FitDesk vs DeskCycle

If you are working eight hours a day on a computer, staying fit and healthy may seem like a tremendous challenge. Fortunately, you can now find a solution in products like FitDesk and DeskCycle. These exercise bikes are specifically designed to help you exercise even when you are in the office. So, between FitDesk vs DeskCycle, which one is better?

Continue reading below if you want to find out further about
– The dimensions of each exercise bike here
– Which exercise bike that is more ergonomic and comfortable to use
– The special features of FitDesk and DeskCycle
– Which exercise bike that is more silent when working
– The performance of FitDesk vs DeskCycle
– Whether you should go for FitDesk or DeskCycle

FitDesk: Design & Comfort

FitDesk is an office exercise bike that has been designed to be as straightforward and practical as possible. Unlike the likes of DeskCycle vs Cubii Jr, FitDesk is meant to replace your entire work desk instead of being placed under it.

The full form measures 28 inches long, 16 inches wide, and 45 inches tall. This unit is pretty much the same size as a small desk. Although the bike may look flimsy, it actually feels quite solid and robust in use. Still, the desk joints can be better with more stability.

The leaf-shaped assembly looks quite similar to the main unit of DeskCycle. FitDesk has a weight of about 47 pounds. It should be brawny enough to accommodate a user of up to 250 pounds. Don’t worry about portability because you can fold it and then roll it on the two wheels on its rear.

FitDesk vs DeskCycle can fit users between 4’10” and 6′ comfortably. It is possible to adjust the seat’s height as well as the desk’s depth. Unfortunately, you can’t adjust the angle of the desk, and this can be a minor problem for particularly tall people.

You will need some time to get used to FitDesk. If you wear business attire on the bike, you are already on the wrong path. Although FitDesk is meant for working people, it still requires you to wear flexible clothing. Riding the bike is a sweaty activity, so you don’t want to wear dress shoes or any king of clothing that requires dry cleaning when you are on it.

Nevertheless, once you are used to the act of pedaling while working on your laptop or tablet, FitDesk is quite effective. The seat position is ideal for a natural gait motion, so riding the bike won’t require too much conscious effort.

FitDesk: Features

FitDesk is quite bold with its approach. While other office bikes are designed to be put under a desk, this product wants to replace your desk altogether. And it has been equipped with a decent set of features to be functional and practical for both work and exercise.

As usual, FitDesk comes with an integrated LCD screen which will enable you to track your workout. As a matter of fact, the screen is not very easy to read. You need to be on the right angle in order to read the screen. However, you are not going to read this screen often anyway, so that’s not a big problem.

The screen will track your current speed, total distance, total workout time, and estimated burned calories. Those are just basic metrics, but still useful to give you a good idea about your progress. Later, you can sync the data to your Fitbit or MyFitnessPal account.

Of course, one of the biggest differences between FitDesk vs DeskCycle is the integrated desk. The standard desk space is sufficient for a 13″ – 16″ laptop. You can still fit a 17″ laptop there, but it will eat up the entire surface. Conveniently, the desk is ridged and equipped with a strap to secure your laptop in place. So, you don’t need to worry about accidentally dropping your laptop during an intense exercise.

There are several optional upgrades available. First of all, you may want to consider investing in a mouse tray if you often work with a mouse. No matter how big or small your laptop is, the mouse tray will provide some useful extra space. Other optional upgrades include the cup holder and the enhanced gel seat.

FitDesk: Performance

FitDesk will impress you right away with its silent performance. It doesn’t generate any significant noise, even during an intense workout. As the effect, it can be an excellent choice for exercising in the office or while watching your favorite movie in the living room. You can exercise quietly while you are replying emails or writing a report.

Once you own an exercise tool like FitDesk, it is hard to find an excuse to avoid exercising. You can’t say that you are too busy to exercise because you can do whatever you need to do while riding the bike. And nobody really needs to know that you are using the bike while working.

One big advantage of FitDesk vs DeskCycle is that it won’t make your knees bump against the desk. You can pedal comfortably regardless of how tall you are without ever bumping your knees against the integrated desk. Plus, the excellent ergonomics will allow you to pedal without having to split your focus from your work.

However, you may want to be careful with your exercise intensity. If you are in the office, you should stick with a light workout so that you won’t be too sweaty and stinky. You can increase the challenge once you are home.

DeskCycle: Design & Comfort

Now, we’ll take a look at DeskCycle. This product has the same purpose as FitDesk, but it comes with a different approach. This is a small, low-profile bike machine that is meant to fit under your office desk so that you can exercise while working. Compared to its full-size cousins, DeskCycle is probably a safer choice for people who don’t want to replace their office desks or simply want to avoid excessive attention from their co-workers.

You can adjust the resistance via the knob on the top of the bike. DeskCycle also has an LCD screen which can be left undisturbed on the unit or mounted on your desk if you want to monitor your progress from time to time.

If you are using a monitor arm, you will need to adjust the height and angle in order to exercise comfortably on DeskCycle while working. However, the real problem may come from your desk’s height. Most office desks are 30″ tall. The maximum pedal height of DeskCycle is 10″. As a result, tall users may find their knees bumping on their desks.

In order to avoid bumping your knees, you can try sitting a little bit farther away from your desk. However, this may cause both your arms and your legs to overextend. The best solution is using a height-adjustable desk that will allow your knees to move freely, but make sure that your arms and wrists are still able to type comfortably without bending.

Another potential problem is that DeskCycle will keep you in a sitting position. In comparison, FitDesk provides an ideal position for a natural gait movement. DeskCycle may make you more susceptible to back pains; to avoid that problem, you need to keep your legs movement as close to your core as possible.

DeskCycle: Features

DeskCycle is pretty good in terms of features. To begin with, it has a wide range of resistance levels. If you are not sure which resistance level to use, you can start from the lowest setting and increase the challenge gradually over time until you find the best setting that works for you.

That said, the company recommends using the third resistance level if you want to work while exercising. According to the company, the third resistance level is still within the low cardio zone, so it will still allow a sufficient amount of oxygen to reach your brain. It also won’t make you too sweaty.

The LCD screen can track your performance for up to 16 hours. Most people won’t use the bike for more than four hours in a day, so the storage capacity is more than sufficient. The metrics are also basic. The LCD screen can show your speed, time, distance, and burned calories.

DeskCycle: Performance

Just like FitDesk, you will also need some time to get used to DeskCycle. Initially, you will need a conscious effort to get your feet moving while you are typing on your computer. The fact that DeskCycle is not perfectly ergonomic doesn’t help with the process.

Anyhow, DeskCycle works smoothly. It is also fairly quiet, so it won’t disturb your co-workers. On the third resistance level, DeskCycle will still allow you to perform light tasks without any difficulty. You can type documents, check emails, and answer calls with ease.

However, you won’t be able to work on a more serious task while exercising on DeskCycle. A lapse in your concentration will also disrupt your pedaling action. The second and third resistance levels are indeed the best if you want to focus on other tasks while exercising; a higher resistance level will consume too much mental and physical effort.

FitDesk vs DeskCycle

Conclusion

Between these two options, FitDesk is generally better and more recommended. It has better ergonomics. The seat position will allow a natural, comfortable gait movement. And the integrated desk is high enough so that your knees won’t bump. The overall performance is very good.