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!

With the Tour de France on, I was all fired up to ride today, but looking out on heavy rain, which looks like it’s set in for the day! Glad to have the indoor cycling option today, especially after seeing all the broken bones in this years Tour!

It’s funny I grew up in an area with a lot of rain, so got used to wet rides, but seeing the Tour riders going through the Alps in bright sunshine, doesn’t motivate me to go and get soaked in the middle of July! So today rain = indoor cycling!

Luckily I have a RealRyder Indoor Cycling studio nearby, so I got a good one hour workout at lunchtime, bumped into some like minded friends and picked up coffee on the way back. So I got my cycling and caffeine fix and all is good in my world again!

So if you’re faced with summer monsoons, don’t overlook indoor cycling as an alternative and hit the road another day. It certainly helps if you are near a RealRyder Indoor Cycling Studio, as your ride will be much more like the real thing than a spin class on a traditional non-tilting spinning bike.

Check the facilty search button on the right to see if there is a RealRyder studio near you – not all indoor cycling classes are the same!  The great thing about our stationary bike is the articulating frame makes indoor cycling a much more stimulating experience and will give you a better workout, by engaging your core muscles and upper body.

So if you get the chance (rain or shine!) try our moving stationary bike which is really revolutionizing indoor cycling!

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!

Can the fitness equipment you use help to motivate you? Absolutely! Or to put it another way if your fitness equipment doesn’t motivate you, you won’t use it!

One of the most important things with any training program is consistency. Regular training takes motivation and the fitness equipment you use can play a big part in this.

Let me give you two examples. Last year my local gym had old worn out spinning bikes. The resistance was not smooth anymore, the handlbars and seat adjustments all had play in them, and all the bikes were creaking! I only went to these spin classes as a last resort, as frankly they weren’t much fun to ride. It wasn’t just me either, the attendance at these spin classes had dropped every year as their fitness equipment got more and more tired!

They put in new RealRyder stationary bikes last winter and indoor cycling was fun again. The new indoor bikes didn’t just work better because they were new, the RealRyder stationary bikes were clearly an upgrade over the old spinning bikes (even if they had still been in good condition). Training on a RealRyder uses more muscles than a regular spinning bike, because it tilts and turns, but this feature also makes the RealRyder much more fun and stimulating to ride! The result of this upgraded fitness equipment? I was motivated to take more indoor cycling classes and judging by the attendances, so were many others!

The second example is an abs machine we bought years ago, which turned out to awkward to use and not that well made. According to the TV ad it made sit ups easier to do and less stressful on the spine and neck. In reality it didn’t do either and got little use as a result. A clear example of fitness equipment that doesn’t motivate you to use it!

One other factor to consider here is the length of time you might want to spend using any piece of fitness equipment. How long can you stand on fitness equipment that is uncomfortable and/or boring?! You have probably read the story of Adam Reid recently doing 8 hours on our stationary bike at a charity event at Sweat Therapy and maybe thought he’s a fitness pro and paid by RealRyder anyway! So is that really relevant to me? Well yes, it is relevant, Adam didn’t have to be on the bike for the whole eight hours! He could have alternated with the other instructors, so if nothing else it proves a RealRyder stationary bike is comfortable enough if you want to ride for eight hours!

Perhaps a better example is the number of clients who regularly do back to back indoor cycling classes at RealRyder studios. Two hours of indoor cycling on a stationary bike? To me that proves that this really is “Motivational Fitness Equipment”!