Do you think this is correct?

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OAS5
OAS5 Posts: 376 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Well I busted out the old stationary bike because it's winter here in the North East, although it's been pretty warm up here to walk but I'm doing the bike. I did the bike for 22-23 minutes straight and it said 7 miles. Do you think that is even remotely correct? I was going pretty hard, pretty fast. Nice if that is right. Thanks for any help.

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  • missysippy930
    missysippy930 Posts: 2,577 Member
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    Sure, definitely possible!
  • steph2strong
    steph2strong Posts: 426 Member
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    Seems completely plausible to me. I run 7 miles in 60 min and even light biking would be at least double my running speed.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,811 Member
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    Stationary bikes don't move - you didn't do any miles at all.
    The only real use of that "distance" is as a comparison between your own workouts.

    Outdoors 20 - 21mph is certainly possible for fit cyclists outdoors but there's no realistic similarity between actual miles travelled and a stationary bike's pretend miles. To compare the two the outdoors ride would have to be on a flat and perfectly smooth surface with a following wind of exactly the same speed you are travelling (to neutralise rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag).

    You will also find that different brands and models of stationary bike will give you very different speed/distance numbers.

    The gold standard for judging effort and calories is from measuring power output but I guess your "old stationary bike" doesn't have a power meter.
  • BrianSharpe
    BrianSharpe Posts: 9,248 Member
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    sijomial wrote: »
    Stationary bikes don't move - you didn't do any miles at all.
    The only real use of that "distance" is as a comparison between your own workouts.

    Outdoors 20 - 21mph is certainly possible for fit cyclists outdoors but there's no realistic similarity between actual miles travelled and a stationary bike's pretend miles. To compare the two the outdoors ride would have to be on a flat and perfectly smooth surface with a following wind of exactly the same speed you are travelling (to neutralise rolling resistance and aerodynamic drag).

    You will also find that different brands and models of stationary bike will give you very different speed/distance numbers.

    The gold standard for judging effort and calories is from measuring power output but I guess your "old stationary bike" doesn't have a power meter.

    ^^^ agreed......I use my bike on an indoor trainer during the winter (with a power meter) and according to my speed sensor I can sustain 32+ km/h (20 mph) for 90 to 120 min. In the real world my racing speed (on relatively flat closed courses) averaged just under 28 km/h last year.

    Depending on how accurate your bike is at estimating the "distance" traveled that's a pretty respectable speed you were maintaining, keep it up over the winter and when you get out on the road next spring you should see some gains.
  • OAS5
    OAS5 Posts: 376 Member
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    fernt21 wrote: »
    Seems completely plausible to me. I run 7 miles in 60 min and even light biking would be at least double my running speed.

    Awesome, thanks. That makes perfect sense.
  • OAS5
    OAS5 Posts: 376 Member
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    missysippy930 wrote: »
    Sure, definitely possible!

    Excellent, thank you.
  • spiriteagle99
    spiriteagle99 Posts: 3,691 Member
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    With my stationary bike, I usually pedal 20 mph. I know that would be impossible outdoors, but that's what it says. It ends up being about 2 1/2 minutes per mile.
  • OAS5
    OAS5 Posts: 376 Member
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    spiriteagle99 wrote: »
    With my stationary bike, I usually pedal 20 mph. I know that would be impossible outdoors, but that's what it says. It ends up being about 2 1/2 minutes per mile.

    Yeah we can only go by what we are doing on the stationary bike and what it says. I mean some people get a little too literal about things.

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