SoulCycle At-home Bike
SoulCycle pioneered the high-intensity, music-pumping spin class loved by its cult-like followers. Copy-cat competitors were introducing at-home versions of this class with screens mounted to spin bikes. Though similar in class format, none of them captured the true feeling of being in the same room, all riding together in a pack. SoulCycle knew it needed to release their at-home bike to stay competitive, but how would they differentiate from the copy-cats?
I was a key designer in the early concepting phase for the on-screen bike UI and helped build the first “proof of concept” used for early testing with users.
Agency: Cainkade
Bryan Keefer, Product Manager
Jordan McQuade, Product Designer
Jackson Puff, Product Designer
Kari Rimell, Product Designer
The “For you” screen serves up classes that riders might like based on previous riding history. Programs, which are a series of classes meant to be taken in order, are displayed prominently to new riders to help build habits of classes to take. From our early research, we learned that riders enjoyed taking the same class repeatedly to improve their skills; especially difficult choreography that are unique to each instructor.
The “Classes” screen presents riders with a view into the entire catalog of on-demand classes. We used the familiar “swim lane” organizational strategy, common in streaming video services to leverage an existing interaction that riders would be familiar with. No need to reinvent the wheel.
The “Instructor detail” screen highlights the instructor with a motivation bio, video intro, and music preferences and of course all classes taught by this instructor. To encourage riders to discover other instructors, we provide suggestions based on the rider’s activity as well as the unique characteristics of each instructor such as music preference, difficulty, choreography, and more.
The class experience is about focusing on the instructor, not the UI. We built custom gestures into the screen to allow for swiping to reveal or hide the progress bar, stats, and a unique isometric view that demonstrates proper form on the bike.
After the class wraps, we congratulate the rider on their hard work with stats and the full playlist of music played during class.
We designed thoughtful “Moments” throughout the experience to celebrate the rider. Unique greetings are displayed to congratulate riders after hitting a personal best, or welcoming back a rider when they haven't ridden for awhile.
