If you are researching a Stages bike right now, you have probably run into contradictory information: articles announcing the company went out of business, alongside a live website selling product. Both are accurate, which is confusing without the sequence.
Stages Cycling collapsed in 2024 and was bought out of bankruptcy by Giant, the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world. It is trading again under new ownership. That matters more than any specification on any model page, because the question underneath most Stages searches is not which bike is best. It is whether anyone will still be there in three years when something breaks.
This guide covers what happened, what it means for existing owners, what it means for buyers, and where the current lineup stands.
Where we stand: Elite Sauna Direct is not an authorized Stages Cycling dealer and we do not sell these bikes. Buyers ask us about equipment we do not carry, and an outside account is more useful than a product listing, particularly for a brand with a complicated recent history. Information below comes from trade press reporting, company announcements, and distributor materials.
What Actually Happened
The short version, in order.
2012. Stages Cycling launched from Boulder, Colorado, under parent company Foundation Fitness, introducing the single-sided crankarm power meter that made its name. In 2015 it entered commercial fitness with the SC bike series, which became the category leader for indoor cycling studios.
January 2023. Giant announced an agreement to acquire a share in Stages for more than 20 million dollars, then ended negotiations weeks later.
February 2024. AIPS Technology, a Giant subsidiary that manufactured many Stages products in Taiwan, sued Stages for approximately 14 million dollars in unpaid invoices.
April 2024. Stages closed its Boulder office, laid off its entire workforce, stopped placing supplier orders, and ceased shipping. The e-commerce site went to out-of-stock across the catalogue. Four senior executives moved to Giant.
June 2024. Stages Cycling LLC and related companies filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
September 2024. Giant, through subsidiary SPIA Cycling Inc., acquired the assets for a reported 20.1 million dollars following a competitive bankruptcy auction. The purchase covered intellectual property, manufacturing, power meters, indoor bikes, and bike computers. Shortly after, Precor was named North American distributor for the commercial product lines.
June 2025. Stages relaunched its retail business under SPIA, starting with the crankarm power meter lineup and the indoor studio bikes.
One detail that gets lost and matters for commercial buyers: Foundation Fitness, the former parent that managed commercial gym products, remained in Chapter 11 and was not part of Giant's acquisition. The Stages brand and its product IP moved; the old parent entity did not.
If You Already Own a Stages Bike
This is the most urgent question for most people reading, so it goes first.
Stages has launched a Rider Support Program, and previous warranties transition into it. Owners who can provide proof of purchase receive product support for two years, which is an increase from the previous one-year term rather than a reduction.
That is a better outcome than bankruptcies usually produce. When a company liquidates, warranty obligations frequently evaporate entirely and owners are left with an orphaned product. Here an acquirer with manufacturing capability took on support, which is the difference between a bike with a future and an expensive piece of furniture.
Two practical points. Find your proof of purchase now rather than when something fails, because the program is conditioned on it. And if your bike was bought through a commercial channel during the Foundation Fitness era, expect the support path to require some navigating given that entity's separate bankruptcy.
If You Are Buying Now
The calculus has changed in both directions, and it is worth being clear about both.
What improved. Giant is the largest bicycle manufacturer in the world, with three decades of experience manufacturing commercial fitness equipment for other brands. It already produced many Stages indoor cycling products before the acquisition, which is why production could restart quickly. In terms of balance sheet and manufacturing depth, Stages is in a stronger position than it was as an independent company running out of money.
What to weigh. A relaunched brand under new ownership is still rebuilding its dealer network, its parts pipeline, and its service infrastructure. The relaunch led with power meters, and the indoor bike side has been reintroduced into a competitive market. If you are buying twenty bikes for a studio, ask direct questions about parts availability and service response times rather than assuming pre-2024 norms have been fully restored.
Our read: the acquisition is genuinely good news and the brand is more secure than it was in 2023. But security at the corporate level and a mature service network on the ground are different things, and a commercial buyer should verify the second rather than infer it from the first.
The Indoor Bike Lineup
The SC series is what most people mean by a Stages bike. It was built for the commercial studio market first, which shapes everything about it.
SC2
Described by the distributor as the top-selling bike in the global boutique cycling sector. This is the volume model for studios: the specification that most boutique operators standardize on, chosen for durability under continuous class use rather than for home features.
SC3
The model favoured by leading fitness operators, and the step up from the SC2. Where the SC2 is the boutique standard, the SC3 is what larger operators and premium facilities specify.
SC1
The entry point in the SC range, aimed at facilities that need the build quality without the full feature set of the higher models.
SB20
The smart bike aimed at home users and serious cyclists rather than studios. Different product, different buyer, and the one most likely to come up in a home-gym conversation rather than a facility one.
Stages Studio
The software layer: cloud-based data analysis, group display, and class experience tools. For a studio operator this is often the actual reason to standardize on the brand, because the bikes and the display system are designed together. For a home buyer it is largely irrelevant.
