DeskCycle Under Desk Exercise Bike and Pedal Exerciser

Lifesaver! A Type 2 Diabetics new best friend!I've had horrible A1C for the past several years at around 10. Then last year I went low carb, hi fat diet and lost 83 pounds so far and dropped my insulin injects from 200 units per day down to 24. Recently with this DeskCycle, I could get off insulin altogether. Just one 20 minute session of interval cardio (on tension setting 2 only) drops my blood sugar by 30 mg/dl! I often start around 105 mg/dL and end up at 79 mg/dL! I only do 15 second all out burts to where I get to breathing hard, then cycle slowly for 45 seconds to recuperate. Rinse and repeat.What's nice about this DeskCycle is I can use the sofa. I get to lay back in it and this where there is no buttock, tailbone, hip pain. The sofa also supports my back. There is like no impact to any joints! I have bad joints from being diabetic and sometimes it's hard to just walk. (hips, knees, back etc). But with this DeskCycle & the sofa, it's saved me. No pain at all :).I feel so much better after excercising. I feel more calm (less cortisol) and I have better mental clarity.This DeskCycle combined with my low carb high fat diet really did me good.

I hesitate to do Amazon reviews anymore due to problems with the company ethics, however this device is brilliant and it could make real differences in the quality of folks lives, so I'm taking the time.Not everyone will take to it like I have, but it has made a huge difference for me! I have a very nice treadmill down in the basement, but the impacts on the knee joints were a problem. I was looking at getting a recumbent stationary bike when I happened across this gem.Long story short in the couple of months that I've had it, I have to consciously choose _not_ to use it at least one day a week.I'm a software engineer and scrum master. I work from home. I spend a _lot_ of hours on the phone running meetings and participating in meetings. I can pedal this thing at 10-14mpg without making _any_ noise whatsoever. I don't even have to mute the phone, there just isn't any noise to mute.With the treadmill I would force myself to keep walking for as long as I could (persevering through the boredom of watching TV while I walked - TV is not my thing) until I did my 200-300 calories of exercise. That's when I could take the time to do it and I felt like spending some of my time on it.With the DeskCycle, I find it's just like pacing the hall - it helps you think and I just do it without thinking. I now typically pedal 25 to 40 miles per day every day without even thinking about it (and that's with resistance on 6, which means I'm burning 600 to 1,000 additional calories every day.It's not full-on aerobic, I'm not getting winded or the benefits of that, but I get huge benefits in that I feel so much better at the end of a long day, and it has greatly strengthened and toned my lower back muscles. It also put some vague vestige of stomach muscles on me.The cons: The biggest one is wear and tear on your office chair. I have a Freedom chair, which is a pretty piece of hardware, and I'm a big guy of 240 pounds. The chair is being used like the seat on a recumbent bike, which are built a lot sturdier. I have to use silicone lube on the chair now and then because the parts are constantly shifting/rubbing as I'm peddling.You also need to throw a towel over your chair if you're going to pedal hard. Office chairs aren't designed to be sweated in/on.I'm using it under an Ergotron sit-stand desk with the Ergotron keyboard tray on it, and the geometry is good. I can comfortably type while I'm working, while I'm talking on the phone and while I'm surfing the web, but I do have short legs for my height (5'11" with ~31" inseam)Two minor cons: First, the display should be backlit, it's very difficult to read under many conditions, and second, the metal bracket for mounting the display on the unit shouldn't be welded on. The unit becomes a natural footrest when not in use, and that hard metal bit sticking up gets in the way. If it were bolted on and they offered an optional flip-up padded footstool top that could be bolted on in place of it, that would be a helpful feature.Build quality is excellent, no problems with pedals *however* I think I may know how people screw that up. I liked mine so much we ordered one for my wife. She tried to put it together but couldn't get the pedals to go on/make any sense. She's worse than me when it comes to not reading instructions. It took me a while but I finally realized she had mounted the legs backwards - the long leg the rear and short leg on the front. This completely changes what you think of as front/rear and left/right and the pedal installation instructions just don't make any sense until the legs are put in the proper place.I don't award 5 stars often/lightly but this one is a five star product, it greatly exceeds my expectations. If I ever wear this one out, I'll be back for another. I'm probably going to buy a third one to keep in my "real" office at work because I get antsy now if I can't pedal while I'm working.

