When I’m asked to review a product or service that includes new technology, I’m always a bit hesitant. You see I like simple and I tend to see many new products trying to solve a problem that really doesn’t need to be solved or will add another (needless) layer of complexity/frustration/distraction to the lives of cyclists looking to maximize their training.

Power indication is a perfect example. Seeing our watts is a huge step and we see the value of all this information (metrics) about the amount of work we’re doing. Many of us are excited to use that data as the basis for improving our fitness.

But what do we do with all this new information?

Collecting your data is a good place to begin. Both the FreeMotion and Schwinn Power Meter consoles offer the option to plug in a USB flash drive. After your training session you can download the ride to your computer to see what you’ve done. Which is interesting, about two times. Then you realize that looking at a snapshot of a single day isn’t really telling you anything of value. If you’re an Excel expert you can build a fancy spreadsheet to show graphs where you can see trends. Or you can subscribe to an online service like Training Peaks ($20 a month if you want the graphing features), upload your results and track your fitness. I see online services as an excellent choice for a committed athlete, but a bit over-the-top for the Club Athletes that make up the majority of our classes.

When Cameron Chinatti from Stages Indoor Cycling explained their new iPhone App, which is designed for use with the FreeMotion console, I saw it as a potentially useful tool that could benefit both you and your students.

So I agreed to give it a try to see if it was in fact useful and not needlessly complex or distracting.

Click here to see my review of the FreeMotion S11.9 and S11.0 Indoor Cycles.

Set up follows after the jump.

The console uses Ant+ to communicate with other devices. iPhones don’t “hear” Ant+ signals, so Cameron sent me a Wahoo Key – a little device that plugs into the bottom of your iPhone. I then purchased the $0.99 Stages App from the iTunes store and installed it.

Using the Stages App.

I have a “Is it intuitive and easy to use?” test, which is simply; “do you turn it on and it works… Yes or No?

The App passed – and as long as I followed the proper procedure, every time I turned it on it worked.

The console is designed to “Pair” fancy word for connecting to both a Heart Rate strap and/or your iPhone during “Warm Up” mode. Once you advance to Stage 1 Pairing is no longer available. With the Stages App turned on, pedaling the bike and the console in Warm Up you will see:

Pressing the Stage button brings you to the main screen.

My second test is; “what value does this product provide, beyond some fancy graphics?”

Yes.

The Stages App will calculate your FTP (Functional Threshold Power) and your Heart Rate at FTP over a series of rides. Understanding your FTP is as important as knowing your Threshold Heart Rate. With both these metabolic markers you can create specific training zones. Once your student’s know their Power Zones your class will be a whole lot easier to teach for you and more understandable (and beneficial) for them

Here’s the setup screen where you can select to App to calculate your FTP or you can manually add it if known.

Auto-Calculate FTP is HUGE

I talked to Cameron about the auto-calculate feature because after three rides it was showing my FTP as 186 Watts vs. ~240 watts which I’m normally seeing during a long hard effort. Her response was; “how hard did you ride during those classes?” I admitted that I hadn’t worked as hard as I could have. Cameron explained that App is looking for your best 20 minute average wattage and if I don’t provide a hard/long effort the App doesn’t have the necessary data to work from. It didn’t have any trouble calculating my FTHR

There’s much more to this App and I am planning a Podcast with Cameron to explore all it’s functionality in more detail. For more now please check out this Quick Start video and if you are teaching or training on a FreeMotion S11 series Indoor Cycle I highly recommend that you start using this App – ASAP.

Section 1: Men’s Cat 4 & 5 (21 min)
The longest of the 3 races, this should serve to get your blood pumping and sweat flowing. Several groups try to assert their position until a true “order of business” settles in and the pack conforms.

Section 2: Women’s Cat 1, 2, & 3 (14 min)
Lest you think you are in for a little breather as the ladies get their race on, think again. These gals know how to throw it down, and the lead riders show no mercy for their entire showdown.

Section 3: Men’s Cat 1, 2 & 3 (15 min)
You had better found your groove by now, because there will be no messing around in this event. From the very first lap you will notice the speed differential, in a word, these guys are FLYIN!

Get your copy here.

On-screen profile guides you to the top

Epic Colorado – Mt. Evans is a classic Epic Planet Indoor Cycling DVD/Video…phenomenal scenery combined with a long climb. Perfect for any turbo trainer session or Indoor Cycling class.

Pros:

• The riders in the video must be near Super Human to maintain their smiles, while climbing at 14,000 feet!
• Long climbs are my favorite – and this is one long climb
• The “Just the ride” option offers four different options: The full climb of 125 minutes, two 60 minute versions + one 45 minute short effort for when time is short – take me to awesome, and now!
• One screen profile keeps you on track.

