This seems to be very common reaction from people that ride a lot but without racing success. “Why to ride inside when you can ride outside”. These are the same people that find power meters unnecessary luxury.
I love indoor training because it is perfect replacement for timw waisting entertaiment like computer games. The mechanic for the mind is the same - you start as s noob and with an repetitive work you become better and level up as a better cyclist And why I wouldn’t do something that allows me to ride outside faster and more comfortable without any restrictions on the route I choose, not my fitness?
Of all locations across the internet… I don’t think this forum is the place to get an even remotely unbiased take on why this shade on trainer use is happening.
I personally feel it starts with a couple of simple questions.
Do you ride your bike to get faster at riding your bike?
Or, do you just like riding your bike?
If your goal is to be faster, then for a majority of people, spending nearly all of their time doing structure on a trainer will achieve this. If your goal is to simply enjoy riding and exploring the world on your bike, then structured training is well… probably not going to achieve this.
It sounds like the OP is simply riding with competitive folk who are jealous of being ‘beaten’. From my experience this is very common with road cyclists, hell most cyclists. It’s in the very tone of the replies to this post.
“Results are what matter”
There’s another way of looking at it. If you had absolutely unlimited time and money. You could train anytime, in any location on Earth. Do you really think anybody would chose to do a majority of their training on a trainer?
I suspect not.
The trainer does a fantastic job at what it’s designed to do. Allowing athletes to train year round, in safety etc etc. What it doesn’t do is change the fundamental laws of the universe…
Sitting on our bikes in a garage staring at a screen is not riding, it’s sitting.
Ride - to be borne along on or in a vehicle or other kind of conveyance.
Now, if we could have said garage moving along as we pedaled, we’d be riding
I’ve yet to even join a group ride in the 18 months I’ve been cycling and most of what has put me off is the level of petty snark I’ve read online between cyclists and their hot-takes on the sport.
Last year I bought a cheap bike from a dude on ebay and collected it. I got chatting to the bloke and no sooner had I mentioned the purchase was to become a permanent indoor trainer bike that he starts telling me about ‘these turbo trainer heroes who turn up and get blown away at the club rides’.
Wouldn’t read too much into what’s written online, the Internet tends to represent a very polarised view of reality (other than the people here who are all lovely, moderate, human beings of course…). People on group rides are just normal human beings who like riding their bikes. You get the occasional arsehole just like you do in every walk of life. Also like in other areas of life you’ll get some groups who are very welcoming to newcomers, others where it takes a bit more time and investment to fit in.
If you enjoy riding indoors and solo that’s cool, no issue with that. I just really wouldn’t be put off group rides by what you’ve read online. My most enjoyable rides have been with other people, and I’ve made some great friends from meeting people on group rides over the years.
That’s how I justified the purchase of a smart trainer to my spouse: “Honey, I’ll be 3km/h faster on my 100km ride and won’t need a reststop, so I can be home in 3 hours instead of 3.5h”.
I always dreaded the first few months of the outdoor season because my acquired fitness of the past season seemed to have evaporated completely during winter. Now I am actually looking forward to getting on my bike come march/april and want to see if I can get some PRs on my local routes.
I post all my indoor rides on strava. If you don’t approve of my indoor rides in your feed, feel free to unfollow me, idc.
Cold, wet, wind, all of the above? I find I actually get huge satisfaction from battling the elements and getting the ride done. As long as the conditions aren’t bad enough to be dangerous it’s just a question of having the right kit and making the mental shift necessary to enjoy it rather than cursing the weather gods.
Ah the old hard man mantra… That sounds like a gentle Irish summer spin. Only rides I did growing up.
Too old for that stuff now. Drew the line a few years back when I had to ask my wife to take my helmet off as my fingers were non functioning. Now I have the implement of torture facing the window. I can vicariously enjoy those crap days.
First, congrats to your progress . And if the ride is about dropping that’s mission accomplished.
To all what’s being said here I wanted to add another way of looking at things:
Often what you say in response can have grat impact and you could pre-think the situation to have different answers at hand.
For example use understatement: „Training indoors is the only way for me to keep up with you fast guys.“
Or: „I want to keep up with these other fast guys you all know and need this training to improve.“
Exactly. Or give a lead and catch up. Or work more in the wind. Lots of options.
Give encouragement to everyone. I like to think that the better the rider the lesser the need to prove oneself to others.
Cycling is changing, technology is advancing, traditional theories on training are being challenged and people in general don’t like change. But I think you can distill it down to one fundamental point - everyone who rides a bike, regardless of their goal, gains pleasure from it. If that pleasure is winning a national title or a cafe ride with friends, we find that activity pleasurable. That’s why we repeat it.
