Exercise bikes are fantastic when the weather is bad and you still want to get your daily pedalling in. It also means you can be much more precise when it comes to figuring out what grade hill you want to go up, and how long you want to pedal for. A five mile bike ride can only be spot on if you go out and work out a specific route up front.
It could also be said that riding an exercise bike is very different from riding a road bike. You are stationary, for a start. But that is set to change if the newest bike of the lot becomes popular and many more people get the chance to buy one.
It’s called the RealRyder ABF8, and the current reviews online seem to indicate that it is presently only available in America – and only then to people who have got a couple of thousand dollars in the bank going begging. This is clearly a bike that is designed for the top notch, serious indoor cyclists – and when you see a picture of it you will understand why.
The first thing you will notice about this bike – apart from the cool jet black frame – is the difference in appearance when compared to a standard exercise bike. It looks much more like a hybrid between an indoor exercise bike and a conventional bike.
But what else can it do? After all, surely you are still just cycling in a stationary position indoors?
Well yes you are, but the word stationary is taken to its extremes here. You will find that you can lean from side to side as you cycle, and you can also turn the handlebars just as you would on a real bicycle. In fact, it does virtually everything a normal bike would do, except of course for actually going anywhere.
So will this type of bike catch on and take its place in the bedrooms and indoor gyms of more and more people over the coming months and years? It remains to be seen; it would be good for those who are serious about cycling on an exercise bike, but it might not suit anyone else. And unless the price comes down it won’t fit into many peoples’ budgets anyway.
But if you are wondering whether this is little more than a gimmick, you should think again. For starters, have a think about how you feel when you ride a normal bike. As you lean into a corner you will use a different set of muscles than you would if you were merely cycling in a straight line – which is effectively what an exercise bike lets you do.
But since you can lean from side to side on the RealRyder ABF8, you stand a chance of getting a much more intense workout than you would on an ordinary exercise bike.
So maybe this bike will catch on in the future after all?