Indoors at the V and Dime
If we liked breathing stale, recycled air, we’d all take up a sport like wrestling or indoor fly-fishing. But we love the feel of a gale on our faces. We cherish the smell of cow manure filling our nostrils with its almost tangible grittiness. We hold scared the privilege to breathe in diesel fuel while doing hill repeats up l’Alpe d’Huez.
But such whimsy is not for every day. Occasionally, we find ourselves faced with the prospect of an hour of solitude upon the wind trainer or rollers, where our sport is transformed from a glorious experience of powering ourselves along with only Nature for company to one where a ride of 30 minutes is barely tolerable, 45 seems like a lifetime wasted, and 60 minutes is more than most of us can even consider enduring. 60 minutes on the trainer at a leisurely pace or a 4 and a half hour death march up a barren, heat-riddled climb? I’ll take the 4 and half hours every time, thank you very much.
We all have to do it, and there are even some redeeming qualities to be had. You get better at Rule #5, for one. You develop a more magnificent stroke, for another. Whatever the redeeming qualities, we all have our way of coping. Jeff in PetroMetro returns with his view on how to make it suck just a little bit less.
Yours in Cycling,
Frank
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Either due to life-threatening weather or poor scheduling of life’s lesser priorities (see Rule #11), we Velominati spend a little time each year riding indoors. Whether one enjoys a ride on rollers or a trainer, and no matter if one methodically spins (as all good recovery ride specialists do), grinds out intervals, or practices ways to improve one’s magnificent stroke (scrape the mud off your shoes, scrape the mud off your shoes…), death-by-boredom is always a possibility. I’m not one to go for videos, or read books, or hook up to a computer. Call me old fashioned. I like to meditate on the V with only the voices inside my head screaming for mercy from the pain of a complete lactic acid meltdown.
Or, sometimes I like a little music.
Back in the Dark Ages, I used the yellow (sweatproof) Sony Walkman to play my favorite homemade training cassette tapes. But in our modern days of inexpensive digital storage, and with the brilliant invention of the “shuffle” command on my iPod Nano, I have some seven hours of musical motivation to keep my indoor sessions lively and loud.
I thought I might start a little conversation regarding favorite training tunes. Now, I know ALL of my fellow Velominati strictly adhere to Rule #62 when riding outside. And of course, we prefer strict adherence to Rule #9, but, as I stated above, shit happens.
While I have eclectic taste, I don’t fancy Al Green, Buck Owens, or Duke Ellington when loving a Rule #5 beatdown. No. I tack to the loud and fast. My preferences are punk and “classic rock”. (It was just rock when I first heard it.) So here’s a little flavor of my indoor training selection, in no particular order.
Hate to Say I Told You So“”The Hives””from the album “Your New Favourite Band”
Tick Tick Boom“”The Hives””from the album “The Black and White Album”
American Idiot“”Green Day””from the album “American Idiot”
The Rock Show“”Blink 182″”from the album “Take Off Your Pants and Jacket”
I Fought the Law (Live)””The Clash””from the album “The Clash: Live at Shea Stadium”
Batman Theme“”The Jam””from the album “In the City”
Communication Breakdown“”Led Zeppelin””from the album “Led Zeppelin”
The Real Me“”The Who””from the album “Quadrophenia”
Rock Around the Clock“”Ten Pole Tudor””from the album “The Great Rock’n’Roll Swindle”
Of course there are many, many others. But I offer these few picks-to-click to perhaps start a little discussion and get some musical ideas for my next indoor shopping spree at the V and Dime.
A-Merckx
Cracked no hands on my rollers a few weeks ago which I’m quite chuffed about, still get a bit out of shape taking out and replacing the water bottle. Also, realised that the sticker on the front roller made a noise like the chain was chattering. Wish I’d figured that one out before spending a few sessions working on the mechs (without getting rid of the noise).
@snoov
STRONG work! Man, yesterday on the rollers I was feeling adventurous and tried to stand up (do not remember which sick bastard suggested that on this site) and ended up shooting straight ahead on the bike right off the rollers and into the table with the computer showing the dvd on it. Fortunately no one was hurt (i.e bike or myself) but I did adjust the rollers spacing so that now my front axle is directly over the front roller (it had been a bit behind it).
