Tue, Aug 20, 2002 page12

• Exercise bike uses aliens

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  Nathan Coppen crowed as he pedaled frantically, driving the exercise bike fast enough to drop the five of diamonds on the four.

  "I always play this game," said Coppen, a 28-year-old ballet dancer from the Royal Opera House who's training to recover from an injury. "You can be on it for 20 minutes and not know it -- it just feels like five."

  The bike is made by UK start-up company Exertris Ltd, which so far has produced only 60 of the machines that incorporate computerized card games. The bike, which forces users to pedal faster to zap aliens, pulverize giant spiders and score points in interactive games, is the latest weapon some fitness centers are using to attract and retain members.

  Coppen had to queue to use the Exertris bike, popular among members of the Jubilee Hall gym across the plaza from the opera.

  Manager Rob Jones said he installed the bikes because they offer ``something different'' and will give the gym an edge on rivals.

  "If I faced a choice between two gyms, and only one had these bikes, I know which I'd choose," he said. "I was on that bike for 45 minutes trying to win Space Tripper last night -- still haven't managed it."

  Using technology to overcome the boredom of training is a key tactic for fitness clubs. While no exercise-bike maker offers a direct competitor to Exertris, machines that monitor heart rates or allow users to watch videos are commonplace.

  Incentives like these are essential in London, where some fitness centers are struggling to retain members, let alone expand, Jones said. Financial-services companies in the UK fired 36,000 people in the second quarter, according to the Office of National Statistics.

  Chris Attfield is canceling his membership in a gym run by Holmes Place Plc after losing his job as a risk analyst at Bank One. "It's draining cash which could be used for better things," he said.

  Of eight publicly traded UK fitness-center chains, only one -- Esporta Plc -- has seen its stock advance this year. It has climbed 24 percent. The worst performer is Topnotch Health Clubs Plc, whose shares have dropped 52 percent in the same period, partly because of refurbishment delays. Many are expanding in continental Europe in search of profits.

  The Esporta chain is on a cost-cutting drive. The company had a loss of PD8.3 million (US$12.8 million) last year compared with a profit of PD8.5 million the year before as its clubs drew fewer customers. Holmes Place said sales growth halted in the first half, citing competition from lower-priced rivals such as Fitness First Plc.

  Exertris founder Gareth Davies developed the game bikes. The 32-year-old physics graduate got the idea about five years ago because he found cardiovascular training on bikes and treadmills boring.

  The machine, which is linked to a custom-made games console, uses feedback from the pedals in a suite of games. If users don't pedal, they can't play. A burst of speed is needed to fire bullets, flee enemies or move cards around in a Solitaire game.

  "I love computer games and I love keeping fit, so this was an obvious next step," he said.

  The bikes aren't to everyone's taste, Jubilee Hall's Jones said. "Many of our customers are dedicated, serious trainers. They consider anything like this, even the machines with TVs above them, as just a distraction."

  Founding a start-up company just as the so-called "dotcom bubble" burst in the first quarter of 2000 meant finding funding was a challenge, Davies said.

  "In the end, the bulk of our money has come from private investors," he said. Just one venture-capital firm, Singer & Friedlander Group Plc, is currently invested in Exertris.

  Another believer is Reebok International Ltd, the world's No. 2 maker of sports shoes. Reebok plans to open its fourth fitness center in the world in October, a 30,000m2 gym in London's Canary Wharf that will feature two Exertris bikes.

  "These stop you getting bored," said the new gym's fitness director, Lorna Malcolm. "Also, this is an area where you have a lot of traders, and they are notorious for having the latest computer games."

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