As we progress into the off-season and colder months for many triathletes, indoor cycling workouts, or "spinning", becomes a primary mode of cross-training for the bike leg. This article will help you understand some of the differences between cycling outdoors (or indoors) on your bike, and cycling on a spin bike.

There as been a lot of debate about the appropriate cycling cadence for triathletes. In general, we recommend riding at a cadence between 80-90 RPM at a minimum, preferably over 90 RPM.

Case Study: Here is a story too close to my heart, my own knee. As some of you, I have a patella femoral (knee problem). (The kneecap grinds, yes grinds on my thighbone). Why because I did not walk my talk during my first California AIDS ride. When I have a long day, or climb a lot, I feel pain in the front of the knee.

Aerodynamic bikes and aero products are definitely “hot” on the market right now. Every triathlete or cycling are always looking for a easy way to faster. It is certainly possible to gain “free” speed with the use of such equipment: to go faster for no increase in effort or fitness.

If you are a relatively new rider, you may not know how to prevent the most common mistakes that can lead to physical discomfort during a ride. Even if you have been riding for a long time you can slip into bad habits, and end up hurting more than is necessary. Here are a few tips to help make every ride more comfortable:

Coach Curt Chesney writes: If you’ve read my training journal from this winter you’ll notice two things. I wasn’t kidding when I said in November “I refuse to ride indoors this winter” and in December when I said “triathlon is a summer sport”.

A recent study in the National Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research outlined the importance of core training for cyclists. The title of this study was "Relationship Between Cycling Mechanics and Core Stability". The purpose of the study was to determine whether cycling mechanics are affected by core stability.

Coach Brendon writes: Winter is coming! No light during the week, frosty and wet road conditions, but the winter period represents an opportunity for many triathletes, it is a time when you can work on specific areas of your cycling to be ready to reach new levels of performance in the coming season.

It’s pretty unanimous that the bike is most athletes’ favorite part of triathlon. Whether they are fast, slow or middle of the packers most people enjoy the exhilarating feeling of flying down the road in a full aero tuck watching the scenery pass them at a bullet’s pace.

1. The bike goes faster because you apply more watts to rear wheel, period. The rear wheel doesn't care in what manner that power is generated at or applied to the pedals. What matters is what that power is when it reaches the wheel.