighter bike yielding a better workout is when the hill is TOO steep to be traversed by a heavy bike, and you need to walk it.

Then a light bike works better since you can actually ride it up the hill.



Otherwise, it seems like its analogous to putting the treadmill on 3.0 At this speed, it takes very little effort, just like it takes less effort to move a light bike.

A light bike will be easier to pedal, thus yielding a less efficient workout.

So, to get the same workout on a 3.0, you’d have to jog for hours compared to putting the treadmill on 6.0 or 8.0 (riding a heavier bike)



Even for pro bikers who are training, it seems the most logical training bike would be the heaviest bike you can find.

Just like putting those donut weights on the baseball bat when you’re in the on deck circle.

Trailer with weights for the ultimate workout.

What bikes do you ride?

Higher gears more work on the lighter bike.

I have always taken the POV of riding my heavier bikes most of the time. Save my lighter bike for group rides where we got a little competitive at times (don't do that anymore). Haven't taken out my Cervelo for a few years, as I might be pushing the weight limit 😬😬.
I ride my Cannondale F4, probably around 35 lbs as set up, or my steel lemond probably around 25 lbs. I should weigh the bikes, but that would mean weighing myself🤔.
That that I am older, I take durability and comfort over speed.

Just my 5¢. Probably worth as much as well.

Have you not thought for one second about why "pro bikers" don't train that way? I mean, do you really think you have stumbled onto something pros and their coaches have overlooked for so long?

Your game is weak.

No, you just go slower and it would be the same effort. Cycling isn't weight lifting, it's an aerobic activity

Eventually the bike becomes so heavy the workout is not enjoyable and we'll quit sooner rather than later.

Except you are not exercising on a treadmill. You are riding outside, which means you need to factor in aerodynamics. The faster you go, the harder you actually work.
Now, you might be onto something as a training technique for pro racers, having them practice on a bike with extra weight, then racing without the extra weight. That actually could work.
But as far as the average person is concerned, the bike that can get them to ride as efficiently as they are capable is the best bike for fitness, and also be more enjoyable to ride.

You will become Stronger.

Toured on a 35 LB bike. NY to LA.
Arriving in CA going Up a Long hill, I was able to pass Three Local Club Riders (in their Team Kits and Road Bikes).

Wouldn't you get a better workout with a heavier bike ?

No.

---------------- no -------------------
:d

Weight is for resistance muscle training. Bicycles are for aerobic (cardio) muscle training. You can ride a heavier bike, but you won't be as fast up a hill as a person of equal physical condition nor will you accelerate as fast.

So when your equal on the lighter bike is beating you at all you do, the fun will go out of riding and you won't do it as much.

Besides, you can expend just as much energy on a light bike. And it's all positive in that you'll be faster up a hill and go further on a tank of gas (stored energy in your body).

I Became Stronger.

That wasn't from being on a heavier bike.

Basically, a heavier bike makes it harder to accelerate and climb, and has little effect on your flat riding effort. The difference is that the weight increases the resistance you must overcome to speed up or climb. As somebody pointed out, you can get this same effect on a lighter bike by going to a higher gear while climbing or accelerating, so there's no inherent advantage to the heavier bike in terms of building fitness.

Not really the question--would you have become less strong on a 30 pound bike at that distance? Doubtful.

Every time I think I need a newer and lighter road bike, I just take out that 35 lbs 29er out for a longer ride and realize that 17 lbs endurance bike is a lot better than I thought.

I would normally say "there's hundreds of pro bike racers who are at the most elite fitness and performance levels who would disagree".

But today, let me play devil's advocate......what if you live in an area where it is most convenient and safe for you to use a greenway or MUP? Safe speeds are NOT interval training speeds. Maybe it's safer and maybe fun enough to ride some kind of bike with some big knobbie tires and sucking a little more wind at a slower speed.

I disagree for hills, as with hills just push harder. No safe amount of artificial weight added to hills turns hills to mountain climbs. I did the kid trailer thing, but didn't care for the dynamics/handling and safety aspect of having a kid with me trying to train. That should be about the kid, not me. So hills, just push harder.

Time trial training must be done in position on your race bike or a TT bike with the same fit coordinates. There's only so much slower something like gators and box section wheels matter. But for cross wind you want to learn to ride your deep section wheels confidently in training. So, you just get used to accumulating a lot of miles on the same training routes over and over.

Add some gravel to go slower also. I like my long uninterrupted gravel rides. Might avg 16mph for 3 hours. On the TT bike I'd make it nearly 72mi in 3 hours on that thing on a flat route. That gets to be some big routes, or some repetition. That's 48mi versus 72mi.

There have been many threads and variants of this thread alluding to a better workout or stronger and I think the answer is pretty simple.

If your cycling ability is beyond the resistance of the bike, spinning out in highest gear over the length of the ride/section, then added resistance can help with the workout or fitness.

That resistance can be in the form of weight, rolling resistance, air resistance, gearing, or anything else that will require more effort than you are able to provide.

However if you are unable to exceed the bike’s current setup addition resistance has no effect what-so-ever since your puny legs are can’t even maximize what you have.

John

This seems like a fun conversation:) I think that it sort of depends on what your goals are. For me, when I exercise on a bicycle it is more a function of how hard I pedal than how fast I go. I'm a bit of an introvert and so I don't really have any friends to ride with and so I'm not going on any group rides. I've also never been fast at anything (except in the parallel universe in my head where I'm in charge of everything). So in my situation I feel that as long as I'm pedaling hard enough to get my heart rate up, then I'm getting the aerobic exercise benefit from cycling. While my goal isn't to be the fastest person on a bike, I don't want to be slow either. So if the question is whether or not a heavier bike is a better work out, I think that it just depends on how hard you pedal. If I were a competitive cyclist, I know that I would prefer to train on the bike that I would be racing with so that I would be accustomed to all of the nuances of that bike such as handling, gears, braking, etc.

Fun it Is.

500 miles on a Flat Track
https://cimg1.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...fc8f446dad.jpg
4200 miles Real World Roads https://cimg9.ibsrv.net/gimg/bikefor...0f7294696a.jpg

The only time riding a heavier bike than others might come up with some benifit will be if you regularly ride as a group with others that are below your cycling fitness level. Then that might let you get the workout you need on hills and accelerations that you wouldn't get while riding with them on a lighter bike becuase you have to hold back and can't ride at your normal power level.

However something to increase your drag will be a better option, IMO. Maybe something like those little drogue chutes you see trailing some pro riders every great once in a while when they are riding regularly with others well below their ability.

Why not just put a couple of pieces of lead on your light bike?