As you may know I’m a big fan of standing desks, I’ve been using one for almost 5 years now and although they are better for you compared to sitting all day, it’s not that good for your body to stand all day either. If you’re at a desk the majority of your day it’s actually best to switch between standing and sitting along with some movement & exercise breaks in between. After years of using a standing desk I’ve noticed that when I stand for most of the day my hips and legs feel very tight.
This brings me to today’s review of the FlexiSpot Deskcise Pro all-in-one desk bike (Amazon). I’ve been waiting for a company to come out with a high quality desk bike, and this one actually won a CES innovation award this year which was intriguing so when they asked if I’d like to review it I quickly agreed. But they did not pay me nor is this sponsored in any other way. This is a product I probably would have eventually gotten anyway.
The FlexiSpot desk bike may be my ultimate solution and it may be yours too. Also my cat loves it which is a blessing and a curse. It’s currently $399 and comes in 2 color options: black or white. The white one kind of reminds me of something that should be in a dentist office. It’s got a medical equipment vibe to it so if I was buying one right now I would probably choose the black.
Now what initially attracted me to this desk bike was all the positive reviews I saw online. But the main things I’m looking for in a desk bike may be different to what others are looking for. I didn’t want a desk bike to lose weight or get fit. In my opinion a desk bike shouldn’t be purchased for those reasons – there are much better ways to achieve those goals.
My primary reason for wanting a desk bike is to incorporate more movement, even if it’s subtle, while I’m working so my body doesn’t feel as stiff as it would if I were standing the majority of the time and just to get my blood flowing. That’s really it. So in my review I’m going to cover the most important features in a desk bike for me which are:
- Simplicity
- Sturdiness
- Comfort
- Quietness
Starting with simplicity, it comes in a single heavy box and is shipped directly to your door. FlexiSpot claims that it has a 1-minute assembly which I do believe is possible if you’re already familiar with the assembly guide and what all goes where and how to connect it. After unboxing all the parts, reading the manual, and connecting everything it took me a few minutes.
The assembly was very easy which was great. I love when products go together easily especially something big like a desk bike. The overall design works well – it has flip out legs with wheels on them for easy moving on hard floors but not as easy on carpet. The pedals come with silicon covers so if you have sensitive feet like me you can pedal barefoot without wincing like a baby. It has a cup holder in the middle below the seat, which is located right between your legs so I wouldn’t trust having an open drink in it because I’d be afraid of easily knocking it over. I think I’ll only put a closed lid drink in the cup holder when I use it. One of my favorite features is how quick and easy it is to adjust the location of the desktop and the height of the seat. You can use the left lever under the desktop to move it back and forth, the right lever adjusts it up and down, and the lever under the seat adjusts the height of the seat. So it’s super easy to adjust all those things.
It also has a resistance knob that can be set from 1 which is hardly no resistance to 8 which is the max resistance. I keep it around 3 or 4. It also has a digital display that keeps track of your current stats like distance traveled, speed, and other things which is kind of nice if you want to set a riding goal during your work sessions. I like to just set it at distance traveled so I can occasionally look down and see how far I’ve gone. And yes it does come with batteries and you can easily replace the batteries when needed.
When it comes to sturdiness, the FlexiSpot is pretty stable for it being a desk bike. The desktop does have some slight wiggle if you apply enough force but it does come with an allen wrench to tighten the screw to help minimize that. But if you’re riding the bike and have your wrists or arms on the desktop there’s virtually no wiggle or shakiness. Just the slight weight of my arms or wrists helps stabilize it enough to where I can type on my laptop with no problems at all while I’m pedaling which is a huge plus when it comes to this type of setup. And the whole bike is also heavy enough so that the wheels don’t move around while pedaling even on a hardwood floor. So it does stay put.
As for the comfort, this is where it is totally subjective. I’m 6’3″ and slim, and the seat and desktop raise up high enough for me to ride and work fairly comfortably. And if you already own a standing desk this fits nicely underneath so you can use it in conjunction with your existing desk. And since this is an “all in one” desk bike you can also use this as its own standing desk by standing in front of the desktop, and to my surprise the desktop is high enough for someone as tall as me to use it as a standing desk. The desktop surface area is large enough for a small laptop and another small item or two. It is a great fit for my 13″ MacBook Pro but if I had a 15″ or larger laptop it wouldn’t leave me with much extra room on the surface. The wristpad is comfortable – it’s pretty firm with just enough give to it. However, I do wish the seat was softer.
Now I’ve been told I have a rump, but I must have a bony butt when I’m sitting because although the seat feels comfortable when I first sit on it, after about 45 minutes of sitting and riding, my butt gets numb which doesn’t feel very great. So I have to get up and walk around every 45 minutes or so when using this bike which is I guess what I should be doing anyway, but I’d love if I could sit on it comfortably for up to an hour which other people may find possible. I’ll probably end up purchasing a gel seat cover to make it more comfortable for me. So yes I wish the seat was just a little bit bigger and softer. Also when I’m pedaling, the inside of my ankles come extremely close to the pedal arms so I have to position my feet a bit to the outer side of the pedals to avoid my ankles hitting the pedal arms as I’m riding so I do wish the pedals were just a bit wider.
As for the noise, the FlexiSpot desk bike has been extremely quiet so far. Now this could possibly change after months or years of use, but I’ve been using this for a month and it’s still very quiet when pedaling. It’s much better than my $40 stepper I bought. There are no squeaks or rattles, it’s about as quiet as a desk bike can possibly be which I love.
To sum it up, I like this desk bike and I think it’s definitely worth it if you want to be a little more active during your work sessions, if you have enough space in your office to use it, and if you’re using a compact laptop for your work. This won’t support a big dual-monitor setup, but it’s a nice fit for people who don’t need a ton of desktop space and want more movement during work.
That wraps up my review of the FlexiSpot Deskcise Pro (Amazon). If you have any questions leave a comment below and I’ll do my best to answer you. Thanks for watching. My name is Andy, and I’ll talk to you in the next one.