Would biking help slim down my legs?

I am a runner, running about 20 miles weekly outdoors.However, I don't have a treadmill at home as it is bulky and most make a lot of noise. Plus, good ones are pretty pricey. I am in shape but my calves are huge... and they are not as defined. That's the toughest part of my body to target. Would exercise bikes help slim them down or tone them?Wile E. Coyte - That's... intense.Would it burn off some fat in my calves? I don't think i would want it to be like in the picture you linked.Thanks guys for clarifying about the picture.

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Cycling is a cardiovascular exercise so you wont get huge muscles. You never see marathon runners with large muscles they are usually really skinny and thin while sprinters have larger legs.The photos Wile E. showed you are weight lifters not cyclists you can never do that on a bike. You want to spin faster in a lower gear to develop small harder lean muscles. To lose fat eat healthier and less, it's much easier then trying to exercise it off.Edit:Once again Wile E is misleading you with track sprinters not real cyclists. These guys are riding single speed bikes with a high gear ratio.

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• Look at this picture and then ask yourself your question again "will cycling slim down my legs?"A picture is worth a thousand words, and this one has your answer:http://www.sbs.com.au/cyclingcentral/resize/file/5468_legs-640-getty.jpg/id/36686/w/640/h/360EDIT:Cycling will burn fat to be sure, but it tends to cause significant mass increase in muscles (that is cycling stimulates growth of fast twitch muscle fibres... the "big muscles) so its not really a "slimming" action overall.By contrast, other traditional cardiac type activities like running will emphasize development of the slow twitch muscle fibres.This is why runners look skinny, but cyclists look massive, even though both in engage in long-distance cardio-intensive activities.In truth, running and other slow-twitch intensive activities will actually get the body to cannibalize some of its fast-twitch muscle to foster growth of slow-twitch muscles. The opposite can be said of bodybuilders, where their activities cause the body to cannibalize slow-twitch muscles for the benefit of the fast-twitch.so a slim and toned (with low fat) look would have a higher slow-to-fast ratio.Whereas a bulky muscle (with low fat) look would have a higher fast-to-slow ratio.I hope this answers your question in both a detailed format and a succinct. Like I said: a picture is worth a thousand words.EDIT:NOT CYCLISTS?Google "Cyclists legs"http://cdn4.media.cyclingnews.futurecdn.net/photos/2004/olympics04/kilo/oly2004-cycling-track-ho-36_600.jpghttp://1.bp.blogspot.com/_urSQl6wUA5g/SYJlgVEPGSI/AAAAAAAAGEE/_kyTCxC7s6M/s400/n596825930_1101815_2346.jpghttp://0.tqn.com/d/bicycling/1/0/s/C/-/-/Big_legs_Med.jpghttp://norcalcyclingnews.com/words/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/wust.jpghttp://25.media.tumblr.com/576d84e9bd8ba7e5644f89f395825a23/tumblr_mka7s6iLLj1qagxrfo1_500.jpghttp://cyclingview.files.wordpress.com/2008/03/0252_francets_1stphspt-small.jpg
• steroid queens and weight liftersregular riding will make everything betterdo itignore the dumb picturesriding is fun alsothough the inside ones are BOR INGwle
• Endurance cycling will reduce bulk, sprinting will increase.In any case, those pictures are of pro and highly competitive cyclists that do it for 6-8 hours a day and at high resistance. Even in the rest days of the TdF, the cyclists ride their bikes for 2-4 hours.You will never get that bulky even if you ride 2-3k miles a year. I do that much and my legs don't bulk... although they look pretty good for an old man.