Really perfect for me. I have averaged about 50 miles per day and have lost 4 pounds in one week. Really well built and totally silent. I'm 5'8 and I do have to sit in a low chair but it works well and I do computer work and talk on the phone while burning about 1000 calories a day! You can't beat that. I was looking at more expensive solutions but I won't look anymore. Completely satisfied.

I was not sponsored for this review, I bought these for my own good because I now have no excuses for not moving.I purchased this and the Sunny Health & Fitness SF-B0418 Magnetic Mini Exercise Bike, Gray. When I did a search for "desk cycle" the DeskCycle and this were the first two that came up. I did some extensive research to see if this was worth getting instead of a walking treadmill desk. The price difference between a walking treadmill desk and an under desk bike is HUGE and each setup has its own pros and cons... but if you don't have that big of a budget to afford a treadmill desk to work out while on the computer... the under desk cycle is great!Background:I use the DeskCycle for home ( I spend lots of time on the computer after work, I'm also a PC gamer!), and the Sunny Exercise Bike at work (I work full time).Things to consider:If this is your first time setting up a bike under your desk, it is NORMAL to have to make desk/chair adjustments because you need to make sure you have a comfortable and ergonomic setup or your back can get strained over long periods of time. The instructions included with the DeskCycle provide good recommendations and tips for this, and they have a support website too that contains awesome info!My dimensions:I'm 5 feet 1". I compared using this against my 6' husband and he didn't seem to like it. He's picky about his desk setup and with his stagnant and stationary setup he likes the way his desk is currently setup. With the deskcycle he would have to make major adjustments and raise the desk because his knees kept on hitting the desk. I could imagine taller people than me would have this issue but it is NORMAL to make desk adjustments if possible to accommodate for this desk bike device.DeskCyclePros:- Very quiet- Easy and quick to assemble (it took me less than 30 minutes)- Well packaged out of the box- Sturdy pedal straps, Straps are permanently attached to the pedal and are adjusted via velcro- LCD monitor is removable and can be extended to be placed on top of a desk for display- When setup properly my knees don't hit the desk- You can and will break a sweat while using this, at least I did (resistance set to 2 and I'm at "20"+mph? if I'm reading this correctly)- No weird pungent factory smell (see below) out of the boxCons:- When first using the bike I found it difficult to concentrate on whatever I was doing on the computer, but after a day or two of constant use you get used to it- No handle for easy transportation if needed- Not really sure what the LCD units of measurement are, it's not super clearSunny Mini Exercise Bike (cheaper than the DeskCycle)Pros:- has a handle for easy transportation- Pretty much what I mentioned about the DeskCycle with some minor differences- Easy setup, less than 30 mins out of the box- Very quiet, my coworkers sitting next to me don't even notice nor hear a thing when I start pedalingCons:- It smells like hardcore factory smell out of the box. Similar to walking into Harbor Freight.- LCD screen is not removable- The pedal straps don't look as sturdy as the DeskCycle straps. They can detach from the pedal and over time it can rip from overuse. It's a rubbery material. Straps adjust similar to putting a watch tab in different holes.Differences:- Sunny Exercise Bike pedals are slightly higher off the ground than the DeskCycle- Sunny's LCD screen is not removable, you only display it from the front. (DeskCycle default is from the back)- DeskCycle includes a long velcro strap to tether your rolling chair to the bike, Sunny does not- Sunny has a handle for transportation, DeskCycle does not- My observation between the two.... the DeskCycle has a more rigid construction than the Sunny Bike. DeskCycle has more comprehensive instructions than the Sunny Bike does.Similarities:- With either one you still need to set up your desk/chair as ergonomically as possible- Both of these force you to sit up straight- You should take a break after a long period of cycling nonstop every once in a while unless you want some slight lower back pain and sweat at work- The measurements between the two appear to be very close to each other when looking at the LCD screen using the same resistance and energy force on your legs- With a good diet and using this, you will lose weight. So far I have in 1 week, maybe about a 1lb or two. Results will vary.Extra bonus stuff for fun:- I strapped a Fitbit watch Fitbit Blaze Smart Fitness Watch, Plum, Silver, Small (US Version) to my left foot and it still measures steps while using these two desk bikes.... I left it on and it registers as either walk or elliptical when looking at my Fitbit dashboard!