PlayPulse One makes keeping fit more fun than Mario Kart

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A PlayPulse One exercise bike, with screen mounted on the handlebars, on a white background.

If you like the idea of having your own exercise bike but you just can’t drag yourself away from playing games, the PlayPulse One will let you do both.

Unlike Peloton’s bikes, which use their built-in screens to subject you to the inane whooping of their hyperactive instructors, the PlayPulse One’s 24in Full HD touchscreen allows you to play games while you pump the pedals, with the movement of your character linked directly to how hard you work. Doesn’t that sound better than having someone called Brett, Brent or Bront shout “YOU GOT THIS!” at you?

At each end of the handlebars are gamepad-style controls so you can point your tank in the right direction as you try to capture the flag from other human players in Pedaltanks; avoid obstacles in your spaceship in Helios; or navigate your way across the Bifrost bridge towards Asgard in the Norse-inspired Raido. There’s also haptic feedback and a built-in heart rate sensor, but it’s compatible with other wearables if you want to use your own.

A man in a white sweatshirt, khaki joggers and white trainers sits on an exercise bike with a built-in screen. There is a plant in the corner and a laptop on the table in the foreground.

If you’d rather watch the new series of Drive to Survive there’s also a Netflix app (plus Prime, YouTube and Twitch) but you’ll still have to keep those legs moving to keep the video playing. The steel frame can handle anyone up to about 23.5 stone, plus the bike is height adjustable, so anyone from 4’4” to 6” can ride it comfortably.

The PlayPulse Studio (which is free for the first six months) dashboard shows all your stats at a glance, with a whole load of workouts available, from simple time- or calorie-based goals, to interval sessions and even virtual recreations of famous climbs such as Alpe d’Huez.

You can pre-order one of the next batch of PlayPulse One bikes for £1600 now, with delivery expected in April.

About

Stuff's second Tom has been writing for the magazine and website since 2006, when smartphones were only for massive nerds and you could say “Alexa” out loud without a robot answering. Over the years he’s written about everything from MP3s to NFTs, played FIFA with Trent Alexander-Arnold, and amassed a really quite impressive collection of USB sticks.