The brand's commercial credibility is real. Stages bikes have been the choice of operators including Equinox and David Lloyd, which is the kind of reference that matters when you are equipping a room rather than a garage.
Power Meters
Worth covering because it is the product the relaunch led with, and because many people searching for Stages are looking for this rather than a bike.
Stages introduced the single-sided crankarm power meter, measuring with strain gauges on the non-driveside crank arm. You buy the crank arm with the meter already installed. The company held to single-sided measurement as sufficient for most riders even after adding dual-sided options, and the current lineup includes left-sided, right-sided, and dual-sided models. A factory install service allows power measurement to be added to an existing crank.
Context on why the business struggled: the power meter market has become brutally competitive, with inexpensive spider-based options and a wave of accurate, aggressively priced entrants undercutting established Western brands. That pressure is part of what put the original company under, and it has not gone away just because ownership changed.
How the Buying Channel Works
This trips people up, because commercial and consumer purchases run differently.
Commercial product lines in North America are distributed through Precor, appointed after the acquisition. If you are equipping a studio, gym, or facility, that is the channel, and Precor brings an established service and support infrastructure to it.
Consumer products including power meters run through the relaunched Stages retail business under SPIA.
Practical consequence: a studio operator and a home buyer researching the same brand name will end up in two different places. If you are quoted by someone who does not know which channel they sit in, that is a signal about how well they know the product.
Questions to Ask Before You Commit
Given the history, ordinary due diligence is not enough here. Six questions specific to this situation.
- What warranty term applies to a bike purchased today, and which entity stands behind it?
- What is current parts availability and typical lead time for consumables and wear items?
- Who performs service in my region, and what is the response time?
- Is the software platform included, subscription-based, or separate?
- For a studio: what is the fleet lead time, and can it be committed contractually?
- Are pre-2024 bikes compatible with current parts, or has anything changed since production restarted?
That last question is the one people forget. If you run a mixed fleet with bikes from both eras, parts compatibility across the ownership change is worth confirming in writing rather than assuming.
Studio Operator or Home Buyer
These are different decisions and conflating them causes most of the confusion around this brand.
Studio operators are buying a fleet, a display system, a service relationship, and a parts pipeline that has to hold for years. Brand stability is a legitimate line item, and the Giant acquisition strengthens it materially compared with 2023. Go through Precor and ask the fleet questions.
Home buyers are buying one bike. Commercial-grade construction is genuine value if you want equipment built for continuous use, but you are also paying for durability engineered around forty classes a week, and the studio software layer that justifies part of the cost does nothing for you. The SB20 rather than the SC series is usually the relevant conversation.
Common Questions
Is Stages Cycling still in business?
Yes. It ceased operations in April 2024 and filed for bankruptcy in June 2024. Giant acquired the assets through SPIA Cycling in September 2024 and relaunched the retail business in June 2025.
Who owns Stages Cycling now?
SPIA Cycling Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Giant Group Taiwan.
Is my existing warranty still valid?
Previous warranties transition to the Stages Rider Support Program. With proof of purchase, owners receive two years of product support, increased from the previous one-year term.
Can I still get parts?
Production restarted under Giant, which already manufactured many Stages products. Confirm availability for your specific model and year before purchasing, particularly for pre-2024 equipment.
What is the difference between the SC2 and SC3?
The SC2 is the boutique studio volume model; the SC3 is the step up specified by larger and premium fitness operators.
Which model is for home use?
The SB20 smart bike is aimed at home users and cyclists. The SC series is built for commercial studio environments.
Who distributes Stages commercially in North America?
Precor, appointed after the Giant acquisition.
Are the power meters still made?
Yes. The relaunch led with the crankarm power meter lineup, in left, right, and dual-sided configurations.
Does Elite Sauna Direct sell Stages Cycling?
No. We are not an authorized Stages dealer. This guide is editorial. For commercial purchases contact Precor; for consumer products contact Stages directly.
Evaluating Studio Cycling Equipment?
Brand stability is a real specification when you are buying a fleet, and this brand's last three years are a case study in why. The acquisition by the world's largest bicycle manufacturer is a genuinely good outcome. It still leaves you with questions about parts, service coverage, and lead times that only a direct conversation answers.
We are assessing demand across studio and home fitness equipment. If you are specifying bikes for a facility or comparing options for a home setup, tell us how many units, what environment, and whether the software layer matters to you. We will give you a straight read on fit, flag anything worth verifying given the ownership history, and let you know if our availability in this category changes.
If you are ready to buy, go to Precor for commercial or Stages directly for consumer products. Faster for you, and we would rather say so.
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Stages Cycling, SPIA Cycling, Giant, and Precor are trademarks of their respective owners. Elite Sauna Direct is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized dealer of any of them. Corporate and product information reflects trade press reporting and company announcements at time of writing. Given the ownership changes described, verify warranty terms, distribution, and parts availability directly before purchasing.
