please advise - trainer, lifecycle, etc., for home exercise

[jeffp@[email protected]]

Hi, I'm 51, live in NYC and intent on pursuing some sort of bicycle
type exercise on a daily basis. Biking outside is great but it's
hazardous requiring constant stops and starts. It's impossible to
even imagine a full hour bike ride without several dozen "rest
periods" due to traffic, etc. So to me it makes sense to have a
quality indoor setup, at least as an adjunct to outdoor riding. A
friend of mine has a LifeCycle recumbent in his apartment and he loves
it, however it's very expensive and requires a dedicated corner area.
On Cragslist there are used LifeCycles which are obviously more
affordable. As an alternative I'm considering purchasing a high
quality trainer such as the 1-UP USA Trainer. It's more space
efficient, obviously, since my bike's already in the apartment. To me
the salient point is the constant pedaling - it seems that either a
trainer or LifeCycle would provide pretty much the same quality and
degree of exercise.

What are your thoughts on the matter based on experience?

TIA,
Jeff

 

[[email protected]]

jeffp@SPAM_PESTSTRIP wrote:
> Hi, I'm 51, live in NYC and intent on pursuing some sort of bicycle
> type exercise on a daily basis. Biking outside is great but it's
> hazardous requiring constant stops and starts. It's impossible to
> even imagine a full hour bike ride without several dozen "rest
> periods" due to traffic, etc. So to me it makes sense to have a
> quality indoor setup, at least as an adjunct to outdoor riding. A
> friend of mine has a LifeCycle recumbent in his apartment and he loves
> it, however it's very expensive and requires a dedicated corner area.
> On Cragslist there are used LifeCycles which are obviously more
> affordable. As an alternative I'm considering purchasing a high
> quality trainer such as the 1-UP USA Trainer. It's more space
> efficient, obviously, since my bike's already in the apartment. To me
> the salient point is the constant pedaling - it seems that either a
> trainer or LifeCycle would provide pretty much the same quality and
> degree of exercise.
>
> What are your thoughts on the matter based on experience?
>
> TIA,
> Jeff

If you live anywhere near Prospect Park or Central Park you can get
lots of uninterrupted driding done there. Don't underestimate the
social side of cycling/exercise. Maybe "spinning" at a health club
would be a better use of money. That's jst my 2 cents, as somebody who
gets bored after 2 minutes of stationary riding.

Good luck!

Joseph

 

[trino]

to save space get liquid rollers. Cheaper too. Just use your own bike.

<jeffp@[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi, I'm 51, live in NYC and intent on pursuing some sort of bicycle
> type exercise on a daily basis. Biking outside is great but it's
> hazardous requiring constant stops and starts. It's impossible to
> even imagine a full hour bike ride without several dozen "rest
> periods" due to traffic, etc. So to me it makes sense to have a
> quality indoor setup, at least as an adjunct to outdoor riding. A
> friend of mine has a LifeCycle recumbent in his apartment and he loves
> it, however it's very expensive and requires a dedicated corner area.
> On Cragslist there are used LifeCycles which are obviously more
> affordable. As an alternative I'm considering purchasing a high
> quality trainer such as the 1-UP USA Trainer. It's more space
> efficient, obviously, since my bike's already in the apartment. To me
> the salient point is the constant pedaling - it seems that either a
> trainer or LifeCycle would provide pretty much the same quality and
> degree of exercise.
>
> What are your thoughts on the matter based on experience?
>
> TIA,
> Jeff

 

[[email protected]]

I just bought a bike and have been riding in Central Park every day for
the past week. While in the park, on Park Drive specifically, I
haven't had to come to a complete stop at all while doing 2-3 laps.
Getting to the park is a different story, but once I'm on Park Drive, I
hardly ever have to hit the brakes and that's with busy weekend
pedestrian/jogger/inline skating traffic.