Jeeze, I will stick with my modular solution: an ipad on a music stand. This is compatible not only with any commodity treadmill, but also bike trainers, ellipticals, and making vroomvroom noises on the motorcycle when it's too icy to actually ride. I could also swap out the ipad for a laptop, non-ipad tablet, or a collection of cute succulents should I desire it.
snark aside, I'm a bicycle guy and I really like that we have an ecosystem of bluetooth trainers and apps that all work pretty well with each other. Simulating hilly courses is actually really useful and has made me a better rider, so it's not like I'm advocating being a total luddite. While I prefer to ride outdoors in the sun, my area in Iowa is extremely flat and the only difficulty comes from the wind, and I find the new toys are a lot more fun than a dumb trainer with a sufferfest DVD. I don't really know much about the treadmill scene but I hope you guys have access to similar stuff.
But really, my understanding is that these fancier treadmills map incline/speed/whatever data to the video file to make it “more realistic”. I think there may even be a sort of MMO/live ghost feature?
Personally I think I’d rather just have music I like and work out at a pace that’s comfortable for me, but to each their own I suppose.
I'm a zwift user and I really like it. You can designate a course and it will adjust the resistance to match the elevation changes. There is live or ghost racing (with simulated drafting, which is cool) and other neat things, but the routes and structured training is what I'm there for.
My tacx trainer was only $300 or so when I bought it, which was comparable to non-bluetooth trainers. That said, I already owned a fancy roadbike to use with it, which is not a negligible cost.
Yes, but a cheap treadmill + $3 vs a $4000 treadmill? Kind of a hard sell. Like I’m going to have to go pick up the power splitter myself? I don’t have time for that
> I will stick with my modular solution: an ipad on a music stand.
My smart rower consists of a C2 Model D sitting in front of an old-school panasonic plasma TV in a spare/theater room. Both components are over 10 years old by now and neither show the slightest signs of giving up the ghost. That TV doesn't even know how to talk to the internet, and I lost the USB cable for the PM4, so everything is effectively off-grid.
Funny, I use iPad on a music stand, too. With my bike trainier (Hammer H3). BTW, you can get the Sufferfest content on the newer Wahoo Systm app. I don't mind paying the $15/month for it for a the three to four winter months spent training inside. (They also have newer content, too, than the old DVDs.)
If you're into running on a treadmill, this looks like a very sweet setup. It has a huge touch screen that's just in the right spot, you can easily reach it while running, and it has gimmicks like automatic adjustment of inclination.
It's not cheap, but it looks like really nice hardware. I totally understand why some people would want something like that, especially if you can install generic Android apps on it!
It's funny you mentioned the sun. I enjoyed the sun a little too much when I was younger. So one feature I enjoy in exercise bikes these days is the radiation protection.
The accessory part is also pretty neat though. I use a low end exercise bike that came with a snap-on plastic tablet holder. It works pretty well but it got me thinking about hacking the thing. I was finally able to mount a scanner radio, a ham radio, exercise bands, and my phone along with the tablet. Then my kids decided to take it off my hands for a while...I think Dad looked a little too motivated.
In this particular case, some of the runs from iFit instructors are actually quite good, and it cool that it adjusts the speed and incline to match the instruction. Probably not worth the extra $$$$ but it is pretty cool. But now I also want to be able to watch regular videos. I usually walk outdoors for an hour a day to get my 10,000 steps in, and the Chicago winter makes that tough, so I'm thinking an hour of walking on the treadmill while i catch up on my favorite shows might be a good substitute.
If you want a really nice version of this, companies like Heckler Design, Manfrotto, Triad Orbit, and König & Meyer make excellent stands with tons of adapters for lights, cameras, mics, speakers, phones, ipads...
My current WFH setup includes a Manfrotto 244N magic arm attached with a RAM mount to a Rokform RAM ball that very securely attaches to my Rokform iPhone case. It's clamped to my desk with a Manfrotto 035 SuperClamp. The RAM adapter is P/N RAP-B-366U and the double swivel on the RAM side is a RAP-B-201U . The Rokform part is "Universal Ball Adapter Phone Mount" SKU: 337101
RAM also makes a great iPad "X-Grip" holder, along with tons of different mounts for different situations, especially vehicles and things like exercise bikes (e.g. look for stuff like a "RAM® Double U-Bolt Ball Base for 1" - 1.25" Rails" or indeed their actual handlebar mounts). These are sturdy, pro-level mounts, not the cheap disposable junk from no-name brands on Amazon.
For my Zwift stationary bike setup that I use my old road bike on, I just use a $15 Niteize Handleband to attach my phone plus a Vornado 783DC made-in-USA DC brushless fan to keep the sweat levels low.
Another couple brands worth checking out would be Joby's stuff (I have an old GorillaPod DSLR that holds my webcam these days) and "The Joy Factory" who make pro-level iPad clamps / stands.
>My current WFH setup includes a Manfrotto 244N magic arm attached with a RAM mount to a Rokform RAM ball that very securely attaches to my Rokform iPhone case. It's clamped to my desk with a Manfrotto 035 SuperClamp. The RAM adapter is P/N RAP-B-366U and the double swivel on the RAM side is a RAP-B-201U . The Rokform part is "Universal Ball Adapter Phone Mount" SKU: 337101
No offense, but that sounds insanely complicated for putting an iPad on a stand in front of a threadmill. If it was me I wouldn't even want to know what a RAM adaptor is, I would just want to buy a tripod with a clamp for an iPad.
Give it a go with just your phone too before shelling out for a tablet. When I go to the gym I sometimes just lay my phone on top of the machine by the controls (about music stand level) and at that distance from my eyes the diagonal is plenty large enough
Same. I have a couple of used treadmills that I repaired for dirt cheap and a crappy TV mounted to the wall. Treadmill cupholders make great remote holders.
snark aside, I'm a bicycle guy and I really like that we have an ecosystem of bluetooth trainers and apps that all work pretty well with each other. Simulating hilly courses is actually really useful and has made me a better rider, so it's not like I'm advocating being a total luddite. While I prefer to ride outdoors in the sun, my area in Iowa is extremely flat and the only difficulty comes from the wind, and I find the new toys are a lot more fun than a dumb trainer with a sufferfest DVD. I don't really know much about the treadmill scene but I hope you guys have access to similar stuff.