Using a bicycle, whether it's a stationary bike or a traditional road bike, can help your legs in more than one way. In addition to strengthening the large muscle groups of the legs, including the quadriceps, hamstrings and calves, using a bicycle can also help burn calories to manage your weight and provide a less stressful alternative to running. And you don't need to be a serious cyclist to reap the rewards for your legs.
During this motion, several things happen to your body. Your heart rate increases, you break a sweat and you activate numerous muscles. A high percentage of this muscle recruitment takes place in the legs.
Stationary bicycles provide an effective workout for several major muscles. While it is primarily a lower-body workout, you use plenty of other muscles. You may find that as you bike longer or at higher speeds, the fat-burning ...
Riding a bicycle may seem like a childhood pastime, but it's also a cardiovascular workout that is gentle on your joints, boosts your metabolism and strengthens lower body muscles. It also is a fun way to exercise and get some ...
If you become more enamored of cycling as you get older and start putting in the miles, though, you want to maximize your stroke efficiency. Designers have created a system to transfer energy from your foot to the pedal without...
Cycling may take you over a variety of terrains. Having a multi-speed bike, with different gear combinations, allows you to maintain a comfortable cadence and ride efficiently up and down hills. Although there are many types of...
Some of the excuses listed include lack of time, lack of resources, too inconvenient and adverse weather conditions. Installing your bicycle in a bike trainer inside the house can immediately put those excuses to rest. A bike t...
After removing the old coat of paint and stickers and sanding down your bike frame, you need to choose a type of paint that will make your bike shine. You can always purchase a 99-cent can of spray paint from the hardware store...
Whether you hit the trails on your bicycle or sweat it out in a indoor cycling class, you burn approximately 4.8 to 9.8 calories per minute, with additional variables for body weight and level of exertion. The primary source of...
Shifting gears on an 18-speed bike changes the resistance in the pedals, giving you more speed on flat land or allowing you to climb a mountain trail. The lower the gear selected, the less resistance you will encounter and vice...
Manufacturers offer exercise bicycles within a wide price range, some of them quite affordable, which makes it easier to purchase one for home use. Determine your fitness needs first, then shop around.
More than 2 million eye injuries occur every year in the U.S. during sports activities, workplace accidents and at home, according to Prevent Blindness America. Uvex is a safety eyewear company that makes a variety of safety gl...
Wind trainers are one device that allows you to train indoors with your usual bicycle with little additional modification. Trainers actually provide support for your bike while you are using it; they are not to be confused with...
When climbing hills with a bicycle, it can be difficult to maintain an adequate amount of power, speed and cycling cadence. However, using the correct bicycle gear -- commonly referred to as the gear ratio -- can improve cadenc...
The Shimano M485 and M585 are hydraulic brake calipers that work in conjunction with rotor disc brakes on bicycles. As opposed to mechanical brakes that operate using a brake cable, hydraulic brakes operate under pressure of hy...
Made of protective padding and a hard outer shell, motorcycle and bicycle helmets are designed to protect you from injury in the event of a crash. While helmet use is not 100 percent effective in preventing fatalities or injuri...
A bicycle ergometer is a computer-controlled, precision electronic bicycle trainer that measures the body's workload efficiency. It is used in universities, sports science labs, bicycle coaching, testing centers and even in spa...
Toe clips attach to your bicycle's pedals to allow you to pedal more efficiently. When you pedal a bicycle using toe clips, you use both the quadriceps muscles at the front of the thigh and the hamstrings at the back. This can ...
Stationary bikes are great for fitness and burning calories, but there is no way to simulate the feeling of propelling yourself through the neighborhood or park. It's never too late to enter the world of bicycling, so if you a...
Both use 700c wheels, the largest general-use wheel, as of December 2010. The 700c refers to the diameter, in millimeters, of the tire used on the wheel, but depending on the width and depth of a particular tire, the diameter m...
