RealRyder Spin Bikes (not spam)

Anyone tried these bikes before? My gym is thinking about getting some of these bikes. The guy doing the demo makes it look easy, but the demonstration in the gym with all the people--they don't look very comfortable on the bike, and it doesn't seem to lean as far as the demo.

I'm just curious if anyone has any opinions about these particular bikes. Do you think it really makes a difference that you can lean the bike for core strength, etc?

eta: Not to post a link, but the website is that name of the bike with a dot com behind it.

Karen

...........................................................IMHO-

spin bikes give a great aerobic workout

stability balls give a great core workout

This is just marketing hoopla, like trying to sell your brand of tissues by putting it in a colorful box.

I don't think it would be an effective core training method and may take away from the aerobic component.

That's what I think, too. Might make the spinning less monotonous, but I think it is not something that will build your core past a certain point.

Karen

I looked at the website. I think the fact that the bike moves with you is a plus. However, the frame doesn't look big enough and I'd be fearful of having a heavy rider try to lean that bike & fall into the next rider. Also, doesn't the rider look like the pedals are too far apart? I got the impression of horseback riding. Maybe it's just me.

One of my spin instructors has these bikes in her class. She said a woman fell off of the bike because the entire shoe/clip/cage dislodged, sending her flying. She said she's heard of similar instances where accidents have happened on these bikes.

Hi, I noticed this thread and since I work for RealRyder I thought I could be of some help answering your concerns.
I understand that when a new and different product is developed it is often met with skepticism and caution. Let me assure you that our product was developed with safety and durability as our number one priority. Because of this our product has actually been overbuilt and can withstand forces exponentially higher than other indoor bikes. The fact that the bike moves side to side actually relieves stresses on the bike and our wider base and heavier steel frame insures safety when leaning to the side.
I am a large guy (6'6 275) and have often demonstrated the stability of the bike by standing on only one pedal, holding the handlebars, and throwing my weight all the way to the same side as the pedal I am standing on and holding that position and I have never been able to come close to tipping the bike.

Dogmama: I think your spin instructor must have our bike confused with another, because we have never heard of the situation described by your spin instructor. I am sure if a situation like this actually occurred we would be the first people to hear about it. Can you tell me which club this happenned in so that I could contact them? What your instructor described is highly unlikely because even if the shoe/clip/cage dislodged, the rider would still be straddling the seat and it would be virtually impossible to envision a scenario where a pedal breaking would cause someone to fall off the bike, let alone "fly" off the bike.

Tuckervill: The simple act of having to stabilize your body while exercising, does in fact engage your core. When riding the RealRyder it could not even be described as a subtle change from riding your standard spin bike. It is something you will feel immediately. Furthermore, every time I have demonstrated the bike as soon as I incorporate any of the workouts designed to target the core, the person immediately and noticeably feels the effects of the core exercise.

I hope my info helped answer some of the concerns that were voiced here. I will check on this thread and try and answer any follow up questions posted. I would encourage all of you to take the opportunity to try out the RealRyder if the opportunity arises, I think you will come away very impressed. We have received very positive responses from the vast majority of people who have tried the RealRyder, (as evidenced by the RealRyder recently being named the best indoor cycle on the market by an independent reviewer of fitness equipment, 'fitness professor review' whom you can google if you are interested) and I am very confident you would join our ever-growing list of RealRyder fans.

Thanks for taking the time to read my (long) post.

Casey Harrington
RealRyder

I like getting it straight from the horse's mouth...

Here's my disclaimer: I don't spin indoors. I ride outside, road and mountain. So, maybe for indoor cycling being able to turn the bike from side to side does make for a core workout. I don't know, because I don't spin.

On a real bike, because of momentum, there is no core fitness happening past a certain point. I'm sure of that, because I rode my bike a long time before I started exercising off of it, and my core strength didn't improve until then.

Your bike reminds me of the video games in the fancy arcades, where you can straddle a fake motorcycle and lean it side to side to play the game. Those DO engage core muscles. If you lift your feet up, you're relying on your balance to keep it from leaning all the way over to its outer limit. Similarly, a spin bike that leans like that would offer the ability to balance at the halfway point of its range of motion. That's not how a real bike works.

I think that's why I'm skeptical, and why the "real" part doesn't ring true to me. But, I haven't tried your bike, yet, so I'm making a lot of assumptions. I will report back when I do try it, though!

Karen

How come I didn't get a mention ;)

The Wellmont Wellness Center in Bristol, TN has the RealRyders. They are alot of fun to spin on but I can't imagine anyone falling off one. They have a wide base of support and I have seen some big guys leaning side to side on them. No one has had a bit of trouble that I know of. They have clip-in pedals or cages (depending which you choose).

That being said, I am not particularly crazy about these bikes and for my DH, the side to side motion of "leaning" hurts him you know where. The seats are not particularly comfortable for me and I have never felt really comfortable on these spin bikes (nor any other spin bike, for that matter) They surely do feel as though they are giving a core workout, but only when you are leaning. And you are not leaning during all of the hour in the class. I think that fitting the Realryder is hard and I never seem to be comfortable despite trying to adjust it every time I go. The resistance is very easy to set though I found a lot of variation from bike to bike. One might take a complete turn on the knob to increase the resistance and one might take a quarter turn.

All in all, they definitely add to your core but are no substitute for a real core workout.

I dunno. I think this looks pretty interesting.
To me, who is also a road and mtb rider who detests indoor spinning classes (although I have done them - just not for several years...and apologies to those in this forum thread who love the classes!), this RealRyder seems to be to "regular" spinning bikes, as rollers are to trainers....an attempt to give you a more engaging workout when you're stuck inside.
And, as rollers might exaggerate some aspects of a real riding experience (cadence, constant pedalling, for instance), I think it's fair to say that the lean of this thing may also exaggerate the real riding experience. I don't necessarily find that "bad" by any piece of equipment. It's trying to get the most efficient workout in a short span of time - in this case, a 45 minute spin class.
They also don't seem to have a "home use" model available. It would be interesting how one would stack up compared to, say, a Lemond RevMaster or the CycleOps 300T, when slogging through your favorite [sic] Spinerval DVD. (Can you tell my dreams have me getting off my rollers from time to time? :rolleyes:)
There also is nothing on power meter capability.
Hmmmm......

The bikes came in and I've been on them during circuit sessions this week. (They're just another station in the circuit, like the ladder drill or hula hoop.) I've also spent a bit of time just playing around with them and talking them over with the owner of the gym, and getting my son's input, too.

They do NOT work like the fake motorcycles at the arcade. They don't just lean over. They are articulated in two places, the front "fork" and under the seat post, so the resistance wheel in the back goes opposite of the bars.

It IS hard to lean them over, and I guess that's intentional to get that core workout. What I didn't like is that there were pressure points on my inner thigh against the saddle. I tried to lean it by just turning the bars, and that required a lot of pressure on my hands. Because there's no momentum like on a real bike, just leaning over seems awkward (and pointless) but that's just my opinion.

Overall, I think they're fine as spin bikes, and you'll never get "real" riding out of a stationary bike, but they're a good approximation. If I spend more time on it, and my opinion changes, I'll let you know. :)

Karen