Indoor cycling will always be my first fitness love. I started indoor cycling regularly during graduate school as a way to fit fit throughout the year (winters in Michigan are no joke!) and around my work and class schedule. After a brief stint in Connecticut, I moved back to Michigan and decided to become a Spinning (R) certified instructor. It was so much fun putting together playlists and leading classes at the university I worked at. I also taught classes at the local YMCA, which allowed me to meet people not affiliated with the university (which tended to be an academic bubble). Since becoming certified, I have been fortunate enough to find indoor cycling classes to teach. Nothing beats being paid to workout! In all seriousness, the aspect I love most about teaching fitness classes is meeting new people.
The pandemic sadly ended my indoor cycling career. Both the gyms I taught at in 2020 closed during the first national lockdown. One re-opened but they changed their staffing structure to utilize only full-time staff. Many of my indoor cycling clients jumped on the Peloton bandwagon while we were stuck home, but I couldn’t justify the money or space for a bike. Bike commuting during the pandemic gave me a smaller cycling fix, but didn’t have the same vibe as a dark studio with tunes pumping. I started researching other brands of bikes for home use and learned that it is best for the bike to have at least a 18kg fly wheel. This seems to help with stability, noise levels, and the general feel of the ride. Over 18kg, the ride will feel more like what you would experience in a spin studio or on a bike outdoors.
When I saw that Bluefin Fitness, a British home exercise equipment online store, sold indoor cycling bikes, I was very excited to see that they had three different models, with varying fly wheel weights, to choose from. Two of the three are able to connect to a training app, which is very useful for people not as familiar with indoor cycling. Their Tour SP bike looked best to me, based on flywheel weight; the Kinomap fitness app for live video streaming, video coaching and training; and design most similar to the indoor cycling bikes I normally ride in the studio. The seat and handlebars heights are adjustable and it is easy to move with wheels on the front.
Kinomap is €11.99/month for one person or €89.99 for a year. There are family options too and even a lifetime member one-off fee for €269.99. There is a 14 day free trial to see if you like what it has to offer. For now, I am sticking to my own playlists and routines, but I might give this platform a try later this summer.
In terms of the bike, it took me a few rides to get the settings perfect for me. I took a photo of each one (seat height, handlebar height, and how far forward/back the seat is) in case my husband decides to give the bike a try. So far, the tri bars have been really useful as my arms feel a little bit too short. Since it has been two years since my last time indoor cycling, I know it will take some time to get my body used the positioning again. I find the seat very comfortable but know that I can invest in a removable padded seat cover for longer rides if I don’t want to wear a chamois. The other tweak I will probably make is to replace the pedals (that came with toe baskets) with SPD clips. Wearing cycling shoes make the ride more effective on the pull up as well as the push down during the pedal stroke. Finally, I have to get used to having less space in the living room to put my rucksack and clean laundry!
Keep an eye on Bluefit Fitness’s Instagram account as I created two video tutorials for them, one on how to properly set up the bike and the other is a cool down stretch. If you have any questions about indoor cycling or the Tour SP bike, please leave a comment below. I will be following up in a few months with my thoughts on bike and how my aerobic base building is going.
Thanks for Bluefin Fitness for the complimentary Tour SP bike. All opinions are honest and my own.
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