The History Of Spin Bikes: Why Didn't Someone Write This Before?

The indoor cycling "spinning" industry first appeared in 1995 when a young cycling enthusiast Johnny Goldberg developed the first group exercise program on stationary bikes forever changing the usual gym workout regimen.  His partnership with Schwinn, established the Schwinn Johnny G Pro as the gold standard in group cycling or as it is now known "spinning class".  With 5 years of huge success and the creation of a new type of the bike the Schwinn Johnny G Elite (Coasting Feature) it looks like things could not stop the ongoing force.  It wasn't until 2001 when Schwinn and the "spinning" program, now owned by Madd Dog Athletics, then split ways.

The "spinning" and Johnny G brand carried on and partnered with Star Trac out of Irvine, Ca for their manufacturing needs and began production on the Star Trac Johnny G Pro & Star Trac Johnny G Elite.  The first models were black and had a lot of success entering a growing market.

At the same time, Schwinn, a division of the Nautilus Group, launched a new series of solid frame bikes titled the Schwinn Evolution and Schwinn Evolution SR (Adjustable "Smart Release") which then subsequently led its commonly know moniker the "Schwinn Evo". The Schwinn IC Pro and Schwinn IC Elite (Coasting Feature) came in to being 2002.  

Enter a new player in 2002, Lemond Fitness out of Woodinville, WA who sought to change whatever the established norms were in indoor cycling.  Lemond developed the first belt driven bike to become extremely popular in the club mainstream.  The smoothness and comfort/adjustability settings along with a very user friendly Lemond Pilot Monitor did set them apart from the rest of the competition but Star Trac and Schwinn continued to dominate the majority of the market share.

Star Trac discontinued working with Johnny G but kept on with the Mad Dog Athletics and their "spinning" program.  They developing the Star Trac Spinner Pro & Star Trac Spinner Elite.  Shortly thereafter was the creation of the first all aluminum bike frame which became the Star Trac NXT.  

In 2004 Schwinn was the first company to offer full zinc plating on its bikes and utilize the oversize ISIS ball bearing system.  During this time the IC Pro & IC Elite and Evo's were still being produced but on the horizon was the next big change in indoor cycling.  The AC line created the first friction-less resistance system using an ingenious magnet driven resistance system.  The three current models are the Schwinn AC Classic, Schwinn AC Sport (Smart Release), and Schwinn AC Performance (Smart Release) and all come the option of a an AC Sport Console or  AC Performance Console.

There are many other companies now on the market from Matrix, Keiser, Real Ryder, Body Craft, Body Solid, EB Fitness, Trixter who offer comparable and/or totally different indoor cycling options and others over the years like Tomahawk, Reebok and more that did not survive the long haul or were bought out.