Road Riders Guide to Cycle Trainers

By Gary Hawkins. Posted April 7th, 2012

So now you've found an excellent source of indoor cycle training videos (sorry could not resist the plug), all you need to do if you want to do indoor cycling is set your road bike up on a cycle trainer. The cycle trainer, also known as a turbo trainer, is a piece of equipment that makes it possible to ride a bicycle while it remains stationary. A trainer consists of a frame to lift your back wheel off the ground, a clamp to hold the bicycle securely and a mechanism that provides resistance when the pedals are turned. In the vast majority of cases resistance is created by a roller that presses up against the rear wheel. A number of different mechanisms have been developed to provide resistance to the roller turning, and hence to the user pedaling. The main types of trainer based on these different mechanisms will be briefly reviewed below.

Probably the quietest type of turbo trainer is the magnetic based trainer. With a magnetic trainer an adjustable magnetic unit allows the user to set the resistance to a specific level. Many manufacturers offer a remote option that allows the rider to adjust the magnetic unit from a lever on the handlebar. While the magnetic provides almost silent operation, resistance does not progressively increase as the speed of pedaling and hence the wheel increases.

If you want a more "outdoor cycling" feel (that is resistance that increases as you pedal faster and some ability to stop pedaling and coast) then you might want to consider a trainer based on fluid resistance, centrifugal force or wind resistance.

Without a doubt, the fluid trainer is the most popular trainer available today. Fluid trainers use a fluid-filled, closed reservoir fan design that smoothly and quietly creates additional resistance as the speed of the wheel increases providing a feeling very similar to that of actual road riding. Cooling fins on the outside of the reservoir dissipate the heat that builds up in the fluid. Fluid units offer very quiet operation and a wide range of resistance levels but cheaper models may suffer seal leaks due to the repeated friction heating and consequential expansion and contraction of the fluid.

The centrifugal trainer utilizes a centrifugal clutch that provides smooth, silent and progressive resistance. Once the rider stops pedaling, the centrifugal elements drop back towards the center of the unit and all resistance on the wheel is released allowing the wheel to coast thus making the pedal stroke to feel more natural.

If you want a trainer that offers the best road feel then arguably a wind based unit is the way to go. This type of unit uses a fan to generate resistance that creates progressive resistance. If the fan is large and heavy it also offers the ability to coast for a significant number of seconds. The disadvantages of a fan based system are they are without doubt the noisiest type of cycle trainer and many units provide limited resistance making them unsuitable for serious athletes. That being said, recently the Lemond Revolution has appeared on the market. This offers a high resistive load and further does not make use of the rear wheel running on a roller. Rather with this unique design, the rear-wheel is removed and a direct-drive integrates directly with the bike drive train thereby eliminating wheel and tire wear.

So what trainer is right for you? Well, that depends on a number of factors including your budget, pedaling feel, the amount of noise you and your neighbors can tolerate, the type of cyclist you are and wear on your bike. If possible try several trainers out at your local bike store before making a decision and checkout the many online reviews available for the manufacturers and models out there. As has been pointed out the fluid trainer is the most popular and this is because it meets the majority of users needs.

Note: Since nearly all turbo trainers create friction on the back wheel via a roller wear will be caused on the back tire. As such, many people who do a lot of work on their trainers will either fit a training tire to the back wheel or use a different rear wheel setup that has a training tire on it.

Aerobic Exercise: Training Tools for Scuba Divers [and Cyclists]

Extracted and modified from an article by Gretchen M. Ashton, CFT, NBFE. Posted February 11th, 2012

Generally speaking, the purpose of cardiorespiratory fitness is to maintain and/or improve the efficiency of the heart, lungs and vascular system. This is accomplished through aerobic exercise which is any activity that utilizes oxygen. Greater oxygen demand is created through exercise by moving primarily the large muscles of the body repeatedly and rhythmically at a particular intensity beyond the usual activity of rest or relaxation. Repeated and regular aerobic exercise causes permanent favorable changes in health and performance, strengthens the heart, improves the ability of the body to transport and utilize oxygen and waste products such as carbon dioxide, and is also beneficial for weight loss. Examples of aerobic exercise are walking, jogging, running, swimming, rowing, cycling, jumping rope, aerobics classes, and dancing.

