The FAQs
Your Kickstand desk is going to be awesome! Rather than sit all day in a cube, you can be on your wheels, being productive at the office while spinning for hours. When you do get started, there are a few things you need to know about your desk.
It's a desk...
We sell bicycle-centric furniture; desks, stools (coming soon) and other stuff. Since we assume you already have a bike, we don't sell those. We also don't sell the trainers for your bike, those you'll need to get on your own.
It's a big desk...
It's a big desk. The surface area is 150x75 cm (60x30 inches). It stands 115 cm (45 in) high and has adjustable feet that will bring it up to 125 cm (47 in); the same desk can accommodate both large and small riders.
The top moves...
When your bike is under the desk, we built the large desk to slide; the desktop is set on sliders that allow the top to be pushed out of the way so you can get on and off your bike, change gears or just focus on the "ride."
Even though we engineered it to move, we didn't make it too easy. The design of the desktop--both the wood top and glass top--is sturdy and holds its place in space. The sliders are industrial-grade; they can support a lot of weight cantilevered up to 20 cm (8 in) out--each desk is custom built, so the specs are slightly different from desk to desk.
The feet can be swapped...
When you're ordering the desk, you can select footers designed for hard flooring such as wood, cement, tile, etc. or for soft flooring such as carpet. The footers for hard surfaces have a felt liner, so you should be safe from any issues with scratching. The footers for the softer flooring do not. If you're not sure what you need, give us a call and we'll help you out.
You're working...
When people get started with the desk, the fun factor is pretty strong. You are, after all, riding your bike while you're working. Once the wheels start to spin, you'll soon realize that you're not only working your mind on your job, but your working your body. Depending on your level of conditioning, this can prove to be interesting.
The one thing you'll notice is that doing mundane tasks at your desk become much more interesting as your cadence goes up. An hour or so into your ride is when your co-workers will start watching in befuddled amusement as your ability to manage the mental and the physical begin to change.
Like everything else in life, you'll quickly get the hang of things. Expect to find a good pace where you can balance spinning and working after the first week. Then, when you want to push it, push the desktop back and crush it.
Pick a good saddle...
Riding on a trainer is different that riding on a road. Combine riding on a trainer with being at a cycle desk for a few hours and you have a completely new experience--figuratively and literally.
Experienced cyclists know that a good saddle makes a big difference, in performance and comfort. If you haven't given your saddle a lot of thought, you should. Having a good saddle improves the overall experience of the cycle desk.
We recommend having two saddles for your office; one for longer, lower cadence sessions and your normal road saddle. This way, you can quickly swap one for the other, depending on what you're doing.