[texass4]

I just got a trainer (Cycleops Fluid) to help keep me fit and ready to ride while I'm in the middle of a very busy time at work, and I've noticed several different things:

1. When concentrating on spinning, no matter how high/low the cadence, my butt hurts worse than when exerting similar effort out on the road.

2. I can feel my knees begin to tighten up after about an hour. Not pain, or even soreness really, but I never have any trouble in the slightest when I'm out on a real ride...even over 2X or 3X the distance.

3. Also, my feet don't feel quite as much "at home" in the pedals as they do on the road. This is a very, very slight issue, but it's there.


Is this just part of the "simulated ride" while on the trainer, or am I missing something? I try to vary my cadence, posture and position on the bike, and everything else I can think of to make trainer time as close to the real thing as I can. I want to make the most of this time, because I will have very limited chances to ride outside before it gets dark until mid to late July.

Any tips or insight?

 

[Einstruzende]

I have the same trainer and the same issues. I suppose it's because the bike doesn't move like it would on the road. Very static laterally. I hate the trainer. Rollers might be a solution.

 

[acid_rider]

I was told "no"

I just got a trainer (Cycleops Fluid) to help keep me fit and ready to ride while I'm in the middle of a very busy time at work, and I've noticed several different things:

1. When concentrating on spinning, no matter how high/low the cadence, my butt hurts worse than when exerting similar effort out on the road.

2. I can feel my knees begin to tighten up after about an hour. Not pain, or even soreness really, but I never have any trouble in the slightest when I'm out on a real ride...even over 2X or 3X the distance.

3. Also, my feet don't feel quite as much "at home" in the pedals as they do on the road. This is a very, very slight issue, but it's there.


Is this just part of the "simulated ride" while on the trainer, or am I missing something? I try to vary my cadence, posture and position on the bike, and everything else I can think of to make trainer time as close to the real thing as I can. I want to make the most of this time, because I will have very limited chances to ride outside before it gets dark until mid to late July.

Any tips or insight?

FWIW, I do have similar issues on my Tacx Sirius trainer that I got 2 weeks ago and used twice so far. So I asked an well known cycling-fit expert who said things should be about the same on road and on trainer. What kind of trainer riding are you doing? Intervals/sprints flat out, big gear, 110rpm+? Slow cadence hard gear mashing at 60-70rpm? The trainer does not let you cheat like you can on the road.

Here is my personal speculation and I am no expert:

Perhaps your road riding is just different (of lower intensity but longer in time) to your focused trainer riding. I suspect that your position on the bike may be a little "off" which hard efforts on the trainer expose. On the road perhaps you do not punish yourself as much so your legs don't work as hard even on longer distances. And on the road you may get out of saddle more than on trainer so your "rear end" gets some relief on the road. In this case you need to stand up for 20 seconds every 10 minutes and pedal slowly. The trainer does not let you "coast" like you can on the road so you are forced to work constantly, i.e. trainer does not let you "cheat" as much.

Knee/quad issues "under high trainer load" may mean you need to sit further back. Or raise the saddle a touch. But I would only change one thing at a time and by a very small amount else you could hurt yourself. See Steve Hogg answers on cyclingnews.com on this subject.

Cheers

 

[HSalas]

Check your level...

Make sure you have your bike sitting level while in the trainer. I have a Blackburn fluid trainer and I have to put a 1x6 under the front wheel to keep level. If you're always "downhill" that can effectively change your position.

 

[jaseone]

I have a similar trainer (Kurt Kinetic Road Machine) and don't experience symptoms like that, although one thing I have noticed is that you are more in tune with your body on the trainer as there isn't much else to distract you so maybe you do have some fit issues that you just aren't aware of when out on the road? For example I hadn't noticed my cleats were too far forward until I jumped on the trainer.

If you haven't got a front wheel riser then as another poster pointed out then that can make a big difference as well, if you haven't got a specifc riser then you can finally get some good use out of your phonebooks.

 

[Allez Rouge]

+1 on what Einstruzende said.

Well, mostly +1. I don't own the same trainer; I don't own a trainer at all. I've been on the things, and I don't like them. Very unnatural feeling, one that bears only a passing resemblance to that of a bicycle on an actual road.

I'd like to think I have a reasonably smooth spin and don't induce the bike to move around a whole lot under me, but even so with every pedal stroke a bicycle out on the road will sway ever-so-slightly from side-to-side. On a trainer, with the bike locked rigidly into a vertical position, that small freedom of movement is gone and the resulting sensations are just flat weird.

Although I don't ride them a whole lot, I much prefer the feel of my rollers to any stationary trainer I've ever tried out.

 

[Schneiderguy]

Welcome to the world of trainers

sore butt comes with trainer riding. Move some on the sadle. Stand some to reduce pressure. If necessary occacionally get off the bike and walk around a couple of minutes-at least 30 seconds.

If you are not set up well, you will notice it more on the trainer than on the road.

