A desk designed to let cyclists work out while working

The latest chapter in the brief history of working out, versus merely working, at your desk is being written with high-design in mind. A new desk system from Cleveland start-up Kickstand Furniture allows cyclists to use their bikes as not only stable office seats, but also functioning cycles--without sacrificing style.

The Kickstand desk, which starts at $1,990, allows cyclists to mount a bike to a desk that's supported by two hand-welded steel supports that can hold up to 350 pounds each. The bike fits underneath a 60 x 30-inch desk top and its wheels are grounded by, well, a kickstand-like device.

Dan Young, the Cleveland-based software developer of mobile-device apps who launched Kickstand Furniture in late October also happens to be a cyclist, of course. But when he searched for a gadget that would allow him to pedal away on an actual bike while programming and taking care of other business, he couldn't find one.

"I was surprised I hadn't seen this before," Young said in a phone interview, adding that he also hadn't witnessed any similar DIY desk hacks, either.

"I asked welders at various high-end bike shops around the country if such a product existed, or if they could make one, but they were more interested in doing things with bikes than making a desk."

The Kickstand Desk isn't the first exercise-machine/workspace hybrid, which tend to be marketed as devices to help mitigate the health risks of sitting extensively. (Epidemiologists at the American Cancer Society, for instance, estimate that on average, people who sit for six hours or more a day for years tend to live shorter lives than those who are more active.)

Earlier gym-equipment-meets-the-desk products include Steelcase's Walkstation, a $4,300-plus desk system that includes a treadmill, and the $589 TrekDesk, another treadmill-desk combination that recently appeared as a prop on the TV show "Weeds" in this fall.

Young doesn't want to limit the Kickstand Desk to those cyclists who have deep pockets, though--relatively speaking. He told SmartPlanet that he's working on a half-price, $900 version that is smaller in size than the current model. The more affordable desk should be available by the end of the year.

Clearly a "premium product," aimed for people who spend thousands of dollars on a single bike, as Young said, the Kickstand Desk might actually help justify an investment in a top-of-the-line bicycle. After all, it turns such a high-end bike into a fitness and training machine. And, at least in theory, it also will keep a cycling fanatic--the type who'd rather be on the road while at work--productive.

Images: Kickstand Furniture

This post was originally published on Smartplanet.com