Bowflexes, Roman chairs, those things Suzanne Somers was hawking: Most exercise equipment looks like it belongs in a dungeon, not a home gym. The Ciclotte stationary bicycle, on the other hand, wouldn't appear out of place in a museum. Which is exactly where its aesthetics hail from. Designer Luca Schieppati took his Ciclò — a concept bike that the Milan Design Museum liked enough to include in its permanent collection—and transformed it into an exercise machine. (Nice move, because the penny-farthing-from-the-future geometry would make it nearly impossible to ride.) Push the pedals and the epicycloid crank system—a set of eccentric gears like you'd find in a pencil sharpener—spins the magnetized main wheel. This in turn generates a magnetic field and plenty of thigh-burning resistance. Just remember to stop ogling it and, you know, ride.
Review: Ciclotte Stationary Bicycle
Designer Luca Schieppati took his Ciclò — a concept bike that the Milan Design Museum liked enough to include in its permanent collection — and transformed it into an exercise machine.
Photo by Christian Stoll