SimCycle Connects Home Fitness Buffs to Digital Athletics

Aug. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- Eloton, Inc. brings a new era of digital athletics to the home fitness market with its portable SimCycle exercise bike and Eloton Theater family of digitally-simulated outdoor exercise environments that can be viewed on PCs. Eloton plans to meet the high demand from families and individuals who want a convenient exercise solution that is both motivational and entertaining. How the SimCycle Works
The SimCycle is a sleek, rugged stationary cycle that works like a 'joystick,' allowing riders to control their speed, distance and calories burned, while cycling through the Eloton Theater photo-realistic environments. The system includes Eloton Theater disks and connects to a PC via a serial port for simple, automatic, uploads. The SimCycle can be used for a cardio respiratory workout or placed on a desk or table for upper body exercise. At a compact 10 inches by 20 inches and weighing just 22 pounds, it stores easily in a closet or under a desk or table and can be easily carried for travel.

"The SimCycle name stands for 'simulation cycle,' and it connects athletes of all ages to virtual environments that motivate and entertain. Millions of Americans want an alternative to time-consuming health club visits and cumbersome, expensive home exercise machines that quickly lose their appeal. Our simulated worlds introduce a whole new era of digital athletics," says Eloton CEO Ryan Forvilly.

The SimCycle is targeted at the $10 billion consumer exercise market, particularly the 96 million U.S. households that currently own some type of fitness equipment and that want to upgrade to more motivational exercise alternative.

Total Immersion Software
Eloton Theater outdoor exercise simulation programs combine digital video with 3-D technology and also provide critical workout statistics on duration, intensity and energy expenditure. Current titles, created by Eloton artists, musicians and software engineers, include Clear Creek, Sedona Air, Sedona Red Trail, Ice House, Painted Desert, Sierra Foothills, and Redwoods. Forvilly says Eloton can produce dozens of proprietary new titles each year and plans to release upwards of two new titles per month starting this fall.

Upcoming Product Releases
This fall, Eloton will release a library of home videos that will simulate the Eloton Theater's photo-realistic environments through a SimCycle user's television and VCR. The release of the Eloton SimCycle Workout Library will ensure that Eloton does not alienate the home fitness video market.

Version 2 -- Exercise Without Boundaries
The upcoming Version 2 SimCycle will be Internet-enabled, allowing riders to compete online and through Local Area Networks (LANs). Multiple users within a single office environment can compete with one another, or any number of riders in different homes, offices, cities, states or countries can share workout sessions.

"The Internet allows us to expand exercise beyond the hardwired boundaries of fitness centers and home gyms. Time and location are not limitations in the world of digital athletics. People will be able to hold virtual cycling classes, enjoy friendly or serious competition or just socialize in a relaxing digital environment that promotes fitness," says Forvilly.

Other future SimCycle plans include engineering software to retrofit with Sega Dreamcast, Sony PSX2, Nintendo Dolphin and Microsoft X-Box.

Four-Phase Marketing Strategy
The SimCycle will first be marketed on-line by direct email to consumers, followed by active lifestyle trade show appearances and display advertising. It will then be promoted via infomercials and finally through mass market and specialty retailers.

About Eloton
Eloton, Inc. brings state of the art digital video and motion detecting technology to the health, fitness and sports industry and enhances the workout experience by helping overcome the boredom that prevents exercise adherence. Eloton pushes affordable, high quality simulation to the limits of photo-realism in order to connect athletes to virtual environments that are motivational and entertaining.

Please visit http://www.eloton.com for more information.

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SOURCE Eloton, Inc.