Classes FAQ’s & Info

Cycling Kit: Please wear cycling shorts and jersey (pref your club kit) or a gym t-shirt/vest top. Chamois cream is always a good idea on any ride inside or out!

Shoes: If wearing cycling shoes you’ll need SPD cleats which are the small cleats often used for spinning bikes, mtb and commuting. If you don’t have these then you can wear gym trainers/running shoes. The pedals are like most spin bikes with a dual side for either SPDs cleats or flat pedals w/Straps.

Hydration: Bring a water bottle. There is a few water fountains at H2 you can fill and re-fill when needed. You may want bring an energy drink for longer classes and FTP testing.

Towels: They are provided at H2 (both small ones will be on the bikes and larger ones available at reception)

Bike Parking: If you are cycling over to H2 they have a large secure bike racking area which you can park your bike whilst there.

Changing Rooms: H2 has large male and female changing rooms with lockers, showers and toilets. You’ll need to grab a locker card from reception when you arrive. Towels, body wash and shampoo is all there.

All ability and fitness levels are welcome!

All classes are run around a percentage of your FTP so you ride to your personal zones. This keeps the intensity similar for all riders during a class. You control the resistance on the spin bikes, so can make it easier if needed or re-adjust your FTP if the zones feel to high. Speak to the instructor to help you gauge what FTP you should ride at initially if you don’t know your FTP.

If you have any health issues, heart problems or injuries please tell the instructor at the start of the class or email us (pat@speedlab.uk) in advance so we can offer any advice pre-class.

Check the Course Dates Page for all upcoming dates and which H2 location (Soho or Victoria) that course is at. Generally all our 8wk course classes start at 7:15pm with Tuesday’s and Thursdays being held at H2 Soho and with Wednesday’s being held at H2 Victoria;

Soho: H2 Clubs, Dufours Place (just off Broadwick St), London. W1F 7SP

Victoria: H2 Clubs, 10 Bressenden Place, London. SW1E 5DH

All classes range between 60-75 minutes, usually building up the duration through the course.

We will be using the Stages spin bikes with Stages power meters which link to both an on-bike console and Stages Flight software on the big screen. It is very important you sign up to the Stages Flight software (as in above step) so you can see your power gauge (as a % of FTP) on the big screen and follow the intervals correctly.

Once the class has ended Stages Flight will send you an email with all of your data stats and you can also sync it to send straight to Strava & Training Peaks.

HRMs (Heart Rate Monitors): You can wear a HRM and they will sync to the stages on-bike console via ANT+ (which most straps are). There is a specific process to sync them correctly and I will run through how at the beginning of the class for those using them. Often its quicker and simpler to bring your own bike computer or watch and sync both the HRM and bike to that (if it has a power function on it, which again most decent garmins/wahoos etc do). The class is really designed around power zones so this will be the primary reading from the Stages bikes.

Devices: As mentioned above you can also bring your own device which is always good as a back up in case of any tech problems. You will be able to sync the stages power meters via the add sensor function in your bike computers menu.

No Device or HRM: Don’t worry if you don’t have or bring either. As mentioned the classes really focus on power which will be picked up on the Stages Flight system.

A lot of you will be using Strava and Training Peaks to track your data so will want to set up the sync between Stages Flight and these apps. You’ll need to do this before you ride your initial class so it automatically synchronises all the data at the end of every ride.

In the left side navigation options under ‘Settings’ within the Stages Flight software choose “Apps” and then enable which apps you’d like to sync – simple as that! 😀

To change your FTP or heart rate zones go to the left side navigation options in ‘Settings’ within the Stages Flight software and choose “Heart Rate & Watt” and then edit your zones accordingly.

If you haven’t enabled ‘FTP lock’ in this area your FTP will automatically update every time you do a class which contains any kind of  tests. We would recommend that you enable the ‘FTP lock’ so that you have to manually go in to change your FTP after any testing protocols. The reason being that you may do a test on a day where you’re perhaps feeling unwell or still fatigued from previous training that week, so you’ll likely not hit your true FTP as you would being totally fresh.

In preparation for any kind of session which contains either a short or full FTP test we recommend you take a rest/easy day the day before and ideally not have done a high intensity/high volume session for at least a few days.

As you’ll be working mainly at and above threshold in z4 and z5 you’ll be working very anaerobically and burning a lot more sugar/carbs that fat, so you’ll want to bring an energy drink (rather than water) on testing days to give your best performance and not bonk halfway through the test.

Stages Flight uses color coded zones based on FTP (functional threshold power) to help guide you through intensity levels based on color. The gauges within the class will change colors based on where you are riding in relation to the FTP set in your profile.