The exercise bike that races via the Web

(continued from previous page)

There's a built-in MP3 player as well. Again, the data onslaught and various training programs exist, ideally, to motivate and entertain.

Expresso Fitness has a similar bike and other exercise equipment. That company adds a graphic simulation of a ride (think video game), but it costs more.

Daum customers tend to be Type A characters. Several bike owners are ex-racers. The one Potter owns was originally slated to go to a member of the old Phonak professional racing team. Phonak's Floyd Landis won the Tour de France in 2006, but has been charged with using performance enhancing drugs. Phonak has since disbanded.

While InBikeSF currently imports only the Ergo Bike Premium 8i, Daum sells cheaper bike and Nordic Track-like trainers that someday could also come to the United States.

The bike itself can be thought of as a computer with a wheel. It does not have a chain that turns the wheel or pads that apply pressure to simulate a hill. Instead, strain sensors detect how much torque a rider is applying to the cranks. The data is then fed through other processors and sensors and cross-referenced with the profile of the ride selected (hill climb, time trial, etc.) and the "gear" the rider is in to provide the appropriate feedback force.

"Watts are everything," said Potter.

The road test
So how does it ride? I've ridden a lot of exercise bikes in my life and Daum's bike does come closest to simulating the feel of an actual bike when pedaling. The Expresso is close.

Programming is also fairly easy. After a few minutes I had figured out how to shift from different simulated road courses to training exercises. Potter also hooked up a laptop to the bike so that I had a two-screen view of a workout. The 5-inch diameter screen integrated into the bike displayed the course for the next 2 to 10 kilometers, along with data on watts, speed and pulse. The laptop screen, meanwhile, displayed a map of the whole course, thumbnail video streams of other riders and everyone's vital stats.

The seat, handlebars and pedals can also be adjusted to mimic the fit of your real bike.

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.

The fly wheel on trainers also can generate a lot of noise. Without a chain, the Daum makes little noise.

Trainers, though, only cost a few hundred dollars at most. But at $3,500, I can imagine surgeons with a competitive streak would find this attractive.

[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.

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