Velo Gator

I keep seeing this commercial and it's making me covet. $1299...

https://www.proform.com/webapp/wcs/st...2_29511_177903



With the iFit Live™ Technology Powered by Google Maps™ you can ride anywhere in the world! Choose from 24 pre-mapped courses or create your own. Ride over the Passage du Gois or climb the hills of Mont des Alouettes in France. Now you can experience these same trails and more on this Indoor Cycle. With iFit Live™ Technology you can ride where the Pro's do. The world is at your fingertips. Map any route and enjoy the ride! Google and Google Maps are registered trademarks of Google, Inc.

Introducing incline and decline that matches the street! Now, you can experience any route around the world and Le Tour de France Indoor Cycle automatically adjusts the incline and decline to simulate the terrain! No matter the route, no matter the map, your bike moves to follow the road. So, you get a realistic workout-just as if you were outside-but without the traffic, potholes and weather. Now you can have the perfect day on your road bike every day of the year with Le Tour de France Indoor Cycle.

rjones28 

Looks heavy.

surgeonstone

All indoor cycling sucks, no matter how nice it looks, it sucks.

llamont

I saw the commercial for the bike while watching Le Tour 11' and it looks awesome. That being said, I would like to see one in person to see it the product's build quality. $1,299 could be a very attractive price for a solid and functioning machine! There seems to be a lot of features for the asking price.

rjones28 

Needs drop bars too.

Velo Gator

I was actually expecting a price tag of a few thousand. It has maps! Even though it's a stationary bike!

contango 

Losing the potholes, traffic, speed bumps and moronic motorists is a great thing. Losing the wind rushing past, the exhiliaration of seeing the view from the top having just climbed a huge hill, and the thrill of a fast descent is less great.

VA_Esquire

For that price....That is tempting! $1,500 for the indoor cycling bike and a 3 year warranty is good. Hmm.....want.

jdon

True, but we do it or lose it. This may help some with the motivation. If you you like it, buy it.

SBRDude

If it was more expensive, pcad would buy it.

mvnsnd

Looks very interesting. I like that it will change incline based on road profile. Make it lean in a turn and it will be about as close to road riding as you can get.

hhnngg1

$1299 for no drop bars is ridiculous.

Also, no power measurements. EDIT - has power. That helps a lot.

iFit gas not been well received despite being out for 2 years now.

llamont

Same here. Did you call the number to get the price? I don't remember seeing it on the commercial. I assumed it would be like the old school SoloFlex/BowFlex commercials, you know, they get you all gassed up on the features and then they drop a bomb with the fact that you have to drop a down payment for a house to buy the darned thing. With the included maps, powermeter, and simulation features the price almost seems to good to be true. Oh well, I guess time will tell.

surgeonstone

Naaah, pcad , like me, is a true blue outdoor cyclist, rain, sun, snow, wind, it's all way better than indoor hours on a rat trap.

Velo Gator

website. You can buy it now for $1299.

JonnyV

Great concept but I won't buy something with the 'Proform' name on it. Or anything made by Icon or Nautilus.

Bioluminescence

I love how that guy is wearing a helmet on it. Made me laugh.

hhnngg1

Hate to say it, but I DEFINITELY agree with this.

I'll already predict how this will go down:

- The most important part of this bike, the "iFit" feature, will totally suck. Either the course creation interface or something else about it will completely suck. There is a reason why this 'should-be-killer-app' has not even come close to being favorably reviewed on any forum, be it running, triathlon, or cycling, despite being in wide distribution for 2 years on treadmills. Unless they completely overhaul it, this alone is reason NOT to buy the unit.

- I don't trust Proform's Powermeter. I'll bet it's not a true powertap style device, as that would make it cost in the multiple thousands, and Proform has no experience with calibrating trainer devices to a PT device, unlike Saris or KK. Until proven otherwise, I'd be very skeptical of the power numbers.

- Clearly the bike is NOT designed with racing cyclists in mind, given the lack of drop bars. Despite the "TdF" logo, this is clearly NOT a bike designed with any input from a real racing cyclist. It's pretty much a refitted generic exercise bike. Even the testimonial, a single triathlete (not even a pro racer, or better yet TdF rider!) is pretty weak, given that this is allegedly a "TdF" bike.

I'll still wait until the real reviews are out, but already, I'm predicting that it's not going to be any sort of competition for Saris/Cycleops or CT. Caveat emptor.

spock

Hey, you can always take your trainer outdoors.

Mansram01

Well it does look like he has quite a descent in front of him...

55/Rad

I worked on the commercial. In fact, I built the bike that the guy - Pro Triathlete Lewis Elliot - is riding on the road in the non-TDF footage.

The trainer is really nice and has a lot of potential. When we shot the spot, the trainer we used was a prototype and wasn't the final product. There were some geometry issues in terms of bar and saddle adjustments that needed to be worked out. Still, it seemed like a quality product.

55/Rad

coralreef

You're one smart man. My husband worked one summer for ICON, the company that makes all those brands. They treat their employees like crap. They lay them off every January and rehire again every July, which makes it so they NEVER have to offer benefits. Then have the employees work 12 hour days 7 days a week November and December. When employees, especially assembly employees are treated like that, I bet you can guess how much they care about the quality of work they do.

jdon

That's what I do. Still sux.

hhnngg1

The product is quite doubtful, but the COMMERCIAL is pretty good! Well done!

AdelaaR

You opinion and not necessarily true for all of us.
I kind of like it ... but not for more than 30 minutes.
For doing short but heavy intervals when it's raining and too windy I find it to be great.