FlexiSpot Desk Bike review - Burn a few calories while you work (but just a few) - Android
With more and more people working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic, exercise is becoming a huge concern. Sitting at a desk all day in an office is bad enough, but sitting all day within steps of your fridge is doubly worse.
That’s why a device like the FlexiSpot Desk Bike might be appealing. It allows you to burn some calories while working or to simply get some exercise while bingeing the latest show on Netflix.
In this review, I’m going to go over the reasons why this product could be a must-buy for some readers — and also why you might want to ride past this one to something a bit more premium.
In essence, the FlexiSpot Desk Bike is an indoor training cycle with the handlebars ripped off and replaced with a laptop desk. If you’ve ever used a training bike, you’ll feel right at home here, as the setup is very similar (although quite simplistic).
You can also use the Desk Bike as a traditional standing laptop desk by standing on the opposite side of the bike seat. Doing this, you can simply adjust the desktop to your preferred position and get to work. When you want to cycle, you can sit down, readjust positioning, and start racing away.
Related: A look at the very best standing desks
There are no electronics powering the cycling aspect of the FlexiSpot Desk Bike. There’s a very simple stat-tracking system that is powered by AA batteries, but the pedals themselves are totally mechanical. As such, there are no plugs or wires with this particular device.
When you’re done for the day, you can roll the Desk Bike somewhere and then fold the legs in. With the desktop removed, the system is about the size of a large piece of luggage, which allows you to put it into a closet or other storage space.
When you open the very, very large box the FlexiSpot Desk Bike comes in, you’ll find most of it already assembled. The base is mostly one complete piece, so there’s nothing to do there besides unfold the legs and pedals.
The desktop shown in this review is actually an optional add-on with the Desk Bike. If you opted for that piece, it’s incredibly easy to attach to the bike: simply slide the post into the bike and then tighten the hex bolt with the supplied Allen wrench.
As with other FlexiSpot products, assembly is super fast. After opening the box, you'll be pedaling within minutes.
The bike pedals are standard-sized all-plastic designs, complete with reflectors. Considering the FlexiSpot Desk Bike isn’t going anywhere, I thought the little reflectors were cute. Since cycling barefoot on these pedals would be painful, FlexiSpot includes rubber sheaths that go over the pedals to make barefoot cycling more comfortable. These are easy to put on and take off.
Like the FlexiSpot standing desk converter I recently reviewed, the setup here is a snap. Once you get everything out of the box, you’ll be cycling in minutes.
The most obvious product to compare with the FlexiSpot Desk Bike is Peloton’s line of incredibly expensive indoor training bikes. This is like a supremely watered-down version of that.
As such, there’s really not much to using the bike itself. You sit down, turn the resistance dial to your preferred setting, and start pedaling. While your feet are moving, you can rest your arms on the soft-yet-firm desktop padding and clack away at your laptop’s keyboard.
Related: The very best laptops you can buy right now
If you don’t opt for the desktop, you can instead use the Desk Bike at your current standing desk or desk with a standing converter. Either way, you can pedal at your own pace and keep yourself moving throughout the day.
Unfortunately, the desktop is not stable enough to both work and train with this device. In other words, you’re going to need to pick between two extremes: burning tons of calories or getting lots of work done. The faster you pedal the more the whole unit wobbles, making work increasingly difficult. I found that pedaling at a light pace was the best way to use the Desk Bike.
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