Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion:
Originally posted 2018-01-30 09:00:13.
Spinning joins the Training With Power Wars
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:
Just three buttons
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.
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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?
You can read my follow up article to learn more: Comparing Spinning’s® Friction to FreeMotion’s® Magnetic Resistance
Stay tuned for the results + some thoughts on Spinpower™ later this week.
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Originally posted 2013-03-24 11:20:19.
This weeks ride is from me, Joey! – “In all honesty, I was dreading putting together this week’s ride. My classes have been after me to put together a few theme rides, which I almost never do. This weeks ride is focused on music from the 1970s. I am in the endurance working phase of my micro-periodization for my classes, so I had the profile already put together in my mind. I used one of my favorite endurance profiles, where we start with a higher cadence in the 100s and then work our way down to the 60s adding tension the entire way. The wildest thing happened, I had an amazing time. Once I started listening to the music I kept on thinking: “Oh, I remember and love that one” and it just kept on happening. I ended up with over 140 songs on my short list to choose from. It really made putting this class together fun. I hope that you enjoy riding it as much as I have.” Joey
Short version of the ride PDF is available HERE.
Get all of the ride details HERE.
Get all of the ride details HERE.
Originally posted 2018-09-16 21:55:14.
“Thank you for saying something to those two girls. I can't tell you how frustrating it is for me to have to sit and listen to their mindless chatter while I'm trying to focus on my workout.”
It was yesterday and I had just finished subbing a class at one of the high-end clubs where I have a regular endurance class during the winter.
I started to say “You're wel…” when she interrupted me with; “Not all the Instructors will say something. I don't have a lot of flexibility in my schedule and this is one of the few classes that works for me… so thank you.”
I wanted to ask her why, when she is in that situation, she didn't say anything to the people who were disrupting her time in class? But before I could, I answered my own question.
She respected my social rank or status in the class and was waiting for me to demonstrate the leadership she believed came with my position as the Instructor. I have some knowledge of this member. She is a very successful local attorney and when you see her in street clothes you know she means business. I'm going to guess that her Social Status hasn't come from a meek or non-confrontational personality.
But when she's in class, with her Lycra shorts and a bright yellow jersey, she has the same exact status of everyone in the room, except one – the Instructor, who yesterday was me.
It's actually kind of funny when I think about it. I've often described my students as people who you will regularly read about in the business section of the newspaper or see interviewed on TV. And here's little old me, the leader of a group of high power Lawyers, CEO's and business owners… hard to believe. But for one hour every Monday morning I am the Big Dog 🙂
And more importantly, they all expect me to be the leader.
Put yourself in your student's position. Whatever social status they have outside of class vanishes when they strip down in the locker room and squeeze into their bike shorts. Some go from a position of absolute authority to near social impotence in the three minutes it takes them to change. Imagine the frustration they must feel riding in your class, trying to focus on their workout, but forced to listen to a detailed recap of yesterday's Housewives of the O C or some other nonsense.
There's a good thread running about this over at Pedal-On Students who won't shut up that has a bunch of suggestions about how you can address this problem. My personal favorite is setting clear expectations at the beginning of your class. Master Instructor Kenji Freedman is phenomenal at setting these expectations in his class opening. You can hear it at the beginning of Podcast #143.
Do you understand your role as the leader in your class?
Originally posted 2011-07-09 09:15:52.
Amy and Leslie love these shoes... just not on the bike.
Many indoor cycling participants also run, are triathletes, or are otherwise fitness enthusiasts trying to stay on top of fitness trends such as Barefoot Running. Barefoot Running, promoted as reducing injury risk, and featured in Chris McDougall's book Born to Run has sparked a surge of fitness enthusiasts wearing shoes that simulate being barefoot. The barefoot-style shoes allow the foot to move more freely and naturally. We’ve all seen the funkier style of Vibram Five Fingers but there are also more traditional sneakers designed in the barefoot-style such as Nike Frees.
Whether Barefoot Running is a hit or just hype is still up for debate. Personally I see some benefits of the barefoot movement. As a yoga instructor, I appreciate that our feet and the arches of our feet provide the foundation for our overall posture. I wear a pair of Nike Free sneakers and find them fantastic for walking, light running and improving arch strength in my feet.
As these barefoot-styles shoes become more mainstream, I’m seeing students more frequently wearing barefoot-footwear to the gym and subsequently coming to cycle studios in barefoot-footwear. So what happens when we take these barefoot-style shoes to indoor cycling? Barefoot cycling!?
While the jury may still be debating on the benefits of barefoot-style shoes for functions such as running, it is pretty clear that a barefoot-style shoe is the opposite of the typically cycling-specific shoe. Why? The footwear should relate to the activity. Running, of course, is a different activity from cycling. The activities work the body in different ways. For example in running, the foot transfers power to the ground and the foot can hit the ground at different places such as the ball, the mid-foot and the heel. Flexibility of the foot is desirable and a free moving sole provides ability to use the feet and the natural bending of the feet in running. In cycling the foot transfers power to the pedals, a smaller surface area than the foot. Primarily the ball of the foot is being used as a contact point and having a stiff and stable platform is desirable to prevent foot strain and improve efficiency.
For short periods of time and light activity cycling, a barefoot-style or flexible-soled shoe will probably not cause much discomfort. However with any sustained or substantial cycling efforts using a barefoot-style or flexible soled-shoe may start to strain the feet and legs, may cause the foot to bend in ways can become unnatural, may be uncomfortable and may even cause injury.
Once I mistakenly forgot my cycling shoes and was caught teaching a cycling class with only my barefoot style Nike Frees to wear. Stepping into the cages with my barefoot-style shoes was a memorable experience…and one I hope to not have to repeat again! The flexibility of the barefoot-style shoe inhibited my typically smoother clipped-in pedal stroke and the flexibility of the barefoot-style shoe hindered my ability to pull-up at the bottom of the pedal stroke. Standing climbs and standing runs took on a whole new meaning of discomfort!!
Wearing a barefoot-style shoe seems to set a cycling newbie up for an even more challenging indoor cycling experience. That doesn’t benefit them as students or us as instructors. While I don’t necessarily want to advise a student to “get out” and come back with better footwear, it does seem important to politely suggest coming back the next time with footwear that will improve efficiency and prevent injury as they work harder on the indoor bikes.
What are your thoughts on the barefoot-style shoes and indoor cycling? Do you talk about cycling-specific shoes in your classes? I encourage you to be proactive in communicating the differences in footwear to your students and to advise using the correct footwear for the activity; for indoor cycling, regularly recommend stiffer-soled sneakers (think hiking or cross-trainer styles) and cycling-specific shoes.
For more information on the ins and outs of various types of cycling-specific shoes, REI has a nice overview here for you to reference and/or share with your students!
Colleen Matthews is an ICI/PRO member, certified indoor cycling instructor and 200-hour registered yoga teacher from Alexandria, Virginia.
Originally posted 2011-04-26 10:55:46.
Welcome to the The Weekly Ride by Cycling Fusion:
Originally posted 2018-01-30 09:00:13.