The indoor cycling equipment sector has become a broad category and includes several sub-sectors of cycling related training or fitness equipment.

Spinning bikes or spin bikes have become very popular with thousands of indoor cycling or spin classes worldwide. The names “Spinning Bike” and “Spin Bike” are both trademarks, but are used generically by many people when they are referring to group indoor cycling bikes.

Exercise bike is a term used for indoor bikes that are used in gyms and as home fitness equipment. They tend to be more upright and built for comfort, not performance or high intensity training.

Then we have the indoor bike trainers, which are used with a real bike to create an indoor training tool. There are a huge range of these trainers, going from simple fans which attach to the rear of the bike and are driven by the rear wheel to computerized models with varying resistance and power measurement. You can also use cycling rollers, where the bike is free standing on what is effectively a rolling road.

What is the best type of fitness equipment for indoor cycling? All of the above options have some limitations. Apart from the cycling rollers none of these bikes move, so you are riding a rigid set up that does not feel much like a real bike. The rollers only allow you to move from side to side and you cannot really lean the bike. Also most rollers only have light resistance, so they are good for cadence, but not so good for developing strength or power. Bike trainers can suffer from a lack of stability if you make aggressive out of the saddle efforts.

One other piece of fitness equipment you should consider is the RealRyder stationary bike. Our indoor bike is unique due to its articulating frame which enables the bike to turn and lean, making it a much more realistic bike simulator.

Not only does it feel different to other indoor bikes, it also helps you train differently! You will recruit more muscles on a RealRyder stationary bike, effectively training your upper body, arms and core muscles in addition to legs and lungs.

So if you are looking for the most realistic piece of indoor cycling fitness equipment take a good look at the RealRyder moving stationary bike! It will spice up your training and make indoor cycling more fun, whether you are looking for home fitness equipment or the best bike for an indoor cycling class!

What was the inspiration for our unique tilting and leaning stationary bike? It’s time to bring this little mini series of blogs to an end and tell you what it was that inspired Colin Irving to come up with his improved design for the good old stationary bike!

We eliminated every version of the indoor bike and it gets called a lot of different names! Indoor cycling bike, indoor bicycle, exercise bike, gym bike, spinning bike, spin bike, spinner bike and of course, previous versions of the stationary bike.

Although all these terms are similar, there are some very different types of indoor bikes here, but they all share one characteristic, they only allow you to move in one plane – vertical! You can stand up, you can sit down and you can pedal!

BUT you can’t lean and you can’t turn, which is really what the RealRyder stationary bike is all about!

The whole idea of our bike was to design an indoor bike that more closely resembles riding a real bike, after all only riding your real bike on straight roads would get boring very quickly, right? And it was this lack of movement with all other stationary bikes and spin bikes, which made Colin think that there must be a way, to make a better more dynamic “bike simulator”. The real inspiration though, was the fun and excitement of riding a real bike and in particular the fun and excitement of carving turns on a mountain descent!

Just west of  LA is a great area for these canyon descents – the Santa Monica Mountains with some spectacular swooping descents down to the Pacific Ocean. We will be bring you some footage of Colin descending these canyons and then it will all make sense to you, this is what inspired the thought process that led to the design of the leaning stationary bike!

So thank you for all your suggestions and look out for the canyon video, it is well worth watching, Colin has raced for many years and is a great bike handler!

One last thought on this subject, although the design was initially inspired by fast curving descents and one man’s disatisfaction with existing designs, you don’t need to be an expert to ride our stationary bike. They are more fun and you will get a much better workout, but everyone, from complete beginners to expert cyclists can enjoy the benefits of RealRyder Indoor Cycling. To quote  Douglas Brooks “nobody has our ride”!

We have been playing a little game with everyone this last week or so. Where did we get the inspiration for our leaning stationary bike!

So far we have checked off, stationary bike, spinning bike, track bike, motorbike, pro racers, slalom skiers (water and snow!) and clock pendulums. We have had some great guesses, but still no correct answer.

