More bike questions

[Andrea]

1. How do you count rpm? I was looking at cycloputers in the Nashbar catalog and they mention counting speed only.

2. Please explain pedals to me! Are there only two kinds...clipless and regular? On the regular ones do you just put your foot on where it is comfortable? The ball of my foot is supposed to be on the pedal right?

I know you all wish I'd just go buy a cycling book!

I'm thinking you'll read this Debra, so yes my seat is back all the way and yes I have the V-bike. It's the one the club had when I fell in love with spinning. So I'm thinking I'd like the seat with the part in the middle lower or gone. Especially after a short 3 miler with my son this afternoon (owwww). I was teaching aerobics for a while, but unfortunately my small town wasn't too interested. The closest spin class is 100 miles away :-( But I absolutely LOVED teaching (And DebbieH puts together some great music and routines!)

Andrea

 

[Debra]

Hi Andrea!

I'm going to approach this from a training aspect, not necessarily for a recreational rider.

RPM = cadence; The cyclometers that track cadence (all 3 of mine do) are a bit more complicated to set up because you have to wire it to your crank (pedal arm). Most bike training programs have cadence parameters but it's not critical. Much like heart rate training. DH doesn't give a fig about cadence but I use it ever since I tore my acl skiing.

At a minimum, you want your cyclometer to track distance, time elapsed, speed & average speed. Not because you need to be obsessive about the numbers, but you need to measure progress occasionally, just as you do for running.

You can check cadence manually just by doing a 30 second count of your right or left pedal stroke & doubling the number. It seems obvious but people in Spinning have a tough time with this. The Johnny G parameters are 90-110 rpm for flats & 60-80 for hills. I imagine Coach Troy gives out cadence targets. Do the fitness type videos?

The V-bike must have a nice seat! For outside, check out terrybicycles.com for seats. I think Terry was the first to offer seats with cutouts. I believe you can return Terry bike seats - not sure if Nashbar allows one to use & return. You still want padded shorts.

FYI, Terry bikes are great for petite women but didn't work for me (at 5'4").

It's too bad you couldn't keep a group together. What an opportunity they're missing! I can't even keep my best friend or my sister moving. Yo-yo dieters & exercisers.

Shifting gears (we'll just pretend we're talking about dualathon training), I've gotten to the point on my long runs where I need to refuel. I tried a gel - gross! DH loves them (he's the sugar fiend). I'll try Fig Newtons or bits of Powerbar next time. Have you experimented yet?

Did you get a helmet? Fit is inconsistent - so you get a pass until your next trip to Vegas.

Debra

 

[DebbieH]

Hi Andrea!

Thank you so much. How sweet! We miss you being a part of our group. Hopefully, someday, it wil work out for you to teach again. Reedals~my spin bike, a Schwinn, has little "basket-like" thingies your foot fits into. It fits about 1/2 of your foot inside. (from about the toes to the arch) There are no clips. How's your knee? Hope you are back to spinning and strength work.

Your-Friend-In-Fitness, DebbieH http://www.plaudersmilies.de/wavey.gif If You Get The Choice To Sit It Out Or Dance...I Hope You DANCE!!!

 

[Andrea]

Debra and Debbie

Debra-I was looking at the cheaper computers so that must be why I didn't see the cadence thing. Coach Troy does give them out and I think Mindy does in her spinning video.

Nashbar says that they accept returns, but I'll check out Terry too. Their bikes definitely won't work for me...I'm the opposite of petite (6'). I also HAVE to try on my helmet cause my head is HUGE! DH's 4-wheeler helmet is too small. So I have to wear his hugely dorky looking off road racing helmet when I ride my even hugely dorkier 4-wheeler...but back to the topic!

I haven't experimented with fuel during running. To tell you the truth I haven't even had water! My longest run has only been 5 miles, but anything over 3 and I definitely need some water. A Camelbak is also on my wish list! In fact, I am reading a book on nutrition (Sports Nutrition for the Endurance Athlete) and it sounds like maybe the reason anything over 3 miles kills me is because I am dehydrated. But, Luna Bars are yummy. My fave flavors in order of yumminess are: Chai Tea and Chocolate Pecan Pie. There are a bunch of new flavors I haven't tried yet. A lot of people like the Lemon Zest one, but I am not a lemon person and hated it. I think they are cheapest at drugstore.com if you find some you like. Oatbars are really yummy too. And I believe better for you than Luna's.

I love my spin bike, but am thinking I probably should have used the money on a better fitting bike and an indoor trainer. I know a new (or used) bike is not in my immediate future, so I'm gonna see if I can't make my bike work...somehow.

How about the pedal question Debra?

I'm trying to learn as much as possible to avoid seeming too much like a goober once I visit the bike shop...there are tons of them in Vegas!

Debbie-My bike also has those basket things. I just barely tightened the straps on them at my last spin (when I hurt my knee) and am wondering if that is why I hurt myself. Maybe I need the extra leeway. My knee is feeling better, and I am struggling to take this week off of cardio and leg work. I did go for a 3.5 mile run Sunday, and that is when I decided I better give it a break. Plus that knee thread on Ask Cathe scared me to death! I don't ever want to be told I can't do all the fun stuff I do cause I was stupid with my knees! I've gone for a couple short rides with the kids, and chased them around the house, but other than that I am going crazy! Did I tell you I found chewable Gluco/Chond? Yippee! And they were on sale 2 for the price of 1.

Now, I better get started on S&H T&B before it gets too late!

Thanks for all your help! I am having so much fun learning all this.

Andrea