Sitting (ouch!) on the Bike Trainer

My road bike is a Specialized Roubaix Comp, a sweet, carbon-fiber, lightweight and comfortable machine. It has special body-friendly features, like thick padding on the handlebars and this little rubber thingy embedded in the fork that's supposed to stop vibration. I love riding it, and can sit on the thing for hours with only moderate discomfort.

Before I got the Specialized, though, I had been riding a 1960s-vintage Mirella racing bike. I bought it from a classified ad back in the early 80s (when it was already old)...but it had full Campagnolo components, a lightweight frame, and some zippy sew-up wheels. It looked like crap even back then, but it was inexpensive, too ugly to be stolen, and faster than bikes costing thousands more. I rode it in triathlons, century rides, and even used it to commute to work. Putting it on a trainer allowed me to keep riding it, even when I couldn't get out on the road. And since I already had it mounted on the trainer when I bought the new bike, I've just kept it there to serve as the outlet for all my indoor cycling needs.

Since the ol' Mirella is already mounted on the trainer, it's quite convenient; all I have to do is fill up the water bottle, put on my shoes, grab a towel for perspiration, and jump on the pedals. (Well, and turn on the TV and set it to display captions; it's too loud if I turn it up high enough to be heard over the drone of the trainer and the gasping/panting/cursing of the rider.)

But it may be time to change. For one thing, the old bike is nearing the end of its mechanical lifespan. I took it to the shop a while back to have a tune-up done...and upon seeing it, the mechanic hissed, pulled out a crucifix and backed away from it in terror. "This abomination cannot be repaired!" he moaned. "Take it away. Please, please just make it go away!"

I was eventually able to calm him down and elicit a more coherent analysis. There would be no point in trying to work on the old buggy, he explained; they no longer make replacement parts for (cough) ten-speed bicycles. And even if you tried to replace all the worn-out components with their modern-day counterparts, they wouldn't fit the frame geometry...and would cost more than a new bike, anyway. Therefore, he said, I should not even bother to oil the chain -- just ride it until it locks up, and then toss it in a landfill.

Al Gore would not approve of that, but on the other hand, I'm not sure where you go to recycle stuff like this. Maybe I should give it to one of those restaurants that puts broken guitars and old skis and crap like that on the walls. Or maybe just leave it unlocked in a downtown bike rack and let it become some stupid thief's problem.

But as of today, the wheels still spin, the gears still shift, and the handlebars still support my cake-inflated body mass. Yet even though the Mirella still functions, I am still tempted to just go ahead and put the Specialized on the trainer, instead. After all, the Mirella was built in an era where bicycle racing seats were designed with the philosophy "the harder, the better", and gearshift levers were attached to the tube at that convenient position right between your ankles. (Seriously, what design engineer decided that shifting gears would be enhanced by removing your hands from the bars and reaching down between your flailing knees? I wonder how many crashes have occured in the midst of that ill-conceived act?) Plus the frame is actually too small for me, meaning that my weight isn't correctly distributed. This was acceptable in my racing days -- the small frame weighed less than a properly fitted one, and it was amazingly responsive. But when I'm perched on the thing in front of the TV, well, the weight and responsiveness don't count for much. A tad more comfort might be in order.

Of course, it's not as easy as just swapping out the bikes. The hubs on the newer bikes are a different style than the old ones, and I don't know if I can make them fit into the trainer's clamping mechanism. I might be able to swap the quick-release spindles and be done, but it could be much more complex than that...and might even require the purchase of a new trainer. And with my lack of mechanical aptitude, even taking the old bike off of its mount is fraught with potential disaster. I foresee the possibility of flames, explosions, breaking glass, and many different varieties of cuts and bruises. Still, if I could accomplish the indoor training I need to get my weight under control in comfort, it might be worth it.

I'll let you know when I decide to tackle this daunting task. In the meantime, have a great day!