Comments on: The exercise bike that races via the Web

Connect the Ergo Bike Premium 8i to the Internet and compete with cyclists around the world for head-to-head races.
Photos: The Ergo Bike Premium 8i
Video: Web-enabled exercise bike packed with tech

[Camera.Ken]

Easier to Win

Hi:

This is GREAT!!! All I have to do is hook up my electric drill to the speed sensor on the bike -- and I can WIN, without having to leave my keyboard.

I'll be just as 'juiced' as the real bike racers.

Watch for the YouTube video of me eating pizza and drinking beer while cleaning the opposition.

[Michael K.]

...?

So you'd pay $3500 for this bike plus the cost of hooking up the electric drill just to beat people working hard from their own fun. Why not just pretend to be handicapped and join the special olympics why you're at it?

[Rants&Raves]

6 year old news

Minoura and a bunch of others have been offering something quite similar since at least 2001.

[summershoe]

Agreed-this is old hat

I remember racing on an old Cateye version that did most of this in the early 90's. By the early 2000's multiple companies had video, power measurement/monitoring, designing your own course via GPS mapping or power meter recordings, and group ride functions. But most of them cost $2000 or less and have still failed to take off. What caught CNet's eye, VoIP? That's hardly an addition worth an extra $1500 when Skype is free.

[tonyc666]

Old news, get with it CNET

The article stated, "So why not put your road bike on one of the many commercially available trainers, where the back wheel turns a fly wheel? You can't ride a simulated climb through the Dolomites or compete against others. Racing against someone does make you ride more intensely, particularly when they can observe your performance."

Real-worlds simulators that allow you to race others via the Internet have been around for a while now.

http://www.performancebike.com/shop/profile.cfm?SKU=23636&estore_ID=1336