Pedal the Day Away With DeskCycle

DeskCycle is a bike that sits under your desk. I’ve seen them advertised on BuzzFeed and Lifehacker and I’ve been curious about how well they work or how often someone with one would actually pedal through their day. I was surprised not only by how much I ended up pedaling the day away but the other benefits that pedaling while working gave me.

To start, the name might lead you to believe that the DeskCycle is mostly for someone in an office position. And you’d be wrong. The DeskCycle can be used by children in school or at home while you sit on the couch and binge-watch Voltron. It’s light enough to carry home on the weekends and back to work on Monday.

The DeskCycle costs $159 and though you can get a full sized bike at Walmart for around $80, there are some benefits it has over its older brother.

Being a full-time working mother and Full Sail University student, I don’t have a lot of spare time to hit the road on a bike (I also lack a garage to keep one securely). I like the DeskCycle because it gives me the health benefits of riding a bike without the constraints of having a full-sized bike or the time to use it.

At first it can feel like rubbing your tummy while patting your head, but it gets easier as you get used to it.

While pedaling at work, I noticed improved concentration while trying to troubleshoot a computer issue. I also found it meditative since I had to keep good posture to do it comfortably.

There are pros and cons to every product, and for me I feel the pros far outweigh the cons when it comes to this one.

The Pros:

• It only took about 15 minutes to assemble it and it came with all the tools I needed.
• Weighs in at 23 pounds and that means it won’t move when you’re pedaling.
• Comes with a display for your desk that shows your stats including time, speed, calories burned, and distance.
• Eight different modes of tension from super easy to riding uphill.
• Can work with desks as low as 27 inches.
• Very smooth feeling while pedaling.

The Cons (and really it’s more “nuisance” than “con”):

• The display doesn’t reset itself every day so you will need to remember to do that manually if that is important to you.
• I’d like to see DeskCycle come up with an app for you to pedal to and make a game of it (could be fun, right?).

As you can tell, the space under my desk is a bit limited thanks to my computer and UPS. The DeskCycle takes up what room I have left. The good part about this is I run my feet into it all day and that reminds me to pedal. It’s also not a bad foot rest when you need one.

DeskCycle recommends you don’t pedal for more than 30 minutes to start, and so far I’ve had no problem not exceeding that. I’m sure as I get more adjusted, though, I’ll be able to exceed that and then some.

You can find cheaper under-the-desk bikes, but if you want something that will stay put when you’re pedaling, the DeskCycle has the weight to back it up. And if your fitness level calls for something with a bit more tension, all you have to do is dial it up a few notches. It doesn’t get much simpler than that.

Overall, the DeskCycle delivers as a small piece of equipment that makes sitting at my desk for 40+ hours a week a little less unhealthy. And I’m happy to add it to my arsenal of healthy office accessories.

DeskCycle is available through Amazon for $159 with free shipping.

Disclaimer: GeekMom received a review sample.

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