Reveiw of the StairCycle - Is it a Bike, a Scooter, or Truly Unique Human Powered Vehicle?

Wow! My legs feel like they're made of rubber. My StairCycle arrived as predicted yesterday. Assembly was a breeze and took less than half an hour. They even included the tools! A small, but quality combo wrench and a double-ended z-style Allen wrench were all I needed, and those came in the shipment, along with a DVD that showed an actual assembly and pointers on how to ride the StairCycle, which made the assembly perfectly simple and easy to understand. Ridenhour has apparently thought of everything.

Well, I managed to get it out the front door and on the street in between the rain showers we keep having (I think someone accidentally sent Seattle's weather to Texas this month). It took me about ten minutes to really get the hang of it. I rode it down to the lake and back, approximately one mile round trip. The first leg of that journey was all downhill and I was amazed at the speed I got up to running in eighth gear. I was zooming.

The trip back was another story entirely. I couldn't move at all going uphill unless I was in first gear. I weigh 240 lbs currently, and that's a lot to get uphill. While I cruised to the lake around 35 miles per hour (breaking the 30 MPH speed limit on that street), I came back at an agonizing 2 MPH. But I made it. And what a work-out. That twenty minute ride is the most exercise I've had in months and I really found out just how out of shape I am.

BUT...It was FUN! And when I got home, soaked in sweat, my legs wobbly and thigh muscles burning like I'd spilled naphtha all over them, I was elated and proud of myself for taking that first step in shedding some pounds and getting back in shape.

I took it out twice today, and this time I rode up and down a fairly level street which was a lot easier. I had a blast. It was especially fun to watch the neighbors stop and stare as I went by. Either they were fascinated by the new-fangled contraption I was riding or they just couldn't believe a fat boy like me was out exercising.

One Day Later:

I got an email today from Craig Ridenhour, inventor of the StairCycle. He mentioned that he stopped by my personal web site and read my article on my first ride. He gave me a great pointer on riding the StairCycle uphill by using a "carving" technique and it really worked.

I guess it's pretty obvious that this guy cares about his product and aims to make sure the customers are happy. What a breath of fresh air.

Friends and family, come by and try this thing out before you buy another bicycle!

By the way, they have a kids model, too. You can view videos of both models and get more info at http://www.staircycle.com

And no, I am not receiving any compensation whatsoever for this product and I paid the advertised price for mine plus the shipping fee. I'm just nuts about it!