Getting Started

Aerobic exercise can be as simple as going for a walk or using an exercise bike at home or in your local fitness center. Begin gradually in both time and frequency. To get started, select an activity or a combination of activities and make a commitment to participate a minimum of two to four times a week for 20 to 60 minutes the first two weeks. Work up to three, four, five or more days per week depending on recovery, goals and the duration of workouts. Additional exercise in the form of resistance training is recommended for a balanced exercise program. To aid in weight loss, perform aerobic exercise for 20 to 40 minutes immediately following 20 to 40 minutes of resistance training.

Aerobic Training Tools

Aerobic training tools assist you in determining current fitness level, establishing the intensity of workouts, establishing goals and tracking training. Tools may be applied individually or combined to provide more detailed information and different training perspectives. One of the easiest tools for measuring exercise intensity is the talk test; exercise as hard as possible while still able to speak words clearly or carry on a conversation. Other training tools include the Karvonen Formula, a training heart-rate calculation and VO₂ testing, which defines fitness by oxygen uptake and utilization.

Karvonen Formula - Training Heart Rate Calculation

To maximize the benefits of training it is important to establish heart rate training zones. These training zones are based on individual maximum heart rate, which is the highest number of times the heart can contract in one minute. Working within 60% to 80% of maximum heart rate is most beneficial for overall health. The 70% to 80% heart rate training zones improve the ability of the body to take in and distribute adequate amounts of oxygen to working muscles during physical activity and relate well to scuba diving. One of the most respected fitness standards for calculating training heart rate zones is the Karvonen Formula.

Upon waking in the morning, before getting out of bed, place two fingers under the back corner of the jaw (on the carotid artery) and count the number of heart beats for one minute. This pulse is the Resting Heart Rate (RHR). Use it to perform the Karvonen calculation. An example of a 45 year-old with a RHR of 68, looks like this: 220 - (AGE) 45 = 175; 175 - (RHR) 68 = 107; 107 x 70% = 75; 75 + (RHR) 68 = 143 (THR). Using this example, training in the 70% heart rate training zone, divers will attempt to maintain a minimum pulse of 143 beats per minute. The 80% heart rate training zone provides a maximum pulse of 154 beats per minute. However, beginners may work at 60% intensity until these higher percentages can be performed while still able to carry on a conversation (the talk test).

VO₂ Aerobic Capacity and Oxygen Utilization

VO₂ testing is usually performed in a human performance laboratory and provides both cardiovascular fitness and metabolic feedback that may be helpful for divers who have reached a plateau in their fitness endeavors, new divers who would like to measure improvement or are interested in training more efficiently, and for divers who are also athletes. Oxygen utilization is measured in milliliters of oxygen per kilogram of body weight per minute (ml/kg/min). The more oxygen a diver can uptake and utilize the greater the aerobic capacity and the better the cardiorespiratory fitness of the diver. Lower cardiorespiratory fitness can be improved by participating in lower intensity exercise. The higher the cardiorespiratory fitness level, more increased exercise intensity is required for improvement. Using these measurements:

• An oxygen uptake score of <= to 30 ml/kg/min indicates a low level of fitness;
• An oxygen uptake score of 30-to-50 ml/kg/min indicates a moderate level of fitness;
• An oxygen uptake score of 50-to-90 ml/kg/min indicates a high level of fitness.

Setting Up Your Indoor Cycle Bike or Bike / Trainer Combination

Abstracted from the Ride Fit Training Guide. Posted January 11th, 2012

Ride Fit videos display a digital dashboard that typically includes a target resistance setting, and/or the narration will inform you what resistance setting is recommended. Resistance settings used on Ride Fit videos fall into the following categories:

• Light (representing a steep downhill grade);
• Light-to-Moderate (representing a moderate downhill grade);
• Moderate (representing a flat road);
• Moderate-to Heavy (representing a moderate uphill grade);
• Heavy (representing a steep uphill grade);
• Intense (representing a severe uphill grade).

To effectively use your Ride Fit videos the first thing you should do is establish what resistance setting on your indoor cycle bike (also known as a spin bike, stationary bike or exercise bike) or road bike/trainer combination corresponds to a flat road or "Moderate" resistance. At this resistance setting you should be able to cycle with moderate effort (which we will define for the time being as exercising while being able to talk comfortably) with a cadence of about 70 - 80rpm for an extended duration of an hour or more. Establishing this "Moderate" resistance level allows you to then set other resistance settings (such as Light-to-Moderate) with stepped increments as described in the following sections.