Here is the biggest clue of all it is not any variation of ANY indoor cycling bike (exercise bike, spin bike, gym bike, indoor bike, spinning bike, stationary bike etc) it definitely comes from some outside riding activity.

This is REALRyder after all! So it follows that the inspiration should come from some type of real riding on a real bike.

Not from one of the existing stationary bikes or spin bikes which  we were looking to improve upon, with a more realistic bike simulator.

The REAL inspiration for our stationary bike will be revealed this week, but don’t give up on us yet. Keep sending us your suggestions!

Who could benefit from using the RealRyder Stationary Bike?

With some pieces of fitness equipment you can see they are clearly aimed at particular sectors of the market.

There is now a booming market for home fitness equipment, but some of this equipment would not stand up to the heavy use it would get in a fitness club. Then there is commercial grade fitness equipment, very well engineered, but often too expensive or bulky for home use.

Nowhere is this “specific” approach more apparent than with cycling related fitness equipment (exercise bikes, stationary bikes, spinning bikes, bike trainers, rollers etc).

For example a set of rollers would be a great choice for a serious cyclist, but completely inappropriate for a beginner to indoor cycling. Also the rollers and bike trainer can only be used by someone who already has a bike or plans to buy one.

Equally a typical exercise bike is unlikely to appeal to a real cyclist as the fit and adjustability, is just not good enough to replicate the correct position of a real bike or simulate a high intensity ride.

Now let’s look at the quality issue. As with all fitness equipment, this varies enormously and at the lower end, some stationary bikes will only be able to handle very light home use and would certainly not cope with the frequent use they would get at an indoor cycling class.

So that brings us full circle to the RealRyder ABF8 Stationary Bike:

• Our stationary bike is commercial grade fitness equipment AND suitable for long term home use (We don’t make a lower quality “Home” Version like some other manufacturers!).
• It also provides a more complete workout than any other stationary bike or spinning bike, due to the movement and the use of upper body and core muscles.
• We have received positive feedback from riders of all ability and experience levels, complete beginners, experienced spinners and elite cyclists.
• Last, but not least everyone who rides our stationary bike says it is more fun!

So who could benefit from using the RealRyder Stationary Bike?

Well, let’s be honest: EVERYBODY! So if you haven’t ridden one yet, track down a RealRyder facility near you and try the stationary bike which is revolutionizing indoor cycling for yourself!

The whole indoor cycling industry puts out a huge amount of marketing material every year. All the manufacturers will tell you how their spinning bike or spin bike started the industry or how their indoor bike was designed (or at least endorsed!) by a top professional or their stationary bike has sold millions!

RealRyder is a relatively new entrant to this highly competitive sector and like everyone else we are pushing out our marketing messages too! Although, it occurred to me the other night when I was checking through some independent reviews that there is one major difference between us and the other manufacturers.

The most convincing marketing messages don’t come from any of the manufacturers; they come from consumers, from health club owners and from indoor cycling instructors. And when they are talking about RealRyder, the comments are nearly always positive! Let me make that a little clearer, everyone who rides our stationary bike seems to love it!

We have encouraged readers of this blog to “Google” RealRyder so you can read these reviews and comments for yourself, we have even “cut and pasted” some of these quotes into our blog posts to emphasize the point!

Our challenge is not to find positive things to say about RealRyder or our stationary bike, put simply it’s to encourage more of you to actually ride our stationary bike! We are happy from what we have heard already that you too will feel the difference. To experience the better workout and the fun of riding one!

So where can you ride our unique Stationary Bike?

Click on the “Facility Search” link on the right of this page or on the main RealRyder site and find the nearest location to you. Alternatively look out for us at future Trade Shows, again you can find details of upcoming shows under the “Trade Show” Category on the right of this page.

More and more gyms and specialist indoor cycling studios are ordering our indoor bike and we will keep you advised of these through a new “Club Focus” section as they open.

So please don’t just read what people are saying about our stationary bike try and schedule a ride! The people have spoken and the word is spreading fast – they look cool, they work better and they are more fun! At least that’s what people are telling us!