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- The StagesBike goes on sale in early 2020 and will cost about $2,700.
- The StagesBike is built on the foundations of the brand’s studio/spin bikes, but is equipped for the enthusiast cyclist.
- A road drop bar is included, or you can install your favorite bar to replicate your outdoor bike.
- Has integrated smartphone and tablet holder and two USB charging ports.
- Includes a Stages LR dual-sided power meter.
Stages is already a strong player in the spin/studio bike world, but the new StagesBike ($2,600 to $2,800) is the brand’s first dedicated indoor bike aimed at the enthusiast cyclist.
One of the biggest things that sets the StagesBike apart from a spin bike is the freewheel (spin bikes are direct drive and don’t let you coast). The StagesBike also has a drop handlebar instead of a cow-horn bar—if you don’t like it, you can swap in your favorite drop bar or add aero extensions.
The StagesBike has shift/brake levers that simulate shifting and braking by adjusting the unit’s electronically controlled resistance and may provide additional functions when the bike is paired with some apps.
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Connectivity, Compatibility, and Adjustability
The bike has both Bluetooth and ANT+ FE-C connectivity, a smartphone holder, and an adjustable tablet/FE-C-enabled cycling computer holder. Two USB charging ports provide all the juice you need so you can keep up with social media during a Zwift century.
The StagesBike offers tool-free reach, stack, and saddle-position adjustment, and has four crankarm-length positions (165, 170, 172.5, 175mm). Another difference from the Stages studio equipment—the StagesBike has a dual-side power meter for a more accurate and complete picture of the rider’s output (the studio bikes have left-side power only).
On the subject of power, the StagesBike offers up to 3,000 (!) watts of resistance, so get after those sprint intervals and put those satellite sprint-shifter buttons to use.
Smooth, Stable, and Solid
A 50-pound flywheel provides a smooth pedaling experience, and more accurately simulates the momentum and inertia of the outdoor experience than a lighter flywheel can. It’s driven with a Gates belt drive that’s quiet, smooth, and doesn’t require lube.
The weighty flywheel—and the bike’s wide base and robust frame—provided a very stable feel during my brief trade show demo. It feels much more solid and less likely to rock or tip than a bike on a direct-drive trainer.
Pricey (Sort Of)
Its $2,700 price is quite steep (though it’s notably less expensive than the new $3,500 Wahoo Bike), but it starts to look less nutty when you compare it to the combined price of a smart trainer, dual-sided power meter, and a bike. And if you assign some value to convenience, it starts to look a bit better still.
Convenient
With a dedicated indoor bike you don’t need to mount and remove your bike from the trainer, easy size adjustment lets a multi-rider household share the same equipment, you’e not wearing down potentially expensive replacement parts on your outdoor bike, the StagesBike is much quieter than a bike equipped with a chain and derailleur, and the StagesBike is much more stable than an outdoor bike mounted to a trainer.
Most of all, it’s a matter of convenience: An indoor bike is always set up and ready to go when you’re ready for an indoor sesh.
Is all that worth having a dedicated indoor bike to supplement a “real” bike? Stages (and Wahoo and WattBike) obviously believe a lot of you will think so. And with indoor cycling on the rise, they might be right. We’ll find out: Our review units are on order.
A gear editor for his entire career, Matt’s journey to becoming a leading cycling tech journalist started in 1995, and he’s been at it ever since; likely riding more cycling equipment than anyone on the planet along the way. Previous to his time with Bicycling, Matt worked in bike shops as a service manager, mechanic, and sales person. Based in Durango, Colorado, he enjoys riding and testing any and all kinds of bikes, so you’re just as likely to see him on a road bike dressed in Lycra at a Tuesday night worlds ride as you are to find him dressed in a full face helmet and pads riding a bike park on an enduro bike. He doesn’t race often, but he’s game for anything; having entered road races, criteriums, trials competitions, dual slalom, downhill races, enduros, stage races, short track, time trials, and gran fondos. Next up on his to-do list: a multi day bikepacking trip, and an e-bike race.
