OT: exercise bike rec

i want to get back into cycling, i had an accident cycling a while back (rear cog snapped on a hill
taking me off bike and injured neck & knee)

since then ive put on a whole heap of weight and want to start off on an exercise bike indoors until
i can get some level of fitness and a fair loss of weight before i go back on the road

the only exercise bike ive found i like the look of so far that will hold my weight is a york 3350
but not sure where stocks them - i can order from argos but delivery times with them are so
unpredictable id rather just go and pick one up from somewhere

so can anyone advise on a stockist of york exercise bikes or recommend a similair/better one
(needs to hold upto 22 stone, well - at least for starters!) that i could go and collect - im
midlands based.

 

If you've already got a bike, why not get a turbo trainer/mag trainer and hook your bike up to that?

Cheers, helen s

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doobrie wrote:
> the only exercise bike ive found i like the look of so far that will hold my weight is a york 3350
> but not sure where stocks them - i can order from argos but delivery times with them are so
> unpredictable id rather just go and pick one up from somewhere
>
> so can anyone advise on a stockist of york exercise bikes or recommend a similair/better one
> (needs to hold upto 22 stone, well - at least for starters!) that i could go and collect - im
> midlands based.

Looks OK (not tried one in the flesh though). Heart rate control is in my experience a very useful
feature to have. I have a Tunturi E3 and miss heart rate control, and the saddle design is so awful
on the Tunturi to make it pretty much useless (for my backside anyway). So I would make sure you
actually try one out before you buy, just in case you have the same trouble as me.

--
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"doobrie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> i want to get back into cycling, i had an accident cycling a while back (rear cog snapped on a
> hill taking me off bike and injured neck & knee)
>
> since then ive put on a whole heap of weight and want to start off on an exercise bike indoors
> until i can get some level of fitness and a fair loss of weight before i go back on the road

Instead of an exercise bike consider a real one. Buy a mountain bike with no fancy bits for about
200 ukp and go out on it. Choose a flatish bit of land and go for a 2 mile ride - severeal times a
week is good. After a few of those rides push it up to 4 miles. Gradually increase the mileage -
within 3 months you would be able to do 20 miles or so, weight would fall off and you would get
fresh air.

It's a long term thing but well worth the effort. All the best.

John

 

Eatmorpies <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Instead of an exercise bike consider a real one. Buy a mountain bike with no fancy bits for about
> 200 ukp and go out on it. Choose a flatish bit of land and go for a 2 mile ride - severeal times a
> week is good. After a few of those rides push it up to 4 miles. Gradually increase the mileage
> - within 3 months you would be able to do 20 miles or so, weight would fall off and you would get
> fresh air.
>
> It's a long term thing but well worth the effort. All the best.
>

I'm with you on that. Exercise bikes or bikes on trainers are mind numbingly boring compared to
riding on the road. They are the worst thing possible at the stage where you probably need some
motivation to keep going.

Tony

--
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Tony Raven wrote:
>> Instead of an exercise bike consider a real one. Buy a mountain bike with no fancy bits for about
>> 200 ukp and go out on it. Choose a flatish bit of land and go for a 2 mile ride - severeal times
>> a week is good. After a few of those rides push it up to 4 miles. Gradually increase the mileage
>> - within 3 months you would be able to do 20 miles or so, weight would fall off and you would get
>> fresh air.
>>
>> It's a long term thing but well worth the effort. All the best.
>>
>
> I'm with you on that. Exercise bikes or bikes on trainers are mind numbingly boring compared to
> riding on the road. They are the worst thing possible at the stage where you probably need some
> motivation to keep going.

Well they might work for some people, but mine has turned into a clothes rack. You can't beat the
fresh air.

--
StainlessSteelRat "A drama critic is a man who leaves no turn unstoned." -- George Bernard Shaw

 

> Well they might work for some people, but mine has turned into a clothes rack. You can't beat the
> fresh air.

the orignal bike was in no condition to carry on with, its been so long now id not feel comfortable
on open road until i get some basic level of fitness back and i dont like mountain bikes, i want to
get back enough to get me a road bike again - ive a seperate incentive of a holiday in 4 months time
to get ready for so im aiming for after that get back on the road

its looking promising that someone has what im looking for so hopefully have this wrapped up
this weekend

cheers

 

doobrie wrote:
>> Well they might work for some people, but mine has turned into a clothes rack. You can't beat the
>> fresh air.
>
> the orignal bike was in no condition to carry on with, its been so long now id not feel
> comfortable on open road until i get some basic level of fitness back and i dont like mountain
> bikes, i want to get back enough to get me a road bike again - ive a seperate incentive of a
> holiday in 4 months time to get ready for so im aiming for after that get back on the road
>
> its looking promising that someone has what im looking for so hopefully have this wrapped up
> this weekend

I'd think about Eatmorpie's advice. 10 minutes a day on a normal bike is a good start. Either way,
good luck with it!

