The Expresso Fitness cardio bike from Expresso Fitness is a welcomed change to the world of cardio equipment. Morning cardio training is an important part of any weight loss program and having various options for various body types is quite critical in my opinion. Different strokes for different folks I always say and this Expresso Fitness cardio bike may be your reason to experience some change.

The Expresso cardio bike allows the rider to interact with other virtual riders on various trails within the screen in front of him or her. The handlebars on the bike move allowing the rider to steer around them and throughout the trail system. It’s fully interactive and comes with choice of music tracks and the setting of a pace rider to assist you in your goals.

The Expresso allows for over 30 interactive routes, trail or tracks, forests, deserts, coastlines and even Mayan ruins. The routes are offered in various lengths, both indoor and outdoor. Chose a 20 minute route that has two 10 minute loops or a 30 minute ride with 5 six minute laps. The lap times have to do with your fitness level of course, but this gives you and idea of what it might be like. The bike can be networked and allow for you to ride side by side against friends.

As the terrain changes on the track, the difficultly becomes either easier or more difficult all automatically.

A gear shifter located below the handlebars allows the rider to change gears as it were creating more resistance.

Settings on the screen show watts, speed, gear, your position on the track, the position of your pace rider and your total and current lap time.

In this screen shot, you can see one sample of the terrain “Alpine Splash” which quite clearly shows the changes in difficulty along the bottom. It begins with some rolling hills which then builds to a climactic uphill push followed by a downward race to the finish.

The Expresso Fitness cardio bike is also internet ready which allows you to create an online account on Expresso Fitness and then record your daily progress reports. You can set your own personal goals and know if you’re meeting them all electronically. A really cool feature is the ability to ride against a “ghost” image of your best time, thus truly competing against yourself. My gym does not have this feature set up as their IT staff have not yet recognized the power of wireless internet. If your club does, or if you purchase this piece for your home, then I’d love to hear back from you about your experience with the tracking system.

Benefits Of The Expresso Cardio Bike

• Interactive, allowing the rider to participate in the experience.
• Allows the rider to set goals at the onset and then follow the pace rider to meet that goal
• Networked, allowing the rider to record his or her times, track progress and challenge oneself each ride.
• Minimizes boredom for the exerciser

I really do not like biking, I really don’t (did I mention that?). I’m a climber and prefer the Cybex Arc trainer, however, this Expresso Fitness cardio bike has given me a new excitement for biking again. I can interact with the other riders, set goals for a lap time, push myself near the finish line and revel in the day that I set a new Personal Best (PB). When I’m done with my laps, I am truly dripping in sweat. When it comes to cross training and my need to move around to the other machines, the Expresso Fitness cardio bike is one of my new favorites.

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