Slashdot Mirror
Tilting Bike Uses Google Maps To Simulate Routes
cylonlover writes "One of the differences between real cycling and indoor training is the fact that when riders are on the road, the topography of the area determines the pedaling effort required. By contrast, when on a stationary bike, riders usually just vary their output as they feel like it. In an attempt to make indoor training more like the real thing, Pro-Form's Le Tour de France Indoor Cycle lets users choose or create real-world routes using Google Maps, then adjusts the angle of the riding platform to replicate the experience of riding up and down those roads."
Due to Winter.
This is a pretty decent development compared to what they usually have at gyms for their cycling.
My local one is currently using heartbeat assisted cycling, where everyone is using a wireless heartbeat monitor and the results are displayed on the wall via a projector.
I have long been wondering why the cycles cannot be used to do real routes, by automatically controlling the bike magnets to reduce or increase the effort based on the distance you have so far gone, and maybe even showing everyones location on the route on a map also projected to the wall. It sounds so simple to me..
Perhaps more to the point, any exercise bike with a computer-controlled resistance is likely to have a variety of profiles where the resistance is increased/decreased automatically. Unlike the Google-inspired routes, they also tend to be designed for specific purposes.. training for climbing, training for endurance, training for just building muscle, etc.
I can see where it could be useful, however - if somebody rides a particular route outside quite regularly but a giant dust storm (hi Phoenix!) decides to screw their schedule.. load the route into the trainer's computer and off you go. But I rather suspect the experience will still be nowhere near the same in terms of the particular resistance given.
So in general I enjoy the geek factor, but practical use seems limited; as with most things in life, I suppose.
Add a showerhead to simulate rain, and some kind of bumpers on the sides to give impressions of trucks clipping you, and you've almost got the real thing!
45 5F E1 04 22 CA 29 C4 93 3F 95 05 2B 79 2A B2
however, there is a difference between resistance and tilting: your position relative to bike/ground.
in any case, nothing beats the real thing.
There is a spinning bike that leans left/right, but after having tried, it, i can say that it in no way reproduces "real" cycling. It's more of a gimmick than anything else.
And will the whole thing be stolen every few years?
Every few years?!? Lucky you!