Mileage theory

Aha. While reading for other info in Bicycling Magazine's NEW CYCLIST HANDBOOK I stumbled across this interesting tidbit:

"But it is known that the energy used in cycling varies dramatically as speed changes, thanks to wind resistance."

How about that?

I keep thinking about the speed/distance thing, and how there aren't any really good places to ride near me that I could really ride 20 or 30 miles or more without simply staying on busy streets.

However, it finally hit me that (duh) the faster I can ride those miles, the more likely I am to drive somewhere else to ride. Total time consumed by riding would have to include travel time, after all. And of course there's the fact that easier riding would mean more fun riding.

Too many variables!!! BRAIN HURTING!

I find I bike faster when I wear my plain chapstick as opposed to my peach flavored chapstick. I figured it out: With my peach chapstick, it's so yummy that I occasionally lick my lips while riding. At 20mph, wet lips quickly become cold, and the resulting body heat loss slows me down by at least .000000000000072 mph.
From now on it's PLAIN chapstick for me on the road!

Lisa?

Go to your room.

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Originally Posted by pooks

Lisa?

Go to your room.

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Hah! I had to go to bed now ANYWAY!!!! :D

just made the switch

I don't know if it burns more calories or not, but

my braking muscles got a better workout on the way downhill than ever before yesterday.

my ab muscles, yes my abs, gave out on the way up the hill -- so they must be getting a better workout on this new bike.

I didn't run out of gears on the way up the hill on my new bike. Old bike doesn't have enough gears for hills. old bike also doesn't have enough air in my lungs for up hills. This was not an issue on new bike yesterday -- well, not nearly as much, and when the cold given to me by the booger king goes away, all should be well! This means more hill climbing for me! (though new body position makes me a bit more nervous going DOWN hill, thus the better work out for braking muscles!)

This will sound a little silly: it's easier to work harder on this bike. It's easier to cruise along say one gear higher than I'd normally want to ride on the comfort-beast.

I don't think I'm working this bike to its capabilities yet, I'm still getting to know her and how we work together. She calls me to ride. I enjoy riding my other bike too, but that one has never called me like this one does.

Pooks, the hardest thing for me to do choosing this first road bike (shhhh, don't tell DH I called her my first) was look beyond the paint (when we looked at the Allez, the paint job had me cringing inside, even though the bike felt really good!) and concentrate on the features -- that triple was really important to me, shift mechanisms, etc. (and the double/triple debate that's been going on: I am really GLAD to have that triple!) I feel like I really lucked into the pretty part!

Karen in Boise

Abs? That sounds very promising!!!

As for braking/downhill/new position/new speed --

:eek:

Karen, Pooks

when going downhill, scootch your butt as far back as you can. that puts your weight more firmly on the back wheel and gives you more stability if you need to use your brakes.

but, Karen, like you; my hands get sore on some downhills because i am holding the brakes!!!

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Originally Posted by DarcyInOregon

Pooks, you will make the right decision for yourself. The question you asked about calories burned versus the weight of the bike really isn't that important, but it is a question that everyone who is going through your decision-making process asks. If it was an important criteria in the type of bike being ridden, you would see the majority of cyclists on heavy comfort bikes. You don't. Cyclists on the road are on road bikes, not comfort bikes, and they are all fit and healthy. Just look outside to see what is the norm and you will have your answer.

Darcy

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To base a decision on what the majority does assumes that what matters to them matters to me. It's worth looking at more closely than that. (In other words: why be normal :D :D )

'Round here, on any given bike rack, you'll see mostly clunkers. Of course, the bikes going by are not quite as clunker-dominated... there's a connection there, too.

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Originally Posted by mimitabby

Karen, Pooks

when going downhill, scootch your butt as far back as you can. that puts your weight more firmly on the back wheel and gives you more stability if you need to use your brakes.

but, Karen, like you; my hands get sore on some downhills because i am holding the brakes!!!

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Does this mean I need a banana seat?

;)

Geonz, my husband freaks at the idea of leaving a bike locked outside a business. Even when I'm just in Starbucks, and can see it through the window! (And yes, it's locked.)

Our son had a couple of bikes stolen right out of our yard, one out of the back yard! Sigh.

Mimi, I remember reading scooch back -- and so I did. Perhaps not far enough, but I did scooch! And yes, my hands were a bit sore from holding those brakes, but it was in my forearms, which is where the muscles are, that I REALLY felt it!

