Bicycles

Mountain bike trainer gets riders pushing, pulling and balancing

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The RipRow in use
The RipRow weighs around 40 lb (18 kg), and can be partially disassembled for transport
The RipRow in use
The RipRow's lack of stability is claimed to build core strength, while also improving balance and keeping the user alert
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If you're a mountain biker, chances are you want to retain your core strength, coordination and sense of balance throughout the off-season and between rides. Well, that's why Colorado-based cycling coach Lee McCormack created the RipRow. It's kind of like a pedal-less exercise bike crossed with a rowing machine, and the thing rocks … literally.

Users straddle the RipRow's 5052 aluminum frame as if it's a mountain bike, grasping the handlebars and planting their feet on the adjustable-position foot platforms. They then use the bars – and their own muscle power – to push the frame forward and pull it back, with two hydraulic dampers providing 12 levels of adjustable resistance.

The RipRow's base, meanwhile, isn't flat on the bottom. It's curved like a rocking cradle, allowing the unit as a whole to rock from side to side. This lack of stability is claimed to build core strength, while also improving balance and keeping the user alert.

The RipRow's lack of stability is claimed to build core strength, while also improving balance and keeping the user alert

Its handlebars can either be turned from side to side (to make the experience more like riding a bike), or they can be locked straight ahead. The whole rig weighs around 40 lb (18 kg), and can be partially disassembled for transport.

If you're interested in getting a RipRow, the first batch are currently in production, and should be shipped out next month. It's priced at US$1,199, and can be seen in use in the video below.

Source: RipRow via BikeRadar

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3 comments
Hem-Onc
This may be a really good idea, but most riders could build one for free.If you want to get better on a bike- Get better ON a bike. What's an "off season"?
sk8dad
It's like playing guitar hero to get better at playing guitar. Sure, you might get a little out of it, maybe static balance coordination, and I suppose it's better than watching TV from the couch, but there are a ton of effects that a trainer doesn't simulate like real-time trail decision making based on timing, gravity, traction, centrifugal forces, brake effects, gyroscopic effects, pedal positioning, ankle articulation, suspension effects, line choice, bump resonance, and pumping just to name a few. Better would be to get some coaching and ride more.
Josh!
Unless you are strapping on a VR headset, I'm afraid this is a terrible idea.