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I'm very interested in starting an indoor cycling class. Any advice on brands regarding quality/maintenance issues?

I would urge you to consider your audience or audiences as the case might be. If you have more advanced riders, you might find it easier to attract and retain them with bikes that offer advanced capabilities such as the Real Ryder (realryder.com) or Cycle Ops (cycleops.com). Bikes that are a cut above the basic, with better quality such as those by Matrix which is a very impressive machine are also very worthy of consideration. Star Tac continues to be a mainstay in the industry no doubt, and is a perfectly good machine. Lemond and Keyser and some others that are mentioned continue to try to grow within the industry but don't gain traction, and there is a reason for that. If you are looking into indoor cycling, I would also urge you to look into "Kranking". While it is an costly option to implement, the outcome on its own or "fused" with indoor cycling is a real strong program with excellent drawing power and will offer a multiplier effect both in terms of utilization and fitness. Good luck with a program I'm sure you'll find becomes a mainstay and a valuable asset.
edited by OrangeFit1 on 6/15/2011

I can't stress enough the importance of preventive maintenance for cycle bikes. The sweat will cause more headaches than you can imagine. By far, the biggest issue with the bikes is breakdowns. I would also suggest investigating warranties on the bikes you are considering.
Just an FYI, another consideration when starting a cycling class--by it's very nature, there are a limited number of spots in each class. Be ready for complaints of "I can NEVER get a bike."

We have StarTrac bikes and they work well, but I wanted to know if anyone has participated in or hosted a Spin cycling class where clipless road bike pedals were used instead of the SPD pedals that come standard with Spin bikes? I've been frustrated with the maintenance and wear and tear experienced with the SPD pedals and was considering changing our pedals to the clipless pedals featured on road bikes. Would appreciate candid responses- thanks!