In a Nutshell:
A basic, but excellent bike desk with a surprisingly small footprint. Flexispot Bike Desk is recommended for anyone interested in a bike desk for short or occasional medium intensity use. Anyone who doesn’t have a lot of space to work with.
Value for the Money
Comfort
Usability
Brand Reliability*
Overall Rating
3.8/5
Benefits
Drawbacks
Recommended For: Anyone interested in a bike desk for short or occasional medium intensity use. Anyone who doesn’t have a lot of space to work with.
Are you desperately seeking a simple way to get more exercise and get fit without sacrificing your productivity? If so, then you’ve probably at least done some internet searches on “exercises you can do at your desk” or similar phrases.
There are tons of exercises like that, and they definitely make a difference, but if you’re interested in taking work desk fitness to the next level and really up your game, then you’re going to like what you see in our FlexiSpot Bike Desk review.
We’ll be quick to say that bike desks aren’t for everyone. First, you have to be interested in biking in general, and second, you have to have space for the equipment. In most cases (including this one) that’s because these types of exercise desks aren’t really optimized for heavy daily use. They’re great for short stints, and sometimes, you can even use them comfortably for a period of a few hours, but more than that and they start getting super uncomfortable.
For that reason, you’ll need space for not only the bike desk but also for a regular desk so you can get a full day’s work in.
Even given that limitation, there’s a compelling case to be made for a desk like this. The workout you get from biking even 30 minutes a day while you’re working is heads and shoulders more beneficial than almost any desk exercise program you could come up with, so if fitness is your priority, you’re going to love what you find in this review.
In the sections that follow, we’ll cover in detail everything the desk bike gets right, and we won’t pull any punches when talking about its shortcomings.
That way, you’ll have all the information you need to decide if this is the solution you’ve been looking for. If that sounds good to you, read on and let’s take a closer look!
An Overview of the FlexiSpot Exercise Desk Bike
The FlexiSpot Bike Desk looks like exactly what it is. A piece of exercise equipment with a work tray attached. It’s neither ugly nor especially attractive; merely functional, and your first impressions will likely be exactly that.
Given the fact that it’s a piece of exercise equipment, it may be a struggle to find a good home for the bike desk, depending on the specifics of your home décor, which is a polite way of saying that it’ll stick out like a sore thumb if your house is formally decorated and appointed. If your home sports a more casual or utilitarian look though, it’ll get along just fine with everything else in your house.
Another thing you’ll notice almost right away is the fact that it’s got a surprisingly small footprint, which brings us nicely to the core stats that define this model. Let’s take a quick look:
A couple of observations to make here: First, the weight limit isn’t great, but it’s pretty good. With an upper limit of 300-pounds, the FlexiSpot Deskcise Pro bike desk will accommodate some 90% of potential users. Unfortunately, if you’re bigger and taller, this one’s going to be a non-starter for you.
The other thing worth pointing out is that where many of the other bike desks on the market today spread out (relatively longer length), this one goes up. It’s taller than most, which helps it maintain a smaller footprint, so if you’re cramped for space, this one probably deserves to be on your shortlist.
Features of the FlexiSpot Bike Desk
Comfortability
Unfortunately, the FlexiSpot Exercise Desk Bike comes up a little short in some areas. We’ll take these one at a time, starting with comfort, to show you what we mean.
If we had to pick one aspect of this bike desk’s design which stands out as its glaring weak spot, it would be the comfort dimension. It’s just not all that comfortable.
It features a saddle-style bicycle seat which is comfortable enough for short rides of 30 minutes to an hour, but if you stay on it for much longer than that, it’s going to start getting uncomfortable quickly. This is not the bike desk you’re looking for if you want something you can sit in for most of the day, or even all of it. In a pinch, you could probably tolerate it for three hours or so, but after that, you’ll need to spare your buttocks and get up to move around.
Capability
The FlexiSpot does fare a bit better in terms of capabilities but sticks to the basics.
You’ll find a total of 8 different magnetic resistance levels on offer, which gives you some ability to customize the difficulty of your workout routine. Unfortunately, the first 3-4 levels of adjustment don’t really feel all that different, so in practice, you’re down to 4-5 settings that feel markedly different from one another.
That’s enough to get the job done, but again, if you’re looking for something robust and loaded with options, this one’s going to leave you feeling a bit underwhelmed.
Adjustability
It does fare better in terms of adjustability, and you’ll find a lot to like on that front. Not only is the seat height adjustable, but the work tray is too, which allows you a lot of freedom and flexibility in terms of setting the desk up to perfect height so you can be productive while getting your daily dose of exercise.
In addition to that, the seat slides forward and backward along a track by up to 8” so you can get the ideal amount of separation between the seat and pedals and seat and work tray.
Similarly, the tray slides backward and forwards, left and right, but note that it does not include a tilt function.
As to the tray, it measures 19.6” x 22.8” which isn’t huge but is big enough to hold most laptops on the market today although you’ll likely want to incorporate a side table to hold your drink and any other supplies you might need. It’s also worth mentioning that the tray is capable of supporting almost a hundred pounds of weight! That’s impressive, but also excessive, given its relatively modest size.
Even so, we wanted to give it a mention!
Batteries are required to run the modest LCD display on the bike, which allows you to track the distance you have ridden, the calories you have burned, or the amount of time you’ve spent riding, but that’s it. As we said, this model sticks to the basics, so if you’re looking for a bike with pre-programmed exercise routines or advanced features, this isn’t going to be the one for you.
Assembly Might Take One Minute
One of the things we really like about the FlexiSpot Exercise Bike Desk is that it comes almost completely assembled and ready to use. Just unbox it, roll it to wherever you want it, pop the work desk in place, add batteries, and you’re ready to ride. That’s it.
There are no parts to sort and nothing to puzzle out.
Curiously, this chair comes with expert assembly offered as an option for a hefty additional fee.
Needless to say, we don’t recommend it.
While it’s true that it doesn’t come 100% assembled, even if you’re notoriously bad at putting things together, this one won’t give you any problems whatsoever. Kudos to FlexiSpot for a job very well done on this front!
Variants of the Flexispot Bike Desk
Pros and Cons of the FlexiSpot Exercise Bike Desk
This is a solid, reliable bike desk. It sticks to the basics, and it renders those basics very well. We like almost everything about it, but there are a few things we’d love to see in a future model upgrade:
Even without these things, the bike desk is a very strong product that gives you a powerful workout tool you can use to burn calories and get healthy while not detracting from your workday.
FlexiSpot Bike Desk Review Conclusion
Bike desks are, by their nature, self-selecting products. You’re either highly interested in one or not at all. If you are, and you only need something for short periods throughout the day, and if you don’t have a lot of space to work with, the FlexiSpot Bike Desk is an excellent choice.
Unfortunately, since the seat isn’t useful for all-day sitting, it necessarily means that you’ll have to have some other desk solution set up for the times you’re not using the bike desk. On that basis, we provisionally recommend it.
References & Resources:
- FlexiSpot, Official Brand Website.
- FlexiSpot Deskcise Pro User Manual
- Do These 5 Exercises Every Day to Stay Fit for Life, The Active Times.
- 10 Little Ways to Sneak in Exercise at Work (Without Looking Silly), HubSpot.
- Stationary Bike Benefits, LiveStrong.