This invention relates to exercise equipment, and in particular, to an exercise cycle.
Exercise cycles benefit the user by improving cardiovascular fitness, enhancing body tone and engendering an overall sense of well being. Exercise cycles often include only one wheel mounted for rotation on a stand. The wheel often has vanes or paddles which increase the resistance to air and thus enhance the user's workout. Typically, to increase the wheel's air resistance, the user pedals faster. Other exercise cycles rely on friction straps or electromagnetic sources of resistance.
One complaint often made about the use of exercise cycles, particularly air resistance exercise cycles, is the noise generated by operation of the device. The noise at a user's ear level for a typical air resistance exercise cycle is believed to be in the range of 65-70 decibels. In an air resistance exercise cycle, the blades moving the air inherently generate sound. To allow the air to move and contact the blades on the wheel, air resistance exercise cycles typically use a shroud surrounding the wheel having panels with vents in it. Unfortunately, the sound from the mechanical portions of the device are therefore also able to emanate from the device, increasing the noise. Thus there has been a long felt need for a quiet air resistance exercise cycle.