Price Paid:  $25.00 at Performance

Favorite Ride:
Sunrise climb at Mt. Rainier

Bike Setup:
2005 Trek Madone, 2005 Trek Top Fuel 98, 2002 Trek 2300, Trek 1500 and a 1984 Trek 400. (I've always liked my Treks)

Summary:
A great workout, but I would say it's about a 6 on a scale of 1-10. I have a number of Spinervals DVD's and rotate this one in the mix every so often. I find most of them pretty similar as far as difficulty. From the look of the bikes and jerseys, it seems a little dated but it's not a fashion show. It will make you sweat.

Strengths:
Coach Troy keeps the intensity up and makes you push.

Weaknesses:
They need some decent women to look at in this video, but hey, it's a workout...

Similar Products Used:
CTS DVD's, other Spinervals, Real Rides DVD's, etc.

Price Paid:  $25.00 at Performance

Favorite Ride:
Road

Bike Setup:
Bridgestone RB-2 on Rollers

Summary:
Great video, not as hard as I expected. This video is rated 9 on a scale of 10 for difficulty, however, I rate it a 6-7.

Strengths:
Keeps me motivated, makes me sweat and burn a lot of calories.

Weaknesses:
Pricey.

Price Paid:  $30.00 at Performance

Favorite Ride:
Tour de Keeferton

Summary:
Rather than joining a gym I thought that I would buy a trainer and a spinning video. More bang for the buck, I thought, and rightly so. I had never done and spinning but I've been averaging over 1500 miles per year for the last couple of years so I figured I could take it. I knew that I had gotten fetter and slower over the winter, but this video kicked my butt. I thought that spinnerval 1.0 would be easier than 2.0 or 3.0, but I bet now that they are all about the same.

I knew that I was in trouble when before the session even starts a graphic comes up that rates the workout as a 9 on a scale of 10 for intensity level, with 10 being "extreme."

The warm-up is a five or six minute set, then there's a one minute cool-down followed by a set at which you maintain a moderate cadence for five minutes as you work your way down your cassette. The next set is a "super spin", when you maintain a cadence of 120+ for 30 seconds and then have a 20 soft pedal. Next comes the 10 second 100% effort sitting, 10 second soft pedal, 10 second 100% effort standing set. After that comes a hard 5 minute prologue simulation. Then comes another "super spin" set and finally a cool-down. It burns. Like the video says, my big goal is to be able to make it through the video in the recommended gears without taking extra time to spin easy between sets. And once I do that, I'll increase the resistance on my trainer...

Strengths:
Compact workout: the whole shootin' match takes less than 50 minutes.
High intensity: I have not met a cyclist who would not sweat buckets during this work-out.
Adaptability: You can suspend the workout if you feel ill, tired, or weak. You can also use a different gear to make things harder or easier.
Effective: I've already dropped 4 lbs using the video and my legs are starting to look different.
Smug factor: Chances are that your buddy isn't working this hard during winter. With this product I just might beat mine to the top of Wintergreen, our local HC.
Mushy stuff: I kind of have a crush on the woman in the video who is a cyclist and a school teacher. She's cute and can kick my butt on the bike. Now that's the total package...

Weaknesses:
Difficulty: It's HARD! But that's good, too. But it's hard to watch the screen when i'm trying not to vomit.
"Don't Chain Me In" factor: You're riding your bike indoors. That always sucks.