JC 911

Is there some conversion chart or something out there where I can figure out how many miles I have ridden on my indoor trainer? I obviously will have time and also cadence off my cyclecomputer.

bdcheung

Why do you want to know? 1 mile on the trainer is not equal to 1 mile on the road.

slowandsteady

That factors in things like coefficient of friction, body weight, and wind speed?

JC 911

I'd like to satisfy my curiosity more than anything.

bdcheung

then the easiest way to do this would be to get a bike computer with a rear-mounted sensor. I'm sure there's a math formula that can derive distance based on your cadence, gearing and wheel circumference, but really, it'll be a hassle.

Miller2

LOL..1 mile is 1 mile whether it is trainer or road. The only difference is the factors that make that very same 1 mile more or less difficult.

slowandsteady

Stop thinking so literally and pointing out things everybody knows. That isn't the point. Riding 1 mile on a trainer is far easier than 1 mile on the road. Therefore it is pointless to try and even calculate it.

There are so many variables that go into how different it feels riding on the road versus the trainer that you cannot come up with a conversion.

Miller2

Simmer down dude...i was just kidding. Oh and 1 mile downhill on the road would be easier than 1 mile on a trainer or rollers.

CdCf

Ride 20 miles outside with a HR monitor, and take note of the time it took you to ride those 20 miles. Get on your trainer and ride for the same amount of time, and get your average HR and max HR up to the same numbers as for the outdoor ride. The number of miles you rode on your trainer, divided by 20, will then give you a nice conversion factor.

kensuf

Take your average pace for the equivilent work on the street. Now multiply that by the number of hours you've spent on the trainer. Don't forget the boredom coefficient.

slowandsteady

Depends on the speed and the hill.

gobes

If you know your cadence, and what gear you were riding in (e.g. 53x17) you could calculate the speed. To calculate your speed you would also have to know the circumference of you tire.
Then along with the time you could calculate distance.

donrhummy

The only way to do it is get a power meter and HRM. That's it. Nothing else will give you a clear indication of the effort and power output.

however, that still won't "translate" into miles, just as an outside ride doesn't either. If you ride 20 miles outside at 20 mph but there's no wind and then two days later you ride 20 miles at 15 mph but there's a 15 mph wind going against you, it doesn't mean you lost ability.

cat4ever

No tailwind on a trainer.

Cypress

Don't count distance on trainers. Count time.

DocRay

You can get this information here, written by people who know what they are talking about, also power outputs and conversions for most trainers:

https://www.kurtkinetic.com/computer_tech.php

If you use virtual riding simulations like Tacx or Spinervals, they calibrate the power output to be identical to the actual road coarse.

Ride one mile on trainer at 53X12, 100rpm, then tell us it's easier than the road.

curiouskid55

Unless your trainer is a lot different than mine you dont actually go anywhere when you us it. So there are no miles involved. Also no mph involved. Time on a trainer is time so can only be measured in time. If you have hrm you can measure calories burned but any kind of ratio to calories burned while riding is meaningless.

DocRay

tip: put the speed senor on the rear wheel

With the kinetic, this speed matches road speeds at the same power output. you can even calculate watts, which is most accurate.

barba

This one is easy. You went zero miles.

When I am on my trainer, I am concerned with resistance. Sometimes I look down and see that my speed is around 30mph because I am in a big gear with very low resistance settings on the trainer. No formula is going to make that translate into miles on a hypothetical road. Stick with time.

slowandsteady

Unless it was a one mile downhill, I couldn't ride 53 x 12 at 100 rpms on a road. Not to mention, my bike doesn't even have that gear set up.

Since at 34.5 mph there is a considerable wind resistance to overcome, it should be tons easier on a trainer than on the road. I don't know how you can think the trainer is harder assuming no additional resistance.

It is all a moot point for me anyway. I ride rollers. Trainers are for sissies.

But, yes 200 watts is 200 watts. If you have a nice program and a way to measure wattage that is the way to go.

curiouskid55

The rear wheel spininnig at any given rpm while actually stationary has aboslutley no realtionship to distance.

jrobe

"The rear wheel spininnig at any given rpm while actually stationary has aboslutley no realtionship to distance."

"Riding 1 mile on a trainer is far easier than 1 mile on the road."

I don't agree with these statement. I use a Powertap on my bike (used to use a rear wheel mounted Cateye Astrale computer) both on my Kurt Kinetic Trainer and outside. The speed recorded for a given power output is surprisingly similiar inside and outside. My perceived exertion is higher inside though (there is no coasting), so the trainer is definitely more difficult.

Indoor training would also be much less useful (and less interesting) if I didn't have feedback from these devices to structure and follow my workouts. I would never train indoors with only a clock and cadence sensor.

Jim Bonnet

It's NOT? a mile is a mile... especially given a power meter and you are churning out the same power on the trainer that you do on a road ride...

-J

DrPete 

There's nothing magical about the resistance on the road that makes it more "real" than resistance on a trainer.

DocRay

That's why there are training DVDs that specify cadence and gearing to give you the exact wattage of a road ride.
Time means nothing if you are just trolling along in an easy gear for 45 minutes.

Trainers are best used for intervals so severe they cannot be completed on the road safely.