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VR Exercise Bike (VirZoom)

dinoroger
Adventurer
http://virzoom.com/

So I tried the VirZoom at Pax South 2016 this weekend. While the games were no AAA titles they still made me forget I was exercising. So I decided to take the risk and purchase one and now I must wait until it ships sometime in Q1.

So here is my pros and cons without having the bike yet but from just testing it:

Pros:
- Makes me forget that I am exercising
- There should be allot of different types of games since they looked fairly basic (basic is a pro and a con).
- Works on the big 3 HMD's (Oculus, Vive, PS4)
- I am a bigger guy and the bike felt comfortable. The seat was a wide seat and not one of those bike seats that you insert into you (TMI).
- I get to lose real mass in a virtual world.
- Looks like they will have a SDK so other companies may create content or adapt current software to it.
- Some games are multi-player so the competitive edge may make you pedal harder.
- Light, portable and Bluetooth, so setup looks to be easy.

Cons:
- The game demos felt like tablet type games running on VR.
- Games may get boring quicker than normal games.
- Someone having a heart attack while using your product may not be good press (this goes for an exercise equipment though).
- I could see the sweat making my HMD get a little nasty. Thank goodness Oculus will have replacements pads.
- The heat in the HMD may be trapped causing fog. Going to see if this will be a true problem and if so are there any like diving goggle sprays that would help.
- Like my other exercise bike this may end up collecting dust if I can't self motivate.

I am a consumer and this post is not trying to sell this (I have no links to VirZoom). This is a discussion mainly on VR exercise equipment in general.

So what are your thoughts on using VR for exercise.
31 REPLIES 31

Morecowbell
Honored Guest
Sounds awesome. I live in Seattle, where it always rains, so this VR exercise bike would be ideal for me. I get soo bored on my current stationary bike, even if I am watching TV. I hope it comes to PAX prime! I'll check it out then.

Lionreza
Explorer
in theory this is a good idea. in practice holy shit is your HMD going to be drenched in sweat. Sweat is such a problem when on a stationary trainer they make thongs to protect your bike from corrosive sweat http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cycleops-bike-thong-sweat-guard/rp-prod39535?gs=1&gclid=Cj0KEQiAx... i imagine this will be much worse for your HMD than it is for your bike

Mike1
Protege
"Lionreza" wrote:
in theory this is a good idea. in practice holy shit is your HMD going to be drenched in sweat. Sweat is such a problem when on a stationary trainer they make thongs to protect your bike from corrosive sweat http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/cycleops-bike-thong-sweat-guard/rp-prod39535?gs=1&gclid=Cj0KEQiAx... i imagine this will be much worse for your HMD than it is for your bike


Exactly, there is no way in hell this will work unless your not really working out

dinoroger
Adventurer
HMD condom needed.

boggie1688
Protege
The sweat problem is exactly what I thought when I read the title.

In my living room, I have a trainer and a bike placed right in front of my tv. I ride 7 days a week, 45 mins a day, with an average speed of 19mph, average cadence of 80, and average heart rate of 140. By the end of my ride, my sweat band is soaked through and dripping, and there is a 1.5 foot wide puddle on the ground. (I have faux wood boards covered in a rubber sweat mat)

If you are serious about losing weight, you don't need a VR game to help you. You need to get serious, then cardio AND diet.

I can't stress the cardio AND dieting part. It take both to LOSE weight.

So as someone who likes VR and exercises regularly, I wouldn't ever consider buying this.

jxburros
Expert Protege
"boggie1688" wrote:
The sweat problem is exactly what I thought when I read the title.

In my living room, I have a trainer and a bike placed right in front of my tv. I ride 7 days a week, 45 mins a day, with an average speed of 19mph, average cadence of 80, and average heart rate of 140. By the end of my ride, my sweat band is soaked through and dripping, and there is a 1.5 foot wide puddle on the ground. (I have faux wood boards covered in a rubber sweat mat)

If you are serious about losing weight, you don't need a VR game to help you. You need to get serious, then cardio AND diet.

I can't stress the cardio AND dieting part. It take both to LOSE weight.

So as someone who likes VR and exercises regularly, I wouldn't ever consider buying this.


If everyone wasn't 100% right about the sweat, I'd totally buy one.

Also, don't judge people for their different methods for losing weight and/or getting healthy (losing weight is not the only reason to exercise.) To be honest, anything that can help people get active is a good thing in my book.
VRgin - CV1 (March shipment)

Bloodlet
Rising Star
I think I'll throw this in the same bin as the omni, under the heading of great ideas I really couldn't be arsed with. 😉

roadczar
Protege
"jxburros" wrote:

If everyone wasn't 100% right about the sweat, I'd totally buy one.


Also, the device itself seems too low quality for a serious trainer.

buz11
Honored Guest
Eric from VirZoom here!

We're positioning our bike and games for gamers that want to move through large VR worlds and get some exercise doing it. The effort you put in actually makes the movement (particularly flying) feel more real, and we've solved some hard problems in motion control to keep your inner ear in balance.

It does make you sweat when you play at higher resistance settings, but we haven't found that to be any more of a problem in VR than real life, and you can always dial it down. We view it as half awesome VR controller and half exercise equipment, but are in talks to make a more rugged (and expensive) version for gyms, offices, and serious home use.

We can honestly say that it always exceeds the expectations of people that try it. Which is why we're taking it to so many shows and can't wait to start shipping in Q2. We're also starting to roll out new tank, helicopter, motorcycle, and dragonfly experiences so if you've seen us before, come see us again.