datlas 

hubcyclist

im saying, at least for me, I don’t feel any different strain on my body when I start to ride outside after being inside. In fact I race Cx (not terribly) with not that much outdoor training. I think there are mental aspects to stuff like riding with groups, but physically the transition from inside to outside is seamless and I find claims to the contrary quite overblown

Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​That doing push-ups and bench presses won't make you faster on a bike. 🙂

seypat

These people somehow manage.

https://superleaguetriathlon.com/event/london21/

prj71

For sure. That's what happens when you have people that don't know what they are talking about. People are entitled to their own opinions but not their own facts.

seypat

I need to learn the "I killed it" sit up and smirk move I see in the Peloton commercials. Can I learn that on a real bike outside?

Seattle Forrest

You shouldn't do sit ups, they're bad for your spine.

burnthesheep

Around here I don't see that. The hammer ride is mostly members of teams that race road. All of them ride outdoors at some point in the off season. Weather in the south is good in winter for it. Even then, it's probably a 50/50 time split. I think it is the triathletes that give this one the worst look.

Bottom line, most Peloton users don't follow structured training of testing and doing workouts tailored at tickling up specific kinds of power. It's a fitness and health thing, not performance. Spin class doesn't necessarily tailor towards progression. Not to mention, doing VO2 sets of 4x5min at 120% isn't pleasant. Peloton users are looking for a doable and somewhat enjoyable fitness experience.

You also can't compare the Zwift climbs to real life unless you're one of the few with a trainer with sufficient % grade simulation AND you have your trainer difficulty set at 100%. Most folks you see climbing Alpe or Ventoux on Zwift would need mountain bike gearing to get up those climbs IRL. They'd be pushing a road bike with a 50/34 and 11/30 cassette. Then with mtb gearing would come the less efficient tires and heavier weights, usually unless super-mtb with lockouts and low weight.

I got into a pissing contest with a local guy about his "virtual everesting". He rode up the Alpe to hit the number........all while just spinning 90rpm and 125w for eternity. Trainer difficulty set to like 25%. Soviet level boredom torture stuff, no doubt. But fake fake fake. That's not climbing. That's just a really really impressive endurance ride. He tried to argue "I could buy different gearing for a real effort". Right cowboy. Right.

seypat

caloso

I wouldn't say that. Less confident, less smooth. Little things like reading the wind or sensing a surge before it happens. Not tensing up if you bump elbows. Riding comfortably in the drops. It comes back quickly for experienced riders.

indyfabz

mstateglfr 

Oh, so your earlier complaint was about how zwifters dont handle riding in a competitive outdoor race or group ride very well? Here I thought you were complaining that they just plain didnt know how to balance and would ride into curbs or something like that.

Your issue applies to like .025% of cyclists. Most will Peloton or Zwift for cardio exercise and engagement, and then ride when its nice outside because cycling to them is a recreational hobby and hobbies should be fun.
Peloton and Zwift can be fantastic ways to keep up one's fitness. Simple as that.

seypat

Either he's got shoulder pads in that jacket...............or he's been riding a real bike outside a lot. Look at the size of those deltoids. Massive!

Seattle Forrest

​​​​​​To be fair, @GlennR said riding an indoor bike doesn't give you an upper body workout like riding a real bike does, and then offered up his Oprah Winfrey jeans as proof.

Sy Reene

Maybe context is important. Would it still only be .025% of participants in BF "Road Cycling" forum discussions?

mstateglfr 

Loaded question. I often doubt that 70% of the people on here even ride a bike with any frequency.

caloso

My earlier post was an observation, not a complaint. I apply it to myself as well. Particularly, this spring as I had not been on a group ride for 15 months due to the pandemic. When I rode outside it was either solo or with my son, but most of the time it was in the garage on the trainer with Zwift and/or TrainerRoad. You absolutely can get bike fit on a trainer, whatever training platform you use, but there's more to riding a bike well than turning over the pedals, and you're not doing much to improve those skills on the trainer. I don't think this is controversial.

mstateglfr 

Gotcha- makes sense. I took it more as a complaint/insult. Bad interpretation on my part.

Riveting

I do outdoors rides similar to you, and I also feel more leg fatigue when riding on Zwift (given the same duration of exercise as outdoors). Some say it's because we aren't engaging any of the "balance muscles" that you use when outdoors, and that translates to the indoor riding being performed on a subset of muscles that get more work in less time, creating fatigue in less time. As well as your sit spots or palms hurting more quickly because we don't shift our weight going around corners when indoors.

What I primarily use indoor/Zwift cycling for is doing sustained out-of-the-saddle climbs, which aren't always easy to do outdoors based on where you live, or the time of the year in my case. Going UP a long Denver canyon in the winter when ice may exist here or there is one thing, but coming DOWN and hitting that same ice at speed is another. But again, those out-of-the-saddle climbing muscles don't also have to balance you, so I would imagine fatigue would set in faster for the same reasons.

Zwift/indoors is also great for doing steady state FTP tests since there's no interruptions, red lights, dogs/kids on the path, or turns to slow you down.

spelger

I don't do the peloton but i do do zwift in winter on a kicker with 100% difficulty and capable of 20% grades. i ride the tower climb, the alpe, and the big one in the french world. i know it is all simulated but since having this ability my first few rides in spring are *so* much easier than when i did not have it. long local climbs are now a joke in the sense that they are so easy in a relative sense compared to seasons past.

datlas 

I think that’s right 92.345% of the time.

WhyFi

60% of the time, it works every time.

GlennR

Isn't there a stationary bike sub forum here?

Sy Reene

Or a sub-stationery bike forum?

burnthesheep

More than .025%. There was a pages long piss and moan on Slowtwitch perhaps a year or so ago about outdoor riding skills and indoors only triathletes. There's a pretty large contingent of triathletes that pretty much train bike indoors 100% due to outdoor open road with cars issues. There were some high profile crashes in some IM events that called into question the modern age of only riding indoors.