Michael Rice is founder and CEO of Trixter, the maker of X-Dream, the most sophisticated training bicycle we’ve ever seen.

Many a weekend warrior will know how discouraging it is to jump on your bike on a Saturday having been chained to a desk for 50-60 hours over the previous five days only to find their legs don’t want to push the pedals.

Before Michael Rice set up Trixter he worked as a Chartered Accountant in the City and then as the MD of struggling, £80m/year turnover company. He spent three years successfully turning the company back to profitability, but at the cost of his fitness and waist line. Consequently, he found himself repeatedly being wiped out by his fitter friends on their weekend rides.

He desperately wanted a means to keep in shape during the week that fitted with his office-bound lifestyle, but he couldn’t cope with the tedium of the standard exercise bikes on the market at the time. Nor, as a mountain biker, did he want to work his arms and legs separately. It took too long.

“I needed a training bike that provided mental stimulation and worked my upper and lower body simultaneously,” he says. “I used to use a turbo trainer, but whenever my mind wandered, the intensity of exercise would drop.”

Gradually the idea of X-bike took hold. The basic premise is an exercise bike with moveable handlebars. Because of the resistance in the handlebars, the X-bike gives the rider a full-body workout. To keep the mind engaged, Rice came up with the idea of VRX-biking classes (see here for details) which use video simulation of cross country or city based rides.

As the company has grown and computer technology evolved, Trixter has expanded its product range to include the X-Dream, an exercise machine that combines the X-Bike principles with a Playstation3-quality computer simulation of the ride. What you see on the screen is intimately linked with what happens on the bike. If you hit a hill, resistance increases. When you lean on the handlebars, the bike on the screen turns.

“The X-Dream has become a huge hit with the professional mountain biking community. Top riders say it’s the closest thing physically, mentally and technically to riding outdoors you can get without leaving your living room,” says Rice.

He adds that the X-Dream also records all your efforts, including heart rate and power output, and so allows you to track progress as you practise the various courses. This is an exercise bike that requires skills as well as fitness to ride.

“When you look at most people in a gym, they’re zoned out, not engaged in what they’re doing at all. That is never the case with the X-Dream. It keeps your mind totally focused, and therefore helps you push harder throughout the whole training session,” says Rice.

What about the future? “Watch this space,” says Rice, without wanting to reveal too much detail. However, he hinted that while Trixter products are currently aimed at the MTB market, a road bike version maybe next. It could be next year’s must have gadget for triathletes.

Michael Rice talked to Simon Griffiths

X-Dream machine

Related posts:

1. Triathlon training: Try a Trixter VRX-Biking class VRX-Biking is indoor cycling with a difference: the bike has...
2. Interview: Matt Hart, founder, Torq Fitness Within the triathlon world, Torq is probably best known for...
3. Interview: Five Minutes With… Lucy Gossage Following her relay team’s Outlaw Triathlon win last weekend, Tzero...
4. Interview: Suunto says triathlon is an exciting place to be at present Suunto is currently the official timing and data partner of...
5. Interview: Emily Morris – first British woman to swim the Cook Strait In March 2010, Emily Morris became the first British woman...