spin class conversion to mph?

[cindysue]

if you were logging miles for your spin class, how many miles would you estimate for a one hour advanced spin class?

It's hard to figure what all that high cadence (100-120) plus intermediate cadence (75-90) adds up to. what's the conversion of cadence to mph?

[Veronica]

Personally, I count indoor rides as time not mileage. I'm not going anywhere after all. That's why when you look at my bike journal, you don't see the many hours I've put in with Coach Troy lately. :D

However, if I were to count it, I'd go with whatever pace I know I could sustain for an hour on the flat.

V.

[DeniseGoldberg]

I'm with V. on this one. I only count mileage on my bike on the road. And I log any indoor training in hours.

Based on other discussions, there do seem to be quite a few folks here who count their "miles" on their indoor trainer though, and I think Veronica's idea for estimating miles is a good one.

--- Denise

[bcipam]

I do log my spin class as mileage. I figure for a tough class with lots of speed work, equates to about 20 miles. Keep in mind there are no stop lights or signs or other road hazards so 20 miles is probably conservative. If there is lots of "hill climbing" then I lower the mileage to around 15 miles. In addition, if I continue to ride after class, which I often do, I lower the mileage 'cause I'm not working as hard. For 2 hours, I usually give myself 35 miles. I figure I can easily do 35 miles in two hours on the road when there are no lights or signs.

[traveller_62]

I think Veronica's idea for estimating miles for a spin class is sound. I record both hours and estimated distances for spin classes reckon that an hour in a fairly intense spin class for me is about 20-24 miles.

[RoadRaven]

If you really wanted to calculate this, CindySue... you would also have to take into account the gearing you were in... plus cadence... I think it would become quite problematic.

It is probably best to record it as minutes/hours ridden at 'x' resistence...

Otherwise, if they don't have some kind of speedo on the bikes in your class, can you just take your speedo along and attach the magnet to your spin bike for the session?

[cindysue]

can you just take your speedo along and attach the magnet to your spin bike for the session?[/COLOR]

guess I could, but it's not that big of a deal. My estimates are in line with the ones above, but I might just follow the lead of those who just log hours and not miles.....

it's raining today. I should be at the gym at least. Started cleaning out some old books and stuff for charity.....

[Veronica]

We put a speed sensor on my rear wheel today. Forty-six minutes of The Uphill Grind Spinervals DVD and I went 11.5 miles, average of 15 MPH.

Don't forget to take into account all the rest intervals and warm up and cool down that are in a spin class. During the actual sets I was averaging 17 - 18 mph - with a high of 37.8!

We put the sensor on to get an idea of my power output. There's a chart on Kurt Kinetic site you can use to convert speed to watts. We wanted to check it in a controlled environment. It's not a perfect match because there is more resistance when you're riding outside.


Veronica

[anne_77]

I'm beginning to realize I'm a slug. :eek: Do you guys seriously average 20-25 mph when you ride outside for an hour or more? My average is only 13 mph - although that does include riding around town, I still seriously doubt I'm doing much more than 20-25 mph when I ride on a straight, flat piece of road, and I wouldn' t be surprised to find out I sometimes dip to 5 mph going uphill (not that I can look at my cyclocomputer when I'm going uphill - too exhausting!). Yikes. I'm depressed :(

[DeniseGoldberg]

I'm beginning to realize I'm a slug. :eek: Do you guys seriously average 20-25 mph when you ride outside for an hour or more? My average is only 13 mph...

Anne -
If you're a slug I guess I am too! I also average between 13 and 14 mph. Many years ago I used to beat myself up over my speed and try to change it, but I finally learned that is the speed my body likes. I am more of an endurance rider; in fact I can happily ride at my 13-14mph pace for hours and hours and...

Feeling good about yourself and your riding is important. I personally do not feel that riding at a slower pace than others is necessarily something that should make you feel bad. If getting faster is something you want to do, I'm sure there are some folks here who can give you some pointers.

Happy riding at whatever pace is right for you!

