by Dennis Mellon | Sep 24, 2026 | Dennis Mellon, Featured Articles, Master Instructor Blog
On Wednesday March 11th around 2:00pm I arrived in LAX to take part in my first IHRSA as a Master Educator for Stages Indoor Cycling. I was so excited that I went straight to the convention center to help the Stages team finish setting up our booth. I had been to the IHRSA convention before but never as an exhibitor. This time I got to see what happens “backstage” before all booths and exhibits are shipshape and the red carpet is laid.
As I walked into the Los Angeles Convention Center the place was buzzing with activity as all the exhibitors were putting the finishing touches on their booths, some of the Stages team had been setting up since Monday morning. Our booth is a reconditioned shipping container, that was bound for the landfill, and it’s floor and stage are built out of Colorado beetle-kill pine. Most of the heavy lifting had already been done but we still needed to lay down our floor, test the audio/visual system, check and recheck all our bikes and make sure everything was spotless for this so very important new product launch.
I also got to spend some time with my friend John Macgowan whom I credit with getting me noticed and hired by Stages Indoor Cycling. John is one of the most influential voices in indoor cycling and Stages was so confident that he would approve of their new indoor cycling bike that they sponsored his trip to IHRSA and gave him an exclusive first look. John and I talk weekly, but I was sworn to secrecy about this new bike so it was with great relief that I could finally share it with him. Here are the links to John's review of the new Stages SC Series Indoor Cycling Bike; Part 1, Part 2.
After the Stages team dinner we all made our way over to the IHRSA Opening Reception. For the past few years I have been very active on social media and “met” many smart and passionate people, some of them were here at IHRSA and I wanted to officially meet as many of them as possible. As I worked my way around the room catching up with some old friends and meeting new ones I saw John and Amy Macgowen chatting with the self proclaimed spokesperson for KEEPING IT FUN Indoor Cycling, Karen Casler. Karen may have been the most influential personality in indoor cycling this past year. She is the founder of CB CycleBarn in San Clemente California and has found a way to bridge the gap between Rhythm and Technical indoor cycling classes. The staff at CB Cycle Barn has taken the motto of “Give them what they want AND what they need” to a whole new level. Karen and I had been corresponding through e-mail and social media for some time now so it was great to finally meet her. When I learned I was going to be in California for IHRSA I contacted Karen to see if I could get a spot in one of her classes to experience the magic they were creating at The Barn. After a few conversations she invited me to not only take a class, but to teach one as well. Karen's energy and passion for fitness and indoor cycling are infectious, the rest of the evening was spent discussing how we can change lives on a bike that goes nowhere with John, Amy and Karen.
Early Thursday morning the Stages Education/Presenter team of Cameron Chinatti, Pam Benchley, Dunte Hector and I arrived at the Stages booth long before the rest of the team to discuss how we were going organize and present our early morning workouts. The Thursday morning workout was going to be for just the Stages team. The bike was so new that most of the team had never ridden it and we wanted to give them some saddle time as well as an opportunity to ride together as a team and burn off some of the pre-launch anxiety. This a very fit and competitive bunch so when you include the accountability of power and the ability to race with technology like Performance IQ you can expect to see some superhuman efforts. Some of our team ended up laid out on the floor recovering from max efforts, it was so much fun. After the ride we all gathered together for for short talk with our owner Jim Liggett. Jim spoke about the long process of building and bringing this bike to market. He also spoke about how hard it must have been for each of us to keep this amazing new product a secret for so long and that now it was our time to climb to the top of the cycling world, to show the world that we believe we have built the best indoor cycling bike in the industry. It felt like we were “popping the cork”, all that pent-up energy was about to finally be released. We all excitedly rushed back to our hotels to get cleaned up and ready for “The Show”.
The doors opened for the IHRSA attendees at 10:00am and the rest of the day went by like a blur. So many people, so much excitement, so much energy. We were't sure what to expect, but the positive feedback was so much more than expected. People loved the bike! The team at the Stages booth included the engineers who built the bike, the sales people who sell the bike, the education team who teach on the bike and the owner who paid for everything. There was not a question asked that could not be answered. Our marketing team also came up with a brilliant idea to keep the buzz around our booth throughout the day, The 60 Second Challenge! This challenge was very simple. The convention attendee, male and female, who could produce the highest 1 minute average wattage handicapped by weight (watts/kg or watts/lb) would win a Giant bike complete with a Sages Power Meter. Every few minutes we had attendees stepping up to the challenge and the entire Stages team, equipped with cowbells and clappers cheered them on, this made for a huge crowd around our booth for the entire day. By the end of the day we had all lost our voices, our feet were hurting, we were tired, dehydrated and hungry but we loved every minute of it and all agreed the day was a HUGE success. After a bite to eat and a few celebratory toasts it was time for bed. Tomorrow we had another early morning and the eduction team had two sold out early morning workouts to show the world just what could be done on these new bikes.
