How to break away from the pack

There’s little doubt indoor cycling studios have become a valuable spoke in the fitness sector’s wheel. Look in any leading club during the morning, lunchtime or evening peak periods, and you’ll see instructor-led spin classes have filled studios to the seat posts. Members love these classes and clubs are enjoying increased loyalty and incremental revenue too.

Indoor spin studios are now a must-have facility. From budget clubs to bespoke, single-purpose boutiques, if your club doesn’t have a spinning studio, it seems you’re missing out. Just ask Equinox in the US, who are to imminently float Soul Cycle, taking advantage of the slipstream from the wider sector.

But as soon as the instructor-led classes finish, all those shiny spin bikes and that dedicated space sits idle, dark, and all rather uninviting. The question gym owners and managers have started to ask is: “How do we get lycra on seats outside instructor classes? And inexpensively too?”

A second issue is that with almost ubiquitous availability of indoor cycling studios, progressive clubs are looking for ways to differentiate and value-add, to stay ahead of the pack.

Running Unlimited, who brought us business class running with the innovative Zone dome, has been working hard to solve this dilemma. “We’ve been speaking to club owners and managers across the country, working with them to distil a solution for their empty studios,” says Ryan Crabbe, product development lead at Running Unlimited. “They all wanted the same thing: an authentic, film-based cycling experience, that’s fully automated and based on tried and tested technology… so we created WorldRide.”

WorldRide is a beautifully filmed virtual cycling solution. Imagine a wall-sized screen playing a stunning HD film of a peloton ride along Pacific Coast Highway in California, or a breathtaking ascent from rainforest to a snow-capped peak on New Zealand’s Mt Ruapehu. The immersive experience is remarkable.

Programmed to your studio’s schedule, the WorldRide system delivers tailored workouts matched to each film with virtual coach audio (no one likes those talking heads), with curated music to match. Cadence, resistance or zone, and other cues appear on screen to prompt riders. WorldRide is fully automated – turning itself and the projector (or TV) on/off, and even lowering/raising an electric screen where they’re installed. All for less than £2000. “We’re all about creating film-based experiences, making use of technology for the benefit of the health and wellness space,” adds Crabbe.