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Gord's Ski & Bike
2 Locations to serve you better!
[L1]
2 Donald St
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CANADA | 204.284.2952
[L2]
1765 Kenaston Blvd
Winnipeg, Manitoba
CANADA | 204.269.2952
info@Gords.com
1.877.GORDS.61 |
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Fluid Squared in action
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BIKE TRAINERS
 A "Bike Trainer" is any device used to convert a road bicycle to a stationary exercise bicycle, by mounting the cycle in a rigid framework. This distinguishes bike trainers from rollers which likewise permit a bicycle to be used without moving, but which allow the cycle to sway in a similar manner to when moving on a road. bike trainers all provide a framework which makes the bicycle stable to sit on and pedal while stationary and some sort of mechanism to provide resistance to pedaling. More sophisticated examples provide a greater degree of control and precision to the user and a variety of feedback options. Often bike trainers are used in conjunction with "riser blocks" (pictured to the left) that raise the front wheel of a bike in order to provide a stable and variable platform and less neck strain when watching TV or reading.
Bike trainer resistance mechanisms
bike trainers apply several different physical principles to produce rolling resistance comparable to the total resistance to the motion of a cycle on the road (which is mainly due to air resistance and slope).The simplest examples use an adjustable or non-adjustable frictional resistance systems. Some bike trainers drive a small fan in an enclosed fluid, which provides a large and quite precise resistance to rotation in a compact device. Others use a magnetic resistance system, based on the dynamo effect. These have the advantage of constant non-variable resistance. The Blackburn TrackStand Ultra, for example uses a unique clutch resistance system that many beleive to be the very best in resistance technology.
Input and output
Most bike trainers provide a mechanism for adjusting resistance, although in the simpler devices this may only be adjusted prior to a session. However, in the large majority of designs, the resistance changes as the gears are changed on the bicycle, which allows a high degree of user control of resistance during a session.
Some modern bike trainers incorporate a simple built-in computer which caters for a variety of user input and output. These may provide calibration of the resistance, control of resistance to emulate hills (under the control of the user or a pre-programmed schedule), measurements of mechanical power, inferred speed, pedalling cadence, heart rate (via a radio interface from a chest band) and even torque on the most sophisticated models. In addition derived statistics including integrals and averages of these statistics are commonly available. Some designs provide an interface to a standard personal computer, which allows more sophisticated processing and graphing of data.
Applications
Bike trainers are used as a simple, effective and economical way to excercize indoors and are also used as a training aid by many competitive and non competitive cyclists, allowing precisely controlled and monitored exercise regardless of weather and road conditions. With the wide availability of increasingly economical and sophisticated devices, bike trainers are beginning to become a more popular exercise device for cyclists at all levels, including those who do not participate in road races. One advantage of bike trainers over exercise bicycles is that the device itself is compact and easily stored, and a road cycle can be mounted in it for an indoor exercise session or removed for use on the road in a matter of seconds.
Do it!
Here's an idea: You own a bike (come on EVERYONE owns a bike) you own a TV... You have a living room (or a basement or a den or a large bedroom or a heated garage) and you have time (ok, I may be stumped on this one, some of us have no time) so get yourself a bike trainer, a climbing block and get pedaling! Drop on by and perhaps we can help. We carry the very finest in fluid, magnetic and clutch resistance bike trainers from Blackburn, Louis Garneau and the fine folks at Cyclops.
Yay! You've Got A Trainer. What Next?
Give this interval workout a try. (we poached it off of bicycling magazine) In the game of climbing, fast spinning in an easy gear often beats quad jamming in a hard one. Like any skill, however, spinning needs to be practiced and developed. Here's one workout that'll have you spinning like a pro.
Warm up for about 15 minutes. As part of your warm-up, get your cadence rolling at about 90 rpm (count revolutions per minute by counting how many times your right knee comes to the top of the stroke for 15 seconds and multiplying by 4).
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A quick Sampling of the Bike Trainers we stock
Click on the trainer to be directed to the manufacturer's website.
