GlennR

I guess i'm more of a sprinter. Just look at the thighs of Mark Cavendish and Andre Greipel.


Those don't look lime the arms of a98 pound weakling.

mattcalifornia

With all due respect, this is nonsense. My HR goes through the freaking roof on my Peloton rides (same thing when I used to do SoulCycle). You can check my Strava if you have any doubt (same user name). If your HR is low during spin class, that's either on you or the instructor. My HR averages around 155 for a Peloton ride with a maximum of anywhere between 175-183 (183 is my absolute maximum HR). On my last ride, I spent 54% of the workout in Zone 4 and 5. In my last Tabata Peloton ride, I spent 33.2% in Zone 4, and 29.6% in Zone 5! (i.e., greater than 174bpm).

SoSmellyAir

More what? More of a workout, yes. But definitely not more joie de vivre. Although cycling is pretty much my only exercise, I ride for more than exercise.

More bums? If the stationary bike is located at a popular spin class, yes. I am quite sure that is why my colleague went to spin class (pre-pandemic). He steadfastly maintains that spin class saves time, whereas I need the time spent on my ride to mentally unwind.

Carbonfiberboy 

I figure that 45' indoors = 1 hour outdoors in terms of a workout. To keep bike handling skills, ride resistance rollers instead of a trainer. Indoors is for specific training goals. Outdoors is for converting the strengths one acquires on the trainer into movement up the road, and of course acquiring and keeping the skills necessary to deal with what one encounters on the road. In many locations it's hard to find outdoors what one can dial up on the trainer, plus the ability to ride at constant power or HR or cadence for long, uninterrupted periods. One can't find on the trainer many skills necessary to ride well outdoors, like riding ascending, flat, or descending rollers, climbing OOS, fast descending, etc. One might also mention group ride skills, riding in vehicle traffic, on and on.

IME spin class is a poor substitute for a proper road bike on a trainer or rollers. Spin bikes are fixed gear machines which do not have the same pedaling dynamics as a road bike on the road or rollers. I haven't ridden a Peloton. Spin class also does not give one the opportunity to work on many ordinary bike training modalities, like long periods at constant power or specific interval sets. That said, for getting a start on the season, spin class is fine, but IMO, not for all year.

Sy Reene

I've never been able to make sense of comparative HR stats between people; nor for myself. From a recent ride, I don't know what sense to make of this, although just surmising that because it was hot outside my HR might have been more elevated:

mattcalifornia

I agree with much of your post, but want to address the quoted paragraph above. Spin class (including Peloton) is not really intended to be a substitute for a road bike. It is a different kind of workout that is inferior in several ways -- but also superior in other ways. If your goal of training is only to improve your outdoor bike riding/racing, then I probably wouldn't recommend doing a lot of spin classes instead of rollers or a smart trainer. However, if your goal is to improve your overall fitness, then I believe that spin classes offer some benefits. Put another way, spin classes can be difficult in slightly different ways than real biking. (The Peloton in particularr also offers the benefit of non-cycling classes.) I just finished a 45-minute Peloton class a few minutes ago. It was no joke. I'm just as wiped out as I am after a typically-hard 90-minute outdoor ride.

mattcalifornia

Yeah - I can't compare my HR to other people. Mine seems to generally be higher than my peers when exercising. I'm usually consistent among my own workouts, but some days are just anomalies. It can be affected by sleep, caffeine, food, stress, fighting illness, temperature, etc.

rsbob 

I wear a HRM when Zwifting and road biking outdoors. Regardless of where I ride I try to maintain a minimum of 160 BPM with max efforts taking me to 185 (I’m 66). I have found that Zwift has increased my power and endurance while allowing me to ride indoors during bad weather. Have not found that Zwifting or outdoor cycling has done anything for upper body, but cycling is not designed for such so I do my pushups and planks and other exercises. Have also not found that riding indoors has reduced my ability to descend at speed, dodge pot holes, or ride in groups/pacelines. I can see where pure Peloton folks take to the streets with no practical outdoor experience how their cycling skills could be rather dodgy but some may have insane power.

Andy Somnifac 

And those are the really scary ones. I've seen the indoor warriors do some seriously dodgy and dangerous things on the road, simply because they don't know any better.

