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TO SPIN OR NOT TO SPIN ... THAT IS THE QUESTION!!

Juan VergaraJuan Vergara
in General Training Discussions
Now and then one is in training ... traveling ... in need of maintaining bike fitness .... wishing the hotel gym might, at least, have a spinning bike!!!
You wake up early ... go down to the gym and .... behind the treadmills .... there it is ... the "typical" gym bike (increasingly sophisticated I must recognize).
Then you as yourself "a bike is a bike" but .... is it worth it???
As I begin to research the hotels I will be staying at during my family summer trip, it seems this is a dilemma I will be facing while I'm 6 to 8 weeks out from the Long Distance World Championship!!!
And I wonder .... am I better off spinning on those bikes versus not biking at all???
That is the question!!!
Thoughts ???

Comments

  • Paul HoughPaul Hough
    Crank down the resistance and it can be an excellent workout ... far better than nothing.
  • thekidduxcthekidduxc
    Have to get the work in, better than nothing. If at all possible avoid the recumbent bicycles as they work a different set of muscles... but even the recumbent bike is better than nothing.
  • cgres123cgres123
    Better than nothing but I wouldn't spend more than an hour on one for your own sanity.
  • MattAaronsonMattAaronson
    I travel a LOT. My personal view:
    - I do not use gym bikes. I am too worried about getting an injury due to poor bike fit, and I don't get good numbers / data which is personally important to me
    - Instead, I do a lot of running when travelling. It's a great way to see a new locale.
    - Notwithstanding the above, I have come to appreciate that proper "spinning bikes" in some health clubs can be made to fit well. These are different from regular "exercise bikes" found in typical hotel gyms and will require you to bring your bike shoes. These clubs can require memberships or you can sometimes pay a "day rate" (expensive to the tune of $20-50 per day). Some of these places will have lap pools too. Note you do not have to do a "spinning class" to use the bikes...many places will have a few bikes out on the floor or the bike studio may be open when there isn't a class occurring. At the suggestion of Jeremy Behler I bought a set of PowerTap P1 pedals for use on these bikes and so I get my numbers / data too.
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