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A cycling desk / Zwifting with a split keyboard

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OP: equipment note for you at the end of this-

Most folks aren't really familiar with what training for competitive cycling (or structured training in general) looks like.

There are large, month-scale blocks where you're simply building aerobic capacity by cycling at low-ish intensity. Heart rate is somewhere between 115 and 145 for me personally during these efforts. 15 hour (or more!) weeks are not uncommon.

Nils van der Poel was doing something like 6-hour blocks of zone 2 during his base season as an Olympic speed skater.

When outdoor riding is available, it's preferable, but indoor trainer sessions are basically always more time efficient for a given training load. You make consistent power, there aren't street lights or flat tires. If you run out of carb mix you go to the kitchen and fetch more. In winter, it's the only reasonable option. Going for a ride in -15C and salt slush is fine for a commute (crazy, I know), but doing it for 15 hours a week, probably in the dark, is not reasonable. Indoor is the only practical option to get this training load in winter.

Most people just watch TV or use Zwift (social riding simulator) during these blocks. I'm not much of a TV guy, and to be honest, I find a good technical problem to be great distraction from the drudgery of Zone 2.

Note for OP: I've actually considered using a split keyboard in a very similar way to this. I run aero bars on my bikes for ultra-distance events, and I have them on the trainer right now. At some point I would like to mount a split keyboard to the aero extensions themselves - this would take all the load off the wrists. It is also possible to use the aero bar armrests without the extensions and to be able to type this way. If I end up prototyping this I will shoot you an email.

8 days agoby 0_____0

This is precisely what you shouldn't do. This is what the "system" wants you to do, to work while you exercise, to work while you're with your family, ... What you should do is work the hours you have to and not one more, then you get up, take your bike and enjoy nature.

8 days agoby pqs

Super cool.

One improvement: get a different bike saddle. One that doesn't put pressure on the perineum. There's evidence to suggest extended time spent in a bicycle saddle can cause ED.[1]

1. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S17436...

9 days agoby mcdow

So are you putting pressure on your wrists with your wrists bent at an angle while typing? I think this is totally awesome in principal, but isn't that basically asking for some carpal tunnel issues?

It's kind of hard to tell from the photos and videos though which are both at weird angles.

9 days agoby rendaw

I love Zwifting, but the idea of riding in that position while also trying to concentrate seems really stressful :)

Maybe on a hybrid I could look at my monitor while typing, but that seating position makes things quite hard.

Good on ya for trying though! Allez!

9 days agoby sailfast

Steve Roberts built a chording keyboard into the handlebars of his recumbent bike. Unclear how much writing he really got done while riding the behemoth Winnebiko II around, but it was definitely a key event that inspired me towards computing & ubiquitous computing, made me see adulting as possibly being cool.

https://microship.com/winnebiko-ii/

9 days agoby jauntywundrkind

A split kb with integrated trackball would help alleviate the awkward mousing situations, e.g. the charybdis [1]. I'm in a similar position having gone down the ergo split keyboard rabbit hole and vim everywhere, now building a charybdis myself

1. https://github.com/Bastardkb/Charybdis

9 days agoby muti

Z2 sessions are supposed to be boring, they force you to endure the mental pain of not feeling physical pain when doing something dull. They also train you to listen to your body. Doing something else while in a Z2 session is going to kill those Z2 gains.

And overall, being bored is great for the mind, help with creativity, problem solving...

Once you embrace Z2 sessions, they became some sort of meditation, with the endorphins helping after a few hours.

Watching a video or typing stuff will remove all those potential benefits!

Sometimes it's nice to not overthink or try to optimize everything. Just enjoy the moment, enjoy the mental pain.

9 days agoby wiether

This is madness. But having said that, I might try to do the same.

9 days agoby castrodd

He will earn ten million merits in no time!

9 days agoby finnh

I still think hot tub desk is the future

9 days agoby minitoar

I’m on Zwift a lot with the Zwift Ride and Wahoo Kickr core. But I’m looking for a recumbent setup so that I can also work while riding or game on the ps5 in a more comfy position. For keyboard I have the Ultimate Hacking Keyboard which is perfect since it has a mouse layer built in. Haven’t figured out the recumbent setup yet though. Any tips appreciated. I’m in the EU.

9 days agoby Separo

Trying to do productive work via a keyboard on a bike isn't going to catch on. A walking desk is better for that. I've had the idea of creating a custom game controller on the handle bars though, in a similar setup to this to play some simple games.

8 days agoby DevX101

Love the idea!

My gym has stationary recumbent bikes -- I wonder if rigging up a keyboard to one of those would be better? If you don't need to put your upper body weight on handlebars, maybe it'll be easier to have a more traditional mouse/keyboard setup.

Won't be as cool though

9 days agoby SpicyP

> This allows me to rest my palms on the handlebars and to extend my fingers pretty naturally over the top of them to reach the keys. There is definitely a bit of wrist awkwardness palpable in this position, and I aim to experiment with other angles and positions as I get more comfortable with the set up.

This is just asking for wrist problems. I hope they find the better position they seek. Maybe use that core more and keep the wrists up as much as possible.

8 days agoby stronglikedan

I'm planning on doing this with my stair stepper but I don't see a good way to do it with a traditional style keyboard that will be both comfortable and efficient. Split keyboards look like a good solution but of course there's going to be a period of adjustment. Perhaps a winter project. Still looking for what would be the best layout for someone who codes primarily in curly brace languages.

8 days agoby Mountain_Skies

If anyone wants to help me with https://veloa.com my email address is in my bio. Thanks!

9 days agoby andy_ppp

I'm guessing that using some clip-on aero bars would make a big difference. Then you're not using your hands to support any weight so the typing would be a little easier.

And if you're doing hours of Z2 training, you likely want to be getting more time in a position closer to what you'd be doing in the drops.

9 days agoby shepting

I would destroy that thing with sweat in the first 30 min.

9 days agoby throwaway42668

Not sure what all the other comments are about, but I think this is great! Would be interesting to see if this can be done with a cheaper keyboard too

9 days agoby randoglando