If you have been following indoor biking closely, you must have wondered if flywheel bicycles are better at some point. In this part of the cycling world, many bikes take up and use different kinds of flywheels.
By this, I mean the many different designs, weights, sizes, and even positions. No matter your preference, flywheels are generally crucial to your biking performance. This article will purposely take you through what they are, their importance, critical considerations to keep in mind, and finally explain which ones might be good for you.
So, let us get started with what flywheels are and how they work.
During pedaling, the drive framework of your bike that is connected to the sprockets often makes the flywheel rotate. While most conventional bike designs are made so that the drivetrain powers up the hind tire, most bike types today feature one that moves a front-mounted flywheel.
The two most critical factors that commonly influence any flywheel’s stability and performance are its weight and its mounting position. What happens is that the flywheel always gathers speed with every pedal cycle that you make. Its weight will generally determine its capacity for holding the exerted force of motion. Any resistance will limit this capacity and impede the retention of momentum.
Even though lighter flywheels are easier to stop, any form of resistance will similarly work against its capacity to hold momentum.
Borrowing from basic concepts in physics, size mostly goes hand-in-hand with weight. In this case, a bike with an enormous flywheel automatically means that the flywheel used is heavier than a bike that features a smaller flywheel.
In a practical sense, heavy flywheels always exert more resistance due to their vastness. This explains why the first few pedaling cycles are always hard to make. In simpler terms, it is generally hard to get a bike that has a larger flywheel to move compared to smaller flywheel bicycles.
The only good news is that once momentum is built in big-sized flywheel bicycles, you will only have to pay attention and manage speed. Therefore, depending on your preferences, bigger flywheel bikes have heavier flywheel resistance and are often hard-to-start but have excellent pedaling efficiency than smaller flywheel bicycles.
Flywheel bicycles are generally great for indoor biking and an essential consideration for those actively looking for a good fitness companion that is perfect for their training routine. Well, we have already seen how flywheel weight, position, and size actively affect general biking performance.
Therefore, keep in mind that bigger flywheel bikes are often the best choice for those who want an outdoor biking experience, while the lighter ones are usually easy to start. Keeping all these factors in mind will ensure that you buy the best indoor bike that will match your needs and ensure that you continually enjoy a stable ride while working out. One last thing to remember is that large-sized flywheel bicycles are commonly more expensive than smaller ones, and here is more on bike tune-ups if you need one.
