6 Comments

1. 

   Christine Nielsen on July 17, 2011 at 1:52 pm

   I look forward to your review. I purchased my own AC Performance with power console to see if it would be a better choice than the Keisers for my shorter students. They love it but they don’t get to ride it often because it’s my personal choice over the Keisers. I find I like the chain drive better and I love love love the ‘lap timer’ – makes it much easier to teach complicated profiles. The downside – it needs recalibration after it has been moved and it is moved every day.

   I lust after measured power so can’t wait to ride the FreeMotion at the conference and to get your reaction.

2. 

   Chuck Cali on July 20, 2011 at 7:33 am

   Chris,

   I’ve been teaching on Schwinn AC’s for over a year now. When they’re working they’re hard to beat but, you nailed it, Calibration issues galore. Which adds cost to the cycle studio.

   There are some quick calibrations that I learned from a maintenance tech that I taught my regulars to do before each class. Not always reliable though. In a room full of Schwinns my advice to the regulars that use the data from the console, get there early, use the same bike, ask the instructor how to calibrate.

   Instructors if you don’t know how to calibrate the users manual is online and downloadable.

   I guess we’ll have to agree to disagree on the chain drive. In my class when all 25 bikes are going those chains create a lot of background noise that requires louder music to cover. Also on the downside, the RED KNOB and no gear indication.

   Keiser nailed it with the gear shift lever. The ability to anchor effort to a gear number, RPM and either heart rate and/or power is huge and, they’re so quiet. Keiser has issues as well with calibration but at least there is simple recalibrate/reset function.

   Free Motion has measured power and I also look forward to riding one. I hope, they have found a way to keep their power taps clean, dry and rugged enough to stand up to constant use.

3. 

   Christine Nielsen on July 22, 2011 at 4:23 am

   Chuck:

   I occasionally remember to run through the Schwinn calibration but it’ not a streamlined process like the Keiser’s and doesn’t really matter to me for my own use during classes. Good for you for teaching your regulars how to do it.

   My preference for the chain drive is purely personal. I like the feel. But I understand the attractiveness of the quiet Keisers. We have a mix of Keisers and old old Schwinns. Until the Schwinns go I am going to have to work over the noise.

   I am of two minds about the resistance mechanism. In general, I think I prefer a continuous rather than discrete system. I think it makes it easier for the students to concentrate on the “feel” rather than the number. But I also like the “gear” display on the Keiser – makes it easier for students to return to a given resistance. I’m sure there must be a way to deliver information from the Schwinn’s resistance system to the monitor but it would probably be costly and finicky. As it is, I find their add on bits a bit kludgy.

   Chris

4. 

   mrwilson on April 14, 2012 at 12:30 pm

   I have had the fortunate opportunity to ride the FreeMotion Fitness bike at one of the clubs where I work: AND I LOVE IT! The design, the giant red knobs (great for finding in the dark)! AND it comes compatible with a POWER CONSOLE!!!!
   Too bad we don’t have those with the bikes (I work at a big-box club)

   I am really impressed with it so far: 1) the handlebars have a range of heights that allow some of us with more flexibility in our spines to be more comfortable with a lower height while riding AND allows riders to adjust fore/aft!!!; 2) pedaling is very smooth and QUIET; 3) the seat and fore/aft are perfect.

   Most of us are probably VERY picky when it comes to indoor bikes. I think that FreeMotion Fitness has created a real
   workhorse! Remember the Star Trac V-Bike?? it is just as great as that one!!! My other favorite workhorse! basic and
   awesome. If only we could mount a power console on it!
   John, do you think that could be a possibility? I am not a tech-savvy individual but that would be just awesome.

   Ride on all you wonderful ICI/PRO instructors!!!!!

5. 

   John on April 25, 2012 at 8:24 am

   Hi Darlene,
   I missed seeing your question until now. Adding a Power meter to an existing cycle isn’t an easy thing to do – although I do know that there are a number of groups working on it. Even if someone does come up with a way, I’m not sure it will make sense for many clubs to invest in an expensive upgrade to a used bike.

   You’ll hear about it if/when it happens.

6. 

   ikrieg on June 24, 2013 at 6:42 pm

   Schwinn now has a new console on their bike, but they still do not have a Stage AVG feature. They have a ride AVG and Max feature now, but those will average the ride data from the very beginning(including your warm-up, your down-time, and cool-down). This means that comparing performance over multiple intervals is not possible. Without a Stage Average feature, training with watts is virtually pointless. Other distinctions that should be made between these two bikes: FreeMotion measures power via strain gauge on left crank arm, and Schwinn calculates Watts based on magnet position and “look-up table.” Schwinn offers a steel chain drive system, FreeMotion offers steel chain OR Gates Carbon Chain – The Carbon drive system is almost silent, has the feel of a chain, and requires no maintenance.

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.