Braking systems and methods for exercise equipment

Systems and methods for adjusting resistance on an exercise cycle having a frame and a flywheel include calibration, homing and auto-follow routines. A resistance apparatus comprising an actuator is configured to selectively position the resistance apparatus relative to the flywheel, wherein a distance between the resistance apparatus to the flywheel corresponds to resistance applied to the flywheel. Control components are configured to control operation of the resistance system in response to instructions, and a computing device is configured to output media for an exercise class to a user, the exercise class comprising one or more target resistance ranges corresponding to a segment of the exercise class. The computing device is further configured to selectively implement auto-follow logic configured to determine a target resistance value for a current segment of the exercise class and instruct the control components to adjust the resistance system to the target resistance value.