2022 Conditioning Party!!!!

[EggMcMuffin]

Mutually conflicting goals again, but I kinda want to run a marathon. Lol. I'd probably have to stop lifting, but I do LISS on the trails twice a week (6 miles). It's kinda great having good conditioning. Probably have to wait until I pull 500.

You guys who do circuits and stuff are masochists.

[DCR]

Mutually conflicting goals again, but I kinda want to run a marathon.

Now you’re just fucking with us.

[EggMcMuffin]

Mutually conflicting goals again, but I kinda want to run a marathon.

Now you’re just fucking with us.

I changed my mind, I'm going to become an elite crossfitter.

[DCR]

First time using the Echo. Just 5min of easy pedaling, but God damn this is a whole different thing than the Airdyne. Harder to just do a lazy relaxed pedal. 1/10 the noise. Absolutely no residual power from a big push left after, you can't get a really hard crank and let it ride for a cycle or two.

Ordered an Echo Bike today. My gym has one, but I cannot get myself to go there on off days just to ride it. Now that I’m divorced and can put anything in my living room that I damn well please, problem solved. Having used it on occasion, I’m not overly looking forward to it arriving, but it’s well past time I took conditioning/weight loss seriously.

[augeleven]

My only tv time is on a treadmill. If I could ditch a couch in the living room and get an echo bike, I would be watching so much tv.

[Skid]

I'm lucky to live in a mountain town whose local gov't spends almost $100k per year maintaining mountain biking trails in addition to all the volunteers. Good way for my property tax dollars to be spent. Did half nelson yesterday - that trail is one of my favorites! The ~700 meter elevation gain climb trail is a great cardio workout and the downhill is a blast. I try to get out once a week.

[Renascent]

First time using the Echo. Just 5min of easy pedaling, but God damn this is a whole different thing than the Airdyne. Harder to just do a lazy relaxed pedal.

This is probably a stupid-ass question, and I might've answered it myself once before based on written reviews, but I'll ask anyway since I don't expect to ever test-drive one...

Could an Echo (or an Airdyne) reasonably double as a standard cardio bike if someone wanted to pedal at a mindless, leisurely pace for an hour, or is it specifically designed and dedicated to Tabata-style training?

[EggMcMuffin]

Conflicted on whether or not I should buy trail running shoes and accept that I will not run on pavement anymore, or buy road shoes and run on the trail with them. Local park is just gravel/dirt, but I like night runs on the streets.

Bay Area has lots of trails but everything is so congested it takes like 4 hours to drive 2 miles lol

[Hanley]

First time using the Echo. Just 5min of easy pedaling, but God damn this is a whole different thing than the Airdyne. Harder to just do a lazy relaxed pedal.

This is probably a stupid-ass question, and I might've answered it myself once before based on written reviews, but I'll ask anyway since I don't expect to ever test-drive one...

Could an Echo (or an Airdyne) reasonably double as a standard cardio bike if someone wanted to pedal at a mindless, leisurely pace for an hour, or is it specifically designed and dedicated to Tabata-style training?

You can definitely use an Echo bike for LISS. I've done hour sessions. Not super comfy. Not terrible.

Airdyne is the single shittiest piece of shit I've ever owned. Avoid. Total garbage product.

[Allentown]

This is probably a stupid-ass question, and I might've answered it myself once before based on written reviews, but I'll ask anyway since I don't expect to ever test-drive one...

Could an Echo (or an Airdyne) reasonably double as a standard cardio bike if someone wanted to pedal at a mindless, leisurely pace for an hour, or is it specifically designed and dedicated to Tabata-style training?

An hour would be hard. The airdyne is the easier of the two, and without using the arms it's got too much resistance to pedal super easy. Even with arms, an hour is probably doable but I don't think it could be called leisurely. 20, 30 minutes, possibly. Kind of like walking at a very brisk pace on a treadmill set to max incline.

Have not done any LISS attempts with the Echo, though.

[psmith]

My experience trying to do LISS on the Echo bike was that the combination of tall gearing and wide pedal placement made my knees complain a bit when I jumped right into long steady-state efforts. You can reduce the resistance a bit with homemade fan dampers (think the damper system on a C2), and you can always just pedal very slow to keep your heart rate in range, but I think the C2 bike erg or a regular bicycle with a trainer would be better for real LISS.

