Xponential Fitness
CycleBar is riding into mixed reality.
What’s happening: The Xponential Fitness-owned boutique cycling brand debuted on its parent company’s Xponential+ XR app.
Leveraging Meta’s VR tech, riders can access CycleBar’s virtual studio using any spin bike to complete workouts led by the brand’s instructors.
Blurred lines. As mixed reality (MR) workouts blending physical and digital worlds gather pace, Xponential is all in.
Uniting with Meta and Litesport last year to bring Club Pilates, PureBarre, and StretchLab studios to Meta’s Quest 3 headset, it’s betting on a future of MR fitness beyond gamification.
Doubling down, the addition of CycleBar’s bike-based workouts adds another immersive layer.
Levelling up. VR fitness brands are integrating equipment to bring new exercise modalities to market.
- Last year, Liteboxer rebranded to Litesport, introducing a Strength Training feature swapping its joysticks for real dumbbells.
- Switzerland’s HOLOFIT, a multi-sport VR fitness platform compatible with brands like Technogym, Peloton and Concept2, recently secured a US patent.
- In 2023, Octonic, a NYC-based XR/VR fitness company connecting mobile headsets with treadmills, raised $1M in crowdfunding.
Elsewhere… Valkyrie EIR integrates electric muscle stimulation, while Black Box VR’s in-studio resistance training is scaling in the US.
But, with heavy, sweaty headsets and motion sickness hampering adoption and enjoyment, the hardware still needs refining.
Takeaway: With smaller, lighter headsets already in the works, functionality won’t fall short for much longer. Coupled with the addition of equipment, the next frontier of MR fitness could attract mainstream adoption.
