Support station for smart cycling training environments

Covid-19 brought an increase in bicycle sales in response to the pandemic. Moreover, with closed gyms and lockdown restrictions, home workout options, including indoor cycling, have grown in popularity. With the advent of smart trainers, indoor cycling has evolved into a physical-digital convergent experience. The trainer is attached to an actual bicycle, reads the power of pedaling (using a potentiometer) and transmits this data to software that manages the pedaling resistance of the trainer. Indoor cycling software enables online multi-players to interact, train and compete in a virtual world, blending the fun of video games with the intensity of serious workout training. Given the rising scenario of the bicycle and accessories market and the phenomenon of indoor cycling, the challenge of the present work was to design an Indoor Cycling Station that allows easy accessibility of the surrounding equipment during the training session safely and stably. Post-pandemics house design and the remote working condition is also a plot to keep in mind. The development passed through an Inspiration Phase. Information around the development context was gathered by direct involvement of smart trainers’ users, considered relevant stakeholders to be engaged in the design process. Subsequently, the Ideation Phase supported the collection of insights developed during the Inspiration Phase, clustering them into three tangible pillars that guided the Indoor Cycling Station design: storability, adjustability and accessibility. Each pillar represents an emerging users’ need that became a key objective during the design development. Rough ideas and prototypes were generated through an iterative process of refinement. Once the concept was defined, a detailed CAD model was engineered in the Preliminary Design section. The thesis presents the whole design path from the initial phase to the final solution, sustaining the three pillars of development (storability, adjustability and accessibility). Achieving these key design goals, the Indoor Cycling Station reassures suitability to be used with a cycling trainer, its capability to respond to real users needs in indoor environments and possibly as a remote working station.

Sviluppo di un stazione di supporto per l'allenamento intelligente del ciclismo.