Schwinn Cycling Master Trainer Denise Druce presents our latest class profile; Lead The Pack!
About Denise:
Denise Druce is widely considered one of the leading health and fitness professionals in the state of Utah. She is the producer in a series of 28 home workout DVDs, she teaches and trains athletes at the University of Utah, and is a Master Instructor for 24 Hour Fitness. Denise was featured as a trainer in SELF magazine, inspiring over 500,000 women to participate in the SELF Fitness Challenge. She and her husband, Michael live in Salt Lake City with their three boys.
A popular choice for Performance Tandems and Single Speed bikes.
Rules are not necessarily sacred; principles are. — Franklin D. Roosevelt
My cycling background revolves around the chain. My coach used to say, “The chain is sacred.” It vibrates, and that’s precisely what gives the bike its feeling of life. The vibration brings the rider a deeper sense of, and connection with, the bicycle. Without that vibration, without a chain, a bike is dead. I’ve believed, taught, and ridden this way since long before belts were introduced to Indoor Cycling.
If you had asked me back then about building a bike with a belt, I would have said without hesitating, “Don’t mess with the chain.”
Because of my background and the coaching I got, I can argue for the chain better than almost anyone. Those arguments, though, are philosophical, not focused on moving the industry of Indoor Cycling forward.
From my new perspective, working for a company (Indoorcycling Group, ICG) that makes a spectacular line of bikes with belts (LIVESTRONG), the conclusion is clear. The belt requires less maintenance, has fewer breakdowns, improves pedaling technique, does not allow for momentum-based recovery, makes the rider work more efficiently, is quieter, and is safer for new riders. It will save the club owner money, decrease liability, train participants more effectively, and make less noise.
No one on the management side of the club business would need to hear more to choose a belt. For economic reasons alone, the industry will go this way. It’s generally wise to ride an elephant in the direction it’s going. It seems foolish to push for a chain drive in light of that.
But here’s another thing to consider: 95% of the people who get on an indoor cycle won’t understand that “the chain is sacred.” They will notice only that the belt is quieter and smoother. This was the point that sold me. Although I tried relentlessly to find people who understood why I insisted that the chain is sacred, few people got it, almost no one felt it. Not even instructors who were currently teaching on chain-driven bikes.
Instructors whose jobs depend on the Indoor Cycling industry should not need any more convincing. Convincing club members who are used to chain-driven bikes, however, may take a bit more work.
The first thing I ask them to do is tell me what they like about bicycle riding. After they go on for a while, I ask them what they like about indoor cycling. That, too, goes on for a while. Regardless of the individual answers, the key point is that indoor cycling is quite different from riding outdoors: no need to balance, different movements, different hand positions, fixed gear, and more. There are many differences, all far more noticeable than the drive train.
Next, I ask them what other kinds of bikes they've ridden. Performance bikes only? How do they react when they see someone riding down the road on a cruiser in flip-flops? My point is a bike is a bike. You’re not a consummate rider if you fixate on what you think a bike should be. In fact, you’re less a cyclist than the overweight woman struggling on the hybrid. She has more grit. She’s happy just to be riding. THAT is a cyclist.
I ask them if they know which bike is the best in the world. It’s the one you’re on 🙂
Cycling is sacred, not the chain. I dig the vibrations and the sound of all the chains in a peloton as much as any roadie. But chains are secondary to the circular motion of the pedal stroke. The continuity of the circle is what creates the sense of peace that allows you to get outside your mind. The chain or belt simply permits the transfer of power to the forward motion. It’s the motion that makes you feel like you’re flying.
If you want to call yourself a cyclist, get past the chain. Respect all bikes. Find peace in a smooth circle with a belt and satisfaction in the increased work it puts your legs through without the free-spin of a chain.
With good instruction, a belt won’t detract from the class experience — and may very well add to it.
RACE DAY was another winner of our Ultimate Instructor Class Profile contest from Instructor Mark Peterson!
For the love of the Road Race! The inspiration for this ride was the recent Pro Cycling Challenge in Colorado but the ride is generic in the sense that you could do this ride as a stage of any Cycling Race. The objective of the ride is to educate my students on the sport of Bike Racing, entertain and to provide some of those moments of lung splitting, leg busting intensity that is Road Racing!
Mark is a detail guy and what made his contest submission unique is that he created it using the ClassBuilder iPad/iPhone App from Cycling Fusion.
The graphic at the top displays during the entire class. A marker moves along on the screen, helping everyone understand where they are and more importantly, what's coming next.
This was Mark's second visit to the Podcast. You can listen to ICI Podcast #190 — Virtual Class Ride Prep to learn his tips and trick to effectively using video in your class.
