Product innovation
Wattbike chosen as exclusive indoor cycling supplier for Places for People Leisure
Following a competitive procurement exercise in March, Wattbike, creator of the world’s most advanced indoor bike, has been appointed as the preferred, and exclusive supplier of specialist Indoor Cycling equipment for Places for People Leisure, effective from April 2016 as a three-year contract.
Dependent on the site and client base, Wattbike will be installing either two bikes, a zone of six or studio based cycling options across the Places for People Leisure portfolio of 113 leisure centres, starting with the newly-launched Wycombe Leisure Centre – a £25m project which opened to the public in January 2016.
Given the huge growth in cycling participation across the UK in recent years, Places for People Leisure has placed a focus on developing an excellent cycling provision for its members. The aim is to provide customers with an indoor cycling experience that can replicate a real-ride feel, as well as provide an unrivalled degree of data and accuracy that users now demand and expect in order to monitor performance over time.
Commenting on the announcement, John Oxley, chief operating officer at Places for People Leisure said: “The Wattbike is an outstandingly versatile product, capable of meeting the needs of a wide variety of our customers. We see the Wattbike complementing our traditional gym floor cycles as well as our group cycling offering. It will broaden our indoor cycling provision and allow much more choice, accuracy and quality to our customers and expand the opportunities for our instructors and personal trainers.”
He added: “As a specialist product, the Wattbike performs excellently on the gym floor, within group and personal training environments, rehabilitation programmes and provides enormous benefit to the elite athlete. The Wattbike is well known for assisting performance athletes to hone their skills to compete on the global stage, and in turn it will inspire our members by creating world-class sports facilities on their doorstep.”
Members and staff will also benefit from the newly-updated Wattbike Hub, which acts as a portable personal trainer, allowing users to really personalise their training. Whether in a group setting or 1-1, the app provides everything a customer now demands: tests, workouts, and plans, as well as feedback and workout analysis.
Richard Baker, commercial director at Wattbike, added: “It’s a real privilege to have been announced as an exclusive supplier for Places for People Leisure and to help them provide high-performance fitness equipment for their members and grow their indoor cycling provision.”
“Riders ranging from local community members through to high performance athletes will be able to enjoy dynamic and engaging workouts with first-class equipment to help them achieve their personal best. We look forward to supporting and working with the Places for People Leisure team on this exciting new project, and for years to come.”
Places for People Leisure currently manages 113 leisure centres across England and its sites attract over 30 million visits every year. During this procurement process, the company decided to only award exclusive supply arrangements in the Indoor Cycling Equipment, Cardiovascular, Fixed Strength and Free Weights categories.
For more information visit www.wattbike.com or www.placesforpeopleleisure.org
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