InventorSpot

Bored with exercise?

Have you seen the new "rowing bicycle ?"

"Rowbike" is the new total body fitness machine that takes you on the road. It looks like a bicycle. It has two wheels, but that's where the similar ends. The rider appears to be rowing a boat onboard a bicycle. The thing is powered by a push/pull stroking mechanism that can maneuver through pivotal steering. It has a dual-motion gear, a seat that slides forward and back, and a design that permits users to keep a straight face . . . I mean straight legs while operating the two-wheeled wonder. The rowing bicycle is supposedly easier on joints making it possible to row, row, row your bike gently down the street.

Row Bike

Inventor, Scott Olson also founded the first inline skating company that later became Rollerblade. Scott wanted to get the power of rowing with the mobility of a bicycle. According to Wired Magazine, "The latest fitness craze of the stars is part mountain bike and part rowing machine." Rowbike is used by hunks like Kevin Costner, and not because it's guaranteed to burn at least 850 calories per hour, but because . . . well he just looks so cool on the thing. (See rowing bike here.)

Sharon Bender