Cycling vs. Cross Country Skiing

[bloomp]

I've been looking into buying a road bike for a few months now, but after trying cross country skiing last month, I've thought about just getting a pair of classic skis instead.

Any input on to what offers better cross training? The price difference is one thing that makes me lean towards skis, even though I'd be limited to winter use only.

[johnlvs2run]

Cross country skiing is a much better all round exercise than is cycling, which works primarily only the quads, not much else.

I would love to cross country ski all winter, but alas, it never snows here.

[macroth]

I agree with John.

You can roller-ski during the summer, but you need the equipment and safe roads or paths. Might not be worth the hassle for you.

Hope you're not planning on cross-training 2 hours a day like some people.

[c2jonw]

Hey Bloomp, I've always believed that the best execise is the one you enjoy enough to stick with. So why not try both? You don't need the fastest/lightest/most expensive gear to enjoy the sport. Personally I love to road bike and cross country ski, and I live where both are easy to do. Certainly cross country works more of the major muscle groups, but riding a road bike properly involves more than the quads, you can redline your CV system and it even gets the upper body when you're honking on the hills. C2JonW (yes, I used to race road bikes in my younger days.....)

[Rockin Roland]

Paul at 18 now is a good time to have a serious look at cross country skiing as a second sport. I've been doing both rowing & cross country skiing for over two decades now. In many ways they share a lot in common. Both are whole of body exercise sports requiring great aerobic capacity and power endurance.

The average weight and height of the top male cross country skiers in the recent Winter Olympics was 5'10" and 70 kgs. V02 maxes into the 90s with the world record for a V02 max currently held by a cross country skier. This is all according to the BBC/Eurosport commentator(Walker) doing the calls for the Vancouver games.

However, I suggest you get yourself a pair of Fischer skating skis and learn freestyle technique. Correct traditional striding technique is more difficult to learn and working and applying the correct grip wax for the conditions can be quite tricky and time consuming. Any how skating is more fun to do and closer related to rowing.

In summer it's safer to use rollerblades with poles than rollerskis and cheaper too. But watch out, C2 might try and sell you one of their SkiErgs if you get real serious about it.

[bloomp]

Paul at 18 now is a good time to have a serious look at cross country skiing as a second sport. I've been doing both rowing & cross country skiing for over two decades now. In many ways they share a lot in common. Both are whole of body exercise sports requiring great aerobic capacity and power endurance.

The average weight and height of the top male cross country skiers in the recent Winter Olympics was 5'10" and 70 kgs. V02 maxes into the 90s with the world record for a V02 max currently held by a cross country skier. This is all according to the BBC/Eurosport commentator(Walker) doing the calls for the Vancouver games.

However, I suggest you get yourself a pair of Fischer skating skis and learn freestyle technique. Correct traditional striding technique is more difficult to learn and working and applying the correct grip wax for the conditions can be quite tricky and time consuming. Any how skating is more fun to do and closer related to rowing.

In summer it's safer to use rollerblades with poles than rollerskis and cheaper too. But watch out, C2 might try and sell you one of their SkiErgs if you get real serious about it.

I was looking a Salomon, but I suppose brand matters naught. But I don't want "Classic" skis, I want "skating" skiis? I learned the classic method over in Europe in January, was a lot of fun. By next winter, I'll have a pair for sure! I love snowboarding, but the risk of injury is really starting to turn me off.

[JohnBove]

I've been looking into buying a road bike for a few months now, but after trying cross country skiing last month, I've thought about just getting a pair of classic skis instead.

Any input on to what offers better cross training? The price difference is one thing that makes me lean towards skis, even though I'd be limited to winter use only.

This seems like such an unnecessary either/or. Bike when it's warm, ski when there's snow. The investment in equipment need not be extravagant. Despite what you'll hear on these post boards (the Brit C2 board is crazy for exotic bikes), you don't have to plunk down a couple grand -- or ten grand -- for a good road bike. You can get very well-made bikes for well less than $1000. Look at a Scott Speedster 50 or a Marin Portofino, as examples among many. They're aluminum rather than carbon fiber but, if you've never ridden a carbon fiber bike, they're going to feel fast and light and wonderful. And they are.

