Bicycling

Lisaherbalmomma
Lisaherbalmomma Posts: 63
in Fitness and Exercise
Story: Always have had trouble with shin splints with running and now even with walking. I researched it on here so will try some of those suggestions. In the meantime, I thought I would bicycle. I have a schwinn 21 speed that my husband bought me, I just don't know much about bikes for fitness. What should I be striving for? What's some guidelines for using the different gear settings. I usually adjust as I"m riding, but just do this instinctively not because I have any knowledge of it. Any suggestions?

Replies

  • SaltyNovice
    SaltyNovice Posts: 20 Member
    Great question, I too am interested in the answer. Also does anybody know any ratios for Biking / Running? What I''m asking is how far do you need to ride to equal a mile of running? Or is this not a possible ratio?
  • Lisaherbalmomma
    Lisaherbalmomma Posts: 63
    Hey, where are you cyclers?
  • omma_to_3
    omma_to_3 Posts: 3,265 Member
    Well, I'm FAR from an expert, but I bike at least once a week now. I have a mountain bike, but stick to hilly, paved trails mostly. As for gear shifting, go with your instincts. I do try to keep it so I'm peddling most of the time - so higher gears going downhill, lowers ones going uphill. I usually bike for an hour and if I don't have the kids with me, can get in about 10 miles in that time. A road bike would be faster.

    As for calorie burn, it's less than running, but way more than walking. I was actually surprised at how much it burns according to my HRM. For comparison, if I spent an hour walking, I would burn about 350 to 400 calories. If I spent an hour running, it would be about 750 to 800. If I bike for an hour (on paved, but hilly trails) I burn between 570 and 650.
  • trinitrate
    trinitrate Posts: 219 Member
    Generally speaking, you want to keep you cadence (pace) reasonably high and only shift gears when your pace drops too much or if your pedaling so easily that you could move to a higher gear and still keep a strong, fast pace.

    Calorie burn will depend on terrain, your weight, wind, and your speed. MFP has categories for them in the DB. I find they're probably about 20 - 25% too high when compared to other online tools and HRM measurements, but they're still a good baseline.

    There is a cycling group on MFP, feel free to join and ask questions in there. There are a lot of cyclists that are much much more experienced than I am that can give you more tips.


    If you have a smart phone, I reccommend Endomondo for a good way to track your trips and also estimate your calorie burn. There are otheres also, Map My Ride isn't bad if you dont like Endo
  • Lisaherbalmomma
    Lisaherbalmomma Posts: 63
    Thanks! Will definitely check out the cycling group.
  • wellbert
    wellbert Posts: 3,924 Member
    Gear wise, I stay in 2- something

    1 1-3 hill climbing
    2 2-5 flat ground
    3 4-all downhill/racing
  • Garrett1234
    Garrett1234 Posts: 147 Member
    I wonder if we have the same 21-speed Schwinn? Mine is a hybrid with road tires. Most of the time I'm in 2nd gears, because I live in relatively flat country. Usually between gears 2-5 and 2-7. Sometimes on hills I get as low as 2-3, but I haven't had to climb any sustained big hills. Sometimes I use the 3rd gears, i.e. step up from 2-7 to 3-6, or something like that, when I'm going fast, but find I stick to the 2's because there's less shifting between hands. As to what you're "supposed" to do for best burn, etc. I haven't a clue, I think the fact that you're out and riding is probably the main thing.
  • shakew8
    shakew8 Posts: 9
    Like any other activity, slowly add volume to allow muscles and ligaments to adjust to the new workload. After that it's up to you and your goals. Simply do it for a prescribed time several times a week or add variety to increase your performance. Like swimming, the most effective means of improvement on the bike comes with intervals.

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