The health dangers of spending all day sitting behind a desk have become well known in recent years, leading to an explosion in the popularity of standing and sit-stand desks. There have also been efforts to make the deskbound more active, such as the NextDesk Velo or DeskCycle, and now California-based FlexiSpot is taking this idea one step further with its Deskcise Pro, which brings a standing desk and an exercise bike together in one integrated unit.
While compact, standalone devices like the DeskCycle are designed to fit under a standard desk, they can still leave you banging your knees on every revolution and they can have a tendency to slide. Coming as essentially a handlebar-less exercise bike and intended for use with standing desks, the NextDesk Velo avoids those problems, but it's not exactly cheap, priced at US$799, desk not included.
Rather than try and make an add-on for an existing setup, the Deskcise Pro is designed from the ground up to bring the desk and an exercise bike together in one integrated unit. Where the handlebars would be on a conventional exercise bike, FlexiSpot has placed a desktop that can be adjusted up and down and forward and back to allow it to be used in a standing desk configuration. The seat can also be raised or lowered using a pneumatic lever to suit "riders" between 5.08 ft and 6.17 ft (155 to 188 cm), and the resistance of the pedals can be customized via a knob on the frame.
The result is something that looks more ergonomic to use than a cobbled together setup, but the desktop size of 35 x 23.2 in (89 x 59 cm) would be a tight fit for a keyboard and monitor, meaning a laptop is really the only viable work option. If you're planning on using the cycle desk in an office environment, FlexiSpot has worked hard to keep the noise of the desk down to under 60 dB, which is about the level of a restaurant conversation.
The Deskcise Pro is simple to set up, coming in two parts: the base and the desktop. FlexiSpot says assembly can be achieved in about a minute, with the desktop simply slotting into the Deskcise base. The base also sits on four castor wheels, making it easy to move around, with the wheels locking in place when in use.
FlexiSpot is raising funds on Kickstarter to get the Deskcise Pro into production, with early birds available for US$299, which is 40 percent off the anticipated $499 retail price. If all goes to plan, deliveries are slated for November of this year.
The video below gives an overview of the Deskcise Pro.
Source: FlexiSpot
