Utility of cardio spinners in gym?

Denny418

Hi All, this is my first post. This forum looks like a great source of info. By way of intro, I'm 59, live in Sarasota and Miami. I've kept in good shape since age 30 through running, and then about 15 years ago took up cycling too. It was fitness cycling, mostly solo, usually pushing it. Three years ago I found out about the Senior Games (national olympics for those over 50). I decided to do the 10K TT, confident that nobody my age could beat me. I was promptly disabused of that notion, as I came in 3rd (age-group) in the regional qualifier and then 6th in the state final.

Since then, I've been seriously training for speed on the bike, something I'd never done before. Last year I won the silver in the state finals, this year the bronze. I don't use a powermeter or a heart-rate monitor.

Biking in Miami is lousy, so I've joined a fitness center and use their StarTrac spinners when I'm in Miami, which is about half the time. They are adjustable for intensity level, and have a power readout. I have two questions. 1) Is there any reason why training on these things won't help my progress? 2) Does anyone have any idea as to the accuracy of their power readings?