[Mac Attack II]

I have been riding a travel trac computer trainer for several months now. I have come up with several observations I would to share.

1st pedals and shoes
I put my road bike on the stand. I use Shimano pedals with road shoes. I could not get the angle of the cleats set so that my knees stayed comfortable. When riding on the road I did not have this problem. I tried adjusting my cleats forward back and rotating them. I could not get rid of my knee pain. One afternoon I went for an outdoor ride and got caught in the rain. I was not far from home but far enough that I got soaked. I changed but did not have dry shoes to match the Shimano pedals. I was still in the mood to ride so I switched my pedals to a set of egg beaters and got on the trainer with my mountain bike shoes. I did not notice it until 70-80 minutes into riding on the stand. My knees did not hurt. WOW my knees did not hurt. I started to pay attention to my position trying to figure out why. What I found was that I would often change the angle of my foot because of the extra float available from the egg beaters. What a cool thing to figure out. I also decided from this that the reason my knees did not hurt with the Shimano pedals on the road is because of how much more I shift my positions while on the road.

2nd motivation
This is a small one but for me the biggest motivation for riding is the power readings from the trainer. I got this trainer used for $250 and even at twice this price I would get it because of how much more I use it than my old rim drive that was just me pedaling.

3rd Pedal stroke
My daughter borrowed my lap top for a school project and it left me using my rim drive trainer for a while. Well I have gotten strong enough that the belt slips if I pedal too hard on the rim drive trainer. Well I decided I would ride it anyway. I spent a week or so on this and learned to make power all the way around without slipping the belt. I really did not notice that I was doing it I was just trying to keep the belt from slipping. When I got my computer back and got back on the computer trainer my wattage had went up from 390 to 420 watts with my heart rate at 80% max. (I don’t believe the wattage numbers are accurate but for tracking my progress they are great) I attribute this power gain to a more efficient stroke.

4th fans
I figured this one out early. I can not have too much air moving while on the trainer. Yea I know everything you read about indoor trainers says to use a fan.

5th warm-up
This will show what a novice I am. When I started I would just get on and hammer. Now I spend 10 minutes without allowing my heart rate to go over 70% of my max. Before doing this I would only be able to ride for 45-50 minutes before my legs and lungs were shot. Since starting to do the 10 minute warm ups I often ride over 90 minutes make a better average power than when I just got on and hammered.

6th boredom
I keep a remote close by so I can watch TV if I feel like it. I also keep a decent selection of audio books on hand. I love my local library. I once stayed on trainer for 3 hours because I wanted to keep listening to the great story but would not allow myself to listen if I was not on the bike.

Well these might not be new to a lot of you but I thought these observations might help a few people out there.

Mike

 

[mtbfool]

Must haves, IMO.

Ipod with rockin playists.
TV on mute.
Cycling (racing) videos, or football or basketball.
Idiotic level of desire to get faster.


I hate fans when I'm on the trainer. Can't stand the cool breeze. Not sure why.

I have knee/pedal problems on the trainer. Not sure why, but the exact same bike feel different outside. The knee and pedal problems go away. Probably due to using more stabalizers.

 

[suffer fest]

knee problems

Mac Attack II

Your knee ailment description may infact help me out quite a bit. I've been having moderate pain in my left knee over the past couple of years. This pain only comes around when I'm on my bike. Due to this I knew that I had an alignment problem somewhere but couldn't quite place it. Since I've gotten back on the trainer this winter I've been able to focus on the problem a bit more and noticed that I was having trouble getting my left foot into a comfortable position (it felt a bit tweaked). I'm riding Time pedals right now and the way the cleat is designed (counter sink for screw head) I don't think I can rotate it much. Maybe it's time to look into some different pedals. Eggbeaters?

I'd be very interested in hearing anyone else's two cents as well.

Thanks

 

[bcaronongan]

I use my mountain bike on the trainer with a slick on the rear wheel. I've only done this since October so thanks for the observations. Last night I found myself blowing on my arms to keep cool.

I also need to work on my pedal strokes because I squeak alot...

Thanks again!

 

[Pete Gurney]

I've been able to ride the trainer much more consistently this off season, but I suspect it is mainly due to two different factors. One, we've had little snow, so I've been unable to xc ski which is how I normally stay fit in the off season. Two, I just registered for the Lumberjack 100 which is on June 16th. Having that big of a race on the horizon has definately kept me motivated. I too use old bike dvd's and an ipod to ease the boredom, but I also have another tip. Netflix, I keep my queue filled mostly with tv shows (24, Sopranos, Six Feet Under, etc.). I find they really help pass the time. Good luck with the upcoming season.

 

[AlliKat]

I'm riding Time pedals right now and the way the cleat is designed (counter sink for screw head) I don't think I can rotate it much. Maybe it's time to look into some different pedals. Eggbeaters?

Thanks

Your time cleats are very adjustable. The cleat doesn't move under the screw, the threaded plate the screws go into moves in the two slots. I had a fit done on my bike and he calculated the correct location of my cleats. It was 1/2" from where I had it and it is amazing the difference. Time pedals float so if the cleats are placed correctly, you should have minimal pressure.

 

[mtbnewguy]

I
1st pedals and shoes
2nd motivation
3rd Pedal stroke
4th fans
5th warm-up
6th boredom

What about noise? mine is very noisy, with a rythmic humming that also adds up to the boredom (hypnotizing) :crazy: factor.

 

[Duckman]

Training vids make the time go by the best for me. An hour goes by amazingly fast compared to otherwise.

 

[cgee]

I put my road bike on the stand. I use Shimano pedals with road shoes. I could not get the angle of the cleats set so that my knees stayed comfortable.

Did you put the front wheel up on some two-by-fours so that both wheels are level and you're not going "downhill?"

 

[Mac Attack II]

Yes I did have the front wheel up on a block. The difference is that the Eggbeaters allow my foot to rotate while I spin. I dont shift my feet around every stroke or anything but I do adjust my position every 5 minutes maybe. Probably more than that it just seems that long.

The Shimano pedals were not a problem riding on the road. I think this is because I move around a lot more on the road than on the stand.

Of course my conclusions from these few observations might be completely wrong.

Mike

 

[tron]

I just started riding a trainer. A tire drive fluid trainer and I found out the hard way that the device thing gets hot. My leg touched it and it instantly burned me.