Exercise Bikes

With winter nipping at the heels of folks in the Northern Hemisphere, cyclists may be thinking about moving their daily rides indoors. Garmin has just announced its most accurate and powerful direct-drive trainer to help keep you in trim.

It can be quite a challenge keeping in trim while spending much of your day sat behind a desk. The Ampera desk bike from Utah-based LifeSpan Fitness could help, while also using your pedal pumping to power a smartphone or even a laptop.

You could invest in an indoor training machine to keep fit while working from home, but such things are not usually designed for working while exercising. Acer has combined a mini desk and stationary bike that can charge devices while you workout.

Garmin's fitness brand Tacx has rolled out a new version of the NEO Bike indoor cycling machine, which is designed to bring outdoor riding inside with simulated gradients, the feel of different road surfaces and even the wind in your hair.

In order to more closely simulate real cycling, there are now stationary bikes that the rider can lean to either side. Currently on Kickstarter, the Austrian-designed Curveplate system allows conventional exercise bikes to do the same thing.

Stationary exercise bikes are a great way to keep fit, but can be a bit mind-numbing. Snailcle is looking to liven things up with a feature-packed smart bike with auto height adjustment, terrain-mimicking resistance and app-based virtual routes.

When it comes to indoor cycling, some people prefer the natural feel of rollers, while others prefer the security of a stationary trainer. Wahoo Fitness' new KICKR ROLLR is claimed to combine the best features of both in one device.

The latest edition of the world's largest consumer tech expo, CES 2022, is just around the corner, and LG Display has revealed its latest batch of OLED concepts – an immersive stationary bike and a laid-back chair for movie nights.

Tilting stationary bikes may be nothing all that new, but the TiltBike is claimed to take the idea further. It's said to not only simulate the feel of leaning into turns, but also the sensations of accelerating, climbing and braking.

Compared to riding a real bicycle outdoors, riding an indoor stationary bike can be pretty boring. The Capti exercise bike is the most recent to address that problem, by adding games and virtual rides to the mix.

As winter approaches in much of the world, many cyclists are faced with the depressing prospect of taking their riding indoors. Perhaps doing so wouldn't be such a drag, though, if they had something like the RoyalBees.bike to use.

Although it's definitely a good idea to use an exercise bike, motivating oneself to do so can sometimes be difficult. That's where the Playpulse One comes in, as it's an exercise bike with a built-in gaming system.