Spinning wheels: All about the bike

Wattbikes

There are many ways to get wheels spinning. Whether it is outdoors or indoors is up to you. The ultimate indoor bike is expertly crafted, tough enough to withstand athletes in training, and can be found in our gyms. For more than a decade, Wattbike has been the first choice for elite riders, sports teams and testing labs.

Here’s why we love a Wattbike:

• It’s designed to feel just like your road bike (you can even bring your own saddle).
• It takes 100 measurements with each revolution of the pedals and gives you data on 40 different aspects of your cycling.
• It’s great for burning calories, building stamina and getting a brilliant cardio workout.
• It will make you a better rider, faster.
• The bike’s integrated technology will improve your technique, make you push yourself harder and track your progress. You can measure everything from your average speed of the spinning wheel and the power of your pedaling to your heart rate and recovery times.
• Compete with other members on our big screen, see how you’d fare against the world’s best cyclists, or test yourself with our exercises.

e-bikes 
A lack of understanding has resulted in some people looking down on e-bikes as something for lazy people with too much money. But e-bikes make a lot of sense once you understand that their function isn’t to replace but rather to enhance existing elements of cycling.

Regardless of how fit you are, an e-bike takes you on trails you simply would not be able to ride on a normal bike (too steep, too rough, too high, too much pushing). And if you want to boost your exercise you just dial down how much battery power you’re using and pedal harder.

Charl du Plessis, Creative Director at Virgin Active, explains his new addiction: “After taking a 10-year hiatus from mountain biking it was quite a process deciding on what type of bike I would like to make my comeback on – a traditional ‘Amish’ self-powered steed or join the e-bike revolution. I did a bunch of research and spoke to fellow mountain bikers about what was happening on the ground. Would I get rocks thrown at me if I arrived on an e-bike at Jonkershoek Trails on Sunday morning – or would I be embraced? In the end, I went with an e-bike simply because it’s more bang for your fitness. To be able to head out on a weekend and keep up with a group of fitter riders, while doing multiple sessions of a trail – is a no-brainer. 1000m of climbing, 40km, 1,600 calories burnt – and battery to spare. It’s the best decision I could have made, and it’s worth the investment for anyone who’s keen to have fun – while going up, while going down – and then just doing it again, because you can.”

Pop into a Virgin Active Cycle class,  get a bike wheel spinning on the gym floor or catch us on the road and trails.