I bought a spin bike for the house and I’ve got questions...

HilTri
HilTri Posts: 378 Member
edited December 24 in Fitness and Exercise
My gym uses Life Cycle IC5. I bought an IC6 for my house and I love it. I still like to go to the gym to ride and I teach spin classes too. Having the bike at home is very convenient and I am so glad I purchased it. I use Les Mills On Demand and the Peloton App for variety. The question I have is this....do I need to break the bike in? The brand new gears are so stiff, my resistance barely gets to 60 (out of 100), compared to the bike at the gym, I burn fewer calories for the same amount of work. The computer screen is slow to respond too, I wonder if that requires a break in period too. This is my first brand new piece of gym equipment for the house. I hope that someone who has made a similar purchase can shed some light. Thank you.

Replies

  • jjpptt2
    jjpptt2 Posts: 5,650 Member
    edited January 2020
    Is there any setup/calibration needed before use? I know some of ours do require an initial calibration/configuration before they go into service, but I don't know all the nitty gritty about what that entails, or what the "symptoms" would be if it wasn't done.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    jjpptt2 wrote: »
    Is there any setup/calibration needed before use? I know some of ours do require an initial calibration/configuration before they go into service, but I don't know all the nitty gritty about what that entails, or what the "symptoms" would be if it wasn't done.

    A power meter should be calibrated before use so I'm wondering if the new bike feeling harder is simply the power reading being off so it's feeling harder at the same apparent power output compared to the gym bikes?

    It happens at my gym when people calibrate the power meters while pedaling - feet unclipped and flywheel not moving is the correct way that my particular brand of bikes should be calibrated (calibration to zero) so if someone does it while pedaling at 50 watts the power meter reading reading will be too low by 50w.
  • jestog63
    jestog63 Posts: 86 Member
    Why does your house need a spin bike? Can't you just downsize?
  • HilTri
    HilTri Posts: 378 Member
    Great info. I was thinking that the gym bikes are worn out from all of the use they get. Sijomial, I will try your suggested calibration method on tomorrow’s ride. Thank you.
  • sijomial
    sijomial Posts: 19,809 Member
    HilTri wrote: »
    Great info. I was thinking that the gym bikes are worn out from all of the use they get. Sijomial, I will try your suggested calibration method on tomorrow’s ride. Thank you.

    Worth reading the manual as not all power meters have the same calibration method. My outdoor bike's power meter has to be calibrated in a different way to the gym bikes.
  • HilTri
    HilTri Posts: 378 Member
    Say what Jestog63? I don’t think that is pertinent to my question. Thank you though
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,401 Member
    HilTri wrote: »
    My gym uses Life Cycle IC5. I bought an IC6 for my house and I love it. I still like to go to the gym to ride and I teach spin classes too. Having the bike at home is very convenient and I am so glad I purchased it. I use Les Mills On Demand and the Peloton App for variety. The question I have is this....do I need to break the bike in? The brand new gears are so stiff, my resistance barely gets to 60 (out of 100), compared to the bike at the gym, I burn fewer calories for the same amount of work. The computer screen is slow to respond too, I wonder if that requires a break in period too. This is my first brand new piece of gym equipment for the house. I hope that someone who has made a similar purchase can shed some light. Thank you.

    In addition to the possible calibration issues already addressed by others, you might want to do some research on the generator and possible changes over the years. A resistance of 60 on your bike might well be the same wattage as a higher resistance setting on another generation or model.

    I have a Precor elliptical that can provide 720 watts ressitance, but others with the same resistance scale (1-20) are in the 550 watt range, and I think some older models were even less wattage.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Are you using it in erg mode?
  • HilTri
    HilTri Posts: 378 Member
    NorthCascades I don’t even know what that is! I don’t think I am.
  • robertw486
    robertw486 Posts: 2,401 Member
    HilTri wrote: »
    NorthCascades I don’t even know what that is! I don’t think I am.

    I had no idea what it was until I Googled it. But apparently in some cases my elliptical can work in semi-erg mode!
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    HilTri wrote: »
    NorthCascades I don’t even know what that is! I don’t think I am.

    The suggestions that have been offered, that the bike's PM needs to be calibrated and that's why the resistance feels wrong, only make sense in erg mode. Still try calibrating, but be prepared to look elsewhere too.
  • NorthCascades
    NorthCascades Posts: 10,968 Member
    Somebody disagreed. Why would the bike assist resistance based on the power you're putting out then it's not in the mode that adjusts resistance to force you to output a specific power? Outside of erg mode it should simply use the resistance you set, right?
  • jestog63
    jestog63 Posts: 86 Member
    So you were already getting lots of great advice on your subject, so my comment was totally on the lighthearted side. I spin at the gym in class only because I do other stuff and do not believe in my case it would be a wise purchase. Enjoy that bike.
  • jestog63
    jestog63 Posts: 86 Member
    janejellyroll wrote: »
    jestog63 wrote: »
    Why does your house need a spin bike? Can't you just downsize?

    Do you limit your purchases to things that you absolutely require? Or are there some things that you just like to have for fun or convenience?

    I obviously require a joke book written by a professional because several of you either can't recognize or don't like a bit of jocularity.
  • jhanleybrown
    jhanleybrown Posts: 240 Member
    edited January 2020
    Hi...used to have an indoor Lemond and now I have a Keiser at home. They had different resistance systems and resistance for "levels" were very different. I think you already got advice on calibration...but I didn't worry about my old bike's resistance "levels" being different than the new one...resistance "levels" are arbitrary and just set by each manufacturer.

    Ideally you have a measure of power (usually in watts... not all measure power but many do) and those are typically accurate within 10-15% and that's probably more worth calibrating or researching how accurate your bike tends to be.

    On the cals burned: depending on brand, these can be wildly off. The most accurate (by a lot) way to calculate kcals is just to use your power. If you have power...

    Kcals = ave watts x 3.6 x time (in hours)

    If your power is accurate (which you can calibrate), this is extremely accurate within 2-5%.

    Lastly, consider training based on power instead of resistance. Peloton has power based training ("Powerzone") as do most specialized cycling apps (Sufferfest, Zwift). The Peloton power coach is pretty good. Power based training tends to help avoid over and under training and leads to faster performance improvement.

    Hope that's moderately helpful.

  • jwoolman5
    jwoolman5 Posts: 191 Member
    jestog63 wrote: »

    I obviously require a joke book written by a professional because several of you either can't recognize or don't like a bit of jocularity.

    I was just about to rush to your defense to say you were just making a joke.... So you can hold off on that book purchase!

    Sarcasm and humor both are often misunderstood online, because we don't have all the body language and tone of voice as cues. Not to worry, happens a lot.

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