Cameron, Pam, Dunte and I were once again some of the first exhibitors to enter the convention hall. We knew this was a big day for all of us, this was our chance to show all the industry decision makers how this new bike was going to change the way people looked at indoor cycling and especially how to use power to create a fun and effective class experience. Our classes were a huge success, we did some basic sets and drills that showed everyone the special features of the bike, but we also included some relay races that got everyone really fired up and pushing it. Our two classes were sold out, but we also had at least 30-40 more people just observing the workouts, all in all we felt like the morning was another huge success. After a bunch of high fives and hugs we ran back to the hotel to shower and get ready for another day of proudly showing off the bike we believe will change the way we look at indoor cycling.
Friday was much like Thursday, lots of 60 Second Challenges and short demos, but it was a little slower and that gave me some time to explore the rest of the exhibits in the convention hall. I work for Stages Indoor Cycling but I teach indoor cycling at multiple locations and on many different bikes, though I would love it for all the facilities I instruct at to to purchase the new SC Series bikes I also know this is not a reality and this was my opportunity to check out the changes each manufacture was making to their bike. The changes I found were subtle but welcome like console improvements, handlebar shape, belt drives and pedals. The one technology that most every manufacturer was embracing is heads up displays like Performance IQ and Spivi. I believe this is the next “Big Thing” in indoor cycling and in a future post I'll write about my experience with Performance IQ at CB Cycle Barn.
As the show wound down we awarded Josh Crosby and Kat Haskins The 60 Second Challenge winners performed our last few demos for prospective buyers or other exhibitors who where only now getting a chance to check out our bike. It was now time to break down our booth. Many companies call in a group of laborers to do the grunt work for them, not the team at Stages, we all put on our work gloves and got busy. After about 3 hours the stage, booth, bikes and everything in it was packed up and ready to go to the next show and we were all ready for dinner and drinks.
My first experience at IHRSA as an educator/presenter was not all glamor and glitz, but I wouldn't change a thing about it. I'm so excited to part of the Stages team that is so passionate about cycling both indoors and out and to be working in an industry that has to the power to change lives every day.
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Originally posted 2015-03-22 14:44:52.
by Dennis Mellon | Jul 17, 2026 | Instructor Training
With the season of giving upon us, I have a question for all of the Indoor Cycling instructors out there.
What one “gift” could your facility add to your Indoor Cycling studio that would help you improve the experience you try to create for your class participants?
Originally posted 2013-12-03 21:03:50.
by Dennis Mellon | Jul 14, 2026 | Dennis Mellon, Engage Your Students, Motivation
I teach indoor cycling at multiple facilities in the Denver area but I spend most of my work week at Greenwood Athletic and Tennis Club. Greenwood is my “home club”. This is where I'm a personal trainer, teach indoor cycling, HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training) classes, CVI (Cardio Vascular Interval Training) classes, I've been a Master Swim Team coach, a Triathlon Team coach, I'm one of the Race Directors for the annual Tri-Our-Village Kids Triathlon and the Roadless Century Coach and Lead for the annual Roadless Ride fundraiser to benefit Brent's Place.
Greenwood is considered one of the best athletic clubs in the country. They do a lot of things VERY well. The facility is kept immaculately clean, they have the latest and greatest equipment and vast and diverse group exercise program with some of the best instructors in the Denver area. I could go on and on about what they do well, but there are plenty of facilities that are clean, big and have plenty of offerings, let's talk about something they do differently.
Greenwood is the only facility that I have every worked in that has, PAID, semi annual ALL STAFF meetings. There are some things that cannot be expressed in an e-mail or newsletter. There is something powerful and unifying about the ENTIRE staff gathering TOGETHER hearing the EXACT SAME message coming directly from the facility owner and general manger.
Our first All Staff meeting of 2016 took place last Thursday. The most exciting announcement, for me, was replacement of our Spinner Blade Ion indoor cycling bikes with the new Stages SC3 bike. This will take our, already stellar, indoor cycling program to a whole new level!!!!!!! I felt the most memorable segment of this meeting was when the video I've posted below was played. Watch, listen and know that your actions are powerful.
