Why you ask? Why should you part with your hard earned money to buy a bicycling trainer? Well the answers SHOULD be obvious to most but if you are the kind of rider that takes 2 hours to watch 60 Minutes then we thought we would help you understand what the benefits of parting with your hard earned money might be.
The right indoor cycling trainer can be the closest exercise machine to simulate actual outdoor cycling. They are ideal for both apartments, condominiums and houses and some people take advantage of the benefits of cycling trainers in their own living rooms while others use them in their garages. Once the weather starts to cool down, cyclists and exercise enthusiasts can turn to an indoor cycling trainer.
What is an Indoor Cycling Trainer?
Load your actual road bike into the trainer and away you go.
The actual equipment for a bike trainer is actually a steel or aluminum frame with clamps that hold the bicycle in place. A roller is attached to the frame in order to press against the rear wheel and provide the resistance needed to give you a workout. There are different models and manners of providing that friction but they all work in the same basic manner as described here.
Why You Should Consider a Cycling Trainer
Training for Cycling: Professional cyclists and other competitive cyclists benefit from an indoor trainer for sport specific purposes. With an indoor trainer, they can continue to develop and maintain their skills as well as work on very specific parts of their strategy such as sprinting or out of saddle hill climbing. Cyclists have to stay in shape and ready for racing, especially when the weather turns cold. Unlike bike trainers, indoor exercise bikes do not offer the lifelike experience of outdoor cycling. You still retain the same riding position, handlebars, bicycle seat, and pedal clips as a road bike.
Staying Healthy: Cycling trainers are great devices for staying healthy. Many people do not enjoy jogging, going to the gym and riding a bike on the road. Having a simple machine indoors allows one to exercise to stay healthy and stay motivated. You can even set up the trainer in front of a television for added entertainment and to help the miles click by. Specialized DVDs are also available that will provide specific workouts that range from mild to grueling.
Losing Weight: Aside from being healthy, bike trainers actually cause you to sweat. This means that you are burning calories and potentially losing weight. With the resistance mechanism on the trainer, you can adjust the amount of resistance for a harder workout. When the weather is too cold or too hot for outdoor activities, you can use an indoor bike trainer to maintain your fitness program throughout the year.
Building Endurance: Because you hold the same body position and use the same bicycle parts with a bike trainer, you can actually build more endurance than most other indoor exercise machines. While there are different types of trainers, Rollers offer the most effective endurance building options. This is because Rollers do not support the bicycle and the rider must balance the bike on his own without coming off. This is a more challenging workout for anyone.
As I mentioned before, Indoor cycling trainers come in a variety of types that are categorized based on resistance. These include Magnetic, Fluid, Air-Resistance and Computer trainers. There are also Rollers and Turbo Trainers that function on a slightly different system. Each type of trainer offers its own benefits in terms of resistance, noise level and overall functionality.
Regardless of the type of trainer, both professional cyclists and exercise enthusiasts can take advantage of the number of benefits. You can read more about the specific types of trainers in our Bike Trainer Buying Guide.
I am searching for a tool that will enable me to develop better-than-average biking skills that would also be an effective form of exercise to maintain good health as well as transform puny calf muscles into great looking legs. I consider myself a novice who never became confident and skillful enough to stand in the saddle or climb hills efficiently despite the fact that I live in a very hilly region. Can a trainer actually help me overcome these deficits? Thank you in advance for your feedback.
Cecelia…first congrats for wanting to improve and taking charge of doing it. As for your question I personally think that no question a bike trainer can help you with all of those issues. The trainer will give you a great workout and tone and strengthen your leg muscles and be able to improve your riding. A stationary trainer is the best to start out on in my opinion, because it stabilizes you and allows you to practice out of the saddle riding without fear of falling. Something like the Kurt Rock and Roll trainer would give a more natural feel while still keeping you stable. Some might recommend a set of rollers as this most closely simulates real world riding, and they do, however new riders struggle with rollers and you WILL fall…a lot. This doesn’t do much for your confidence while you are trying to learn in my opinion….so to answer your question …..YES and I would recommend the Kurt Rock and Roll trainer. It’s a great trainer from a great company. Good luck on your quest.
Useful article, thanks. Are bicycle trainers difficult to use? I was told that it’s easy to fall off while training or, at the very least, a difficult piece of equipment to get used to. Can you advise? Thanks.
Hey Deb..thanks for the question. Bike trainers are very easy to use and quite difficult to fall off so whomever told you that is misinformed unless they were talking about rollers. Rollers are a type of trainer that very closely simulates real world riding but they are incredibly EASY to fall while learning to use. The stand type trainers like the Kurt Kinetic or Cyclops are VERY easy to use and almost impossible to fall off. Hope that helps.