Chandne

I use Zwift and not Peloton. I do find that some courses are tough since the climbs feel very difficult but I cannot get as fit riding indoors since I cannot make myself climb for 2-4 hours like I can outdoors on our big mountain passes. So I can just not lose a lot of fitness as opposed to really building or maintaining my fitness over the winter. That may just be me and the fact that I cannot do 3-6 hour rides on Zwift. My max is about 2.5. Average is 1.5-2. I do have a friend who can crank out 50-60 miles on it and get pretty fit so it is all in how much indoor riding/training one can endure. This winter, I plan on doing some more structured training along with normal indoor riding. I see some of my riding buddies focus a lot on the structured training and it seems that they actually maintain all their fitness and even get stronger. I'm a social creature so it is harder for me to do that. Still, that is my intent this winter.

Andy Somnifac 

It's the structure, not the time, that allows for good fitness gains inside. I can get similar amounts of TSS outside in group rides, but it usually takes more time and it's not nearly as targeted.

prj71

This has to be one of THE dumbest things I have read lately.

The primary power producing muscles used for cycling are the quadriceps, hamstrings, and glutes. The calf muscles, abdominal muscles in conjunction with upper body muscles are used for stability when riding a bike.

A real bike includes every part of your body in the ride. Legs still play the biggest part but your entire core is going to get a workout because you are going to be using your body to maintain balance, streamline yourself, and stand or sit to gain or reduce speed. You DO NOT get this sitting on a spin bike. Spin bike the focus remains below the waist.

Barry2 

I’ll admit, I drink the Wahoo coolaid…

Yes there are limitations to indoor cycling, but options exist.

Indoors….
Wind cooling not representative of outside.
No tilt on bike while climbing (working different muscles)
Indoor bike different size/position to outdoor bike

Solution
Wahoo Headwind
Faster you ride, harder it blows

Wahoo Kickr Bike
Mine is within 1/8” of my road bike in every dimension
It tilts when climbing hills
I even duplicated my Road Saddle.

Add a software like FulGaz and a big TV and riding indoors becomes fully immersive.
I even catch myself leaning into corners. 8-)

Peloton is just one option, and likely the best if you enjoy led group exercising.
But it’s not the only option for indoor cycle training.

Barry

caloso

Even before Zwift etc, you could always tell the riders who had spent all winter on the trainer vs those who rode outside. It’s even more pronounced now.

caloso

And this is why We Will Yell At You.

chaadster

Absolutely.

Chandne

Yeah, the training courses help with that and I am going to do more of that this year. Last year, I mostly did a lot of social riding on Zwift.

rsbob 

I have only done a couple of climbs on Zwift (Alpe de Zwift being one) and I found it rather brutal. Steady climbing with no respite, while sweating up a storm, for me is tough. But then most of the hills around here can be conquered in an hour or far less usually running between 6-9%. I agree with what you say about being social and non-structured but this winter I am going to bit the bullet and start a structured plan and see if I can not only maintain but improve my fitness. My buddies have coaches and they crank out amazing watts for over age 50.

Chandne

Yes, that one is a good tough one. I did that twice and will do that more often this time. We have big outdoor climbs (Squaw+Juniper Pass are around 3,500 ft in one big effort) but since many are at higher elevation, it is hard (well, impossible after a few snowstorms) to do those in the winter. I'll climb more for sure and do some structured plans but I need to figure out which ones to go for. I am hoping to emerge in the Spring lean as a puma and not like a fat pre-cocoon caterpillar this time.

mstateglfr 

I have enjoyed this thread.

guachi

The upper body differences I've noticed from cycling basically boils down to my shoulders. I've had decent abdominal strength for years but my shoulders are now stronger from cycling. I'm in the Navy and we've switched from sit ups to planks to measure abdominal strength while still doing push ups. Cycling has really helped my ability to both do push ups and planks and not having my shoulders collapse on me.

hubcyclist

I guess it’s a damn miracle I can keep myself upright after riding almost exclusively inside all year

Andy Somnifac 

So, what exactly are you arguing? That inside and outside workouts both strain the same parts of the body equally? 'cause they don't. Core and stabilizer muscles don't get the same workout inside.
No one has said you can't get strong inside. In fact, the opposite has been said. What HAS been said is that inside fitness doesn't always equate to real-world performance. I know plenty of Zwift warriors who put up big numbers inside but get their butts handed to them outside.

If you want to be strong inside, cool. Awesome. Go for it. No one is going to stop you.

seypat

This thread is living up to the billing so far! Definitely one of the best pissing contest threads in a while. Zingers coming from both sides.

Cavendish with massive guads? Grepel with massive arms? Keep em coming.

datlas 

Because the ones who workout on the trainer are squirrelly??