The Future of Indoor Cycling Is Hybrid

3 trends to watch for this year

By James Byrne

There is no doubt about it, indoor cycling only continues to increase in popularity; especially considering the number of indoor bikes purchased during the pandemic.

With the indoor cycle market estimated to see a growth of over $200 million between 2022 and 2028, according to Research and Markets – to a whopping $993.7 million (USD) – now is the perfect time to re-evaluate your cycle studio and ensure you are delivering the type of experiences members expect.

Hybrid Classes

The hybrid model will see a mix of live and virtual cycle classes. As more members are comfortable coming back to their clubs and participating in live classes, one thing to consider is that these enthusiasts now have their own bikes at home.

Being able to exercise at home or in the studio is an option for many members that is going to stay. In times when working from home is still prevalent, people enjoy having the ability to stay in. To address this change, clubs need to think about how to capture their members’ home sessions and encourage them to complete workouts in your club.

Members crave the engagement, interaction, and community of live classes – and they love your instructors. It is the top reason riders attend live cycle classes.

… CLUBS NEED TO THINK ABOUT HOW TO CAPTURE THEIR MEMBERS’ HOME SESSIONS AND ENCOURAGE THEM TO COMPLETE WORKOUTS IN YOUR CLUB.

Creating live-stream or virtual class offerings is a way you can be part of your members’ fitness routine, even if they are not in the building. By offering virtual classes, members can reap the rewards of their membership without having to pay for another streaming service. Plus, they get to keep the connection with their favourite instructors.

Another benefit to virtual classes is that they serve as a gateway to live group classes. For members who might not be comfortable participating in live classes with experienced riders, they can complete the virtual workouts and then move into the live class. Member retention is boosted because they get the same quality of workout without feeling overwhelmed in a large group setting.

Gamification

Although this trend is aimed at younger generations, everyone who has ever played Mario Kart will enjoy this feature. Following the lead of virtual classes, gamification gives riders interactive sessions with objectives to complete, and medals earned at the end.

Espresso Fitness is just one example of an indoor cycling platform already using videogame inspired design to make indoor training more accessible and fun. Using Unreal Engine (the same game engine used by Fortnite), they allow the rider to compete against avatars from other riders around the world. Participants can also send a “ghost” of their rider for friends to race against.

BODY BIKE On Demand, a collaboration between Intelligent Cycling, Wexer, and BODY BIKE, is a virtual exercise platform that includes many gamified workouts. Riders can explore a pre-historic land with dinosaurs or ride a track under the sea.

Connectivity

Now more than ever, people are investing in wearable technology to track their fitness levels and workouts. It is the #1 trend emerging out of industry surveys for 2022.

Enabling your members to connect their own devices to your equipment will play a significant role in their class satisfaction. Seeing their data in class, on their own console, is important to riders to motivate them during the workout and to see their progress over time. Using their own devices also gives members the ability to take their data with them so they can track and compare their home workouts to the live classes.

For example, BODY BIKE’s SMART+ model includes its own app and encourages riders to use their devices in place of a fixed console during the workout. The app tracks everything from watts to cadence to calories burned.

As Health and Fitness Speaker, Educator, Coach, and BODY BIKE Brand Ambassador Dan McDonogh says, “You can’t manage what you can’t measure. The best athletes in the world understand that data can help drive decisions when it comes to training. Using technology, such as the BODY BIKE SMART+ while cycling indoors can help participants train smarter not harder, thus increasing performance and durability.”

GIVING YOUR MEMBERS MORE OPPORTUNITIES TO RECORD THEIR DATA, COACHING THEM THROUGH THE RESULTS, AND CREATING A PLAN ESTABLISHES A VALUABLE CONNECTION

What do these trends mean for you?

A boost in member retention and ways to attract new members.

Giving your members more opportunities to record their data, coaching them through the results, and creating a plan establishes a valuable connection they would not get from an ‘online only’ class.

Adding virtual classes will give members an opportunity to participate on their own schedule. Which means you will not lose members when their schedules change, and they can no longer make their regular class. Instead, they can still come in (or stay at home) and watch the replay of their favourite class when it suits their life.

Staying flexible and using your in-club advantages (like awesome instructors) can keep you competitive with the ever-growing at-home market for indoor cycling.

James Byrne is the President of BODY BIKE Canada. As an avid indoor cyclist, James knows what makes great live and virtual cycling experiences. He is passionate about everything indoor cycling and is excited to bring the world class quality of BODY BIKE to Canadian consumers. Learn more at body-bike.ca.

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