Update from John: This post was originally published in June of last year, shortly before we lost Jim. I thought Jim's wisdom could add to our current conversation about SoulCycle, so I'm re-publishing this today.
By Team ICG® Master Trainer Jim Karanas
Why would anyone want to do it? It’s crazy. What about the bike? Connecting with it. Feeling the road. How can anyone NOT want to feel the road? Rhythm, timing, breathing. It’s in our DNA.
It won’t last. Silly trend. Dance parties on bikes with music videos can’t last. You can’t even call it training. It’s just physical movement, not sure it’s even considered exercise. It’s totally without direction.
There are some heavy hitters out there who will slam Non-Authentic Indoor Cycling and talk about it with contempt. Read the blogs and forums. It’s important to have beliefs — something you stand for that defines you as a professional.
Am I sure? Absolutely not. Is Non-Authentic Indoor Cycling bad for Indoor Cycling? That’s a good question and the topic of this post.
I teach Authentic Indoor Cycling. I ride bikes outdoors and always seek to bring to my students what the road and trail teach me. The bike has taught me many lessons that I’ll share with anyone who wants to attend my classes and has the patience to listen to my rhetoric.
Fitness reached a pinnacle with indoor cycling. Finally, we had a way to communicate fitness concepts that were not based on hype or adrenalin. Eclectic music. Quality training. Depth. Achievement. Millions of dollars in revenue!
It wasn’t only about the money, but do you really believe that indoor cycling would be here today if it didn’t make money? Fitness is a $12.5-billion industry, and indoor cycling helped it get there. Whatever makes money will drive fitness.
Zumba is a classic example and should be a lesson to everyone. It’s simple choreography, not unlike what I used to teach as an aerobics instructor back in the ‘80s, with the addition of a little Latin dance and hip-hop. The instructors don’t even cue. Yet Zumba is a half-billion-dollar-a-year company. Which shows you what dazzling branding, marketing, and a single-minded focus on building a culture can do for a fitness program.
Do you think Zumba is a fad? Not with those revenues.
What about non-authentic indoor cycling? How about SoulCycle? It hurts; it really does. But if you believe that SoulCycle is going to fade away because it’s not authentic, then I believe you’re misguided. The SoulCycle brand is strong, their marketing is incredibly strong, AND they now have strong financial support after having been purchased by Equinox.
Something else: they’re building one hell of a culture. Friends of mine who have never taken my class come up and say with wide-eyed enthusiasm, “Do you know that SoulCycle is coming to San Francisco?” I ask, “Why would you take a class there when you haven’t yet come to mine?” No response.
I believe that non-authentic indoor cycling will become a significant trend in the Fitness Industry. ICG® is an authentic indoor cycling company. We believe in proper training principles and we all ride bikes, yet we’re not blind.
If non-authentic IC is going to make a mark, why not embrace it for what it is — a way to train on the bike that makes (some) people fit and happy? Assuming it’s validated as safe and effective (ICG has already contacted the American Council on Exercise and proposed a study), then shouldn't every indoor cycling education body offer a program on how to teach non-authentic indoor cycling? Why shouldn’t any and every indoor cycling program be taught by those who are truly qualified to teach indoor cycling? That would be the likes of us. We know indoor cycling best. We could create a program — inauthentic fluff, if you will — that’s still authentic in its safety, structure and cardiovascular benefit. Why not?
It need not (and would not) diminish our authentic style of teaching, and it just might make all of us some money.
You can add Cycling Studio Owner Nairi Petrosian to the list of Smart & Talented people involved in Indoor Cycling – listen to this interview and you'll know why. Nairi and her business partner Kirsty Baldwin successfully raised $30,011.00 with an Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign that closed August 29th of this year. They're using the money to build out a new, larger Revolutions Cycling Studio and purchase an additional 10 Indoor Cycles to add to their original 13.
It looks really easy; you create a Kickstarter or Indiegogo campaign and wait a few days for the money to roll in.
Yeah, right… it doesn't work that way. It takes a lot of hard work and it sounds as if Nairi and Kristy earned every cent of it. Listen to my interview with Nairi to learn some of the challenges they faced and why they feel they were successful.
Here's their professional video – they felt it was instrumental in the success of their campaign.
Please respect Nairi's time and don't contact her with a bunch of questions unless you're willing to hire her and compensate her for her time.
The Star Trac Spinner® Blade Ion is the latest Indoor Cycle with power to hit the market. The Blade Ion boasts strain-gauge technology and a cool blue light emanating from the flywheel hub that doubles as a battery charger.
There are only of handful of studios riding Ions and we only had responses from 14 Instructors.
I'm sticking with the same format we're using with each of these Indoor Cycle surveys – click here for the list.
Satisfaction while riding your cycles.
Using the Power Meter in class.
Accuracy / consistency in power displayed.
Would you recommend this Indoor Cycle to others?
First up, how do instructors like riding the Star Trac Spinner® Blade Ion
How about using the power meter?
If your responses are included here, I'd be interested to know more about the Heart Rate strap issues. Is this a difficulty pairing (connecting) the HR strap? Or something different like cross talking or a loss of connection?
Every Instructor I know is interested in the accuracy of wattage displayed and consistency between cycles.
All though this was a very small sample – the lack of accuracy / consistency does square with private conversations I've had with with multiple Instructors and studio owners. I'm aware that Star Trac has been trying to sort this problem and hopefully they will have it corrected soon.
ICI/PRO member Zack, a Cycling Fusion Master Instructor and routine contributor to The Weekly Ride on ICI/PRO, delivers a ride. THIS IS THE COMBINED FILE THAT INCLUDES THE MUSIC AND THE VOICE. IT IS NOT AVAILABLE ON ITUNES.
“I am very excited to be releasing an audio version with my ride this week. You get to really feel how i intended the song to be felt then. Notice the shorter than usual notes this week to really make you listen to the delivery. As always my rides can suit all riders and ill be sure to highlight that verbally. So listen up and enjoy!” Zack
The “Barn” as it's affectionately known, is run by first time business owner / Instructor Karen Casler. Karen shares with us a number of the secrets of her success in the interview below:
Her total focus on customer service.
Using technology effectively.
Offering a diverse mix of classes to reach the broadest audience.
Recruiting and retaining instructors.
Some Instructors don't fit – what to do next…
Not all customers fit either…
Studio details:
CB Cyclebarn 372 Camino de Estrella San Clemente, CA 92672
(949)303-3112 Email: karen@cbcyclebarn.com
Indoor Cycles: FreeMotion S11.9 with Carbon belt drive
In class display system of rider performance metrics: Performance IQ
Listen to Karen's interview below or and have every new episode delivered straight to your portable device.
ICI/PRO member Zack, a Cycling Fusion Master Instructor and routine contributor to The Weekly Ride on ICI/PRO, delivers a ride. THIS IS THE COMBINED FILE THAT INCLUDES THE MUSIC AND THE VOICE. IT IS NOT AVAILABLE ON ITUNES.
