BikeBiz Bicycle and cycling retail news
Mick Rice, an Irishman and "an avid mountain biker and busy executive", has developed a mountain bike version of spinning with a studio bike that has a pivoting handlebar which mimics the action of ‘honking’ out of the saddle, giving gym goers an upper body workout as well as a thigh-and-calf session.
Rice has called his company Trixter, and the studio MTB is called the X-Bike. This is made under licence by Giant and will soon be sold to gyms across North America and the UK. Rice has been developing the X-Bike since late 2001.
Rice’s vision – "fighting for enhanced public health through making exercise fun" – will be helped along by an endorsement from the UCI and tie-ups with MTBers Scott Beaumont and Missy Giove, two of the biggest names in mountain biking.
Trixter Development Ltd. is a British company, with one of the directors being renowned fitness trainer Dave Smith.
"[This is] a very exciting thing to be working on and let’s say the fitness industry seems to be gagging for some MTB blood and attitude," Smith told BikeBiz.co.uk.
Smith is currently in San Francisco, filming Trixter promotional videos with Giove and other riders.
The X-Bike has a 40lb flywheel and oversized felt resistance pads providing "a smooth ride consistent to your outdoor bike." It also features a 9-speed SRAM Rocket Twist-Grip.