Louis Garneau Kyoto 1000
ON SALE NOW! $169.95
Blackburn Mag Trainer
Blackburn Fluid Trainer
Louis Garneau Kyoto 200
Cyclops Mag+
Blackburn Trackstand Ultra
Cyclops Fluid 2
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Fast Cadence Spinning Intervals
> Crank up your speed to the 110-115 range for 30 seconds.
> Bring it back down to about 90 rpm (or a little lower if you need to recover more) for 60 seconds.
> Repeat the intervals, adding 30 seconds to the fast efforts until you reach about 3-31/2 minutes of full-speed effort.
> Recover a minute between all intervals.
> Cool down for 10 to 15 minutes.
> Repeat 2 to 3 days a week-but not on back-to-back days.
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.
THE
RIDE
 Cool bikes, nice gloves, comfortable helmets, life-saving Camelbacks, bike saving Kryptonite locks, ride-saving tubes and pumps... The tools that we use to get out and play. the stuff that makes the difference between a good ride and an amazing ride.
But let us not forget that it's all about
the ride. The ride to Seven Eleven, the ride to your buddies house, the ride we call Ingolf, the ride at Panorama, Fernie, The Seine River, the ride through the monkey trails at Assiniboine Park, the Wednesday Night Ride with your 30 favorite buddies or the ride with your daughter. Like JFK once said: "Nothing compares to the simple pleasure of a bike ride". How true.
At Gord's we're under no illusion of grandeur when it comes to our position in the big picture. We're simply here to help you to get out and play... To educate, to encourage, to flagrantly coerce you into riding more by enjoying the experience more. If you need a little help to get out, a little peer pressure to nudge you into riding a bit more, Here's a suggestion: Maybe you should check out Gord's Bike Club... 
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GORDS DOES COMMENCAL
 Attention all bike lovers! Gord's is very proud to announce that we'll be offering Commencal Bikes starting in the summer of 2008! Commencal is a very cool, forward thinking niche bike company from Andorra. (they also hppen to sponsor the ubiquitous Cedric Gracia)... Needless to say we're very excited about this news!
Here's how this came about: Robbie and I were in Vegas, testing our allotted complement of bikes... and since day two was simply overrun with testers, bike companies were struggling to keep up with demand for test bikes. During one lull in testing (while waiting for the Jamis Dakar XAM to become available) I glanced over to the Commencal booth only to see someone about to return a "Meta 5.5" in my size... And since Commencal bikes had always piqued my interest I decided to pounce on the poor guy who was holding said bike. When I rolled up to Catherine and Rob on the Commencal both looked at me puzzled, "but that's
not on our list..." I shrugged, made up some story involving the French and off we went onto our favorite loop or Bootleg Canyon.
 Once in a while a bike rides so well that you HAVE to reconsider stuff... This was one of those bikes. Not unlike Intense bikes in 2006. These Commencal bikes were NICE. So nice, in fact, that both Robbie and I felt it necessary to include it onto our respective TOP 5 BIKES lists.
The next step is the percolation, the mulling over of, the scheming, the math, the strategizing... Trying to find a way to get these sexy bikes on our floor for 2008. Gladly, with the help of the very nice and helpful Peter Appleton from Commencal Canada, we found a way... And man, are we stoked!
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We test-rode the killer line of Intense bikes at Interbike in 06 and simply fell in love with them for a few reasons: [1] They look so freaking hot. (I know, it's a little superficial but come on! You're spending 2800 bones on a FRAME, it better well speak to you!).
[2] They ride like nothing else. It's a difficult thing to express but they have a unique feel that we simply loved. Fast, smooth, perky... Lovely. [3] The company that distributes them in Canada "On the Edge" are a tough act to follow. Based in Quebec, they really give a shit and they are great to work with. Did we mention how hot these bikes look? They even come in a crazy assortment of colors (like the uber cool RAW finish)! Read what some people have to say about a few Intense bikes we've sold this year by clicking on the following link: