Both the FreeMotion S 11 series and Schwinn AC Indoor Cycles have the ability to record your ride data using a USB Thumb Drive.
This past Sunday I asked Alan ******, one of my regular students, if he would be willing to have his class performance data recorded so I could share it with you. Al is a long time cyclist and we first met back in 1998 while I was leading group rides for a local bike shop. He agreed and the process for collecting his information was a simple as plugging a Thumb Drive into the USB port before turning on the FreeMotion computer.
The data that's collected is:
- Time - it takes a snapshot every second.
- Miles traveled*
- MPH*
- Watts
- Heart Rate BPM
- Cadence RPM
My understanding is that Miles traveled and MPH are estimates based on research done by FreeMotion's engineers that measured the amount of power needed to sustain a given speed. As I type this I realize that I need a more comprehensive understanding so I can explain this better. You can download the .xlsx spreadsheet here.
Here's why both FreeMotion and Schwinn use a "Stage" button during class. 
There is an enormous amount of data collected during a 90 minute class... Four Thousand, Eight Hundred and Thirty Nine lines of data to be exact.
If you listened to ICI Podcast #198 — Teach Your First Class With Power! Audio PROfile from Cameron Chinatti with Stages Indoor Cycling you heard Cameron described using the Stage button at the beginning and end of each interval. When you look at the spreadsheet you will see the "Stage" or completed "Ride" totals, making it much easier to understand what was happening. In the image above I have graphed one 5 minute interval "Stage".
Here's Alan's totals for the class:
| Ride_Totals | |
| Time | 1:16:52 |
| Distance | 27.45 |
| Speed_Avg | 21.43 |
| Watts_Avg | 197 |
| HR_Avg | 156 |
| RPM_Avg | 86 |
| Speed_Max | 26.37 |
| Watts_Max | 323 |
| HR_Max | 174 |
| RPM_Max | 103 |
| KCal | 983 |
| KJ | 911 |
The reason for only 116 minutes of total time is that we had a 14 minute warm-up, where no data is collected. More on this as I learn and experiment in the future.
Originally posted 2012-02-07 15:43:52.
John is a member on the AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) Advisory Council.
Holding certifications from; Schwinn, Heart Zones, Team ICG and Life Time Fitness, John's held regularly scheduled cycling classes between 1998 and 2015 when he moved to Florida.
When the weather permits, you'll find him riding and leading outdoor groups by himself or with his Tandem partner (wife) Amy.
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Hello,
Wow!! Talk about being able to have some conversations that are based on data. As Gene says in his winter training classes, “if you can measure it, we can improve it”.
Pat