We were delighted to get New Jersey State Champion, Greg Cordasco to try RealRyder Indoor Cycling and share his thoughts on our unique stationary bike.  

Indoor cycling is something a lot of cyclists associate with the winter, when conditions are too bad to get out and ride on the road. Obviously, indoor cycling or spin classes go on all year and we have looked at a lot of reasons why they make sense even in the summer – high humidity, heavy rain, bad roads to name a few!  

For all those cyclists who ONLY consider indoor cycling when they can’t ride outside, there are millions who love spin classes and NEVER ride outside, in fact many of them don’t even own bikes! So who is the RealRyder stationary bike for? The real outdoor cyclists or the indoor cycling/spinning crowd? The short answer is both!  

Many spin class fans and instructors have already endorsed the workout they get on a RealRyder Stationary Bike. They recognize that they get a full body workout and burn more calories than they would do in a spin class on a traditional “fixed” spinning bike.  

We don’t hear enough from the cycling community and this is something we want to address, in particular the view that some cyclists have that a spin class is somehow not real cycling, not proper training. That is why we were very keen to hear what Greg thought of the RealRyder, he is a very successful bike racer and cycling shop owner and not a huge fan of spin classes!  

Some interesting comments about “recruiting the core”…… “activated the whole time” and how this “full body workout” is ideal for anyone “crunched for time”. The other thing which is very noticable is how comfortable Greg looks on the RealRyder stationary bike, he literally set the bike up, warmed up for 5 minutes and we started filming. It feels much more like a real bike than typical spin bikes, but you don’t need to be an expert bike rider to enjoy riding one!

More on Greg Cordasco

Greg is the owner of Liberty Cycle in Basking Ridge, NJ and runs one of the most successful racing teams in New Jersey with multiple State Championships over recent years.

Greg has won over 25 of the main races in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and several championships himself. He was the New Jersey Points Race Champion on the track in 1995 and won the Masters Cycle Racing Association Series Champion in 2003.

He made New Jersey cycling history in 2008 by winning two Garden State Cup Championships in the same year. The Garden State Cup is a series of races run from April to September and Greg won both the 35+ and 45+ Cups. A first in New Jersey cycling! (These are the orange jerseys in the video and pictures) This was after coming back from a bad back injury following a crash on the track.

We filmed the RealRyder Indoor Cycling video on a Friday and on the Sunday Greg added the 2010 45+ New Jersey State Masters Criterium Championship!

This completed a sweep of the 35+, 45+ and 55+ for Liberty Cycle with team-mates Mark Light and Curt Hurst winning the 35+ and 45+ respectively.

Again this has never been done before in NJ racing history!

We knew the bike had appeal to spin class regulars, but here you can see and hear that a competitive cyclist who balances running a business and family life sees real value in training on our indoor bike.

Not bad from someone who admits he has never been a fan of indoor cycling classes!

As Greg said himself at the end of the ride “Where there’s a RealRyder, I will absolutely go to an indoor cycling class now!”

So for all you “real cyclists” a RealRyder stationary bike is a great alternative to the bike trainer or the rollers!

Check the facility link for a RealRyder Studio near you and try our version of indoor cycling yourself!

The challenge with our stationary bike was to come up with a design for an indoor bike that more closely resembles a real bike. Colin Irving the designer of the RealRyder Stationary Bike was always disappointed with existing designs, which all have the same limitations. They don’t move and they don’t lean!

This lack of movement with other spinning bikes and stationary bikes, stirred Colin’s imagination and he started thinking of a more dynamic design, to recreate the fun of riding a real bike!

The key to the RealRyder design is the articulating frame, which enables our stationary bike to tilt and lean.

Apart from making the bike more fun to ride there are some additional benefits in riding a stationary bike that moves like this!

You will recruit your core and upper body muscles much more than on a traditional spinning bike and because of this you will also be burning more calories than you would on a completely stationary bike.

Our stationary bike was designed to feel more like riding a real bike, but you don’t have to be an expert to ride one! Learning to ride a RealRyder is a quick process, most people find the movement a little different, but usually start feeling comfortable after about ten minutes. By the end of your first class you will be feeling confident and really enjoying the different feel!

It’s not just the bike that moves, a lot of people who have ridden a RealRyder have been moved to! Our stationary bike always draws attention, it looks cool and different which gets people interested, but it’s the ride they fall in love with! You may also have seen the RealRyder on television or magazines, as it has become a regular in the media creating a huge buzz since it was launched! Our stationary bike has also been a regular at Trade Shows here in the USA and Europe; we even had bikes at the recent Giro d’Italia and The Velodrome!

The reaction is always the same, people are curious and the curiosity quickly turns to wanting a test ride. Once you ride a RealRyder you will be hooked, it really does feel different (in a good way!) and much more fun to ride! The amazing thing is we get this reaction from all groups, the spinning guys, instructors, celebrities, mountain bikers, recreational cyclists, racers and even complete beginners! The appeal of our moving stationary bike really is universal.

So when Colin set out to design a moving stationary bike that could lean he really started something.

The cool looks and novelty value only get you so far, what is far more important is what people think of the ride and how they enjoy their workout.

This is why feedback is so important to us at RealRyder it proves the value of our unique indoor bike! This is what the design is really all about.

So if you haven’t already tried the RealRyder and experienced the stationary bike that is revolutionizing indoor cycling, check out the Search Facility for a RealRyder Studio near you or look out for us at future trade shows. We hope our stationary bike will move you to!

We talk a lot about our stationary bike being on the road and this last weekend saw RealRyder stationary bikes at two different locations. First at the SCW show Atlanta MANIA, where we were running our popular indoor cycling classes and also at the Velodrome in Trexlertown, PA. Look out for a report on Atlanta MANIA in a later post!

