Wattbikes in a gym – tips for a beginner?

My physio is insisting I go to a gym to do some core work, although I’ve at least persuaded her to let me work on floor/body weight exercises at home for a month to see how I get on.

However the benefits of the gym would include a pool and some yoga classes, plus Wattbikes!

My home turbo setup has been fine for my purposes but if it meant not having to constantly take my good bike in and out of the turbo then happy days, would be glad to do my sessions on the Wattbike instead.

Assuming (I’ve not yet been for a trial at the gym) that they have the cheapest ‘gym-issue’ Wattbikes, what can I expect? I assume they won’t automatically adjust the resistance to achieve a certain power, so do I just need to do it manually via ‘gears’ or that big fan thing in order to achieve a certain number?

If I’m doing a workout off the app (Building Blocks for instance, or 5/5/5) will it just tell me what power I should be achieving, and I simply attempt to achieve it?

Do they typically come with 3 bolt compatible pedals, or can you fit your own?

Ta

We have the basic wattbikes in the work gym

The pedals are dual sided. SPD SL on one side and SPD on the other with a clip in platform/toeclip that goes into the SPD SL side.

Ours doesn’t have an erg mode so you have to hit power.

If I’m honest I’d go to the gym and do your core work and weights etc but I wouldn’t rush to spend loads of time and using watt bikes unless that’s your only access to a power meter.

I’d also be questioning what exercises she wants you doing that necessitates a gym over working out at home with some basic equipment.

Yeah, I wouldn’t make the Wattbikes my only reason for joining, the twice weekly yoga and whatever machines my physio wants me using are the main reason.

I don’t have a power meter but don’t miss it at the moment, quite enjoying training with heart rate and it’s certainly not impacting the quality of my workouts.

You say don’t rush to spend loads of time on them, why is that? Do you think they’re inferior to turbo training at home in some way?

In truth I think the convenience of having them there with a pool next door will outweigh any drawbacks!

Edit: she’s determined that I do more squat based stuff, I’ve explained that squats always seem to aggravate my back which she thinks (and I agree, to be fair) is a form based thing. Certain machines will allow me to achieve the benefits of squats without risking more back spasms due to my shaky form.

I joined a gym with a wattbike, was a really useful training tool for when I raced. As I plan on racing again next year I’ll be getting my own wattbike, I’m a big fan of them for structured training.
At the moment I’m just using the gym on an adhoc basis, trying to keep the weight down before I start my training in earnest after my summer holiday.
Anyway, OP, I use the wattbike to connect over bluethooth to my ipad. I can then use sufferfest or zwift with the power and being displayed. I’m a fan of sufferfest, I use their videos and training plans to work on my weak areas (recovery from hard efforts, which is almost race simulation, so lots of 40 second max efforts and 20 second recovery). Using the sufferfest app, the connectivity to the wattbike is really simple.
As mentioned above, gym wattbikes tend not to have erg mode, so this is a small inconvenience, but nothing major, you soon get used to the gearing / power controls.

Well I more meant I wouldn’t spend loads of time down the gym away from.family just because it has a wattbike – especially with how sensitive your back and knees are to position.

Equally squats and riding a bike are mutually exclusive. They compliment each other but they are effectively the same exercise so you’ll build big fatigue if doing intensity work after squatting.

Step away from the Smith machine if your squatting.

I use the wattbiks in my local gym, I assume its the cheaper version, things to point out if you havent been down there, the ones in my gym dont have anything to hold a device such as phone or ipad, you have to balance them on the aero bars and risk them falling when you do any standing efforts.

The two in my gym are poorly looked after, both the power leads to the display look they have been chewed by rats and the bike I got on last week the cable failed so no screen. On one of the bikes the magnetic resistance is off/broken, it doesnt impact the power outputs but means you cant add extra resistence to push against. Other than that they are good bits of kit, they connect to my garmin for cadence, power and speed which I like.

For your squats, after advice from a physio I have started doing mine at the gym against the wall with a gym ball between, this helps some of my poor form which was making my back ache. Once I feel I have good form, Ill go back to the rack.

Equally squats and riding a bike are mutually exclusive. They compliment each other but they are effectively the same exercise so you’ll build big fatigue if doing intensity work after squatting.

Hmm, this was my thinking. Going to speak to the coach I was consulting with to see what he thinks. Physio acknowledge this too but of course she’s not interested in my training goals so her solution was just doing squats instead of the on-bike training! Would rather do stuff that doesn’t impact on the quality of my training.

Re: family time – my choice of gym is being dictated by which gyms I can access in the evening when child is asleep and wife is immersed in Coronation Street. In truth, anything I can do to be out of the house while Coronation Street is on is a good thing!

