Training with super heavy wheelset, any experiences/advise?

A light bike doesn't replace good fitness.

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CoachFergie
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by CoachFergie

Bvb45 wrote:
Tapeworm wrote:The very tricky aspects of inertia loaded cycling aside there is ZERO physiological benefit to training with heavy bike, wheels, backpack, whatever.

You may think you're faster, and because of the weight reduction maybe you are but if you want to train to ride faster... then ride faster.


Well if he rides those 4kg wheels uphill on his local hill, won't it be better leg strength/fatigue training than using a lighter bike?
(Assuming he goes up the hill, then rolls down, repeats 10-18 times a set?)


Assumes that general fatigue will have an effect on a specific performance and that more leg strength is going to have an effect on endurance performance. One could not make the argument that a higher squat or deadlift will equal better performance in the same way as power to weight on a hilly course or power to frontal area on a flat course.
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Bvb45
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by Bvb45

CoachFergie wrote:
Bvb45 wrote:
Tapeworm wrote:The very tricky aspects of inertia loaded cycling aside there is ZERO physiological benefit to training with heavy bike, wheels, backpack, whatever.

You may think you're faster, and because of the weight reduction maybe you are but if you want to train to ride faster... then ride faster.


Well if he rides those 4kg wheels uphill on his local hill, won't it be better leg strength/fatigue training than using a lighter bike?
(Assuming he goes up the hill, then rolls down, repeats 10-18 times a set?)


Assumes that general fatigue will have an effect on a specific performance and that more leg strength is going to have an effect on endurance performance. One could not make the argument that a higher squat or deadlift will equal better performance in the same way as power to weight on a hilly course or power to frontal area on a flat course.


Ok thanks, makes sense. But if he wanted to be a sprinter or a track racer(training for explosiveness rather than endurence) it would work with training on heavier equipment or is that the same?
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strobbekoen
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by strobbekoen

Bvb45 wrote:
Tapeworm wrote:The very tricky aspects of inertia loaded cycling aside there is ZERO physiological benefit to training with heavy bike, wheels, backpack, whatever.

You may think you're faster, and because of the weight reduction maybe you are but if you want to train to ride faster... then ride faster.


Well if he rides those 4kg wheels uphill on his local hill, won't it be better leg strength/fatigue training than using a lighter bike?
(Assuming he goes up the hill, then rolls down, repeats 10-18 times a set?)


Not really.. the effect is purely psychological. You can push the same power on a light or heavy bike, the training effect is the same.

mrfish
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by mrfish

+1

If you do the numbers you will see that heavy equipment burns up very little additional power compared with riding faster or slower. This is why a moderately fit guy on a weightweeny bike will always be beaten by a pro on a department store bike.

Just to illustrate, if you climb 100m vertically in 10 minutes (600 seconds) with 1kg heavier wheels, the heavy wheels 'consumed' 100*1*9.8 = 9800 Joules, which over 600 seconds averages to 16 Watts.

Now imagine you swap to your light wheels - the 16 Watts are very easily absorbed, not least because your bike + rider weighs say 70kg. So ignoring air resistance the maximum possible time saved is 9800 / (9.8 * 70) = 14 seconds faster. In practice because we cycle at speed, the power required to overcome wind resistance has a cubic relationship, so in practice the difference will be much less, then there is an increase in rolling resistance as well. Look on analytical cycling to see some more detailed numbers.

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