Customer Reviews

PCGamerBike Mini

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The machine itself is heavy and well built. The magnetic resistance and pedaling is smooth. The resistance level can be adjusted quickly and is more than enough for most people.

Setup is a breeze. The software to monitor your exercises and adjust the bike's settings is light and simple, just what it should be.

It works well with World of Warcraft, first person shooters, and almost any racing game. It works especially well using a wireless game controller and N64 emulator.

The most frustrating part about this bike is that it requires some creativity setting up your game space. You'll need to make some adjustments so that you can pedal at your desk and still have access to your keyboard and mouse. A chair that can both recline and adjust vertically works best.

If you really get into the workout your chair or the bike itself can move around. They include a Velcro strap to tether the bike to the chair, but I found it pretty worthless. Again, it will take some effort to find what works best for you.

If you love to play PC games and need some motivation to workout this is an amazing tool. I have never found working out this fun!

I bought this specifically for use with World of Warcraft.

WoW does not support analog input devices for movement so you are limited to 2 speeds, walk & run. Ingeniously this bike gets around this limitation by allowing you to set a speed threshold where the walk/run toggle kicks in. So basically, If I pedal slowly, my in-game character walks, if I go faster, he runs. Alternatively, you could use the "Pulse Mode" to simulate an analog input...the faster I pedal the faster it presses the "Up" key. The trade off with this is that your characters movement becomes a bit "jumpy" so I personally use the walk/run setup instead. It feels incredibly natural and actually enhances your ability to control movement compared to just using a keyboard.

Since my desk is kind of low, I had to get a little creative setting up my "game space" in order to allow for my legs to pedal without banging my knees against the desk. I also had to make a special keyboard mount so I can reach my keyboard & mouse comfortably. I wish they made desks specifically for this purpose.

Anyway, PCGamerBike is an incredible experience! It works like a charm. Last night I burned about 1100 calories playing World of Warcraft for about 2 hours. It's not exercise at all... it's having FUN!! A couple of months of this, and I'll be back to my svelte self again.

I got this in the hopes of being able to use it while playing my favorite MMOs. Unfortunately, it is impossible to use with an ordinary desk and keyboard setup and still have any kind of ergonomic support for the wrists. The vertical motion of the bike means that your knees *will* hit the bottom of any reasonably-adjusted keyboard tray. If you do happen to have a reclining chair and a keyboard tray that can be independently moved to a correct position for a reclining person, then great. Otherwise, you're going to have to either sacrifice good wrist posture (not an option for me) or give up on the biking-while-gaming idea.

The resistance on this little guy is also disappointing. I realize it's not a full-sized exercise bike, but I was hoping for something that would make me feel like I was getting exercise. This gets my blood flowing, but doesn't actually give me a workout.

Also, the bike comes with foam pads attached to the pedals, presumably for a comfortable grip when doing an arm workout. I found that, if I used the bike while wearing sneakers, the foam hit the edge of the bike and started disintegrating, leaving a black mess on the floor.

I thought about returning this, but am hoping to at least get a little use out of it while watching television, if nothing else.

In short, this is a $60 pedal assembly with three bucks worth of electronics with an exotic retail price. If the price was cheaper it would be a good way to test your own interest in game bike gaming, but the price makes this a little unreasonable.
I bought this while waiting for a decent full-bike conversion kit to become available. Not a serious workout, but a vast improvement over sitting still for hours. I actually found my ability to combine movement axiis improved by the use of my feet. In World of Warcraft 'traveled' about 500 miles to level to 60, and felt a difference. Suddenly exploring for map-flukes wasn't such a pointless habit.
I agree with others, configuring a workable setup around this thing is tough, and the ultra-thin pedals with the annoying foam rubber ankle-brush guards are a bad idea. The pedals are a foot-arch killer and the rug looked like the welcome mat to a coal mine after a few sessions. I used a wire-rack shelf and wire-tied a comfy chair and the controller down to keep it from sliding or rocking about. This looked like heck. Wives would not be pleased.
Ultimately I got sick of working around the thing and retrofit the electronics to my full-size bike--negating any warrantee. This lasted a few days before ESD killed the controller chip: the electronics are pretty flimsey.
This is a good introduction device, though the price is a little high for an experiment. In the end, if you like the concept and take the time to design a setup around it you won't be satisfied with it, you'll want a more hefty rig with more resistance. I would not buy this again, and I wouldn't recommend it on the target market (beginners to the alternate excersize/controller world) because of the price.
I honestly wish this would create more of a trend so low-price could be meshed with 'introduction' products. I spend a good sum to learn I liked the arrangement--but now I'm back to fatso-mode and leafing through plans to make my own rig... the whole concept field is too fringe-interest and overpriced.