Acer’s new eKinekt BD 3 uses your kinetic energy to power your devices while you work, keeping you fit—and maybe just knocking a little bit from your energy bill.
But do you really need an exercise bike with an integrated desk?
What Is the Acer eKinekt BD 3?
Unveiled at CES 2023, the eKinekt BD 3 is a workout desk. In short, you have a fixed fitness bike with a small desk above the handlebars, enabling you to get on with some work while you exercise at your desk.
However, it’s not just the desk that makes the eKinekt BD 3 interesting. As you pedal along, you can connect your laptop, smartphone, or other portable devices into the eKinekt’s two USB-A ports and a single USB-C port, keeping them powered up. Acer states, “one hour of constant cycling at 60 revolutions per minute on the bike desk can generate 75 watts of self-generated power.”
Which in itself is okay, but it won’t keep all of your devices powered up simultaneously, at least depending on what you’re doing. A laptop idling may use 10W while plugged in, but once you get a few programs going, that figure quickly ramps up. Add that to a smartphone, tablet, and whatever other devices you want to charge, and the desk might not cover everything. You certainly won’t be plugging in a gaming laptop, that’s for sure (though playing Call of Duty while on your exercise bike does seem intriguing).
Facilitating the work and the exercise are two different stance options: Working Mode and Sports Mode. Working Mode moves the desk closer to you, shifts the chair (yes, chair, not saddle) into more of a proper sitting position, but allows you to be comfortable while pedaling. Sports Mode moves the integrated desk further away, providing more room for pedaling.
Acer’s eKinekt BD 3 will launch in June 2023 and is priced at $1,000.
Do You Need an Exercise Desk?
The biggest question is whether you need an exercise desk, to begin with. The eKinekt BD 3 looks interesting (as do other exercise desks), but for most people, the joy of exercise is the detachment from their desks.
Suppose you’ve been chained to a desk at home for hours at a time, slaving over a hot keyboard. In that case, the idea of shifting onto another device designed to keep you online and engaged seems like the opposite of why many people exercise—destress, declutter, and remove themselves from the work environment for a while.
It’ll be interesting to see if Acer’s take on the exercise desk takes off. Notably, other smart bike workout options like Peloton suffered throughout 2022 as worldwide pandemic restrictions eased, and people could fully enjoy exercising outdoors once more. Exercise desks fit a different niche, but there is some cross-over, but it could be that Acer’s segue into exercise desks has come a little too late.
