# Kilo time trial on a Track bike vs Stationary bike



## bruce.s400 (8 Mar 2019)

Hi everyone, i dont know if question has place on a site like this but i havent found answers anywhere else on the net. Im gonna start off by saying that i've never gotten to ride a Track bike in my life. I know nothing about track & road bikes, i own a custom downhill bike and just have my share fun on her. 

I'm a European Level u20 400m Sprinter who got into the gym a month ago because of an achilles tendon injury, and i was instructed to cycle on those stationary bikes that they have in order to work the upper legs without any risk of hurting the tendons. The other day i decided to put myself to a test:
_"How far can i get on this bike in 60 seconds?" _
i put the bike on level 20 (the highest resistance level) and went flatout from start to finish. (Or so i tried) turns out the bike registers 4 main parameters... [Level] [Distance] [RPM] [Time]
and by the time i hit 60 seconds, i registered a distance of 960m. Not bad i thought... two days later i retry and this time i reach 1020m in 60 seconds. I get home and research about the Kilo time trials, and i just remain there confused as the WR for the 1km trial is just 56 seconds; not too far from reach...

My question is: What are the variants of riding a stationary bike at a gym, and riding a track bike in a velodrome? How accurate are the measurement parameters on these gym bikes? Can they be a reliable source of info? How does it differ to a real time trial? How does wind affect performance? And *what could my real potential be in a velodrome with a fixed gear time trial bike?*
As an elite 400m sprinter i strongly believe that i have forged my body to pushing itself to the max of its aerobic capacity and muscular limits as the lactic acid attacks hard in my competitions, just like when i time trialed the gym bike, i feel they are equivalent in a way and its given me a type of edge in this quick-fire "Kilo" trial...


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## Ming the Merciless (8 Mar 2019)

Only one way to find out. Get yourself down a velodrome. No amount of theory or opinion is going to answer it for you.


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## Sharky (9 Mar 2019)

Find a safe, flattish and quiet stretch of road and measure exactly 1k.

Then time yourself from a standing start. Recover then do the same in the opposite direction and take an average of the two results.

Wont be the same as a velodrome, but it will give a meaningful measure.


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## CXRAndy (9 Mar 2019)

You need a simulator that has in its algorithm, drag weight and height. Probably London or Richmond flat course in Zwift on a Tacx Neo/2 would give you a good idea


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## Shortandcrisp (15 Mar 2019)

Wouldn’t there be wind resistance (even in a velodrome) to overcome. Something a stationary bike doesn’t account for, or am I missing something?


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## snorri (15 Mar 2019)

bruce.s400 said:


> How accurate are the measurement parameters on these gym bikes? .


Ask the management for details of the spec., methodology and frequency of calibration checks.


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## fossyant (15 Mar 2019)

You need to try riding a real bike. Simulators like Zwift can be fairly accurate, but it's not cheap. Stuff in a gym, well, nothing like real world. As a sprinter you'll be fit, but it doesn't translate quite the same into running, just like cycling doesn't translate into running.


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## colly (15 Mar 2019)

Wind resistance, at 60kph, even over just 1000m, will have a huge effect. 

On the other hand if the static bike you were riding has a built in factor for wind speed................you could be in for fame and fortune. 

Get youself to a velodrome and have a tester session.


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