--- Denise

[bcipam]

I'm beginning to realize I'm a slug. :eek: Do you guys seriously average 20-25 mph when you ride outside for an hour or more? My average is only 13 mph - although that does include riding around town, I still seriously doubt I'm doing much more than 20-25 mph when I ride on a straight, flat piece of road, and I wouldn' t be surprised to find out I sometimes dip to 5 mph going uphill (not that I can look at my cyclocomputer when I'm going uphill - too exhausting!). Yikes. I'm depressed :(

It's fairly easy, with an intense workout - to average 20 - 25 miles per hour even on the road. That does come with experience. Keep working at it. Use "fart lek" (sp?) training. Next time out for a ride, between light poles, ride as hard as you can, all out, then between the next two ride easy rest, and then ride hard again. Do that for 10 minutes for a week. 20 minutes the next etc. You'll be surprised how easy, especially on flat roads, you can ride at 18 - 20 mph without problem. Also keep in mind its easy to average 20 mph in a spin class where there are no stop lights, signs or cars. Road is alittle different.

Now hills, yes, I still drop down, sometimes to 5 mphs, but I am working on
that!

[Veronica]

It's fairly easy, with an intense workout - to average 20 - 25 miles per hour even on the road. ...

I think you need to calibarate your speedometer or you're talking about averaging these speeds over short distances. Otherwise,maybe you should be competing with the pros since the slowest guy on the 34 mile ITT at the Tour this year averaged 23 MPH. Our national champion, Christine Thorburn won with an average time of 26.4 mph over 15 miles. :D

On a flat road with no wind it takes 122 watts of power to go 14 mph. To go to 20 mph it takes 250 watts, not what I would call an easy transistion.

It can be very demotivating to a new rider when an elite rider says something this difficult, should be easy. Anyone who can perform at this level has obviously worked hard and long to get there.

Veronica

[RoadRaven]

On a recovery ride, I average about 22-24km/hour (thats 13-14 mph)

On a training ride I average about 30-31km/hour (thats just under 19 mph)

During a TT I average about 32-34 km/hour (20-21mph)

While my recovery rides and training rides will not increase by much, I expect to increase my race speed in a TT by 4km over the next 12-18 months (rembering that the higher the speed, the more power output required for each extra kilometre or mile).

When I am on my trainer, I try and emulate the resistance and gears to reflect whichever ride I am "imitating".

We are currently looking at getting a "proper" spin bike for at home, rather than the road bike on a trainer we currently have. If we do that, I would also like to pop a power output metre on it to more accurately read my effort and progress.

[bcipam]

I think you need to calibarate your speedometer or you're talking about averaging these speeds over short distances. Otherwise,maybe you should be competing with the pros since the slowest guy on the 34 mile ITT at the Tour this year averaged 23 MPH. Our national champion, Christine Thorburn won with an average time of 26.4 mph over 15 miles. :D

On a flat road with no wind it takes 122 watts of power to go 14 mph. To go to 20 mph it takes 250 watts, not what I would call an easy transistion.

It can be very demotivating to a new rider when an elite rider says something this difficult, should be easy. Anyone who can perform at this level has obviously worked hard and long to get there.

Veronica

Keep in mind there are distinct differences with road and spin riding. I can, on a flat road, with little wind resistance, average 20 mph. I am a strong rider. But if I'm doing a longer ride, something over 30 miles, I slow it down, averaging between 16 - 18 otherwise I would clearly burn out.

This is where spin class is different. There is a time limit. I can, knowing I'm riding only an hour or so, ride "balls out" and push hard. I normally do not ride with the same intensely on the road that I ride in spin class. I'm usually a dripping wet, sweat ball after spin class. Not so, after a road ride.

Yes I am an experienced ride and have raced in my past. But I'm hardly elite. I didn't mean it was easy to ride fast. It is, however, if the rider trains properly, devotes time to riding and training and is motivated to ride that fast, not hard to do. I know of fairly new riders who can acheive this level of fitness in a short time. Also big difference between 20 mph and 26. I can get to 20 but 26 is a big effort for me.

And again we are talking about a spin class which doesn't deal with road friction, gravity, stop lights, traffic, directional changes etc. TT are seldom conducted under those circumstances. There is usually some if not alot of elevation gain, plus directional changes, road friction etc. Also I'm at a high level in spin class. I can usually ride harder than the instructors. I expect a newbie spinner doesn't do 20 mph they may be more like 10. Everyone has to make their own judgments.

