Jshort’s bike thread

I decided it was time to start training on my MTB considering this is the bike I’ll be racing. I’m not sure how much of a difference it really makes to do this instead of using a road bike on the trainer but it seems logical to train on the bike you’ll race.



So as part of swapping bike I decided to to a ramp test to make sure my FTP was still in the same ballpark.

Ramp Tests suck. But, my FTP went up a couple watts. Like 3. So that means I make about the same power on both bikes I guess.

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As long as you’re in the same position relative to the pedals (seat height and bottom bracket fore/aft), it ought to be very much the same, power-wise.
 
Why put all that strain/wear on the "good bike" ?
I guess you could swap out for less expensive pedals - but toasting a chain, chainring, BB, pivot bearings
and risking repetitive stress cracking of <insert part here>.

Just set your trainer bike up like your race bike...flat bars, crank length, and relative position etc.
And use more durable parts (ie cheaper) - bike weight doesn't matter on a trainer!
 
ChrisG said:
As long as you’re in the same position relative to the pedals (seat height and bottom bracket fore/aft), it ought to be very much the same, power-wise.
Click to expand...
The stack and the reach between my Orbea Orca (road) and this Epic Evo are so far apart that it’s too much of a pita to setup similarly. Just way too much involved with that.

I think my upper body position relative to the handlebars is different enough that training in that same position (on the mtb) will be beneficial. Or maybe not and it’s all psychological in which case that’s still gains. :)


Patrick said:
Why put all that strain/wear on the "good bike" ?
I guess you could swap out for less expensive pedals - but toasting a chain, chainring, BB, pivot bearings
and risking repetitive stress cracking of <insert part here>.

Just set your trainer bike up like your race bike...flat bars, crank length, and relative position etc.
And use more durable parts (ie cheaper) - bike weight doesn't matter on a trainer!
Click to expand...

You should see how much wax flakes off after a fresh wax job. Lol. I had a waxed chain on my road bike and trained with that since the fall. That chain shows zero measurable wear and there were a ton of hours. I don’t think this will add any wear to the other points either. I got two legit fans so I’m not sweating much.

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-To me the MTB makes sense especially if you aren't spending a lot of hours on it outside over the winter. You don't want to find out you have a fit issue during racing. And I'd say there's no way to get a road bike to fit the same as a MTB. I know a lot of professionals do their road miles on mountain bikes to keep the fit the same.
-Assuming your road bike you give the same level of care as the MTB, wear is wear. If you stay on top of it as you seem to be, not an issue.
-Have you thought about long term finding a cheap hardtail that you can setup the same as the Specialized for fit to ride on the trainer?
 
I’ve never noticed the trainer add any additional wear to my bikes. I’ve ridden multiple bikes many miles and never noticed anything. The only thing that gets nasty is bar tape on the road bike. And I put new tape on every ~6 months so it never gets that bad.

I’m actually surprised to hear this. Have you guys had parts wear more?
 
ChrisG said:
As long as you’re in the same position relative to the pedals (seat height and bottom bracket fore/aft), it ought to be very much the same, power-wise.
Click to expand...
this is the answer, you could probably just switch over to your "race" bike the week or two before a event and just make sure you get used to it, but your body wont care
 
jShort said:
I’ve never noticed the trainer add any additional wear to my bikes. I’ve ridden multiple bikes many miles and never noticed anything. The only thing that gets nasty is bar tape on the road bike. And I put new tape on every ~6 months so it never gets that bad.

I’m actually surprised to hear this. Have you guys had parts wear more?
Click to expand...
Chain ring / chain / cassette happens anywhere so maybe if you have the $400 sram cassette and chain, it would be a consideration. But given that you are thinking of buying a matching bike just for the trainer, that probably isn’t a concern.
 
I was thing more along the lines of a cheaper aluminium version. But jshort can afford everything!
 
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