FizzyPop

My wife has been wanting to buy an Eliptical trainer for a while now and I have been wondering in what ways it might help me with cycling, apart from the obvious aerobic workout. Are there any negatives and do any roadies here use them?

Thanks,
Matt

not2blu

I trained on an elipitcal trainer for months before I got into cyclng. 8 miles/day x 3 days/week. Then I got on a bike and have never been out of breath on it. Great for endurance.

merlinextraligh

The negative is that it's not a bike. If you want to go fast on a bike, ride a bike. Hence a trainer will always be a better workout for cycling, than an eliptical trainer, treadmill, stairclimber etc.

If you just want to be fit, want a change of pace and aren't training for racing, an elipitical trainer would be fine.

Personally, I'll use one in a gym traveling if they don't have a bike, or just as a change of pace fro the Lifecycle, but for home fitness equipment, for cycling, a trainer, and or rollers, are much better choices.

kudude

my wife ruined her knee on one. hyperextended it by going a little "gung-ho"
if you use it, take it easy. I think it'd be more fun than the trainer for the ultra-nasty days outside

oboeguy

I like to use the elliptical at the gym at my workplace when the weather is especially bad or a co-worker wants some company at said gym. The elliptical was also instrumental in keeping some fitness when I dealt w/ a knee injury that kept me mostly off the bike for two months.

CastIron

There was a thread on this very thing this past month.

halfspeed

Just bought one for my wife. We got a deal on a Precor (2007 floor model). These things all feel VERY different so you need to try several before you buy. We tried models from Vision, Precor, Nautilus, Life Fitness, Sports Art, and some other less expensive ones as well. Most of them felt cramped and bouncy to me. My comfortable "stride length" seems to be really long so the normal lengths of these just didn't work.

Schwinn has a highly rated one around $800, but the really good ones start at around $1500 and go up to around $5000. Smooth Fitness sells on line and by all accounts you get a lot for your money, but after trying a few, there's no way I'd buy one without trying.

Of the ones we tried, this is the one I liked best: https://www.sportsartamerica.com/SAF/...ticals/E83.asp

She hated it but loved this which is what we bought: https://www.precor.com/cons/en/efx/517i/

The Nautilus was kind of interesting. The stride length was sort of floating so it followed how far you wanted to move. I think you'd have to get used to it.

I'll stick with rollers.

soccerun8728

Ellipticals are fun and all for the first 30 minutes or so. I used to use one during high school x-country, when I was injured. I had to do about 12 miles with my heart rate above 170. The only problem was the fact that the stride length was too short. I could never transition from heel to toe, the stride was too short and I was on my toes the whole time. If you do buy one make sure you test ride it, like halfspeed said what works for one person may not work for another. The best one that I have ever been on was a healthrider, I believe. It had adjustable stride lengths so it could fit a wider group of runners. Hope this helps and good luck.

Tri-FatBoy

I played on the one in the work gym as there were no treadmills avail. I hated every minute of it and went back to running on a treadmill when one became avail.

airosen

Ellipticals... fast and easy way to get your heartrate up. I'm not sure if it helps cycling in particular, but any cardio exercise is good in my view.

FizzyPop

Thanks for the replies. We have been to all the major stores and tried alot of them. There really is a difference in the fit and stride length and what feels comfortable. I was surprised by that. Anyway, we narrowed it down to what felt good ( a Sole E25 btw) and I am looking forward to doing something different in the winter months other than using a trainer to keep in shape.

gear

Find an elliptical trainer that has a ramp that you can adjust electronically rather than moving arms. Set the ramp all the way up and set the resistance as high as you can stand then work hard for an hour a day for the entire off season. Add some squats to keep your guads in good shape and you will get great cardio along with some big hammies.

Spin Cycle

I use an elliptical a couple of times a week to augment spin class during the winter. To better match your motion on a bike, do not lift your heels and keep them flat at all times - great for the glutes.