It's that time of year again - IHRSA, the big fitness equipment show starts on Tuesday next week March 22nd and 23rd. This year the expo is in Orlando at the Orange County Convention Center. Sweet for me as it's an easy 90 minute drive from my new home in Tampa 🙂
Last year all the buzz was centered on the new Stages SC3 - which was a total surprise to me when I saw it. The buzz IMO was well deserved after I had the chance to ride it multiple times during the show. You can read my review here.
Monday afternoon I'm meeting with Josh Leve with AFS (Association of Fitness Studios) along with the other advisory board members. AFS is really catching on with studio owners and I'm looking forward to helping them become more beneficial to all of the new studios popping up across the USA.
Not having a crystal ball to peer into, I reached out to my friends at the various brands, asking for a heads-up on what I can look forward to seeing this year. Here's their responses:
RealRyder has added POWER!
Last year Adam Reid hinted that they were working at adding POWER indication to their Indoor Cycle. What they're calling WATTPRO1 is a pedal crank arm power meter - I can't tell if it's just one, or both arms... I'll let you know next week. Jackie Mendes who's a Director at RealRyder® International LLC added the following:
The same company that evolved the traditional stationary indoor cycle design by introducing the first and only multi-planar indoor riding experience now offers a new standard in indoor cycle power measurement–introducing the RealRyder® WattPRO1. This revolutionary direct power measurement technology provides our customers with the most accurate and reliable power data available on the market. The RealRyder WattPro1 is now available to elite athletes training indoors, or anyone seeking to gain a training advantage in their group cycling classes.
I can't wait to ride it + learn from Adam and Douglas Brooks what education they have planned. I'm also curious to find out if existing RealRyder cycles can be retrofitted with power?
Free Epic Planet Virtual Ride DVDs!
Be sure to stop by the Stages Booth when you're there at IHRSA. Allen Jones from Epic Planet supplied me with a few hundred DVDs that Dennis Mellon will be giving away during the show.
Join me Wednesday morning for a Stages early workout. You can reserve a bike here - I'm slotted for the 7:00 class. Stages will be demonstrating a display training system called VISMOX. I don't know anything more it, but plan to 🙂
I'm hearing more about Fitmetrix - the display training system that's also a complete backend solution for managing an Indoor Cycling Studio. Is it a worthy competitor to Mindbody? I plan to find out.
Core Health and Fitness AKA Star Trac and Schwinn Indoor Cycles
Core Health and Fitness will be featuring our Schwinn line up of bikes and the Echelon2 consoles. We will have Performance IQ in our booth demonstrating the connectivity with the Schwinn Echelon2. We're also excited to have Schwinn Master trainers Jeffrey Scott and Markus Mengert in our booth doing demo classes during the early morning workout and during the show.
Core Health and Fitness will also be showing our new line of Star Trac Studio bikes. The Studio Series bikes–built upon Star Trac”™s heritage as one of the first and best manufacturers of indoor group cycling bikes–consists of three new models of bikes with improved looks, improved features, and a lower price point than our previous offerings in this space.
Performance IQ says:
At IHRSA, we”™re introducing a new version of the PIQ software which is has additional modes, new functionalities and include different display theme options. We”™ll also showcase our integration with different apps. You can find one of us in the Stages and Schwinn booth.
Not to forget my friends at Keiser - Darrin Pelkey supplied the following.
John
We are introducing some new accessories to our bikes. A new pedal, New Tablet holder and new stretch pads. I asked marketing and they would rather give detailed information and images after the show. I hope that works and I hope things are going well!!
My guess is that there will be other surprises and I'll be reporting on what I see/find/experience later next week.
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.
- ICI Podcast 238 Meet Nerd Fitness Creator Steve Kamb - April 6, 2024
- ICI/PRO Podcast #113 Explosive Power pt 3 – Video PROfile with Tom Scotto from Stage 5 Cycling - March 31, 2024
- Spinning RideBook of class profiles - March 28, 2024