If you are a lover of the bicycle surely what you like most is to train in the open air: to roll by ways or by the mountain is one of the best options at the time of training on the two wheels, so that we work our inferior train to the same time we enjoy nature.
But there are times when this is not possible and we are forced to stay at home : either due to lack of time, due to bad weather or, why not, because what you like is to take the spinning bike and stay covered. For these occasions, and as we already did when we talk about Pilates and Yoga, we tell you how you can get fit on two wheels in your own room, either on the road bike or on the spinning one.
The most important thing: the team, what will you need?
Here we find two different situations: on the one hand we have cyclists outdoors who already have a bike and who need a roller to train at home. On the other hand, we have people who prefer to opt for a static or spinning bike to train indoor only.
If you already have a road bike
In this case what you need is a roller to be able to roll inside the house. There are different types of rollers within a wide range of prices and that respond to different needs. From the magnetic rollers (the cheapest, but also least realistic and noisiest) to the direct drive rollers (the most expensive, and which replace the rear wheel) through the rollers with fluid and the traditional rollers. We are not going to analyze each one on this occasion, but in Hispanoracing you can see its general characteristics and a good ranking.
In addition to the roller you may need another type of equipment such as a carpet or mat to place the bike and a spare cover for the rear wheel. There are special covers that are harder than usual and that are recommended for use with roller.
If you want to buy a stationary or spinning bike
If your intention is to buy a bicycle to train at home, you will have to choose between a traditional static and a spinning one. The spinning bike, although it can be more expensive, is much more versatile: it allows you to simply shoot or perform spinning sessions (something that we definitely do not recommend doing on an exercise bike) thanks to its inertia wheel, which gives us a feeling much closer to being mounted on a road bike.
In this case I would always opt for the spinning bike ahead of the traditional static: they have greater possibilities of regulation, the posture is much more hygienic, they tend to be less “armatoste” … In short, it is worth investing a little more if we know that we are going to use it. In this article you can inform yourself about the different things that you should value when buying a spinning bike.
The applications to train with your bike at home
After talking about the basic material we need to train (the bicycle and the roller, if necessary), let’s also talk about how technology helps us to train from home as if we were outdoors or in the gym . We give you a few alternatives to train at home: Bestcycling to use with your spinning bike, and BKool and Zwift to use with roller.
BestCycling
They began broadcasting all the videos in open on YouTube, but now it has become an online training platform for virtual classes on demand (it is also used by some gyms). With a very affordable monthly subscription (from 5 euros per month if you hire a full year) you can access different kinds of spinning that are renewed monthly, live classes, follow-up with virtual trainer, etc. The classes are usually very well structured, with graphs where we are informed of the profile of the session and of the training areas.
Best Cycling also has a service to meet the demands of spinning professionals , who can use the tools available in the application to create graphs of their own sessions that are very useful for both teachers and students.
In addition, the Best Cycling platform also has indoor elliptical classes and its “Best Cycling Challenge” : a plan specifically designed to lose weight with the help of its virtual classes. All the information you have on its official website.
BKool
A very complete virtual simulator that allows us to shoot almost any 3D route in the world, in addition to performing velodrome sessions, training sessions, on-line competitions with other cyclists … Everything from eight euros a month if we hire it during a year, a very affordable price. BKool has a lot of training possibilities, and also allows us to connect with its intelligent rollers that reproduce the conditions of the route creating more or less resistance depending on its characteristics.
Xataka’s partners tested the Bkool Smart Pro roller a few months ago and they left us this explanatory video.
You can find more information on its official website .
Zwift
Very similar to BKool, it is the other great virtual simulator of cycling routes compatible with almost all rollers and, also, with intelligent rollers. As in the previous case, they connect to the computer, tablet or mobile phone by means of a USB stick, and also reproduce the conditions of the route.
Like BKool, it also has a social or gamification component with which we can shoot accompanied by virtual cyclists or compete with them. Perhaps one of the most interesting things is that you can connect with Strava , where we can see not only the route but also all the other statistics that the application offers, including the segments through which we have passed. The price of the subscription to Zwift is ten dollars a month and you can find more information on its official website.
With these applications and the right equipment you are ready to train on the bike in your own home. It only remains to get down to work!