Wouldn't you get a better workout with a heavier bike ?
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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.
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My advice is to avoid WallMart bikes because they are crap, very low quality components that don't last very long, uncomfortable, not assembled correctly, and impossible to get a good fit on them....It's better to buy a brand name bike that is lighter and higher quality.. You can always make a lighter bike heavier by adding racks and carrying stuff and easily remove them to make your bike light again..
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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.
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.
The amount of energy expended is dependent on the rider, not the bike.
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There are lots of things one can do to virtually any exercise to make it "a better workout", i.e. require more effort to do. If you ONLY ride a bike for exercise, sure, get a heavy bike. Hell, fill your seat tube with lead shot! But then, you could accomplish the same thing on a trainer by just turning the resistance to the maximum, so why even go outside? You'd never have to worry about getting run over by a car, unless you're working out in the garage and still use it to park cars in, and your wife comes home not paying attention to where she's parking.
People ride bikes outside because it's fun. It's more fun on a good bike that feels like part of you than on one that you're constantly battling.
People ride bikes outside because it's fun. It's more fun on a good bike that feels like part of you than on one that you're constantly battling.
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Seriously, I ride a heavy bike too, but you don't ride using more effort than a lighter bike. You use gears to make the force required to pedal about the same as on the lighter bike. If you don't, you damage your knees. Does it feel nice to get on a light bike after riding my heavily loaded touring bike? Of course it does, but it doesn't mean it is any less of a workout.
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Is there a slow clap emoji?
Seriously, I ride a heavy bike too, but you don't ride using more effort than a lighter bike. You use gears to make the force required to pedal about the same as on the lighter bike. If you don't, you damage your knees. Does it feel nice to get on a light bike after riding my heavily loaded touring bike? Of course it does, but it doesn't mean it is any less of a workout.
Seriously, I ride a heavy bike too, but you don't ride using more effort than a lighter bike. You use gears to make the force required to pedal about the same as on the lighter bike. If you don't, you damage your knees. Does it feel nice to get on a light bike after riding my heavily loaded touring bike? Of course it does, but it doesn't mean it is any less of a workout.
That's a lot of Texas.
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Einstein’s Laws of Relativity accurately predict your mass increases as you approach the speed of light, so...
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So all this time as a 270# Clydesdale I’ve been doing it wrong?
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I can burn over 4,000 calories on a 6 hour ride (200 W average) on my "aerospace" road bike. If I wanted to burn 4,000 calories in 1 hour on a "tank Huffy", I'd have to average about 1,200 W. No problem ... it's just a long sprint.
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In theory, a lighter bike, and expending the same effort (ie. watts), one would have finished that journey sooner, so having spent less time cycling at the same output, no?
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#39
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Weight only helps uphill or accelerating. Get a fatbike with aggressive tires and you pedal constantly, even on sections you usually coast. Even better, use cheap aggressive tires for more resistance. (they will suck off road, but sounds like this is a roadie)
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Where's the BF member that is going to tow his 120 lbs sailboat up steep grades? He owes me some pics.
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Wearing a team/club kit and riding a road bike is not an indicator of cycling abilities or level of fitness. Also, there are lots of times when people are not riding at their limit. Yesterday, my buddy and I (both wearing the kit of the team/club we ride with, and riding high-end road bikes) spent over 10 minutes climbing a hill that I can ride in under 8.
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So to get a better workout I should gain 50 lbs?
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Wearing a team/club kit and riding a road bike is not an indicator of cycling abilities or level of fitness. Also, there a lots of times when people are not riding at their limit. Yesterday, my buddy and I (both wearing the kit of the team/club we ride with, and riding high-end road bikes) spent over 10 minutes climbing a hill that I can ride in under 8.
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Wearing a team/club kit and riding a road bike is not an indicator of cycling abilities or level of fitness. Also, there a lots of times when people are not riding at their limit. Yesterday, my buddy and I (both wearing the kit of the team/club we ride with, and riding high-end road bikes) spent over 10 minutes climbing a hill that I can ride in under 8.
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One of factors I find most enjoyable about cycling is rolling at a high speed on an efficient machine. A heavier and less-efficient bicycle isn't going to change my power output capabilities, but will reduce the fun factor.
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Right. The heavier bike is only 'a better workout' if you go the same speed as you do on the light bike. If you are putting out the same watts, all the heavier bike is is slower.
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Right. Or for me, there's the difference between a weekday ride where I'm trying to 'leave it all on the road' in an hour, and a Sunday ride where I have to ration my energy to last 3 1/2 to 4 hours. I'll push harder up the same hill knowing I only have to go a mile to get to the car, than I will when I have another 14 miles to got to get home.
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