Spin class maiden broken

[Splash]

Good thread,

Hypothetically, if I installed a pair of P1 powertap pedals on a spin bike, would it measure genuine watts or - cheating - watts due to the flywheel effect (that does not exist on road bikes riding outdoors)?


Splash

[GParkes]

Apologies in advance if I offend anyone.

Option 1: Ride in your own home, on your own bike, on your trainer, to your own music or video/movie. Maybe even with your SO.

Option 2: Drive somewhere to endure all the annoying things previously noted.

I can understand if traveling, you might want to hit a session (I'd rather walk/run on a treadmill though). However, why in God's name would any of us walk in to such a session when we have what we want/need/enjoy in our own home? Motivation from a crowd in a spin class? If we aren't motivated by the goal of staying fit, or getting stronger by riding in our preferred environment, why even bother owning a trainer? If you don't have the mind set to do a hard ride or intervals on the trainer, just spin for 30 minutes, loosen your legs and watch/listen to something light. If you want some social interaction, play basketball at the Y or join and old guys hockey league.

Went to one session with my wife four years ago, to appease her. Never again, NFW, couldn't pay me.

[djm]

I started attending low-key spin classes at my gym a couple of years ago to maintain off-season fitness here in the upper midwest. Ive found it makes a big difference in the spring. Its hard for me to stay motivated to train indoors at home but having friends at class keeps me going. I do my own thing, concentrating on intervals, and dont worry about suggested cadence, effort, etc.

[b3pkay]

Option 1: Ride in your own home, on your own bike, on your trainer, to your own music or video/movie. Maybe even with your SO.

Option 2: Drive somewhere to endure all the annoying things previously noted.

I can understand if traveling, you might want to hit a session (I'd rather walk/run on a treadmill though). However, why in God's name would any of us walk in to such a session when we have what we want/need/enjoy in our own home? Motivation from a crowd in a spin class? If we aren't motivated by the goal of staying fit, or getting stronger by riding in our preferred environment, why even bother owning a trainer? If you don't have the mind set to do a hard ride or intervals on the trainer, just spin for 30 minutes, loosen your legs and watch/listen to something light. If you want some social interaction, play basketball at the Y or join and old guys hockey league.

I'm considering going to a spin class tomorrow... because it's been about 8 degrees for the last few days and I don't own a trainer. The quoted post about is making me realize that for the price of 6 spin classes, I could instead purchase a used trainer on craigslist...

[dgauthier]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

(...) I have to be honest, though. I don't see the attraction for serious cyclists. Sure, it was a great workout, but I would much rather go out and do a hard 45 minutes on the road. (..)

*Serious* cyclist ride to spin class, and ride back, and forget to go inside.

[avalonracing]

I've literally had people say to me "Oh, you're an OUTdoor cyclist". Uh, no, I'm a cyclist. Along the same lines, I say Zwifting isn't "racing". If it is I'm going to put my motorcycle on rollers and call myself a motorcycle racer.

[eddief]

and I gotta say for me there is a big difference between "keeping up" in a spin class and my typical 40 mile club ride with a 2K feet of climbing. When I club ride I usually ride fairly hard but mostly keep the gearing in a range that is comfortable so I can last 40 miles.

in today's spin class I was standing up when commanded to do so after cranking up the resistance and staying there until allowed to sit back down and back off on the resistance. in other words i was being forced to work way harder on purpose than i ever "force" myself when road cycling. it was the toughest 45 minutes of "cycling" i have done maybe ever.

i will go back and suffer some more and do believe road cycling will be more fun as a result.

today's class = 12 women, 1 me.

[joosttx]

I found spin class was too intense of a workout for endurance training.

Originally Posted by Elefantino

We are visiting our daughter in DC and she spins at a local gym, Vida Fitness. So I went along this morning. Had never spun on a real spin bike before; this one was a Matrix IC7 with "coach by color."

Forty-five minutes with her personal trainer, Kyle Suib, leading the class of about 25 people.

Whew. It was interesting, to say the least. The bike took some getting used to, adjusting the resistance knob and all, but by the end I was able to hold 300+ watts with the rest of the class on the final "sprint" session.

Not bad for an old man who two days earlier had the last birthday he's going to count.

I have to be honest, though. I don't see the attraction for serious cyclists. Sure, it was a great workout, but I would much rather go out and do a hard 45 minutes on the road.

Those of you who do both might be able to weigh in on how spinning benefits your road riding.

[joosttx]

Originally Posted by FlashUNC

Spin class? Really? I know we've been getting a lot of rain, but man...

Paris Roubiax is soon. the cobbles only get smooth at speeds < 21.99999 mph

[ghcs]

Originally Posted by Elefantino

I have to be honest, though. I don't see the attraction for serious cyclists. Sure, it was a great workout, but I would much rather go out and do a hard 45 minutes on the road.

Live in a climate where it's below freezing and snowy for long periods.
Also, living downtown in a big city, "getting out on the road for 45 minutes" is much more time consuming than that.

