Cateye Fitness is a global company with a set of distributors for its very broad product line that includes treadmills, stair climbers, personal sports computers, stationary bikes, recumbent ergometers and pulse monitors. By addressing the collection of data about an individual’s exercise program they are differentiating themselves and adding value to their products. It is of value to be able to see progress or the lack of it with the use of an exercise program over time.
Their stationary bike, the Cateye Fitness EC-1200 Stationary Bike, has a very advanced cad system with interchangeable data cards supporting multiple users. The brakes control resistance allowing the computer to give 5 different exercise programs with 6 data readouts. The design makes it capable of supporting a wide variety of users of different heights & weights (up to 286 pounds) with its adjustable components. Data points & readouts are impressive and make this exercise bike perfect for monitoring progress in various key areas. In addition, real-time monitoring provides sensors for pulse rates with alarms for safety reasons.
The other product that gets attention is the T-220 Treadmill. It also has some measurement capabilities. It is intended more for commercial or medical use than home use. The components are part of its strong points. The walking space is considered large and that’s valuable. The motors strength is impressive with a 2.5 continuous duty motor. Their overall innovation level is good.
There are some weak points though to be considered. It is thought to have a high price causing its value proposition to be weaker than others.
It is also thought to be in a crowded market with other Asian developed products. They are based in Japan but do have a global distributor footprint. Their treadmill is made in Taiwan as are other companies products. They are said to be assembled by the same company that does the Vision treadmills.
It is thought that their stationary bikes are their better product and that the treadmill line doesn’t live up to its high-quality claims.
There is a new kid on the block for Cateye that seems to attract some attention for the high-tech, video game crowd! Their Game Bikes showed up a while back with a linkage to a video controller so that the “rider” can have something else to do while they exercise. Their attention can be focused on a video game while they ride the upright or recumbent setups. The models of game controllers include your Xbox, Gamecube, Playstation 2 or even PC.
When you use them to control your games while you exercise you can also control your speed and steer while pedaling. These games are usually racing games since you are pedaling a stationary bike the mental linkage is there and now there is a natural linkage to an interactive element to the fitness component. The types of interactive games that work well with the Cateye bike are dirt bike, motorcycle, atv, auto and even water-based racing games.
Even though there are some concerns on value based on high prices, if you want this unique biking and gaming experience then it seems Cateye stationary bikes are for you.
