Outdoor cycling is time taking and requires a minimum of 3-4 hrs daily to have enough miles before ready for a competition. Even for-sake-of-fitness-riders the time required is 2 hrs minimum . Sparing 2 hours daily is not so easy for all. Other than the professional cyclists, cycling is a time taking affair unlike running or swimming. But cycling scores significantly higher when it comes to risk-cum-injury free fitness regime.
Flexibility to cycle any other time of the day other than early mornings is practically non-existent. So what are the options for those who love cycling, want to pursue it as a sport but not having enough time to cycle? Several options exist as listed below:
1. Stationary bike trainer- This may cost anywhere from Rs 45-70 K. However, the option to cycle outdoor is lost in this case.
2. Rollers- Cost anywhere between 20-30 K and can be used by mounting our road bike on it. With both the wheels resting on the rollers- two for the rear wheels and one for front wheel. Two main challenges here are balancing on the roller and second no option to increase the resistance other than shifting gears on the bike. Pic shown below.
3. Rear wheel mounting trainers- These are of two types- rim drives and tire drives. These trainers are only rear wheel mount hence negating the issue of balancing as in case of rollers but also allowing to work on different resistance levels.
3.a. In case of Rim drive trainer the rear wheel rim passes through a set of rubber rollers that touch the rim of the rear wheels. Pic shown below.
3.b. Tire Drive trainer has a steel roller where the rear wheel is mounted and the rear wheel tire touches the steel rim. The resistance levels can be varied to increase resistance. Pic shown below
The one above is owned by me and letting me enjoy the ride when indoors. It is noise free and compatible with “live training” app that syncs and allows to re-train indoor our actual rides outdoor. Also free video download comes with the trainer that can be used to train. Ant + and Bluetooth smart are additional features that helps sync the trainer with the app installed on iphone.
Overall a great tool at a price of just Rs 15-20K and with complete flexibility to enjoy cycling.
Comentarios