Question for the Bike Crew

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So I've got a Recumbent exercise bike I workout on daily to lose weight. I'm currently putting about 12-13 miles a day on it. I plan on getting a standard road bike in the near future and am wondering if my current training will transition well from recumbent to standard or if I'll end up with the whole 2 weeks of soreness from using different muscles? I know that the main driving muscles should be the same but the I dont know if the angles will change which parts of my lower body get sore.

So I guess the question is do Recumbents and Standard Road bikes use the same muscles or slightly different?

Should be able to do the same on the road bike, you might notice some other muscles getting a workout that were not used before, but I am sure you will be fine. If you put 12 miles a day on the recumbent then you have a fitness base to start with, so you will be fine.

Just make sure everything is adjusted correctly in terms of seat angle, etc, and you'll be cool. Geometry and fit I imagine is a much finer art on a road bike than almost anything. If you don't get all of this perfect, you will be sore in ways unimaginable.

Thanks for the replys and good point on making sure everythings properly adjusted...

I used to commute by road bicycle for many years. I would imagine you're using different muscles and it's definitely a different posture and technique. I know at first it was a stretch for me to do 5 miles with a break or two. But once all my 'parts' settled in I became very comfortable. My doc at the time even remarked that she was surprised my nerve-damaged neck wasn't sore from being in that standard flat-back road bike position. I told her it simply forces me to relax my back and neck like I'm supposed to anyway!

I imagine the trickiest bit is getting your pelvis and backside comfortable. It might take a couple different saddles before you find the one that works for you. Ironically, I found a men's racing saddle to be most comfortable for me while my male biker friend at the time couldn't stand the things - went for a women's saddle. Go figure.

Good luck and have fun! I'm jealous and you just brought me that much closer to getting another road bicycle.

you will be using some different muscles so there will be an adjustment period but the aerobic training you've done will transfer. you'll probably be a bit sore at first but you shouldn't feel as drained or winded as when you started on the stationary bike.