It's the curvy hills that have me holding those brakes for dear life -- I flew down the straight shot like the wind as soon as I was away from the curves! (curvy hills are fun to go UP, though, because I can have goals -- get to the next curve, and assess how much farther I can go when I get there) That straight shot gave me more questions to ask somewhere else, when it's not lunch time!


Yes, Pooks, I don't know where it came from, but abs on the climb! And, yes, I think that particular smiley is probably how I looked on the way down that curvy hill!

Karen in Boise

"Or that I'd end up working just as hard, but it wouldn't feel as hard?"

It seems like there's no easy answer to your original question Pooks, in part because there are so many variables beyond the weight of your bike. A heavier bike does takes more energy to move than a lighter bike all other things being equal. But your questions seem to imply that the weight of the bike is the only thing that affects how hard your workout is, and it's not. On any given bike, including a road bike, you can make your workout hard if you want to make it hard by riding it in a bigger gear, into the wind, up hills, at a faster speed, faster cadence, etc. Having worn my HRM on my road bike, I know I get a good workout regardless of how "smooth as silk" it may be.

The lighter weight of a road bike and, more importantly IMO, the position it puts you in, makes a road bike more efficient than your cruiser, which is one of the reasons it might inspire/allow you to do longer and faster rides and, ultimately, burn more calories, build more muscle, etc. I know you said your goal was to get a lighter bike that fits, but beyond that, what are your cycling/fitness goals? A lighter, better fitting bike might inspire you to ride more often and for longer stretches, but at the end of the day, you have to be motivated to ride and to work hard at it when you do.

But here's my experience for what it's worth. My first bike was a hybrid, and I road it about 300 miles before getting my road bike. Less than a year later, the road bike has about 3,000 miles on her. And the hybrid? Still about 300.

here's a generality for you:
take a look at who is riding the heavy bikes: are they the people that cruise down to the minimart to buy the newspapers or are they the ones doing 25-50 mile rides with the wind in their hair? (under the helmet i mean :D )
Sign up for a distance ride and see how many cruiser riders are on it.

There must be something to this light bike stuff or so many avid cyclists wouldn't be riding them.

I just realized the one bit of info I left out when I posed my question --

It's my husband who asked it. Or rather, has asked me, "Why would you get a lighter bike? If you're wanting a workout, you need to work harder, not easier."

I want a lighter bike because it will be more fun to ride. And I'm sure I'll ride more when I have a lighter one. As to my goals -- I think I want to be a bit of a jock for the first time in my life. I'm not sure what that means. I don't have a specific weight or size I aspire to. I just want to be able to ride distances and be physically fit. I said when I got my bike last June that in a year, I planned to be in better shape than I was ten years ago. Well, that's hardly likely, ahem, but I've finally accepted that a lot of that is because of how hard it can be to ride my bike, which makes me less likely to take it out when conditions will make it harder.

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Originally Posted by pooks

I just realized the one bit of info I left out when I posed my question --

It's my husband who asked it. Or rather, has asked me, "Why would you get a lighter bike? If you're wanting a workout, you need to work harder, not easier."

.

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Pooks, that was MY husband's exact question!

My answer sounds kinda goofy when I say it out loud. I think he understood it.

And it wasn't so much a lighter bike for me, it was the ride style that I wanted to change. Lighter is mostly a really cool side effect.:cool:

I told him that I felt like if I could just get my butt up and back a bit, I'd have more power. The upright ride wasn't letting me get all I could out of my body.

Yup, I experimented with it on my first bike -- lean forward more, and push my butt back, sorta stand cuz the seat can't be any higher, and it was indeed a stronger ride, but the bike isn't designed to let me do that for very long!

Karen in Boise

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Originally Posted by li10up

My first bike when returning to bike riding was a mtn bike. I took it out on the road and although a good workout (maybe too tough) I couldn't get far from home and therefore didn't really enjoy the ride that much. I decided to get a road bike.

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I will second this! I have two mountain bikes, one which is a hardtail, that I will ride on the road when I'm desperate before the trails open in the spring, or when they are closed during the year because of rain. I never much enjoyed riding my hardtail on pavement, the tires make too much noise and for as much effort it takes to push knobbies the return of 'joy' just wasn't there. This spring I bought my first road bike ever and the difference was phenomenal. Its MEANT for pavement and the sweetness is just as acute as when I'm on my full suspension riding dirt. This has definitely changed my tune about riding the road, which will equate into speed when I get back on the mountainbike. I have also heard that roadies ride mountain bikes to gain strength for the road.