[Veronica]

Are you counting warm up, cool down and rest intervals in that hour? I guess you don't do one legged drills either. :p

This morning's workout was Spinervals Ultra Core Conditioning. It alternates between one legged drills/ off the bike core work and high cadence spins/ core work. In 66 minutes you're off the bike for about 20 minutes and there is a warm up and cool down period. My speed sensor gives me 9.4 miles for this type of workout.

V.

[bcipam]

I usually get to class at least 1/2 hour ahead of time to start my warmup. My favorite instructor expects this as he jumps right into the routine when the class starts. No warmup in his class. It's sortof an advance class and newbies beware!

And I do make judgments about mileage. Last night we did alot of climbing drills so I have to judge that my mileage was probably more in the 8 - 10 mph range v. 20. ie more like mountain biking than road riding.

The classes I attend are all run by cyclists so we don't do alot of those fancy spin class drills. Personally I wouldn't do them anyway. If I am in a class that's doing alot of drills, I just sit myself down and do a sustained, fast paced spin, trying to stay in a fat-burning or fitness zone on my HRM.

Again there is no set rule to counting mileage. Everyone has to make this judgment themselves. Experienced road/mtb riders know just how far they have gone.

PS: What do you mean off the bike - do you literally mean off or standing up on the bike? My classes are generally 60 minutes of riding. Warm up is before and cool down is after. No time off the bike but there can be alot of standing (like last night; of the 60 minutes we rode, we stood 45 - it was a tough class).

[SadieKate]

No warmup in his class. It's sortof an advance class and newbies beware!Sorry, I don't think this has anything to do with newbies. I think you mean "uninformed" beware. Everyone needs a warm-up. Even Lance.


No warmup in his class. It's sortof an advance class and newbies beware!. . .PS: What do you mean off the bike - do you literally mean off or standing up on the bike? My classes are generally 60 minutes of riding. Warm up is before and cool down is after. No time off the bike but there can be alot of standing (like last night; of the 60 minutes we rode, we stood 45 - it was a tough class).Spinervals does some work literally off the bike. Lunges, etc. They are designed to be used on trainers not spin bikes, so you don't get into anything on the bike that a cyclist wouldn't do, but you may get off the bike to cross train. Helps break the monotony and cross train for tri's. ETC always gives you on the bike options if you don't want to get off the bike. Try a few. They are tough also.

[Veronica]

The DVD I did this morning has sections where you get off the bike and use a fit ball to do crunches, back extensions, etc. In addition to various drills to improve pedaling efficiency - that's what one legged drills and high cadence spins are about.

V.

[bcipam]

I agree a warmup is definitely necessary which is why I usually get to class 1/2 hour ahead of time (earlier if possible) and start spinning. Basically the way my class is run it's 1 1/2 hours if you include a warmup, the class and proper cool down after. We are all on our own for the warmup and cooldown. If I see a newbie come in, I explain that the class, once the instructor gets there will be off and running so start spinning now. I generally ride another 45 minutes (thanks to my trust iPod) after class at a lower intensity.

I like the concept of the Spinerval Traning and doing crunches etc during the workut. If i think about it, I do crunches after I'm done spinning my sometimes get lazy.

[SadieKate]

Finally got the Polar set up on my Mercian which is on the trainer. OK, really I finally got on the trainer for the first time this month and it happened to be the first time I had a speed sensor that would work on the back wheel. Anyway, I rode ETC's Uphill Grind but upped the resistance higher than I ever had. Then, because the Mercian has new cables Bubba kept having to come over to make adjustments while I softpedaled. So, I knew it was going to be somewhat slow but I really had no idea how accurate my past questimates had been. I had previsuly been guessing completely on how my body felt.

Low Resistance but no wrenching sessions - estimated avg spd at 17.3 mph
High Resistance with a couple of extended derailleur adjustments - measured at 16.8.

Just an observation and pleased that I have a pretty accurate gaugometer of my passout levels.