A variety of exercise machines can help you lose and maintain weight, lower cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular disease. Using exercise bikes is a low-impact form of cardiovascular exercise that's easily adaptable for all ac...
Racing of any kind requires a high-quality helmet that can prevent disabling or lethal head injury. Auto, motorcycle, kart and bike racing each require a helmet designed for that particular sport. According to Motorhelmets, inf...
When comparing Garvin Nuvi global positioning satellite (GPS) devices, look for a large touchscreen for easy menu navigation. If you plan to use your Nuvi while on foot or bicycle, look for features such as a bright screen, for...
The bicycling craze of the early-to-mid 1970s meant the production and sale of thousands of ten-speed road bicycles. Many of them ended up sitting in garages, sheds and basements for decades afterward, rusting and gathering dus...
Unlike bicycle trainers that lock the bicycle's rear wheel to the device, rollers do not have any attachment points, thus requiring you to balance the bicycle while riding in a stationary position. Bicycle rollers are comprised...
Many bicycles use the Shimano cassette system for rear wheel gears. Compared to the older freewheel system, which threaded onto the wheel hub, the Shimano cassette uses a single spline lock ring to hold a cassette of sprockets ...
Used bicycles do not come with predetermined prices like new bicycles. The price of the same bike in the same condition can differ by hundreds of dollars between two sellers. Determining the price of a used bicycle comes throug...
A rivet tool, more commonly called a chain breaker or chain tool, detaches and attaches the rivets on your bicycle chain. Nearly all chain tools use a large screw that, when turned, pushes a pin against a chain rivet, moving it...
Bicycles are a great transportation option. Like cars, planes and motorcycles, they help you move from place to place faster than you could be just walking. But unlike these other quick forms of transportation, they do not come...
If you're trying to save on gym membership fees, a home exercise bike is the way to go. A home exercise bike can give you a strenuous workout and save you money and time over the long run. When choosing an exercise bike, look f...
The chains and gears on a bike require lubrication and cleaning to operate efficiently. Over time, debris lodges inside the chains and disrupts contact with gears. Dust, grit and dirt can impair pedaling and obstruct gear chang...
These devices are similar in appearance to standard bicycles; however, the bicycle frame is comprised of two halves joined together with a hinge. Various locking levers hold each element of the bicycle securely in position yet ...
Bicycles are still used as transportation today because they still serve the purpose of getting around. While the bicycle is primarily used as a recreation device, many people in cities across the world rely on bikes as transpo...
The greenhouse effect is a natural occurrence in the Earth's atmosphere, in which certain gases blanket the Earth and retain some of the sun's heat. This normally maintains the Earth's temperature, but the temperature has incre...
Your mountain bike, whether hard tail or full suspension, comes with a suspension pump. Suspension pumps, also called shock pumps, are needed to adjust the suspension on your bike. These pumps come with your bike. However, if y...
Bicycles designed for road travel differ from their off-road, mountain bike counterparts in the size of the tires and wheel rims and the weight of the frames. Bicycles optimized for road riding--whether actual road bikes, touri...
To calculate the cost of a used bicycle, you must know what its depreciation is. Depreciation, according to the IRS, is "an annual allowance for the wear and tear, deterioration, or obsolescence of the property." Every item you...
Riding a bike is also an economical way to get around that is good for the environment. Purchasing a new bicycle can be very costly, however, and often there are used bicycles available at a fraction of the price. Before buying...
The classic, emblematic NordicTrack machine is a skier, one of the first commonplace pieces of home exercise equipment to hit the market. Although the NordicTrack company expanded its line to include a variety of treadmills, st...
Exercise bikes can differ from outdoor bicycles in your body position and the information that the bike provides. However, you can convert any bicycle to a stationary bike and obtain the same data provided by an exercise bike w...
Trek bicycles retain about 40 to 60 percent of their retail value, especially if it's a vintage model that uses a silver-brazed frame. Buying a used Trek bike includes understanding your needs very clearly and optimally finding...