--
StainlessSteelRat "An empty stomach is not a good political adviser." -- Albert Einstein

 

doobrie <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> i want to get back into cycling, i had an accident cycling a while back (rear cog snapped on a
> hill taking me off bike and injured neck & knee)
>
> since then ive put on a whole heap of weight and want to start off on an exercise bike indoors
> until i can get some level of fitness and a fair loss of weight before i go back on the road
>
> the only exercise bike ive found i like the look of so far that will hold my weight is a york 3350
> but not sure where stocks them - i can order from argos but delivery times with them are so
> unpredictable id rather just go and pick one up from somewhere

I have a Schwinn Aerodyne (do a google) in good nick going for free. It would take your weight easy.
You would need to collect from East Suffolk though.

Bill

 

Get training rollers for your existing bike because excercise bikes are not the proper shape.
Rollers are £100-£200. If you don't have a bike to go with it, then a £50 banger should do - but
unlike the excercise bike it will at least be the right shape.

My wife's excecise bike was a clothes-rack / general nuisance for years till we dumped it. She uses
the training rollers most days.

Cheers

Hywel

 

> I have a Schwinn Aerodyne (do a google) in good nick going for free. It would take your weight
> easy. You would need to collect from East Suffolk though.
>
> Bill

thanks for the offer but its not what im looking for although the price of course is desirable

cheers anyway

 

well, seems the offer of the exercise bike i was after has not materialised ...

although since i made the post ive not been able to stop reading the group! its becoming more
apparant to me that i should get back on the road and not be stuck in the house on an exercise bike
- all your fault

ok, since i have no bike and am currently weighing in at a hefty 318 pounds (started my diet last
week and lost 5 pounds this week, yay!) then i need to look at getting a nice strong sturdy bike to
get out and about on

im 6'2 and used to enjoy 20 mile per day rides with 50 mile rides on the weekends and back then had
a nice raliegh racer i forget which one, it replaced a mountain bike i used soley on the roads and
was far better on the roads than the mtb - although are they the better option for my weight?

so going on that any recommendations? i dont want to spend too much although i prefer to buy new so
that i know the history of a bike but i guess initially my rides are going to be pretty moderate of
a few miles around the streets so thats possibly not so important ...

 

On Sat, 3 May 2003 14:30:07 +0100, doobrie <[email protected]> wrote:

>so going on that any recommendations?

I would be inclined to get a reasonable quality steel rigid MTB. In a year or so you will be
sufficiently improved in fitness that you'll be looking for a better bike, and that one can become a
hack for shopping or maybe leisure rides on riverside paths where you don't want to take a nice
skinny-tyred tourer. Something like the Dawes Saratoga, maybe.

The Edinburgh Bicycle Co-Operative make some good value bikes, but I would be inclined to stick with
a local bike shop because being - ahem
- generously built I would strongly recommend you get a cassette type rear hub rather than the
screw-on block which is almost universal on low-end bikes; you stand a fair chance of bending
an axle on the first pothole (I will now be told this is needless caution, but I've bent
axles on bikes with blocks and never on bikes with cassettes, and my wife bent an axle very
quickly towing the trail-a-bike but hasn't bent the new Deore LX axle even though Peter's now
much bigger).

Also, get them to retension the wheels by hand. Machine built wheels are notoriously weak.

I would actually be much happier with a tidy second-hand bike with these two mods than with a new
one in your circumstances. There's not much can go wrong with a steel bike as a result of
mistreatment that won't be pretty obvious to a close inspection, and if you buy from a shop (for the
reasons above) you should be fine. As long as it's a decent shop.

Guy
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In article <[email protected]>, [email protected] says...
> On Sat, 3 May 2003 14:30:07 +0100, doobrie <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> >so going on that any recommendations?
>
> I would be inclined to get a reasonable quality steel rigid MTB. In a year or so you will be
> sufficiently improved in fitness that you'll be looking for a better bike, and that one can become
> a hack for shopping or maybe leisure rides on riverside paths where you don't want to take a nice
> skinny-tyred tourer. Something like the Dawes Saratoga, maybe.

ive ended up going into halfords and buyin an electric rubin red raleigh pioneer 120 hybrid thingie
for £120 which i thought was reasonable:-

http://www.nicholsons- cycles.co.uk/images/raleigh/photos/after/pages/PIONEER2_jpg.htm

http://www.malleys.co.uk/bike/thebikes/bikes2001/pioneer120men.htm

(watch any wrapping)

doesnt have much in way of gears in 6 but im after pure basics to start me off with and when im back
fightin fit i'll go the the nice carrera road bike that was on show! the mudguards and chain guard
will be new to me as i used to ride a road bie with nothing in way of mudguards, etc but im not so
much a purist anymore and can see the benefit of keepin the crap away from me !

just hope it holds up whilst i get into shape .... i'll be happy if it gives me 6 months