Still, I am a total convert! I’ll take rollers ANY DAY over the KK Pro or Cyclops stationary trainer.
@Buck Rogers
This isn’t the droid you are looking for.
@Buck Rogers
I’ll take pretty much anything over the stationary trainer. But I think that has something to do with my last session on it. My program required a five hour ride on rolling hills. But the weather conditions in my only available window of opportunity that day were simply too dangerous to share narrow roads with unsypmathetic drivers, so I simulated a five hour rolling hill ride with five hours on my wind trainer. I can confirm that five hours on a WT feels is a very long time. I do not intend to repeat it.
@G’phant
FIVE HOURS?!?!?! Good God, man, you are one sick and tortured cyclist! My max was a little over three hours two years ago and that nearly killed me.
@Buck Rogers
Hey BR, now looking at the Kreitlers myself after thinking I could get off cheap. How do you like the 2.25″ drums?
@xyxax
F’king LOVE them. I get a great workout and they rock all around. I should buy stock in the company. They are truly AWESOME for indoor training!
@Buck Rogers
How did that adjustment affect things? Kreitler says to have the front roller a bit ahead of the axle.
@itburns
This is not the droid we are looking for. Move on.
@Nate
They do? Crap, I’ll probably kill myself worse the next time I ride them. I was able to get just er 50 k in today outside so avoided the rollers. I’ll let you know how it differs the next time I ride them. Should be this week as I am on call and my hours of work are a lot worse.
@Nate
I might just have to stand on my head for a bit with my cycling shoes on and see into the past, old friends perhaps who have gone and given me bad advice, then fly to wherever they are and challenge them to an ITT duel!
@xyxax
Dude, yeah buy quality rollers. I made the mistake of buying cheap rollers (~$150 USD new), and they are loud as fuck. The best way to describe it is they make a loud, high-pitch resonate sound as I use them. So, so annoying.
Because of that I only use my trainer. I actually purchased a quality trainer so it isn’t bad, but it would be nice to utilize both.
Kreitler recommends having the front roller directly under your front wheel axle or _slightly_ in front of the axle. The instructions with the rollers are crap – watch the video on the webpage. Roller setup
The pegs ended up putting the front roller slightly forward of my axle and I haven’t had a need to mess with them since. Getting out of the saddle is still an experience and I have to concentrate, but it really makes you aware of your forward/back weight distribution and bike handling.
I have the 3.0 rollers, plastic caps (actually liked that look better and saved some money), and one flywheel. Highly recommended for when you can’t get out on the road.
So, question for the rollerinati: can you load them up so that your legs can do some strength training (low cadence, high gear stuff? While I still hate the WT after my marathon, at least I can get me a good leg strength session in on it – leg strength (or, rather, total absence of same) being a key limiting factor for me and so something I try to work on. My understanding is that rollers are good for technique and spinning / high cadence, but not so flash for leg strength. But I would be happy to be corrected.
@G’phant
Probably more than you’d imagine. Kreitler has a fan unit you can strap onto the front roller that adds significant resistance. I have one and have used it for low cadence work. There is also a flywheel unit, although part of the beauty of rollers is that they are only as smooth as your pedal stroke and a flywheel might remove some of that effect. Also, the resistance gets higher with smaller diameter rollers. 4.5 are the classics, all about smooth spin, 3.0 has pretty good resistance and 2.25 has more resistance still.
@Nate
Thanks. I hadn’t heard about the fan thing. Must investigate further.
Fill the drums with sand. And then, if that’s too easy, add water. If that’s still to easy, it’s one legged drills for you.
Here are some links for resistance comparisons:
Kreitler options
Kinetic fluid resistance
You can also place a towel under the back roller if you are a total resistance freak.
@northern hardman
The Ring Cycle ?
@ChrisO
Nice.
@G’phant
@frank how about a special hardman’s jersey symbol for feats of masochism that would cause even Jens to raise an eyeborw to?
In five hours on a trainer my mind would have planted so many niggling little thoughts that time would have slowed to halt and I’d have been destroyed. (On my early morning ride yesterday, I passed within a couple miles of a small zoo which in the fog and dark managed to get a negative thought seeded. I’m sure my heart rate droped a beat or two and my stroke improved as I left the area behind. A couple of years ago I did see a large dog sized cat cross a road with it’s diner hanging from it’s mouth still wriggling)
I’m really getting into the rollers the last couple of weeks – I can get my interval sessions done even when my wife is away with work. I’m beginning to feel much more comfortable on them but certainly haven’t got to the point of extracting and replacing bidons. Standing would be a fine skill but I’m not sure that there’s enough resistance on mine. Would also love to get to the point of being able to extract my waterproof from a jersey pocket and don it. That would look properly pro.
