Stationary bike vs. on the road

Here's an interesting interview with one of Ontario's top riders, this guy can do 30 mph for a 40K time triail, so he's certainly solid...<br><br>
MH: Have you changed your training over the years as you've got older? Have you had to do more to stay just as fit? Is it true you train in running shoes during the week?<br><br>
DF: I've done a lot less hours and more intensity. And yes, up until very recently Merrill Collins (Darko's teammate, co-worker and fellow cyclist) and I wore running shoes on the Monark exercise bikes. So each day we'd have a few clients, then around lunch we'd jump on the bikes for an hour hard training session. And on top of that we'd ride the Midweeks or time trials. I did just recently get a bike that I can thread on pedals but to be perfectly honest - and people laugh when I say this - there's some merit in using the running shoes on the bike.<br><br>
In fact, just before I left for Tobago I actually went back to my running shoes for the training during the week. See, when you use clipless pedals you pull up on the pedals - but with running shoes you can't - so it makes you way smoother. Using the running shoes at high intensity taught me how to put an even amount of force on the pedals. Also, if your feet aren't attached to the pedals you lift your foot - so in some weird, warped way it actually betters your mechanics.<br><br>
You know, when it comes to this stuff - my attitude is that guys are anal about set-ups. Your body doesn't know about all these nuances when you train - it knows when your heart is going 185bpm. On these Monarks I'm using 165 cranks! And I've never been fitter - so don't tell me you have to be in the perfect position to get your heart up.

Now you're talking. Of course you'll see results on the road by pushing hard on the stationary bike. That there is no question. What we're talking about is rather what is better for you to use in getting faster on the roads. Both will net positive results. One may yeild more -- and many hear as well as elsewhere think a Trainer will do just that -- while the other may be, in the right environment, just as well.<br><br>
So if you're getting a good workout and feel the strength building, and if you enjoy it, which in my mind is the number one focus, then you're on the right path.<br><br>
We all have our preference, and there is no right or wrong, but there may be a more efficient way to get fast... though sometimes efficiency does not trumph convenience or the boredom factor and other things.<br><br>
Me, I'm a Trainer guy and would see it no other way unless the convenience of a stationary gym bike fit my routine better. But it doesn't, so I don't need the excitement of the gym and other people working out to help motivate me -- it helps! but I don't need it. Someday that might change.<br><br>
If you have extra money, get a Trainer. It will do you good if you use it like you do the gym bike.<br><br>
Good luck.