Limit you workouts to an hour or so. Trainers are great for fitness. Use them to for a couple of really hard interval workouts a week. Go for quality workout not lots of time. If you do recovery rides keep them to 30-45 minutes and just spin really easy with no pressure on the legs. With a10-15 minute warm up and 5 minute cool down and the rest lung busting intervals you don't notice any other discomfort on the trainer-too much pain.

Use a really good fan to keep you cool or you will over heat and drink before, during and after the ride-you will need the water.

 

[shawndoggy]

Limit you workouts to an hour or so. Trainers are great for fitness.

Best possible workout you can do: 10 minutes warmup (do a couple of 30 second hard efforts toward the end), 20 minutes at 95% FT power, five minutes off, 20 minutes at 95% FT power, 5 minute cooldown. only 55 minutes, and by far the most valuable workout of the week.

Honestly, I find it very difficult to get an outdoor workout that's even close to what I can get on the trainer, in the same amount of time. I'm on the trainer four days a week. Outdoors... three if I'm lucky, sometimes only two.

As for it not feeling right, well, suck it up and deal. On the road you've got all kinds of distractions.. pretty flowers, traffic, the wind in your face, etc. On the trainer, all you have to think about is how bad it sucks to be riding a trainer. Getting through that will make you a tough guy out on the road.

 

[Schneiderguy]

I agree with Shawndoggy

but you have to be committed to pain! IMHO the best workout in the least time. I'm not discounting a roller workout either it it produces sufficient resistance-some do some don't. Plus there are bike skills developed with rollers. But I'm getting off the OP subject. I can get a better 1 hr workout on the trainer than on the road most of the time; however, it isn't nearly as much fun as riding on the road.

 

[Guest]

I agree with Schneiderguy. I have a KKT and I need to sit up one and a while. On the road, I get out of the saddle naturally when making harder efforts, plus bumps and stuff move you around anyway. Working out on the trainer is different than riding for me, but that's because it's very hilly where I live/ride. I listen to music (yeah an iPod) and pick up my pace/pain level from time to time to keep from going nuts just spinning down in my basement.

 

[texass4]

I totally agree with "sucking it up". My choices are (a) nothing at all, or (b) riding the trainer most weekdays for awhile until work slows down enough for me to get outside more often. I have already made the commitment, and it's really not that bad...especially if there's a ball game of some sort on TV. Sitcoms get more monotonous.

I just wanted to make sure I wasn't doing anything drastically wrong or potentially dangerous to my knees or other sensitive parts. Thanks for the tips. Those should help.

Also, I've found that the only way to stand and pedal with any sense of normalcy (so as to give my sensitive bits a break) is to go pretty deep into the big ring...otherwise it just feels like I'm spinning on a chainless crank.

thanks for the help.

 

[BenWA]

Also, I've found that the only way to stand and pedal with any sense of normalcy (so as to give my sensitive bits a break) is to go pretty deep into the big ring...otherwise it just feels like I'm spinning on a chainless crank.

yeah, that's normal, same here. My bits go numb on the trainer pretty quick for some reason (they almost never do out on the road) so I have to stand up and give em a breather frequently. Standing up on the trainer feels weird... like you say, I have to pick a hefty gear and get my weight way out over the front for it to feel even close to "normal".

Jeopardy is a personal fave for trainer tv. Keeps the mind occupied and distracted from the bummer of being on the trainer.

Interesting to see that some folks who posted above seem to prefer a trainer workout to a road workout. I personally don't see how a trainer provides a "better" workout. Maybe more controlled and repeatable. But better?

 

[shawndoggy]

Interesting to see that some folks who posted above seem to prefer a trainer workout to a road workout. I personally don't see how a trainer provides a "better" workout. Maybe more controlled and repeatable. But better?

Where else can you do a 2x20 workout with only five minutes rest inbetween sets? We've got lots of great climbing around here, but nothing that doesn't vary its pitch within a 20 minute span. Also hard to get back down the hill in 5:00. Not to mention that I need to ride 40:00 to get to the climb. As for trying to do the same thing on the TT bike, well, I could find a course like that if I drove 30 miles. But not right out my front door.

As for "better," I'm basing that on the TSS score I can rack up (CyclingPeaks) in a given time period on the trainer vs. on the road. There's so much coasting on the road that the workout really isn't as hard as you might think. So I guess when I said it's a better workout, I'm really answering the question "What's the most efficient use of this one hour block that I've got to train?"

The hole that I create with TOO much trainer time is a lack of top end (the 2-4 minute interval stuff). For that I do a quick set out on the road. But those sorts of intervals only come up for me during race season. The other 9 months of the year I'm slogging away with thresholdish stuff.

 

[BenWA]

Fair enough! I guess it depends on what kind of nearby road you have to work with.

I am lucky in that I have both a nice flat road 2 minutes from my doorstep to do longer LT intervals on and also a nice long steady hill about a 15 minute flat ride away (e.g., nice warmup/cooldown stretch) to do hill repeats on. I would personally much rather do either than ride the trainer.