Originally posted 2016-03-13 11:03:31.
by Dennis Mellon | Jun 24, 2026 | Dennis Mellon, Spinning Class
Today I ended a turbulent 3 year relationship with the Spinner Blade Ion. A courtship that began with high aspirations for a long, happy and powerful future has deteriorated into one complication after another and I no longer have the energy to keep the blue light burning.
About 3 years ago management announce that we were going to be the first club in the United States to receive the brand new Spinner Blade Ions, this was Spinning's first foray in the new world of power. Though I personally was hoping for a different choice I was excited to finally be teaching on a bike that would express work output in watts. Now instead of spending so much time cuing how each interval should feel I was going be able to use each rider's personalized power zones. The idea of personalized training zones is not new, the fitness industry has been trying to use them with heart rate for nearly 25 years. The problem with heart rate training is that all participants need to be using heart rate monitors for it to be effective and as any experienced fitness professional knows we are lucky to have 20% of our participants wearing monitors in any class. The beauty of leading a power based indoor cycling class is that ALL participants have a power meter on their bike!
A few weeks before delivery the instructors started receiving various training manuals and information about the features of this new bike. This is when I started getting worried. The first problem I saw was the continued use of a chain. Why would any new bike continue to use a chain when belts, both Poly V and Carbon Drive, have proven to be a much better option. Belts don't stretch or break, they are so strong that many motor cycle manufactures use them. The second flaw I noticed was the continued use of a friction breaking or resistance system. Friction resistance has been the bane of instructors and bike techs since the inception of indoor cycling. I still remember the days of walking around the cycling room with a bottle of silicon lubricant spraying the squeaky brake pads then having to endure the smell of the same burning silicon. There were also the times I would sweat or spill water, from my water bottle, on the flywheel and lose most of my resistance. Why would anyone want to build a new bike with old friction resistance technology when magnetic resistance has been proven to be so much better. I'm not an engineer but the only time I can think that excessive friction is a good thing is when trying to build a fire. The third and final concern I had when looking through these training manuals was the console. The layout was, to be honest, stupid!
First, why would you not put wattage on the top? The new and special aspect of these bikes was power, why would you hide it in the middle? Why give heart rate the most prominent line on the console when so few people actually wear heart rate monitors? Also, any instructor with 1 month's experience teaching with power understands the importance of seeing real time AND average wattage when performing intervals. Why are they not available on the same screen? The only way to see average wattage on this console is to push the “M” button and scroll through the four different screens, something everyone wants to do when they are working hard. The word “Simple” kept coming up in the literature. Well when it comes to console design, I think Simple=Stupid. After the initial learning period of how to use power, participants and instructors want a console that gives them all the metrics they need to take and teach an effective class not a simple one. Finally, this bike was being released at the beginning of the wearables craze. Everyone wanted to track and log every aspect of their workout. With the Spinner Ion Blade there was no way, beyond taking a picture of the console, to track your workout, no USB port, no phone app, no open protocol that would let the console communicate with the many fitness apps that were available. I teach in Denver Colorado, the riders here are some of the most sophisticated indoor and outdoor riders in the world, they know power and want a way to use it to it's fullest potential. If there isn't a way to track real time wattage throughout a ride there is no way to determine Normalized Power, Intensity Factor or Training Stress Score. Again, Simple=Stupid.
So, the bikes finally arrive and EVERYONE was so excited! We had been riding Spinner NXT bikes and these new Ions felt very familiar but what everyone was psyched about was the power. I had been lucky enough to be teaching with power for a few months on the Keiser M3 and the Freemotion bike. I've also been coaching some athletes who use power meters and I've read Hunter Allen and Andy Coggan's Training and Racing with a Power Meter. So I felt like I had a pretty good understanding of how power works. On my very first ride I noticed something very disturbing, my wattage was 20-40 watts lower on these bikes then the M3 and Freemotion bikes and people who were riding with power on their outdoor bike were noticing the same thing. Then, as I rode different bikes I found huge wattage variations from bike to bike. Understanding that this was a very subjective test a few instructors decided to ride ALL 56 bikes while wearing heart rate monitors. We would work up to a specific heart rate that was in our Aerobic Zone then take note of the wattage. This wasn't the most scientific test, but it was the best we could do without being able to hook the bikes up to a dynamometer. The results were SHOCKING! More than half the bikes weren't even close to each other, they varied by as much as 100 watts. We explained this issue to the bike manufacture and asked if there was a way to recalibrate the bikes in order to assure consistency from bike to bike. The answer we received was even MORE shocking then the amount of bike to bike variation. THERE WAS NO WAY TO RECALIBRATE THE POWER. Are you kidding me? Every indoor cycling bike whether direct power or measured and every outdoor power meter has a way to recalibrate! This was our “Oh Shit” moment and when I started thinking of “work arounds” to this fatal flaw.