[JohnBove]

I've been looking into buying a road bike for a few months now, but after trying cross country skiing last month, I've thought about just getting a pair of classic skis instead.

Any input on to what offers better cross training? The price difference is one thing that makes me lean towards skis, even though I'd be limited to winter use only.

This seems like such an unnecessary either/or. Bike when it's warm, ski when there's snow. The investment in equipment need not be extravagant. Despite what you'll hear on these post boards (the Brit C2 board is crazy for exotic bikes), you don't have to plunk down a couple grand -- or ten grand -- for a good road bike. You can get very well-made bikes for well less than $1000. Look at a Scott Speedster 50 or a Marin Portofino, as examples among many. They're aluminum rather than carbon fiber but, if you've never ridden a carbon fiber bike, they're going to feel fast and light and wonderful. And they are.

Also -- I'm recommending road bikes in what I've written above. My first bike was a trail bike, and a very inexpensive one, but very well made. A Fuji. It's 17 years old and I still ride it, with no intentions of replacing it. It's solid as a rock, very low maintenance and you can buy equivalent bikes today for less than $500. And you may very well never blow a tire.

[bloomp]

John -

The bike that had been recommended to me was a Giant, and brand new was 1300 or so. Not terribly expensive, but just temporarily out of reach. A $400 pair of skis is a much better deal IMO, any time I could cycle, I could be OTW.

[ThatMoos3Guy]

I'm a huge proponent of cross country skiing. Started doing it my senior year of high school and got hooked, knocked 14 seconds off my 2k PR that spring, even though I erged a grand total of 3 times over the winter. I was thrilled to learn my college had a ski team and up until recently I was skiing most weekends. Phenomenal workout, the only thing I consider harder than rowing.

I too also recommend skate skiing. It's easier to learn than classic, requires less equipment, you go faster, and it demolishes your legs. If you look around on the internet you can find some pretty good deals on ski equipment, especially around this time of the year. You'll need at least a pair of skis, poles and boots, which should cost around $300 total if you find a good package. It would also be best to find someone to give you some coaching and basic pointers, like rowing it's much more complicated than it looks. One thing about skating though is that you need to be on groomed trails, they simply won't work in powder.

[Dreadnought]

The price difference is one thing that makes me lean towards skis, even though I'd be limited to winter use only.

Have you considered using roller skis? They're not cheap and there is a learning curve with them.

[bloomp]

The price difference is one thing that makes me lean towards skis, even though I'd be limited to winter use only.

Have you considered using roller skis? They're not cheap and there is a learning curve with them.

I would only be getting snow skis. As long as the weather is tolerable I will be OTW, so I really just want something to get me outside in the winter months.

[jamesg]

A lot depends on where you live, as to altitude and latitude. If you can go out of the door and put your skis on, and daylight is not too short in winter, you should have skis already. If otoh you live 2 hours by car from the snow, and/or you're not free at dawn, forget it. Like rowing, skiing needs to be done every day; possibly early morning when the snow is cold.

[remarkymarkable]

You can use roller skis in the winter when there is no snow, I use the V2Aero150s skates,
excellent workout, way better than a bike.

[rowbike]

I'm not sure where this idea that cross country skiing being better than cycling comes from, but its not. Cycling will do far more to for your cardio fitness than cross country skiing ever will, even at low intensity. You just can't get the intensities in XC skiing that you can with cycling. In fact, cycling and indoor spinning are the two top cardio workouts for burning calories at high intensity, tied only with running. This was confirmed in a Harvard study.

http://www.health.harvard.edu/newsweek/ ... vities.htm

When done right, cycling is a full body exercise, albeit more concentrated on the lower body. However, the proper pedal stroke is a circular motion, so you use every muscle in your legs, not just your quads. If you simply pump the pedals on the downstroke then yes, you are primarily focusing on your quads, but that is not a proper pedal stroke if you are doing any sort of fitness training.