Advantages of Indoor Cycling Bikes

The advantages of indoor cycling bikes have led them to become one of the favorite fitness exercises of today. Not having to worry about the weather, traffic or dogs chasing your wheels proved to be a major selling point for this kind of equipment. Everything you can do on a real bike, you can accomplish in the comfort of your own home.

The inventor of indoor cycling bikes, Jonathan “Johnny G” Goldberg, came up with the idea after avoiding a collision during a night time ride on his bike back in the 80’s. His design of a stationary bike with weighted flywheel, with minor adjustment, is the concept we are using today.

Modern indoor cycling bikes are equipped with more gizmos, like heart rate monitors or bike computers. They measure speed, distance traveled, blood pressure, calories consumption or even power, just like on a real bike. All these data help determining the appropriate level of exercise, reducing the risk of injury.

By adjusting the resistance on a flywheel, it is possible to simulate almost every road condition, from a flat sprint to a steep hill climb. The difference is that on the road you can’t quit half way through a difficult climb. With indoor cycling bikes, you can make that hill disappear with a twist of a knob.

Injuries, although rare, are not entirely unknown. One of the main causes is the lack of freewheel, which may cause a flywheel to “run away” and cause injury to the rider. Also, pedaling RPM is also important. Depending on a flywheel resistance, RPM cadence should be between 60 and 110. Anything lower or higher than those values can cause hip or knee injury, therefore it must be closely observed. Often, the right cadence can be achieved with the help of music. Just find a good beat and follow it.

Whether you go to a gym or have one at home, indoor cycling bikes provide us with an exercise method that is both effective and comfortable. In the gym you will have support of a trained professional that will help you with advice. But if you are seasoned rider, you may opt to purchase one and put it in your garage or even your bedroom. In the long run it will save you both money and time.

Then again, it would be nice to take a bike on to a road from time to time, just so that you don’t forget the feeling.