Star Trac had the new Spinner® Blade Ion on display at IHRSA. I rode one during Josh Taylor's 6:30 am demonstration ride this past Thursday. After the class I discussed the Ion's new features with Josh. I then got an overview of Spinning's new Spinpower™ education from Program Director Angie Sturtevant, which I'll share as a separate article.
Basics
The “Ion” differentiates this bike with Power from the conventional Spinner Blade. It uses the same chain drive and friction resistance system, found on all Spinner® Indoor Cycles.
Console / Monitor
Very simple… and I'm a huge fan of simple, so right away I appreciated how easy it was to use the Ion's console. I was told they are making a few minor changes so the final version may look different. Working down from the top, the display shows:
Heart Rate
Cadence
Power
Elapsed Time
Just three buttons
Left button turns the back-light on/off. It doesn't time out because it doesn't need to preserve battery life. It will stay on until you want it dark or you stop pedaling. I might not have this completely right – but you get the point – the light will shine all class 🙂
Center button scrolls through screens displaying; real time and averages + calories
Hold down the Right button for 2 seconds resets the Elapsed Time – Josh explained that this button will also add a “digital marker” to any Ant+ enabled devise, identifying the beginning or end of an interval, similar to the “Stage” button found on other consoles.
Josh made the point during his demo ride that their console will show ZERO watts when there's no resistance, regardless of the cadence = this will show all of our “spinners” that they aren't doing any real work until they've added some load.
Free Registration Required to read the rest — Click Here. Opens in a new tab.
[wlm_ismember]
Measured Power
Strain gauge measures the amount of pull on the brake pad.
The Blade Ion measures power with a strain gauge connected to the brake pad – again more simplicity. This technique is actually over 100 years old and how the horsepower of early engines was measured; by measuring the force acting on the brake, as the flywheel tries to drag the brake around it's circumference.
If you have an NXT available you can see exactly what they are doing. Remove any resistance and start the pedals turning slowly. Now carefully touch the slowly turning flywheel with one finger. Feel how it wants to drag your finger along? Can you see how the harder you press against the flywheel, the more effort it takes to hold your finger in place? By measuring that force, the speed of the rotating flywheel and then doing a bit of math, we could calculate Power.
That Black Box contains the strain gauge and replaces the normal brake pad holder on the standard Blade or NXT – which begs the question; will they ever offer a retrofit power meter for older NXT's?
What about Calibration?
I was told that the Ion will be factory calibrated and that no other calibration will be necessary – which I find very hard to believe.
This isn't the right time to get into a lengthy discussion over what I see as fundamental differences between; how the Ion measures the amount of Power coming out vs. how FreeMotion (and also any bicycle crank arm/spider or pedal based power meter) is measuring the amount of Power the rider is putting into the cycle. Or if it's really of any value…
So I don't leave you hanging here, the factory calibration may indeed accurately display the amount of coming out of the Ion forever… but does that precisely reflect the amount of power the rider is putting into the cycle?
What I'm questioning is there's a lot of drive train (multiple bearings and the chain) between the pedals (work in) and the brake mechanism (work out). This engineering article describes the efficiency of bicycle chain drive system and how losses can vary between 2% and 20%. I'm sure Star Trac's engineers have a very sophisticated algorithm to work all this out on a new Ion – but what happens over time? Worn chains and bearings, sprocket alignment and chain tension will all have an effect. Potentially some of the Ion's in your studio could become favorites because they display a higher wattage, relativity to the amount of work introduced by the rider, simply because its chain is in better alignment. Does that make sense?
No Batteries Required
Angie said she likes this because it's “green” (no batteries to throw out) – this blue light is a very cool touch.
Hands down my favorite feature of the Ion is how it charges itself. Josh told me that it incorporates a smart charging system that will allow the batteries to discharge before recharging. That wire runs from the hub charging unit & cadence counter up to the handle bars.
Phone cord allows adjustment.
How it felt to ride & my overall reaction.
Adding a cool blue Instructor platform will be de rigueur for any studio with Blade Ions
Let me start by saying Star Trac makes a phenomenal Indoor Cycle. Solid and smooth – I'm sure Jeff Wimmer had his hands on these. They fit me perfectly – or after riding & teaching on them for all these years do I fit them perfectly? Either way they're very nice to ride… and you hear the yeah-but coming… but I've really become a fan of magnetic resistance over the past 4 years. I understand how Spinning's® brand goes to the “feel” of a Spinner® and that “feel” comes in part from a friction based resistance system. I prefer riding magnetic and was disappointed that the Ion still uses a friction brake.