Indoor Cycle Bikes

Indoor cycle bikes typically come with two types of resistance setting mechanism; either some sort of resistance knob/dial or a cycle computer often controlled by buttons or a lever. In my own case I workout regularly on a Keiser M3 indoor cycle training bike. This bike features a magnetic resistance system, and the M3 cycle computer allows the user to select a wide range of resistance settings via a mechanical lever whose physical position is conveniently translated to a numerical value displayed on the M3 computer screen. My default workout resistance settings on the Keiser M3 are as shown in the table below.

Note: When I first started indoor cycling my "Moderate" resistance level was 11, and all other resistance values were also two lower. As you improve your physical conditioning expect to change your default resistance values accordingly.

On an indoor cycle bike with a dial/knob controlled resistance setting, such as the CycleOps 100 Pro, then initially set your "Moderate" level by feel (noting perhaps the number of full and partial turns this occurs from the minimum resistance setting). Resistance increase/decrease can then be controlled by turning the dial/knob either clockwise/counterclockwise a set amount. A quarter or half turn is typically adopted by many users; the chosen amount is obviously dependent on the makeup of your specific training bike.

However the resistance level is set on your indoor bike, it will invariably take a few workouts to determine the most appropriate "Moderate" resistance setting and the required resistance increments. It is important to pay attention to your cadence or RPM when establishing the "Moderate" level. There are economical aftermarket cadence meters that can be installed on your indoor cycle bike if the model you have does not contain a built-in computer with this feature.

Road Bike used with a Trainer

For a road bike combined with a cycle trainer, the trainer in most cases provides a fixed resistance to the back wheel of the bike and the rider simulates different resistance levels by changing gear. On the majority of trainers the resistance offered to the back wheel can be adjusted to suit your preference.

The simplest way to vary your resistance settings throughout your workout is to leave your front chain ring selection unchanged and then select your rear cog in a manner shown in the table below. This table corresponds to using a 10-speed rear cassette with a 12/25T cassette sprocket.

Your nominal "Moderate" resistance setting can be adjusted in one or more of the following ways:

• Change the resistance setting the trainer offers to the rear wheel of your bike;
• Change the selection of the "Moderate" rear cog;
• Change the selection of your front chain ring.

If changing the selection of the "Moderate" rear cog, for the initial setup described above the "Moderate" cog selection could vary from 3rd Largest (21T) to 7th Largest (15T) and still allow you to select the six levels of resistance - see the table below.

How Ride Fit Came To Be

By Gary Hawkins. Posted December 15th, 2011

I got back into cycling fairly late; a second knee surgery forced me to give up racquet based sports and look for low impact way of keeping fit. I needed something else to combat middle age spread! As a teenager I'd ridden a lot (in and out of work for one thing), so I decided to try cycling again. I started with Spinning®, and while many instructors were very good I found I also wanted exercise programs that I could do any time to fit my schedule and that were more focused on providing a "road like" riding experience.

This led me to experiment with indoor cycle training videos for my own use since I have a passion for filmmaking and was looking for an opportunity to try the GoPro HD camera. Having developed the first test videos, it became apparent there might be a lot of people looking for a similar indoor cycling experience. The obvious question came to mind, "why not make training videos featuring real cyclists for others to workout to?" Months later, with a lot of dedicated support and much hard work, this ended up in the 2011 launch of Ride Fit. On the physical side, I've seen some great improvements through all the indoor cycling I now do. I weigh less than I have for twenty years, my blood pressure and triglyceride numbers are all going in the right direction and I've completed my first Century road rides.

The latest multimedia phenomenon, the smart device, makes a ideal platform for playing indoor cycle training videos. Whether you're talking about the iPhone, iPad, Android based phone or tablet, these devices all have the capability of storing and playing mp4 files on vibrant color screens. You're no longer constrained to having your indoor cycle bike or trainer in front of a DVD/TV combination. Now you can take your Ride Fit workout wherever you need it within the home or at the fitness center. The Ride Fit video series is also great for road warriors who invariably have to deal with time at the hotel gym unless they are prepared to rent, borrow or even take (Ritchey make some very cool travel bikes) a bike to their destination.

So, that in a nutshell, is how Ride Fit started. We have big plans for the future so look out for many new videos, plus a host of other things to help you stay fit.