@Chris
Don’t forget to set up the video recorder in advance of that one Chris!
@Dr C
I think not, if the insurance companies were able to connect my claim for a new kitchen to my claim for a new bike I might be left slightly out of pocket. I’ve already managed to put the back wheel through a kitchen unit door!
First day back at work after the Spanish expedition? How are the malingerers?
@Chris
Sadly back to porridge, and it is coming in thick and fast….. (or more accurately thick and lazy)
Outrageous multitasking dude – not only are you minding the children whilst training, but you are also trying to prepare their dinner for them too – I see a TV opportunity….
@ChrisO – could be a whole new angle for the TV chef shows, whilst also highlighting the joys of our beloved sport – any potential there?
@Dr C
Donning a rain cape is nothing compared to flipping pancakes or icing a cake while knocking out 2 x 20s on the rollers. I draw the line at flambé though!
No, the home ‘puta (note apostrophe) is in the kitchen and the work top is an ideal height for the fan. It’s also the furthest point from the kids bedrooms so they won’t be woken by either the sound of the kitchen being smashed to pieces by bike and rider or the street talk from The Wire!
Women are right, men cannot multi-task. What they fail to realise is that Multi-tasking is merely a euphemism for “doing two or more tasks badly“.
@Dr C
I heard on the radio that GP’s will no longer have sole responsibility for signing the permanently feckless off from work in the UK. Permanent disability will be assessed by a panel and they expect that 1 in 5 recipients will be able to to return to work. I have volunteered my services for this work but believe a success rate of 4 out of 5 scroungers being made ineligible for any such payments is achievable.
@mcsqueak
In fact, it was your mention of this in an earlier post which became a voice in my head (one of many) saying “don’t get the cheap stuff.” I’m guessing you have the Travel Trac?
And seeing as how yesterday we dipped into our savings to get my wife her first road bike (2012 CAAD 10: Ultegra, Mavic Aksium), we are in the spendthrift phase of the scrimp and splurge merry-go-round of budgetus velominatus, so I am going with the Kreitler’s, a la @ Buck Rogers. Just have to decide on the 2.25 vs 3.0 drum size.
@G’phant
My roller experience is limited to 5 sessions on the Kreilters but I can defintiely get a good leg burn on them. Just increase the gears while riding and the legs really start to burn. Speed will build up into the high 40’s kph during intervals on those things. Man, they ROCK! They are actually quieter than my KK Pro stationary trainer as well.
I have the red anodized 2.25 Dyno Myte rollers and I defintiely get a great workout.
From the website: “The 2.25″ diameter drums of the Kreitler Alloy 2.25 Rollers provide the greatest resistance of any Kreitler unit simply because they have the smallest diameter. They’re ideal for super fit riders who love to punish themselves when training indoors.
Like the Alloy 3.0 Rollers, these are built with modular technology so they’re compatible with the Killer Headwind fan unit. That said, you’d have to be a beast to need it. One important benefit of the smaller drums is that they’re lighter, and this unit is more compact and portable than the 3.0 rollers. All Kreitler Rollers have a lifetime warranty.”
Great to know that I am “Super fit” and a “Beast”! At least according to Kreitler! :)
@xyxax
NICE bike for the VMH!!!
As for me, I’d go with the 2.25 rollers. They seem pretty possible to me and I am not a Cat 2 rider by any means. Bought mine off of ebay for $225 and they are mint. Love ’em for the indoor stuff.
@Chris
Glad to hear someone else enjoys this aboutphacism – I reckon I have almost turned saying this to annoying wimmin, into a sport in itself – love it! (note, not all wimmin, just annoying ones)
On your social security mandate, can I vote for your election please?
@Dr C
Absolutely, just drop a line to Dave c/o [email protected]. You could also suggest that panel members only be allowed to deliberate after completing early morning imperial centuries in Rule #9 conditions.