The foundation of training and coaching with power is finding one's FTP, Functional Threshold Power. This is simply the maximum power a rider can average for 1 hour. Since a one hour test would not be practical in most indoor cycling settings the next best test is a 20 minute “best effort” ride where 95% of the 20 minute average wattage is calculated as the FTP. We then use the FTP to determine power training zones.
Since the variation from bike to bike could be as much as 100 watts, unless I could guarantee that every rider would be able to ride the same bike in ever class the FTP test results were useless. So my workaround was to perform a modified FTP test at the beginning of every class. This way we could find an estimated FTP for each rider on each bike for each class. I would cue what threshold was supposed to feel like, have my class ride at that “feeling” and take note of the wattage their bike read when they “felt” like they were at threshold. Unfortunately this was not very scientific but it was the best I could do in the situation we were in. At least this let me speak the language of power and riders could be accountable from interval to interval even if the numbers weren't exactly correct.
As I gained more and more experience teaching with power I realized the importance of Average Wattage when coaching interval based profiles. If riders are told to focus on average wattage for each interval, they are forced to work for the full length of each interval. Riders learn very quickly if they “sandbag” the beginning of an interval they need to work extremely hard at the end of it to reach their goal average wattage. Many of the top indoor cycling bikes with power show real time and average wattage on the same screen, not the Ion. Riders have to cycle through the four available screens to see real time and/or average watts.
The power meter and the console were by far the two biggest mistakes made with the Ion, but there were more. The friction resistance was a problem that was made obvious when combined with the use of a power meter. Friction causes heat and heat causes the brake pad to work less efficiently, so if I asked my riders to find specific wattage and rpm and to hold it for a few minutes over time the brake pad would heat up, work less efficiently and wattage would drop. Riders were constantly forced to adjust their resistance throughout each interval to maintain current or goal power output. Threadless (Morse Taper) pedals became a problem since they were virtually impossible to remove. Chain instead of belt also added to maintenance requirements and the inability to capture workout metrics through a usb storage device or app became very frustrating to our riders who wanted to track their progress.
The breaking point came when we added a group display system, Performance IQ. These systems display metrics on a TV or are projected onto a screen. Now every rider's metrics were visible for the world to see. It quickly became obvious that we had to do something about the incredible variation in wattage numbers from bike to bike. Now that we were focused exclusively on wattage we needed to find a bike that was much more accurate and consistent so our leader board, races and zones displayed correct metrics.
I'm happy to report that on March 30th we are receiving a shipment of 46 Stages SC3 indoor cycling bikes and these problems should be a thing of the past.
So, as I bid farewell to my Spinner Blade Ion, a bike that I have sat on for nearly 1000 hours over the past 3 years, I am a bit sad. It's not the Ion's fault that this relationship didn't work out. Maybe it was a rush to market, lack of foresight, not realizing that Simple = Stupid, or just plain ego that let it arrive in my club with all these fatal flaws. I'm thankful that it challenged me to become a better instructor by working through all it's various issues, but eventually it became exhausting and I just don't have the will to keep the blue light burning anymore.
Originally posted 2016-03-19 16:00:27.
by Dennis Mellon | Apr 20, 2026 | Dennis Mellon, Instructor Tech Help, iTunes, iTunes & Spotify Training, Spotify
Have you been having a hard time figuring out how to download media from the ICI/Pro website?
Try following these directions and let me know if it helps:
To download media to a Mac:
- Right Click on the blue underlined link
- Select “Download Linked File As”
- Select a download location
- Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
- Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
- Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
- From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
- File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
To download media to a PC:
- Right Click on the blue underlined link
- Select “Save Link As”
- Select a download location
- Once file is completely downloaded, find it in the location you selected
- Drag the file into your iTunes or Spotify library OR
- Right Click on the file and Select “Open With”
- From the drop down menu select “iTunes” or “Spotify”
- File should begin playing and is now part of your iTunes or Spotify library
Click here to watch a video.
I hope this helps.
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Originally posted 2015-07-17 18:22:05.