Also, my spin class is at lunch, so it gets me away from my desk.

At home, I always find other things that take priority over riding for an hour.

[dvancleve]

Agreed. Doing a spin class and following the instructor is MUCH harder than the average hour of real cycling, if you don't live in the Alps or something ;^) There is A LOT about it that is super annoying for an actual cyclist, but (for me) it is 1K calories burned in an hour and a bucket of sweat. I set my "bike" up similarly to my real bikes and I don't generally follow when it is something dumb that isn't part of actual cycling. There is a lot of artificially high rpm standing with instructions like "add a little bit of gear". Overall, it is a hard workout but I have mostly only been doing my short fixie commute since I started doing spin with my wife over a year ago so I don't know how it translates into real road riding.

Doug

Originally Posted by eddief

and I gotta say for me there is a big difference between "keeping up" in a spin class and my typical 40 mile club ride with a 2K feet of climbing. When I club ride I usually ride fairly hard but mostly keep the gearing in a range that is comfortable so I can last 40 miles.

in today's spin class I was standing up when commanded to do so after cranking up the resistance and staying there until allowed to sit back down and back off on the resistance. in other words i was being forced to work way harder on purpose than i ever "force" myself when road cycling. it was the toughest 45 minutes of "cycling" i have done maybe ever.

i will go back and suffer some more and do believe road cycling will be more fun as a result.

today's class = 12 women, 1 me.

[thwart]

Originally Posted by djm

I started attending low-key spin classes at my gym a couple of years ago to maintain off-season fitness here in the upper midwest. Ive found it makes a big difference in the spring. Its hard for me to stay motivated to train indoors at home but having friends at class keeps me going. I do my own thing, concentrating on intervals, and dont worry about suggested cadence, effort, etc.

This.

We've warmed up from bitter, bitter cold to 40℉, freezing drizzle with 1/8 mile visibility, so no chance of outdoor riding. And this stuff 'trashed' the snow, so no XC skiing.

Did a spin class this AM where the instructor focused on getting to 65%-75% of max HR and just staying there, other than a few fairly brief standing 'runs'. No intervals but a good workout nevertheless.

Nice change up from my rollers. Variety is a good thing.

[kmac]

when you live in a city, and can walk in 2 minutes to a spin studio, it can be a really attractive option when time-crunched. i always prefer riding outside, but in city traffic, with stop lights, etc, it might take me 10 minutes of riding before i even get to a place where i can open up and just pedal. the 45 minutes of high-intensity exercise the spin bike offers won't necessarily make you a better road cyclist, but you can most definitely maintain (and perhaps even improve) fitness during those times in life where 2 hours on the road just isn't an option.

i find that if i put into it everything i can, i get out of it everything i want.

[laupsi]

Originally Posted by dvancleve

There is A LOT about it that is super annoying for an actual cyclist, but (for me) it is 1K calories burned in an hour and a bucket of sweat.

I taught spin classes and then RPM classes for about 10 years, started just after our son was born, needed to keep active, w/our schedules I couldn’t afford the time to train and race. Figured it was a good way to stay fit. What I learned are the following:
1. Most spin bikes use algorithms to compute calories and power and are completely unreliable. Sorry,it’s highly doubtful anyone is burning 1K calories in an hour long spin class.
2. Most spin instructors are motivators not cyclists and have very little experience teaching/instructing proper bike fit, pedal stroke, cadence, hand position, etc... as it relates to outdoor cycling.
3. Most spin instructors would be hard pressed to finish an outdoor ride lasting more than 1.5-2 hours at an aerobic pace. Forget anything competitive. They simply aren’t that fit, fit for cycling.
4. Guys/gals who think they can instruct spin classes to prepare/train for racing, road/crit, are mistaken.
5. Most who take spin classes are duped into thinking they are in “really” good shape. Doing a structured routine say from TrainerRoad or Zwift is so much more productive to building lasting fitness, but the work needs to be done. A year long episode of doing an average spin class is good exercise, but it ain’t anything close to where you’d be fitness wise if you stuck to real structured training. Of course same is true of outdoor structured training and one learns bike handling skills too.

[dvancleve]

Not that it matters, but that is from my HRM not from the spin bike I'll posit that a big (heavy) guy working hard in a spin class can easily burn more than 1K calories in an hour. A wirey, fit dude with a traditional cyclist's build, maybe not... Everything else you said seems true to me, I have never done any structured training on the road or anywhere else so I can't speak to that...

Thanks, Doug

Originally Posted by laupsi

I taught spin classes and then RPM classes for about 10 years, started just after our son was born, needed to keep active, w/our schedules I couldn’t afford the time to train and race. Figured it was a good way to stay fit. What I learned are the following:
1. Most spin bikes use algorithms to compute calories and power and are completely unreliable. Sorry,it’s highly doubtful anyone is burning 1K calories in an hour long spin class.