[DCR]

Could an Echo (or an Airdyne) reasonably double as a standard cardio bike if someone wanted to pedal at a mindless, leisurely pace for an hour, or is it specifically designed and dedicated to Tabata-style training?

I sure hope so, seeing as how I purchased one specifically for that purpose. Plan is to work up to riding every morning for 30 mins. (I currently do 10 mins on the one in the gym and it makes me want to die. I am not in shape.) Then very slowly add to the intensity, trying to ride further in the same amount of time, to a reasonable and still LISS-y limit. I just want to be a healthier person.

I have no interest in tabata and the like. I have a totally evidence free theory that that shit is taking years off peoples’ lives, and we’ll find that out in 2060 or so.

[Renascent]

@Hanley, @Allentown, and @psmith -- thanks. I'm halfheartedly considering replacing an old bike.

First time I've noticed someone refer to the Airdyne as shitty, though both the Echo and the Airdyne could qualify as an upgrade in my case.

[Allentown]

Hanley, Allentown, and @
psmith -- thanks. I'm halfheartedly considering replacing an old bike.

First time I've noticed someone refer to the Airdyne as shitty, though both the Echo and the Airdyne could qualify as an upgrade in my case.

The Echo is like 4x better than my Airdyne. But it cost 4x as much, and the Airdyne was pretty old when I got it.

30min isn't a problem. Even an hour. But I'm not sure I'd call it "leisurely."

[Hanley]

First time I've noticed someone refer to the Airdyne as shitty, though both the Echo and the Airdyne could qualify as an upgrade in my case.

The Echo is worth the splurge. Especially if you get into really aggressive sprint work (which you should do, because hitting 1800+ watts on the Echo bike is one of the more awesome power feats you can achieve)

[asdf]

should buy trail running shoes ... or buy road shoes

Road shoes are fine for groomed trails. Get trail shoes once you're running trails where you feel like stability, grip, or protection are an issue. Then you'll have a pair of each and won't feel like your surface choices are limited.

[Allentown]

First time I've noticed someone refer to the Airdyne as shitty, though both the Echo and the Airdyne could qualify as an upgrade in my case.

The Echo is worth the splurge. Especially if you get into really aggressive sprint work (which you should do, because hitting 1800+ watts on the Echo bike is one of the more awesome power feats you can achieve)

1358 today at the end of 10min "leisurely" pace. 1800 seems so far away...

And yeah, I changed my mind, a leisurely hour can be done on the Echo. Personally, I'd rather incline walk at that duration, but the Echo will do just fine.

[Renascent]

First time I've noticed someone refer to the Airdyne as shitty, though both the Echo and the Airdyne could qualify as an upgrade in my case.

The Echo is worth the splurge. Especially if you get into really aggressive sprint work (which you should do, because hitting 1800+ watts on the Echo bike is one of the more awesome power feats you can achieve)

I'd be primarily buying it for someone other than myself, but it'd be nice if it could do double duty.

Been a long time I've been on a bike of any kind, so I'd have to work up to sprints, but I think the climb would be fun.

And yeah, I changed my mind, a leisurely hour can be done on the Echo. Personally, I'd rather incline walk at that duration, but the Echo will do just fine.

This is good to know. It'll make it a whole lot easier if I should have to explain my expanding affinity for all things made of steel with powder-coat finishes.

[Hanley]

1358 today at the end of 10min "leisurely" pace. 1800 seems so far away...

I got sucked into the crossfit 50 calorie challenge. To be anything like competitive, you had to spend a full 15 seconds at/near 2000 watts.

I never knew a single, brief sprint could be so absolutely awful. I earnestly thought I might die.

[Allentown]

1358 today at the end of 10min "leisurely" pace. 1800 seems so far away...

I got sucked into the crossfit 50 calorie challenge. To be anything like competitive, you had to spend a full 15 seconds at/near 2000 watts.

I never knew a single, brief sprint could be so absolutely awful. I earnestly thought I might die.

I might do that next time it comes around.
Not the "be anywhere near competitive" part, but at least sign up for it.