@Chris
sounds like a plan
Hoping it does not constitute a breach of National Security, putting the PM’s wife’s email addo on a forum?
@Chris
Spot on fellow. For those that struggle doing a single task well at the best of times, I find it a risk too far.
Agonising over the purchase of some rollers over here at the moment. The last 2 winters on the turbo have created some serious indoor training complexes but after riding 80k in 2degree freezing fog yesterday, outdoors is looking dicey too.
Ho-hum.
Crikey, sobering moment – think I may have just found a reason to stay in doors and get rollers after all
Lovely lady just in telling me about her 22 yr old nephew, nice chap, cycling along main road last week, over the bars, unsure whay, in a coma since – wearing helmet etc – bad shit
@Joe
I’m loving my rollers at the moment but there was something quite special about rolling through the silence in the fog yesterday morning at 5.30am. The first 45km of the route were new to me and I still have no idea what they look like! At 5°C it was slightly warmer though and being Sunday morning there were hardly any cars on the road.
@Dr C
Oh sod, I’m in trouble again.
@Dr C
As a medico Dr C I would have thought that if you paid much attention to those sort of stories you’d never get out of bed.
And you’d move house to avoid all the accidents that happen in the home.
It’s just luck innit… you know as well as I do that statistically cycling is not a particularly dangerous activity compared to the many other things we do every day.
As a journalist for many years it gave me a good appreciation of the role that random f*cked-up luck plays.
Every day people walk out of their front doors, not thinking for a moment that they will never walk back in because of some random unpredictable event like a falling pot plant, runaway shopping trolley or any other literal or metaphorical banana skin that happens to be under their shoe.
Give the kids an extra tight hug, tell the wife you love her and get on your bike.
@xyxax
Yeah, perfect deduction, I did buy the Travel Trac rollers. They actually came recommended by a few racers on my club’s forum, guys that can really hammer. I guess for some folks the noise isn’t an issue, but for me it drove me freakin’ insane. If I had a nice basement mancave where I could really crank the tunes it wouldn’t be such a big deal, but alas I do not. Most my indoor time comes in the evening when the VMH and the downstairs neighbors are home, so I’d rather not be that loud for their sake as well.
@ChrisO
Well said – just off the blower to my LBS, my cyclocross bike has just arrived, so no indoor safety stuff for me (or in @Chris’s case, Kitchen Nightmare/ Kitchen from Hell) – just in time for the last race of the season….arse
Actually, on the subject of getting maimed, I took my kids to watch the latest round of Cx yesterday – it became quickly clear as the careered around aimlessly, and dangerously on their bikes in the park, that peripheral vision clearly doesn’t develop until one’s mid to late twenties
@mcsqueak
I do have a (shared) mancave, but right under my daughters’ bedroom and the oldest is already afraid of the alligators that are supposedly lurking there. So no loud strange noises (other than my shooting off into the washer-dryer). Thanks for your advice.
@Buck Rogers
Ha. It was exactly those superlatives that made me wonder about the drum size, but you’ve convinced me on the 2.25’s.
I love my rollers. They came with resistance and yesterday I changed it from 0 to 2, the highest setting, which has increased the burn and reduced the distance I go in the allotted time. I’m still trying to get out on the roads as much as possible but for the last week upon rising I have a cup of tea and hit the rollers for 30 mins before breakfast. It has made a huge difference to my day at work, feeling energised at the start and no feeling tired mid afternoon.
@ChrisO
Here in Brooklyn, the other day, a shopping cart fell on a woman’s head (still in a coma). It was pushed over the edge of an upper level parking lot by a bunch of 12-year olds and she just happened to be in the way.
As you said…
@xyxax
Or the cyclist that got cracked in the head by a brick from an overpass connecting two housing units, also in Brooklyn.
and we must never forget that unfortunate tale of our fellow Velominatus who was struck in the testicles by a potato
@Dr C
That happens in Ireland daily, yeah?
@Dr C
And don’t forget about him being stung by a bee immediately after, poor fellow.
*snerk*
@mcsqueak
Yeah, that was along one of my routes into Manhattan. And why I will soon be the proud owner of this.
@Buck Rogers
Thanks for mentioning this. I went out to the cave for a sesh this evening and saw that the front roller was probably close to 7cm out in front of the axle. I moved it back to be just in front, and things were a good bit less squirrely.