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I have a ton of road bikes and a high-end smart trainer but I'm under no illusion that for someone not looking to ride outside ever, a purpose-made exercise bik

I have a ton of road bikes and a high-end smart trainer but I'm under no illusion that for someone not looking to ride outside ever, a purpose-made exercise bike is a vastly superior option. Even the smart trainer companies have figured this out and are making fully integrated exercise bikes. One obvious reason is that no one cares what the exercise bike weighs and it will never be exposed to dirt or rain. That allows you to make a drivetrain that can trivially last past the useful life of the equipment without any maintenance ever. Meanwhile on the road bike you strapped to the trainer you have a chain, cassette and chainrings for no good reason - all of it ends up feeding into a variable resistance unit anyway! Similarly putting a road bike you have used extensively on the trainer back on the street generally means doing a complete overhaul - you sweat salt water all over it and don't want your alloy handlebars to break in half because it corroded underneath the bar tape. Ceterum censeo: we should focus on fixing the reasons that many people, particularly women, feel unsafe riding a real bike outside that they would rather stare at this screen going nowhere inside. Most of them without the mandatory two box fans blasting a hurricane their way, it makes me die inside just seeing that.

sombremesa 6y ago
It's not just dirt and rain. Inexperienced bicyclists have a very real chance of getting hit by a car. I'd pay $500 on my worst financial day to avoid that.
- seppin 6y ago
  > Inexperienced bicyclists have a very real chance of getting hit by a car. I have 3 friends that were hit by cars last year, 2 bikes and one e-scooter. None of them were at fault.
  - SSLy 6y ago
    >None of them were at fault. That doesn't make the injuries less severe
  - michaelcampbell 6y ago
    The laws of physics >>> laws of the road. He with the most lugnuts wins. The cemetaries are full of people who were "right".
- nogabebop23 6y ago
  You can drop the word "Inexperienced". But hte idea of paying to avoid this risk is misplaced. You're also doing a completely different activity. Under you're logic you should also work from home and order in all your meals. YOLO doesn't mean "... so be extremely careful".
  - freeone3000 6y ago
    I've been doing this for the last few months and, y'know, it is really appealing...
- greyhair 6y ago
  There are two things at play, that have really cut into what roads I will ride on. 1) Distracted drivers. And it has no relation to age. I see old people using their phones, I see young people using their phones. This is number 1, by a huge margin, and it is just getting worse. I never use my phone, other than for navigation, while driving. Not even hands free. Leave a message. 2) Bicyclists that don't follow the rules of the road. Stupid young kids using both side of the road, and sidewalks, I sort of understand. We were all stupid young kids at some point in our lives. But there is no excuse for stupid adults. If you have a drivers license, you know the rules, they are not that hard. Where I live, more than two thirds of bicyclists ride to the left, against traffic. Lately, maybe as much as three quarters. My kids (young adults) all ride on the right, when they ride. They were taught that from day one. Does no one teach bicycling to their kids? So I am out riding, trying to be aware of the roadway, blind spots, cars (worse, trucks on narrow roads), and as I crest a hill I meet another bicycle coming straight at me. WTF?
nogabebop23 6y ago
>> you sweat salt water all over it and don't want your alloy handlebars to break in half because it corroded underneath the bar tape. Of all the ways to crash - mechanical failure, operator error, 3rd party - this is the one that keeps you up at night? We come from very different cycling worlds...
- dvtrn 6y ago
  We come from very different cycling worlds That doesn’t seem like a bad thing? Instead for cycling, it seems...like an inherent property I’d expect a cyclist to actually anticipate and empathize with.
- lardo 6y ago
  I've had a handlebar snap in half while road riding and can assure you this concern is warranted.

sombremesa 6y ago

It's not just dirt and rain. Inexperienced bicyclists have a very real chance of getting hit by a car. I'd pay $500 on my worst financial day to avoid that.

seppin 6y ago
> Inexperienced bicyclists have a very real chance of getting hit by a car. I have 3 friends that were hit by cars last year, 2 bikes and one e-scooter. None of them were at fault.
- SSLy 6y ago
  >None of them were at fault. That doesn't make the injuries less severe
- michaelcampbell 6y ago
  The laws of physics >>> laws of the road. He with the most lugnuts wins. The cemetaries are full of people who were "right".
nogabebop23 6y ago
You can drop the word "Inexperienced". But hte idea of paying to avoid this risk is misplaced. You're also doing a completely different activity. Under you're logic you should also work from home and order in all your meals. YOLO doesn't mean "... so be extremely careful".
- freeone3000 6y ago
  I've been doing this for the last few months and, y'know, it is really appealing...
greyhair 6y ago
There are two things at play, that have really cut into what roads I will ride on. 1) Distracted drivers. And it has no relation to age. I see old people using their phones, I see young people using their phones. This is number 1, by a huge margin, and it is just getting worse. I never use my phone, other than for navigation, while driving. Not even hands free. Leave a message. 2) Bicyclists that don't follow the rules of the road. Stupid young kids using both side of the road, and sidewalks, I sort of understand. We were all stupid young kids at some point in our lives. But there is no excuse for stupid adults. If you have a drivers license, you know the rules, they are not that hard. Where I live, more than two thirds of bicyclists ride to the left, against traffic. Lately, maybe as much as three quarters. My kids (young adults) all ride on the right, when they ride. They were taught that from day one. Does no one teach bicycling to their kids? So I am out riding, trying to be aware of the roadway, blind spots, cars (worse, trucks on narrow roads), and as I crest a hill I meet another bicycle coming straight at me. WTF?

nogabebop23 6y ago

>> you sweat salt water all over it and don't want your alloy handlebars to break in half because it corroded underneath the bar tape. Of all the ways to crash - mechanical failure, operator error, 3rd party - this is the one that keeps you up at night? We come from very different cycling worlds...

dvtrn 6y ago
We come from very different cycling worlds That doesn’t seem like a bad thing? Instead for cycling, it seems...like an inherent property I’d expect a cyclist to actually anticipate and empathize with.
lardo 6y ago
I've had a handlebar snap in half while road riding and can assure you this concern is warranted.