What's it going to be? iTunes or Spotify in the future?
Apple's big announcement is supposed to be tomorrow – when they launch the iTunes (or whatever they decide to call it) streaming service! I can't wait to see what they're offering and learn if I'll be switching away from Spotify anytime soon.
There's a bunch of industry press asking if there is anything Apple could offer in an App, that would be an improvement over the Spotify App so many of us enjoy. Tweek this or that feature maybe, but there are many who feel Spotify has broken the code on streaming music.
Could Apple improve how we deliver music in our classes?
Apple doesn't do “Me Too” products or services. If you'll excuse the pun here. They do Apple… or they go home 🙂 Seeing how dominate Spotify has become in streaming – the company is valued at $8 Billion – I have a hard time believing Apple would make a half hearted attempt to compete.
Then there's the pride issue here. Apple revolutionized the digital music industry back in the 2000's. They've sat on their hands while Spotify, Deezer and Pandora are taking serious bites out of Apple's revenues. My prognostication is that Apple will roll out something very cool tomorrow. I can't wait to try it, learn it and then teach everyone how to use it in their classes!
I've been waiting to see the new Spotify iPhone App upgrade this month. Now I'm glad I haven't. Word is that the track length timer fades out after a few seconds – leaving you with no understanding of the time remaining 🙁
This problem popped up on Facebook this week & the Spotify forum has a thread where users are complaining about the missing timer. Who would think this is a good idea?
To prevent Spotify from updating (and losing your timer) check the settings on your phone. You can control if or when Apps will update. Go to Settings > iTunes & App Store and scroll down to the Automatic Downloads section and turn off the toggle next to updates.
With this setting in the “off” position you'll see notifications of updates in the App Store App on your phone > Click Updates. Now you'll be able to select which Apps to update – and those you don't!
I'll notify everyone once I (hopefully) see that Spotify has changed this back to the way it was.
March 31st is world backup day. Why not the day after, on 4/1? It certainly would be easier to remember. But it's on this day, not the next, because everyone would think they were joking if it was on April 1st, that's why.
All jokes aside, having a regular backup of your computer's files is critical and a Best Practice for Professional Indoor Cycling Instructors. I personally have experienced multiple hard drive failures. I make my living with a trusted friend, a Dell laptop. My entire business + all my music (although Spotify has reduced this particular risk) pictures, sponsor contracts, tax files… everything is dependent on a little disk spinning under my fingertips… and on a cloud Carbonite cloud server located who knows where. That's why they call it “the cloud” > nobody has a clue where that place really is.
I haven't lifted a finger to backup my files for about 7 years. Every morning at 2:00am, Carbonite checks my computer, identifies which files are new, or changed and makes an encrypted copy that's safely stored wherever. I don't care where, as long as I can easily restore all of my data, the next time I drop my Dell on it's head and I hear all those funny noises again.
If you don't have an automatic backup happening everyday > I implore you to correct that oversight and sign up today.
Master Educator Cameron Chinatti with Stages Indoor Cycling joins me for a fun followup to their very successful IHRSA convention where they launched the new Stages SC3 Indoor Cycle. We've got a bunch of videos that relate to my interview, which you'll find below.
One of the highlights from the show was the amazing efforts of two cyclists, during their 60 sec challenge.
First there was
Junior Nationals competitor Dominic Suozzi decided to try his hand at the #60secchallege today. The kid's wearing Converse and he destroyed everyone. 1100 Watts!! That's crazy-ville!
Then how about the huge effort from Kat Haskins … aka TheBarnKat > she's an Instructor at CB Cycle Barn and wasn't an outdoor cyclist, up until now. She won a new Giant bicycle with Stages Power Meter for her efforts 🙂
Here's my interview with Cameron. Enjoy!
Cameron and I discuss their new “Sprint Shift” innovation. Here's a quick video showing how it works. You can read more about how I used this new feature at my review of the Stages SC3 Indoor Cycle.
