This Exercise Bike Lets You Watch Netflix, Unless You Stop Pedaling

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In the constant inner struggle between Netflix marathons and exercising, the couch probably wins more often than it should. But now you can binge old Friends and Arrested Development episodes while sitting on a stationary bike that forces you to work out if you want to keep watching. Genius.

Ronan Byrne, an inventor who occasionally dabbles in machinery, has unveiled his latest creation: the Cycflix, which promises "exercise powered by entertainment" in every sense of the phrase. The Cycflix is your standard stationary bicycle that you would find in any gym, except it's in your living room—and if you want to watch your favorite shows or movies on Netflix, you're going to have to pedal. If your feet stop moving, your TV immediately shuts down. When you pedal again, it comes back on. Will that keep you motivated or what?

Byrne explained how he made this concept a reality on his Instructables blog. "It uses a stationary exercise bike connected to an Arduino Nano to control the streaming of Netflix on a PC," he writes, noting that he started the project in an attempt to become a better computer coder. "The main gist of the project is that, at the click of a button and some user input, Firefox will open and play Netflix and monitor your speed for the workout routine you designed. If you are going below the speed for too long, Netflix will be paused until you get back up to speed."

Of course—albeit, sadly—the Cycflix is not available for commercial use and will not be sold at any retailers, unless Byrne decides to take a few meetings in the future. (We hope he does!) But if you're a coding whiz, perhaps you can replicate it yourself from his instructions at home. Until then, we'll stay motivated the old-fashioned way: by hopping on a treadmill at the gym with a good view of the gym's TV.

