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Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

codaris.github.io

131–137 of 137 posts

Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

#131

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I love DDR and would love to play, but all my mats are destroyed!

There’s a company called L-Tek in Poland that’s making pretty sturdy ones out of wood and sheet metal. After shipping and everything it worked out to like $350. Not too bad if you’re serious about it.

That's a bit impractical atm, but good to know there's still some kind of market for that.

Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

#133
post #128

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind music when the work is mundane, but I fucking hate needing to have something playing to drown out the sounds of people around me when I need to really think (best done in silence or with cafe noise for me). I honestly don't know how people actually do hard things in an office.

3M classic superfit 33 earplugs (33 nrr) are comfortable and quiet. I buy a box of 250 and it lasts me forever.

Good to know. I've tried other construction style 3M earmuffs that didn't come close to doing the trick.

Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

#134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind music when the work is mundane, but I fucking hate needing to have something playing to drown out the sounds of people around me when I need to really think (best done in silence or with cafe noise for me). I honestly don't know how people actually do hard things in an office.

3M - Peltor earmuffs/noise cancellers. I got two pairs of them, one next to the desk, one next to the bed. Anytime there is any noise that I cannot control, I put these on and (almost) everything goes away. After 30 seconds I only hear my heartbeat, and that 'goes away' after 1-2 minutes giving me (almost) total silence. At $20, it is the best one I've tried. It is not 'active' (mic filtering & speakers), it just has…

Oh, I tried these last year. I'm glad they work for you and I'm sure for others, but it didn't work for me. The size took a little getting used to in an office, but that was fine. They just didn't work to completely remove the eating sounds that my coworker was making on our code assembly line.

Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

#135
Upvoted for the link to "Unbricking a $2,000 Bike With a $10 Raspberry Pi". All this may motivate me to resume my Concept2 rower workouts. The reference there to "Bluetility" gives me a curiousity-quenching look at all the devices in my home, and possibly my vehicles.

Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

#136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is a weird opinion - Garmin is arguably the market leader, and they opened up all their formats and protocols to be standards which are now widely adopted (.fit files, ant+ wireless communication), and they also now work with the competing wireless communication standard too (btle). And just looking at exercise bikes, it's true that peloton/flywheel/etc are closed. But the products in that space from the establi…

ok then, i'm wrong. Is it true that more generic manufacturers (assuming they are players in the exercise industry) are also adopting these standards?

Yes. Go buy some random heart rate monitor from Amazon - it will communicate over standard ant+/btle protocols.

Re: Hacking a $200 Under Desk Exercise Bike

#137
post #16

I have one. I don't like to use it. When I exercise my brain is way off in alpha wave territory. I found it harmful to actually getting work done. I go jogging or ride a bike instead.

I came to say something similar, but without the reasoning. I found that when I used a standing desk over a treadmill, the mechanics were alright as I type code (rather than mouse designs). The problem was in the thinking. The level of exercise increased bloodflow but didn't sync with the careful deep thought needed for working through complex/detailled situations.

Reflecting on this thought, I think it's because deep thinking requires/benefits from 'stillness' which is a way of saying free of distractions of noise, motion, etc. Walking on a treadmill I can do the same kinds of work I can do in a not-particularly-quiet open office. I don't know if concurrently burning calories that could instead go into thinking factors in at all.
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