Spinervals--New Release

[SouthernBelle]

HI beetle. No expert here, but any good trainer will do. Hills are simulated by gearing. I've done competition 1 & 2. There is no particular training on technique, but in just the short time I've been using them, I've noticed improvement in several areas. I ride stronger, can come up off the saddle easier and my gearing has improved. I bought a 5 pack and have 3 I haven't gotten to yet. Worth it.

BTW, Velobambina, still waiting for the report.

[Thorn]

I have the Hillacious for hills (we're travelling to Italy in Spring and we're hoping that it will help). Besides using big gears, they also recommend propping the front end of the bike up a couple of inches. I'd love to know if this is just psychological or if there is something to it. With the front-end propped up when I'm in the hard gears, I do find myself more likely to slide back and push with my hill climbing muscles. But, again, I don't if that is all in my head.

The Hillacious set has you grind some longer sets in a moderately hard gear(to mimic a 4-6% grade), then he does some rolling hills where you're flipping gears from spinning to grinding (oddly, I find these almost as much fun as doing rolling hills outside) and then he does short bursts to mimic a 12% grade (puts you in the hardest gear). The Hillacious DVD comes with a hill climing technique short, but I think you can get that directly off the Spinervals web site.

We use our bikes supported on a trainer and, not being super athletes, we compensate on the gearing. But, I've learned that if my cadence is about what he's calling out and my effort matches what he's expecting that I sweat up a rainstorm and get a really good workout.

[beetle]

Thanks Thorn and Southernbelle for the feedback.

Thorn - I was wondering if raising the front wheel would help too and thought it would just be mental if it did but your comment about sitting further back and taking more of a climbing position has now got me thinking that there prob is some physical advantage. Where in Italy are you heading? The race I'm planning to do is nr the French/Italian border so I plan to do a bit of training around Italy beforehand. Having visited before I know there are some serious hills around there, not like anything we have in Australia

[Thorn]

We're going to be in the "flat" area of Italy--about 100km north of Rome. We'll cross the country through Umbria and Marche. For Italy, that area is flat; for people like me who live in glacier-flattened terrain, it will be very hilly. We've only been biking for a couple of years--I figure I'll keep gradually increasing the elevation on our cycling vacations.

We were in the Piedmont area last year (?is that where you will be?), but not by bicycle. Lovely country. Big hills. To bike that and in a race to boot...wow, I stand in awe.