Whats better to train on a heavy or light bike ??

[widowmaker]

This may seems a stupid question.......but...

Is it better to train on a heavier steel bike so that when you buy a lighter bike in the future you will have more leg strength and therefore be able to ride the lighter bike all that quicker.

Or is it better to have a light bike straight away ??

The reason I ask is that I have a steel bike about 12kgs or slightly less and am thinking of getting a modern lighter bike weighing around 10kgs. Should I wait or should I sell my Wife and Kids to get one ?

 

[bodrobert]

I think that using a well-known bicycle in a race situation is the good way. For this reason you should use the racing bike for the most of your trainings.
For example sometimes I changed the tires (to new ones) on my bike before a race according to the conditions: it was not a good idea, because a not really optimal, but well-known tyre is far better than an unknown type, even the latter is better for the conditions in some aspects.

 

[shogun]

I think training on a bike you feel comfortable on and having consistent setup with whatever you race on is most important, if you must have a training bike. Heavy or light matters very little if its familiar.

 

[Johnsqual]

+1 to the previous posts. Having a consistent set up is the most important thing. I recently rode a bike with bar end shifters instead
of downtubes in a Retro ride, and for the first hour of the race, I kept groping at the downtube to try to change gears. I had a similar experience when I went from STIs to Ergopowers, I kept trying to shift in the way I would with STIs.

You might gain some smallish benefit from the extra weight, but if your two bikes are not consistently set up, anything you gain will probably be lost in the process of getting used to the different setup.

 

[mattr]

It's irrelevant. Heavier bike just means you go slower for the same power.

Unless you are trying to keep up with people, then you end up putting out more power for a given speed, but that's not really training. You end up following someone else's training plan.

As pointed out above, as long as the set up is near as dammit the same and equipment feels the same, you'll be fine.

 

[widowmaker]

I think that one day I will have to invest in a newer bike, possibly carbon. But I am hoping to keep riding the old steelie for as long as possible.

My theory was that by riding a heavy steel bike for while when I finally join the modern bike revolution of lighter bikes I would really feel the advantage of a lighter ride.

 

[Russell]

Train on the light bike but carry some waterbottles full of sand.

 

[47p2]

A modern lightweight frame will respond quicker when you put the power on compared to steel frame.

 

[unclechet]

I like to train heavy and race light. Bucking all known advice I also mix up fixed gear riding, SS riding, road bike riding and a couple of different mountain bike riding. I think all the different positions and changes help my body from being to particular. It works for me.

 

[Jonny69]

My Russian track bike weighs around 2kg more than my Bob Jackson, both fixed gear, both same gearing and I share the same pair of wheels between both bikes, but I consistently arrive at work ~5 minutes earlier on the Russian bike. My commute is 10 miles each way on the flat with a bunch of traffic lights. The difference is the riding position and slightly different frame angles. Setup is everything and you must be comfortable on the bike. I doubt I'd be much quicker on a sub-7kg carbon fibroxide bike.