I also felt weak/less powerful on the Spinner Blade Ion. Or said differently, for a given amount of effort, I was seeing a lower wattage number than I'm used to seeing from a recently calibrated FreeMotion or a Schwinn AC. You could add embarrassed to my list of feelings. I actually felt compelled to cover my readings while Josh was off the bike checking in with his class 🙁
Thinking it may just be me, I went directly to FreeMotion's area and jumped into a class with Cameron Chinatti. Nope, it wasn't me. There on a familiar cycle, I was seeing/feeling my normal ~250 FTP. So back to the Ion (different bike this time) but the same results. A similar effort/HR and only saw ~180 watts.
I talked to Angie about this and she suggested that you just can't compare the two, they're different. I've asked Angie to join me on the Podcast to discuss this in detail and will let you know if/when she'll come on as a guest.
Later that morning I also tried a little experiment that I've wanted to do for years…
What happens to your Power / Wattage when you accelerate from a set point, say; 100 watts @ 60 rpm to 90 rpm on friction based system, as compared to a magnetic system? Do they react the same way?
This Podcast is was originally published on February 22, 2009, I have updated it with our new Podcast host information and I am representing it now. I hope you enjoy it, Joey
Keiser Master Trainer Suzette O'Byrne and I discuss the initial response to their new correspondence Indoor Cycling certification course. Keiser has recently introduced their new M5 elliptical trainer and have created a certification program so you can bring the cross training benefits of an elliptical trainer into your class. Update: here is a video of the M5 in action - http://www.keiser.com/m5/
149 Keiser® Striding and Cycling: An Indoor Collision
Workshop PREMIERE (Description from IDEA's site) Suzette O’Byrne and Krista Popowych Group elliptical classes are HOT in Europe! Now you can be among the first in North America to experience “striding” in combination with indoor cycling in this fun and innovative workout format. First, we will cover striding foundations and teach you how to use the on-board computers so you may monitor your progress. Next, discover how you can implement a variety of training methods (i.e., interval drills, speed drills, hiking drills, recovery drills, etc.) for ultimate fitness. Finally, get information on how to develop a class that blends these two formats into one amazing workout. Repeated as sessions 209, 249 and 309. Listen to the Podcast below or subscribe for free using iTunes or Zune.
Bill Pryor from Spynergy Consulting visited the annual IHRSA Show last week to learn what’s new for cycling studio owners and entrepreneurs. Here are some highlights and photos from his report.
“……once I got over the sensory overload, I made a point of visiting all the bike manufacturers to ride the bikes and hear about new trends. I also tried to see what kinds of metrics, programming and video content are out there. I even spent some time with the flooring, lighting, sound system and insurance folks to see if there's anything new studio owners might want to hear about……”
StarTrac. The market leader in bike sales, they were of course showing the NXT and the Blade which have been recently re-designed (very cool styling.) One of their engineers also walked me through a demo of a new console (measuring power) that will be built into the Blade within the next year. You'll be able to get the Blade with or without a power console.
Schwinn. I also rode the magnetic resistance Schwinn AC and got a close look at their console. Power is measured as well as heartrate, cadence and more. Data from the console can be downloaded to a USB pen drive, or wirelessly transmitted via ANT transmission to a garmin or other device.
New Keiser handlebar
Keiser. A new handlebar design for the Keiser M3 should silence complaints from some smaller riders who had troubles with bike fit. They have an established power console and also numbered resistance which lots of people really like. Performance IQ was co-exhibiting with Keiser…they have a system for projecting on-bike data to a screen so instructors and students can view their data.
RealRyder. This uniquely designed bike with the swaying motion is becoming a favorite with some studio-starter who want to have something to clearly delineate them from the large gyms and health clubs. Optimizing the experience does require some special training for instructors and students, but they make a compelling case about the differences and benefits once folks learn.
Freemotion. These guys are the newest player but have created good buzz as they have made the power console and related programming an integral part of what they provide. The design of their console is well organized and highly readable. At this show, they also introduced a quieter “carbon drive” to make for a more smoother, quieter ride, with good durability
Livestrong. I had not ridden their bike before and found it really comfortable. Outside riders will love the fact that there are a wide range of hand position options including actual “drops”. The bike was cool, but to be honest it was hard to focus on the bike because they were showing it in conjunction with the MyRide virtual ride video system with was absolutely astounding….more on that below.
MyRide video management
Non-Bike Highlight: No matter what bike you have or choose….the good news is that if you want to use a video system, there's an amazing one out there. I have seen a lot of video for indoor cycling classes, but the MyRide systems from Matrix/Livestrong was absolutely stunning. The video itself (multiple terrains and imagery), but also the control system interface. There are systems deployed in Europe, but this is brand, brand new in the U.S. A pilot studio is up in San Francisco.
Bill Pryor owns a 48 bike studio in the Boston area and is also founder of Spynergy Consulting, helping entrepreneurs launch and develop their businesses.
Schwinn Cycling Master Trainer Denise Druce presents our latest class profile; Lead The Pack!