Before I get a bunch of hate mail from Schwinn Instructors. I make the comment that Stages is the first Indoor Cycling company that is focused on both Indoor and outdoor cycling. Yes I realise that the brand “Schwinn” was first a bicycle company – my first road bike was a green Schwinn Varsity, second was a white and purple Schwinn Paramount. But the Schwinn Indoor Cycling brand has/had no connection with the bicycle company known as Schwinn bicycles. Stages is currently selling products to outdoor cyclists (the Stages Power Meter+ Endurance Training Education) as well as Indoor Cycling studios (the Stages SC3 Indoor Cycle + Instructor Education) Does my comment make sense now?
Stages Master Educators Dunte Hector and Cameron Chinatti leading the morning ride at IHRSA
IHRSA 2015 was the first public appearance of the Stages Cycling SC3 Indoor Cycle. This was a total surprise to me and I have no idea how Stages Master Educator Dennis Mellon was able to keep his mouth shut for so long. We talk weekly and it must have been killing him not to be able to tell me about their latest project 🙂
Going forward, I feel it's important to disclosure that Stages Cycling sponsored (paid) my and Amy's travel to, and lodging in, Los Angeles to take part in the launch of their new Stages SC3 at IHRSA 2015.
If parts of the Stage SC3 look familiar, there's a good reason. The engineers who designed this Indoor Cycle have a long and storied history of product development with indoor cycles and power consoles. It was explained to me that the design criteria for the SC3 was; take all of the engineering team's collective experience and build the ultimate, commercial Indoor Cycle. Did they succeed? Let's find out…
The Basics
Frame – Aluminum… and lots of it. This is a very solid/substantial IC > perfect for studios with big, powerful riders – or – those offering unconventional classes with a lot of movement.
Drive – CarbonGlydeâ„¢ drive system. Yes, this is the same Gates belt as other manufacturers are using, but there are fundamental differences with the other components of the drive train, that give the SC3 a very different feel. Because they don't run the belt under tension (there's a tiny bit of slack you can feel as you move the pedals back and forth) the SC3 is noticeably quieter than the Schwinn AC and it's tensioned Gates belt. It also retains a slight, chain-like vibration, but doesn't buzz like the AC. Stages is so confident in their drive system that they offer a 10 year warranty on the CarbonGlydeâ„¢ belt. Correction: Stairmaster's engineer Travis Vaughan alerted me to my error describing the Schwinn AC's Gates belt as “tensioned” – which it's not. I didn't intend to infer that they used a tensioner like what's used with Poly “V” belts. Instead I should have described the differences as; the AC runs it's belt taut (zero slack) vs. the SC3 which, when properly tensioned, has a very small amount of slack.
Resistance – Magnetic > surrounding an aluminum flywheel. Screw style adjustment and includes the new Stages SprintShiftâ„¢ three position lever . More on that below.
Handlebars – Road Bike Style Drop Bars – there's a reason that handlebars on road bikes haven't changed over the last 100 years > these fit us (humans) the best. Please don't ask me; “butwhere is position #3 John?” It's standing, with your hands surrounding the brake hoods, exactly where your hands belong when you're out of the saddle 🙂 It's here where you have the most leverage to power through a steep climb and it eliminates the temptation to “over reach” while seated.
Saddle – nice. Not too narrow… and not to wide/fat. Forgive me for saying it this way, it's very close to (might be exactly the same as) the saddle on the Schwinn AC > we have one on the back of our Trek Tandem. Amy loves this saddle and it's been comfortable for her for thousands of miles. Trust me on this one… I'd have heard all about an uncomfortable saddle.
The Power Meter
Good enough for TDF winning Team Sky Professional Racing Team
The heart of an Indoor Cycle that features power measurement is, of course, the power meter. The new SC3 is using the same technology used by Team Sky – winners of two Tour de France bicycle races and they're going to continue to use these power meters in 2015.
