LifeSpan's Standing Desk Bike will Charge a Laptop, if you've got the legs for it
The LifeSpan Ampera Standing Desk Bike: A standing desk bike with 65W USB-C & 15W Wireless Charging.
As a serious amateur cyclist curious about what long hours of zone 1 and zone 2 training would be like, I've often wondered what it would be like to use a standing desk bike while working at home to bolster training hours. The thought experiment always ends at "that's ridiculous" but it's fun to speculate.
Recently, I stumbled upon LifeSpan and it's recently released Ampera standing desk bike. What I found interesting is that the Ampera is designed to capture your energy and use it to charge a phone via its 15W Qi charging plate or a laptop via a 65W USB-C port.
Unfortunately, LifeSpan's specifications leave me with a lot of questions:
65W USB-C Port / 15W Wireless Charging Convenience : Our regenerative pedals are finely tuned to generate power with great efficiency. At a casual speed of 60 rpm, the bike is capable of producing up to 65 watts per hour at any given resistance level fast charging. No more hassle with wires and plugs while you work and pedal.
This description is somewhat confusing. In cycling, wattage is typically measured by combining the torque on the crank-arm with the rotation speed. Just stating a 60-rpm figure doesn't fully explain the efficiency or power output of the system. For instance, how many watts must I pedal at to achieve a 65-watt output for a laptop?
If there comes a time when I decide to try and achieve 20-25 hours of endurance training on a standing desk bike, I might just get these answers.
If you want to give it a go, the Ampera Office Bike is available to buy right now from Amazon, normally priced at $999, it's currently on sale for $799. If you do, please let me know how it goes.