Honest question for the indoor trainers, why do you think we never have these threads about treadmills?
We do have these threads about treadmills. The reason we have them is that for a lot of people (myself included) a lot of the enjoyment of both running and cycling lies in being outdoors, getting fresh air in your lungs, sun (and rain, wind, and recently sleet…) on your face, conquering hills (and mountains if you’re lucky) and hopefully exploring and seeing places you’ve never seen before. The reason we get more of these threads on cycling than running is that cycling trumps running on all those factors - you can go faster, further and for longer, so can have some pretty epic outings. I also think there are less people doing all their running indoors than cycling - it’s easier to run outdoors when it’s dark, there’s less of a safety concern, structured running training is less likely to be messed up by traffic or gradient, etc.
I have no issue with people who don’t feel the same way about training outdoors as I do. I get all the arguments about higher quality, time-efficiency and having more control, and I do some indoor bike training for those reasons. But if those things somehow became more important to me than being outside, I wouldn’t be cycling at all, I’d be doing things which are even more time-efficient and give a better all-body workout like indoor rowing or CrossFit.
A few years back, training for 70.3, I’d do 2 hours super hard on the weekends, all done on my Fluid2 trainer. Super hard being ~90% FTP. I think I biked a 2:17ish and managed to run well (for me anyways). Probably the best biking shape I’ve been in, I’ve always credited those 2 hours of power on the trainer.
With so many triathletes seemingly training indoors, is it any wonder that their bike handling at actual races is often so poor? Cornering, bottle hand-ups, weather etc cannot be trained in a pain-cave. Similarly, how many Olympic distance pros have ever raced more than one Crit or road race?
I’m sure it’s a factor, but not sure it’s a major one, and I also think the poor handling of triathletes is often over-exaggerated. I’d put the poor handling of triathletes mainly down to:
Triathlon has a lot of beginners and people doing it as a one-off to tick off their bucket list. You don’t really get these people in bike racing, you get more of it in gran fondo type events, but the bike handling at the back of the pack in those events can be pretty terrifying as well
Triathletes tend to o a lot of solo training, since they race solo. So they don’t have much chance to learn from other people, and don’t have a lot of incentive to learn to handle their bike in a way which works well when surrounded by other riders
Triathlon bikes don’t handle great anyway
There really isn’t much need to be a great bike handler on most tri courses. They’re rarely particularly technical and the drafting rules mean there shouldn’t be anybody too close. If you’re riding in a tight group and can’t hold a straight line while taking a drink, or can’t get out of the saddle on a climb without decelerating your bike, then you’re going to either cause an accident, get shouted at, or find that nobody wants to ride with you. In a triathlon, those things might cost you a few seconds in an event lasting hours.
Personally I think it is a good thing to try and become a good cyclist, not just a good triathlete on a bike. So learning how to descend, how to ride fast in a group, riding offroad, etc. Not sure any of it translates directly to performance on a non-technical course, but learning is always good and if it mixes up your training and gets you riding more then it translates to better fitness. But then I’ve had swimmers tell me the same about swimming, and that I should be learning to do butterfly, backstroke, tumble turns, etc in order to be a better swimmer, and I have to admit I just tend to ignore them and stick to freestyle with open turns (or better yet, freestyle in a lake with no turns), so I can’t really take the high ground!
Honest question for the indoor trainers, why do you think we never have these threads about treadmills?
If you mean threads where someone comes on and says “I love training indoors for these reasons:”, at which point it becomes an “us” versus “them” argument, I’d say it’s because treadmills are less ubiquitous than bike trainers (If you search for treadmills you can still find the same type of “I love the treadmill” versus “The treadmill sucks” threads, there is just fewer of them).
If you mean threads where someone asks for workout ideas, I’d guess it’s because there is less variation in treadmill workouts than bike workouts.
I wanted to chime in on why I ride indoors. I ride indoors because I enjoying doing a lot of volume, and the trainer is the most efficient way to do this. A 2 hour ride on the trainer is 3 hours outside. There’s not a lot you have to do on the trainer to get ready. To get ready for a ride outdoors, there’s so much to do. Then you have to worry about a flat or cars or if you’re riding with someone else.
After 2 years of being 99% on the trainer I’ve actually gotten to the point where I prefer it over outside. Zwift has done a great job of making the trainer more enjoyable. They have group rides, races, workouts etc. You don’t have to worry about the elements or stop signs. Riding indoors has improved my bike segment in triathlons so I keep doing it.
Maybe I just like video games and hate cycling. But check out Zwift.
I guess your point would make sense if he were commuting on his bike… but strictly for training purposes, there is no (or less) need to expose yourself to that potential danger whereas driving a car–for the vast majority of us–is necessary to daily life.
I like to see the perspective of another roadie using the trainer for a lot of training.
I am a Cat 3 as well–struggling for any upgrade points because I SUCK at short-duration power, my preference is getting into breakaways and time trialing. Trying to improve my 1’ and below power is where I am not sure if I’m doing much good at improving on the trainer. I am trying to focus on developing that end of my power curve, but I’m not sure if it’s entirely possible with my training restrictions. I am tending toward very hard, short intervals but I am hesitant to really ‘sprint’ on the trainer. I have a Cycleops Fluid 2 and feel like I’d damage my bike if I really ‘sprinted’ on the trainer. How do you train for those efforts to get ready for crits and road races while using the trainer? Or is the Kickr that much better for those types of efforts?
I’m wondering what your goal race(s) (what you’re training for) are…and some trainer workouts you use to get ready for them. I have a HIM in May and a full in Oct. I plan to do all my workouts for the HIM on the trainer and Computrainer. I’ll probably (based on how that goes) do the same (except for my handful of longest rides) for the full.
I’d also like to hear if you tried it this way and regretted it.
Thanks.
What ever my coach sets for me, what ever sets the training group can do on the road i can do on the trainer much easier.
The lead up to my last two races i did almost 100% of my training on a Kickr and Zwift, i think i did 1 one long ride outside. I was happy with my bike performance in both races and not riding didn’t effect my bike handling ability at all, TTing is pretty simple as far as the skill set required.
what is your reason for this?
Intervals are so much easier on a trainer if you don’t have pancake flat roads to ride or a good hill to go up and down. Plus i can ride with brother who lives 500km away.