I could devote an entire article on just this topic and will have more as part of the ride portion of this review. In the interest of time I'll give you the important bits:
2,000 hours of battery life using two AA's – yes the display console is self-charging.
Same hardware, design, and accuracy found in the Stage Power® meter, which is used by professional cyclists’ and used in the world’s most famous cycling races, including the Tour de France.
ANT+â„¢ and Bluetooth – so it will connect with your iPhone or Android without any adapters.
Supposedly accurate to +/- 2.5%. I say “supposedly” because I have no way to verify their claims – but I bet Team Sky does 🙂
Display Console
It's important to separate the power meter, from the display console. Although most studios will choose to purchase their new SC3's with the new Stages EcoSCRNâ„¢ console, you don't have to. The Stages power meter will work with any Bluetooth or Ant+ device, like an iPhone or Garmin. You could also choose to wirelessly connect the Stages power meter directly to Display Training systems from Performance IQ or Spivi.
Here's a short video showing it in action during one of the 60 sec challenges.
The EcoSCRNâ„¢ console is self-powered = no batteries to replace ever… that's the Eco part 🙂
No exposed wires > I was told they've very neatly packaged the cable that connects the flywheel generator to the console = a long life of raising the handlebars up and down.
Constant backlight if you choose 🙂
Stage button to record intervals > there's also a nice feature that your averages remain displayed for 5 seconds after you end a stage.
Stages SprintShiftâ„¢ is a three position “shifter”, that provides course adjustments quickly. I want to describe it as a sort of cruise control, where you flick your finger and instantly resume your previous speed/resistance level.
Think of doing a repeating series of intervals. We cue everyone to add load, ride the segment and then recover. Now repeat it again. With SprintShift you can set your initial load with the lever full right. Move it left for recovery and then return back to the exact resistance instantly, by moving the lever all the way to the right.
There's some interesting physics at work here. If you use the SprintShift at lower resistance levels, the amount of change between each level remains relative & realistic. But start with a big gear and the changes are incrementally larger.
There are multiple ways you could incorporate this in your class and we'll find more over time. I'll describe a relay race we did in the ride part of the review where it was very helpful > we won! I'm sure Cameron and Co. will have some fun suggestions for using SprintShift when I interview her in the next few weeks.
If you've ever fought over a stubborn screw type seatpost of handlebar adjuster, you'll enjoy these new FitLoc cam style adjusters. Watch the video and you will see how quick and easy they are to operate. Also, they've kept the weight of the bars low, so it takes very little strength to raise them, using only one hand.
This Where's the Drama app for Spotify gives you a visual representation of the changes in loudness of any track in Spotify's library = changes that many of us will use as cues.
NOTE: for an unknown reason there's no sound for the first 14 secs.
It's super easy to use and there's nothing to download or install.
[wlm_private ‘PRO-Platinum|PRO-Monthly|PRO-Gratis|PRO-Seasonal|Platinum-trial|Monthly-trial|PRO-Military|30-Days-of-PRO|90 Day PRO|Stages-Instructor|Schwinn-Instructor|Instructor-Bonus|28 Day Challenge']
Type in the name of your track > it helps to add additional words (artist) to narrow down the results.
Scroll down to find the correct song & click it
Your track is shown as a graphic > The highlighted area signifies the most dramatic point in the song 🙂
I've been playing with this today, trying to find ways that it could save me time. The first place I've found is to quickly find the GO! point in the songs opening. Here's an example for Rudimental — Right Here – feat. Foxes which I use for a Threshold interval @ 83RPM.
(#1) shows the start point @ 0:24 – between (#2) and (#3) is a 0:43 soft part. Notice how you can quickly see that the song dies with 20 seconds to go? (#4) Where's the Drama looks like a nice tool to ensure your intervals are as long as you intended.[/wlm_private]
Let me know if you find other uses for it + if this would display a complete playlist, in real time, would that help you cue and teach more effectively?
