Review/Spinervals Lake Placid Training Ride

I bought this one with some trepidation because, while I love Spinervals in the traditional format, I was a little worried how the "virtual reality" concept would translate into an effective workout. After doing the workout, no regrets. A good purchase.

This morning, it was raining and because I'm recovering from an eye injury (corneal abrasion), sustained--literally--at the paws of my "bad girl" golden retriever, Maeve, I didn't feel like riding outside. A good excuse to test out this Spinerval. It's almost 3 hrs in duration (2:57 or so) and amounts to more than 50 miles, so it was a good replacement for my Sunday endurance ride.

The workout: more of an endurance ride done in your aerobic zone, there are some tougher segments where you're climbing hills. Primarily, you alternate between small chain ring/15 to big chain ring/15. The final 40 minutes are the toughest and you spend some time in BCR 13-12. A great workout for anyone training for a longer event.

Be advised, Troy chatters the entire time. I realize he drives some folks crazy, but I just tune him out so it doesn't bother me.

The scenery is incredible. I'd love to live up there in the non-snow months. The format was fine, but at times, the camera was a bit shakey and could make you seasick. It doesn't happen often though. There's also a Troy Cam, a helmet mounted camera that Troy wears. Doesn't really enhance the experience, but it keeps some variety in the format.

You can turn off the Spinervals tunes & play your own music on this one.

Bang for the buck, it's a good workout and worth the $$$. I have been riding outside exclusively for several months and man, I forgot how much tougher it is on the trainer! Makes me think I need to start logging more trainer miles to fine tune my fitness.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Velobambina

...I forgot how much tougher it is on the trainer! Makes me think I need to start logging more trainer miles to fine tune my fitness.

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I am so glad to hear someone else say this! I am always torn between riding outside because it's more fun and getting a tough workout on the trainer.

V.

No doubt, riding outside is much more fun. That said, I've noticed that my hill climbing isn't quite as strong as last summer, when I was regularaly doing the Hill & Leg Strength Spinervals.

May I do a mini hijack of this thread? :o

Thanks for the review... I was seriously thinking of getting the two DVDs in the Spinervals series and the one forthcoming. What other DVDs would you recommend, either from the Spinervals series or other sources? I have used my trainer while watching recordings of the races

May I do a mini hijack of this thread? :o

Thanks for the review... I was seriously thinking of getting the two DVDs in the Spinervals series as well as the one forthcoming later this year. What other DVDs would you recommend, either from the Spinervals series or other sources? I have used my trainer while watching recordings of the races.

I think I own nine different Spinervals DVDs and reviewed some of them. Velobambina has also done some reviews. If you do an advanced search on Spinervals, put my name or Velobambina in as the thread starter. They will come up.

V.

Thanks! Will do.

Patricia

I think Coach Troy should have V, me, and other TE Spinerval vixens in the cast of one of his upcoming workouts! LOL. We could wear our Amici Veloci jerseys & buffs.