It’s endemic in cycling clubs throughout the world, and even can be seen on here to a degree. We challenge what we don’t see as convention. People have scoffed on here at those of us that enjoy racing on Zwift - how is this any different to the seasoned, old school racer who does nothing but Z2 over the winter in all weathers taking a shot at the TR user?
You could compare it to music. The classical music lover laughing at the death metal fan. At the end of the day, it’s all just music. They both get pleasure from their respective genres. We all ride bike, regardless of how and where because we fundamentally enjoy it. This is something we would should respect more.
Yes and no. You have to factor in cleaning the bike in an effort to keep it running and then you have to set the time aside to make that cleaning happen. If I can train effectively indoors and save myself time, I’m more inclined to take that approach.
I like riding the trainer. I like riding outside. The important thing for me this winter is to be consistent with 14-15 hour weeks – which means, if it’s a weekday or I’m having mold allergy issues or it’s raining, 2hrs+ on the trainer. I don’t do rain anymore, and I don’t do shoe covers anymore.
It also will help me keep from gaining my usual 10lbs over the winter – I hope. For me, the payoff will be what I’m riding like – yes, on the road – when Daylight Savings is back in business and that races that matter to me come around.
But, that’s because I take pleasure in the work. If you don’t like it, don’t do it – and some folks are going to like getting outside regardless of the dark or the weather. And that’s good, too.
There is a certain irony at a lot of people here looking down there noses at people who say “you should ride outside” and feeling snubbed by them…pretty much the flip side of the same coin.
As someone above noted, riding indoor and outdoor are not mutually exclusive and both have their benefits / advantages and both have their drawbacks.
The generalities that your ride inside to “get faster” and outside to just enjoy riding your bike are pretty much “reverse snobbery”…I guarantee that if some of you came on our regurlar Tues / Thurs group rides, your tongues would be in your spokes the entire ride. No amount of indoor training is gonna simulate the training effect of those rides.
IMO, riding outside with people faster than you is still a critical element to getting faster. I see people around here who grind themselves into dust on a trainer with SS, Tempo and VO2 max intervals but never do group rides that will make them faster and better riders. Big gains come when you are hanging on by your toenails and you need to dig even deeper.
Again, neither training option is mutually exclusive…
I would assume if you’re picking up a TR subscription its because you intend to race.
Which means you’ll definitely encounter a great deal of suffering anyway.
Not knocking group rides or anything, but the point of indoor training is all about getting the most bang for your buck when it comes to time spent pushing pedals against fitness gained. Grouprides definitely are not as good for this.
I’ve had a few comments about “loving the turbo” but not hate. I tried commuting by bike, it just doesn’t work for me work/ family/ life balance wise, which is what most of those that comment come from.
I completely understand wanting to ride outside. I train inside, so I can get stronger outside and enjoy it more! But totally get why people don’t like it - if you’re not interested in training/ following a plan, to a lot of people the turbo is something to do if the weather is just too bad to go out.
I also get something from the process - I actually enjoy training, progressing etc… I don’t plan to race, so I could most likely get away with junk miles to be honest.
There are plenty of people who post here that have said they don’t race but use TR to get faster.
As for your characterization of group rides, again, it depends on your group. Choose wisely for the training stimulus you are searching for…again, our Tues / Thurs rides are known for being extremely fast and hard. Fast, rotating pace line that ranges from 25-30mph. There is no way I could / would bury myself on the trainer the way I do on those rides.
This is the best response I’ve seen in this thread. Well said @Jack_Russell_Racing! Succinct and on point. @TRusername- if you follow these 4 points consistently, you will most definitely have a better experience riding with others.
I wanna commute by bike, i wanna ride with friends, but i also wanna get faster for my triathlons and i have a half iron goal in 2 years tops.
Id forgotten how much i loved the trainer rides (as i’d not ridden it since april/may when it got warmer) and the feeling of “confidence” and accomplishment it brings when you finish a workout.
I gotta say, the safety aspect of the whole thing is also comforting as i hear horror stories every, single, week. But in the end, it’s MY enjoyment, not really my friends or anyone elses that i worry about.
In the end, you do you, and build the better version of yourself, they’re not the ones increasing your ftp, you are
Yes indeed. I can’t find the thread now, but there is one specifically about TR users who DO NOT race. And we constantly see questions about plan selection from people just wanting greater fitness for their chosen rides. TR users goes well beyond the “pure racer” in many cases.
And why I wouldn’t do something that allows me to ride outside faster and more comfortable without any restrictions on the route I choose, not my fitness?
. And if the ride is about dropping that’s mission accomplished.