Cons: The video is a tiny bit shaky, compared to previous Epic Planet videos. So I called the Producer Allen Jones and asked why? His explanation was that the road up Mt. Evans was very bumpy, which set up some harmonics in his video gear. He explained that he tried his best to remove as much of the shaking as possible. Will you or our your class notice or care? Probably not. I just felt it was important to mention it in this review.

If you are looking for a video that translates riding at altitude, then click the following link to purchase your DVD or digital download of Epic Colorado – Mt. Evans Indoor Cycling DVD or Video Download.

This high altitude, 85 minute training ride has over 6,500 feet of climbing to get to the 14,130 foot summit of Mt. Evans and is sure to give you the ultimate “Rocky Mountain High!”

You can order a copy here.

Here’s a sample and you can see more at Ride-Fit.com

But the class loved it and you will too, especially at a 50% discount if you purchase it today.

You can use coupon code DEAL at checkout today and receive a 50% off the DVD, digital download or both.

But this isn’t just for Black Friday – we are planning to feature a special PRO/Deal of the Week every Friday! Much like Groupon for Indoor Cycling Instructor’s, our PRO/Deal of the Week will feature a different product or service, at a substantial discount, every Friday!

Look for more later this weekend…

Epic Red Wing

The Twin Cities area of Minneapolis and Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the neighboring Wisconsin countryside is nationally known for its cycling-friendliness. Now, you can take a virtual tandem training ride in this beautiful area with John and Amy Macgowan and friends, of the internationally renowned Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast and Indoor Cycle Instructor Pro Website.

Take a 50-mile ride along the scenic banks of the Mississippi River and Lake Pepin, separating Minnesota and Wisconsin, on a warm July morning. What better remedy for those cold-weather blues!

This ride has it all—two climbing segments, one endurance segment and one rolling country segment—and offers a balanced workout for indoor cycling classes and home trainers.

Includes our new “Just the Ride” menu option which gives indoor trainers, coaches and instructors a choice of 60 minute and 45 minute versions of the ride to fit their training or class requirements.

Here’s an early review from a customer;

Overall Rating: Five Stars – Fantastic! ★★★★★

What you like best: Great video as always. It was more moderate intensity than the last couple of ones which is nice for those days when you want to relax a bit more. The scenery is beautiful. I liked the short hill climb at first and then the last climb really ended it on the right now. Beautiful area, excellent ride. Excellent quality!

What we can improve: Nothing you can do to improve. It just gets better.

Other Comments: Great product, great company. Thanks for making an indoor ride fun!

Note: the Proform Tour de France bike has the very inaccurate “Estimated Power” that will disappoint anyone who rides with a power tap or other measured power device on their road bike. 

There seems to be some confusion in the marketplace about how this new crop of indoor cycles measure power. I’ve been following all the advancements as the Host of the Indoor Cycle Instructor Podcast and feel I have a pretty good understanding on this topic.

People want to know how much work they are actually doing on an indoor trainer and most of the IC manufacturers are building cycles with the option to display Watts, along with RPM and other information that can be calculated like estimated speed, total calories burned, etc…

The first Indoor Cycle with power was the CycleOps and it features their Power Tap hub integrated into the flywheel – which uses strain gauges to measure the force you are creating to display your work output. Excellent system, very accurate and for many who can afford one – the perfect indoor trainer. But the CycleOps was too expensive for health clubs / studios to consider for indoor cycling rooms with 20-30-60 or more bikes.

Enter Keiser and their M3 indoor cycle.
Keiser’s M3 was revolutionary in that it displays a riders wattage at a price point that competes with many commercial bikes like the Spinner NXT. How Keiser could offer Power, while keeping the cost down, was through the use of estimated power. To estimate the amount of power being created by the rider the engineers at Keiser programmed the computer on the M3 with an algorithm that looks at the resistance system’s position (gear position) and the cadence (RPM). The computer sees these two inputs and looks at it’s internal power chart which says; gear 13 at 90 RPM = 240 watts – and then displays it on the screen. This is accurate enough for a group cycle class, but the system is far from the accuracy many training endurance athletes are looking for.

Next Schwinn began offering their AC Performance series of indoor cycles with the same type of estimated power. The Proform TDF bike uses a similar system. All three of these brands offer a reasonably accurate system of displaying your wattage, but they all fall short when it comes to accurately.

FreeMotion and their new S series of indoor cycles are accurate because they measure, not estimate, the force you create. They do this through a strain gauge in the left crank arm which measures the twisting force you create and the computer applies your cadence and displays the wattage… simple, accurate and without the need for frequent calibration.

I’ve been teaching on FreeMotion s 11.9 bikes for the last 9 months. The 11.9 is the commercial version with an aluminum frame. My understanding is that the S 11.0 has a steel frame but uses the same computer option. Update: all the FreeMotion bikes use the same Power console - FreeMotion S11.0 review link .  I really wish that they would make the drop handle bars standard on all their cycles cause I really like them