W00dster/oikeith – thanks, good tips

Must be different gyms, the wattbikes in the gym I go to have a phone/tablet holder, not that I use it. I prefer a towel over the bars with the ipad resting on that. Even with doing sprints they haven’t fallen from this position. They are also connected to a TV, four bikes in a row and the read out for each is displayed on the TV. Works pretty well.
Have to admit, a few years ago they weren’t well looked after. The gym wasn’t maintaining them so the bars would get stuck or the saddle would be stuck. After a few of us complained they are now in good condition. Cyclists are spoilt in our gym, we have 6 wattbikes (4 in a group and 2 seperate), plus a spin studio with Stages Spin Bikes (good bikes using stages power meters), the stages bikes can be used when no spin class is in use. Sufferfest videos are played throughout the day along with other virtual training sessions.

The issue I have with the Wattbikes in my gym is the saddle. Absolutely destroys my gooch, every time…no matter which shorts I wear.

Propper form squats will do you no harm In your cycling goals and will even enhance your gains.

Most if not all pro cyclists spend a significant amount of time squatting./deadliftjng.

It works muscle groups that you need for cycling but don’t necessarily engage during normal cycling

If you get access to the pool as well and you can swim

This is a huge boon imo for recovery , low impact exercise and assuming your not sprinting- endurance all over muscle building /maintaining and helping your back get a non impact workout to build supporting muscles.

Speaking of Wattbikes, I discovered recently that you can use them at the National Cycling Centre in Manchester for about £6 an hour and no monthly gym fees. I haven’t been yet but I’m getting to the point with road biking where I would like to try one out.

The Wattbike app is pretty useful. Link it to the bike you’re using with BT and it will provide workouts and will link to Strava and record cadence, HR (if linked) power etc. Pretty good.

If you do the 3 or 20 minute test and enter the result on the profile screen, it will automatically make the power zone bands correct on the workouts.

Mine had SPDs on one side, normal flats with toe straps on the other.

Level 1 on the Pro is about equivalent to level 4 on the Trainer models.

Wee bump:

Using Wattbikes is actually now more relevant as I need to ease myself back into cycling pretty gently and at least with a Wattbike I can raise the bars a bit higher than I can on my turbo/road bike!

Just wondered the other day, given that I’ll have lost some power in the ~8-12 weeks I’ve not been riding, figured it would be a good idea to introduce myself to the gym Wattbikes with a ramp test, to get used to the bike but also to see what my new post-injury zones should be.

How does a ramp test work with basic gym Wattbikes, just incremental adjustments to dials every minute?

Ease back in gently with a ramp test – I like your style.

tbh I’d just knock 10% off your ftp and use that as a ballpark figure to start with, but if you want to put the wattbike through its paces then why not. Hope the back is on the mend and you can get back to racing soon.

+1 for the Watt bike app. There are plenty of decent workouts on there (both long and short), and it links to Strava etc for logging distance etc. I have a real love / hate with the Wattbike 1km challenge. Love the idea of it, hate it for the rest of the day after trying it.

Ha, fair point actually, seems like a stupid comment reading it back!

Guess I was thinking ramp test = short and at least I can raise the bars to reduce stress on the lower back.

Will try and get a few weeks of gentle core and easy commutes under my belt before I try anything strenuous.

2019 CX aspirations abandoned, thankfully the Scottish Superquaich series starts after Christmas and is slightly kinder to those who are out of condition as you’re not categorised by age but by anticipated lap time, no more racing the Scottish Champ at least but means I’ll be getting lapped by the fast ladies and 16 year olds instead…

Yeah, great machines.

One tiny tip, if you have bluetooth headphones, pause the music before connecting the app. Seems to make the connecting quicker and more reliable. Once you’re underway start the music again. No need to disconnect the headphones or close the music app, just a pause is all that’s needed.

Maybe it’s only android, but there we go.

. I can then use sufferfest or zwift with the power and being displayed.

Huh.

Learn something new every day, might actually motivate me to get back to the gym. Wait, £14.99 a month? Will have to be a good motivator!

If you do a 3 minute test it will give you maximum minute power. Don’t make the mistake of putting this in as your FTP or you won’t be able to do any of the workouts! Think you need to multiply by about 0.85.

Once you have overcome this mistake then the workouts in the app are pretty good, I like the grand tour ones.

First gen wattbike saddles are horrendous, crappy little cut out with raised stitching. Newer ones are flat .

If you are lanky the bars don’t raise up very far so you end up in a pretty aggressive position.

If you do a 3 minute test it will give you maximum minute power. Don’t make the mistake of putting this in as your FTP or you won’t be able to do any of the workouts! Think you need to multiply by about 0.85

In your profile you can set the preference for MMP or FTP.

If you are lanky the bars don’t raise up very far so you end up in a pretty aggressive position.

Wow, you weren’t wrong! With the saddle at the correct height and the bars as high as they’ll go I still end up way more aggressive than on my normal bikes!

Kind of scuppers any ideas of using them for rehab from a herniated disc ☹