On Friday evening MultiSport Fitness who run a very successfull RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studio in Mt Bethel, PA took 3 of our stationary bikes to the velodrome to demo the bikes which are revolutionizing indoor cycling.

The Valley Preferred Cycling Center is the national velodrome and puts on exciting track racing, which always attracts world class racers and a very knowledgable crowd. So we were particularly interested to hear what people thought of our stationary bike.

MultiSport Fitness are a fun group to work with, they are always enthusiastic and the combination of the cool looking RealRyders and the friendly MSF team quickly drew a crowd.

There were a lot of comments that the RealRyder stationary bike feels much more like riding a real bike than other indoor bikes or spinning bikes. It was also very encouraging to hear so many positive comments, from some experienced track and road riders, about how the bike was fun to ride and gave a great workout.

Just to balance things up we had some less experienced riders, who quickly got over any initial nerves and told us they could feel their confidence growing after only a few minutes, with the excellent coaching from the MSF instructors. This is a common theme with people who are riding a RealRyder for the first time, it does feel different riding a stationary bike that leans, but most people get comfortable with the sensational and start to have fun with it very quickly!

The Velodrome is great family entertainment, so is a good match with MSF who also run indoor cycling classes for the kids! Below are the next generation of budding Trackies and Triathletes from the MSF iRyde Classes.

We even had Red Robin the track mascot swing by and take a quick spin on our stationary bike, look out for some great video of this!

This evening really captured what RealRyder Indoor Cycling is all about, our unique stationary bike is a great training tool for everyone from the most serious athletes to complete beginners taking their first steps to getting in shape. It is a very versatile piece of fitness equipment that can provide the most challenging cardio workout and yet still appeal to someone looking for a fun fitness class.

For Velodrome regulars MultiSport Fitness is only about 45 miles from T-Town in Upper Mt Bethel, so call  Jenn on 570-987-7933 and book a class! Alternatively, check out the facility finder on our site and try the RealRyder stationary bike for yourself and experience the bike that is revolutionizing indoor cycling, but a word of warning your ordinary spin class may seem a little “flat” afterwards!

We can draw our inspiration for indoor cycling from many sources, but for me watching the battles in the mountains of the Tour de France is the best inspiration there is for any type of cycling, indoor or outdoor!

Even when the route for the 2010 Tour was announced the Pyrenees were marked by many as likely to be pivotal in deciding who would ultimately win the overall in Paris.

One mountain in particular stood out, the Tourmalet; which would be climbed not once, but twice on different days.

This mountain may be the ultimate indoor cycling inspiration and has featured in the Tour many times and was included on Stage 16 when Lance Armstrong got in the break and again on Stage 17 with the finish on top of the mountain!

Stage 17 today did not disappoint, with the two strongest riders, Schleck and Contador going at it “mano a mano” through the mist on the historic Tourmalet!

By the end these two were alone and barring any major shocks Alberto Contador should seal the overall in the final time trial, despite the brave efforts of  Andy Schleck to drop him on the Tourmalet!

It was also nice to see the sportsmanship and respect of these two great riders, after the “chaingate” spat a few days back! Contador did not sprint for the stage win, after gaining time on Schleck, when he had lost his chain on an earlier stage.

Jumping back a few days it was great to see Lance Armstrong in the breakaway in his last Tour de France.

Lance has inspired millions to get on a bike or take an indoor cycling class and although his Tour has been dogged by bad luck, half of America seemed to be routing for him to get one last piece of glory, before hanging up his wheels! Twitter lit up while this stage was on and I would love to know how many people were on spinning bikes that evening or hitting the early morning spin class the next day!

So if you are looking for something to inspire you, something to motivate you to take a spin class or spend more time on the stationary bike, watch these epic stages through the mountains! You will see great riders rise to become champions and others just suffering to get through it. We can draw inspiration from both!

When you are in your next indoor cycling class and your legs are burning, your heart rate is maxed out and you are breathing through your ears, think of these guys and be inspired!

Any stationary bike can give you a good workout! You will get a get a low impact cardio workout and develop some good leg muscles. Some of the better quality stationary bikes or spin bikes will allow you to really work your cardiovascular system and develop excellent aerobic fitness.

A stationary bike is also a good way to lose weight. Looking at the calories in, calories out equation is really the only successful way to achieve long term weight goals and a stationary bike is a great tool to burn calories.

The only problem with a typical stationary bike is that it won’t do much for your upper body! Great for legs and lungs, but you really need to do some other form of exercise to work on your arms or core. Some spin classes have even resorted to bringing in some very odd looking moves that are done on the spinning bike to try and increase the muscles being used! Some of these moves look dangerous and there is very little evidence that there is any training benefit. There is even a very strong lobby of experienced spinning class instructors who are totally against these moves and would like them banned!!

Now take a good look at all the pictures and videos of someone riding a RealRyder stationary bike and you will notice the bike is always moving and leaning. This is where the extra benefits come in!

With our stationary bike and its unique articulating frame your core is constantly engaged and as you tilt and lean the bike you are actively working your upper body, arms, shoulders and abs.

We have received reports from several RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studios that clients have noticed their arms getting more toned after only a few weeks! You will also feel your core getting stronger as you will automatically be stabilizing the bike, especially out of the saddle.

As a result of using more muscles you will also be burning approximately 20% more calories than you would on a traditional spinning bike!

So whether you are looking to buy your own fitness equipment or get the most from a spin class, do your indoor cycling on a RealRyder the stationary bike with benefits!