Sitting at a desk all day is not only murder on the waistline, it can actually kill you. NextDesk’s newest weapon against a slow, sedentary death is the NextDesk Velo, an exercise bike addition to their powered desks made to bring bike life into the office.
The Velo is essentially an indoor exercise bike that stands in for a chair. It fits into office life the way a real bike obviously does not. The Velo exercise bike links via USB to a Bluetooth hub, so it can be used with different desks. Distance, calories burned, duration, and pedal revolutions are recorded and uploaded to the Velo Club, NextDesk’s tracking program for Windows and Mac — aka the Active Trac app for smartphones. One Velo Club membership comes included with each desk. From the app, users can share data to Strava or other popular tracking sites.
The maximum weight the Velo’s contoured bike seat can hold is 400 pounds, which is sturdy enough for most desk riders. At the touch of a button, NextDesks change height to fit each rider, and to go from sitting, to riding, to standing positions. The gears and motors that lift the desk are hidden in the legs, or “lifting columns.” This means no hand cranks or awkward and ugly cabling or machinery.
In keeping with the clean aesthetic, the desks are made of modern, sustainable materials like bamboo and aluminum, instead of cheap junk like particleboard. The company also offers custom design services for offices that need a unique desk solution. It is worth noting, however, that the Velo is an add-on that should work with any standing desk.
The Velo is the exercise bike and USB-Bluetooth data port. NextDesk plans to begin shipping the Velo on October 10 for $799, or $24 a month if financed. The price is comparable with other full exercise bikes with Bluetooth, especially considering its high weight capacity. The desks range from about $900 to $5,000 dollars based on design, size, materials, and other options.