Product: The Bionic Runner
Location: Sydney, Australia
Kickstarter End Date: Dec. 30, 2014
Current Pledge: $160,000 of $40,000 (Will be funded)
Website: run4.com
I’m dealing with some knee pain right about now. After 1100 miles this year (not a lot for some, but a great deal for me), I think the pavement pounding has worn me down a bit and I am taking most of December at a liesurely pace. But it is DRIVING ME CRAZY. I wish there were a way, besides an indoor eliptical, that I could get a solid run workout in outdoors. If only The Bionic Runner was ready to go!
The Bionic Runner is up on Kickstarter and has blown past its goal of $40,000 (AUD) and shows no signs of slowing down (it doubled it’s initial goal in the first 12 hours). Their product is:
the world’s only high intensity, running specific trainer. It gives you the tough training sessions you crave, whilst protecting your body from the two main causes of injury – impact fatigue and over extension.
What looks like a stand up bike is actually designed to be a lot more, and with the runner in mind. It’s not just an eliptical on wheels.
The unique technology behind the Bionic Runner creates a completely natural running motion and intensity, while removing all negative impact (the cause of injury). This separates it from any cross trainer on the market.
The product has been in design for 4 years, with adjustments and shifting to make things as true to running form as there can be. I recommend checking out their website AND getting your hands on their press kit for a ton of fantastic information on the science behind the product. It has been tested by a variety of runners already, to positive results, and was featured in Women’s Running Australia.
Right now, you can one of the first to receive the Bionic Runner (by about April 2015), for about $800 US. That may be a steep price, but could be a worthwhile investment to keep active in a variety of ways, considering that retail price is expected near $1400. Or perhaps go in on it with a friend or two, or convince your local gym to invest. Even if none of these are tangible, consider investing for as little as $5 and be in the know on things for when it hits the mainstream market.
$800+ is a lot to drop on a Kickstarter project, but this looks pretty interesting; and it appears that worldwide shipping is included.
The elliptical seems to work fine for lots of people, but I find it a weird motion, and for some reason, I don’t seem to get a good workout from it. It could be that I’m just not used to it. This bionic runner would have a definite edge in terms of the motion.
I wonder if it would be possible to take one of these and convert it into an indoor treadmill-substitute by mounting it on a bike trainer and then rigging up a cheap bike computer slaved to the back wheel instead of the front wheel to track mileage. At $800, it’s cheaper than most treadmills, and it would almost certainly be WAY more durable and need less maintenance.
I also find elliptical trainers to have an odd motion. I never really feel comfortable when I have been on them. This product claims to more accurately mimic a running motion, which I think would be very welcome.
Unlike you and your awesome personal blog, I don’t ever really desire (nor have the space in my tiny house) to have an indoor workout product. I think this would be awesome to use in conjunction with running, to help save knees and still get a fun workout in.
I just watched the video. One funny thing is, the dude in the beginning has a pretty serious overstride/heel strike! Also, while the leg motion looks like running, the arms can’t counterswing because the hands are holding the handlebar. I wonder how that affects the feel of running.
I was thinking about the arm swing (and lack thereof) too. I didn’t notice the heel strike, but i wonder with time (and maybe lots of it) on this bike, if the gait and heel strike would eventually be corrected… like a muscle memory thing? As i understand it, heel striking can be caused from over striding and not picking up the knees enough. I know from running with Maryalicia that i need to work on lowering my shoulders, dropping my arms and picking up my knees. I’m also a “monster stomper” and the ball of my foot aches after 13+ miles.
I blogged about foot strike and stride length a while ago (http://runoregonblog.com/2014/05/01/the-obsessed-fortysomething-runner-obsessing-about-footstrike/). The short version is that foot strike probably matters less than you might think, other than shifting the areas of potential injury from one spot to another. Overstriding, though, is not good. The usual solution to overstriding that I’ve read is increasing one’s cadence to 180+ steps per minute.
Cadence happens to be one of the data points that the Garmin Forerunner 220 provides, thanks to an internal accelerometer that measures arm swing. Even without an accelerometer, however, you should be able to get a measurement with a footpod synched to a GPS watch.
Anyway, other than when it’s messed up by hills for some reason, the Garmin reads me as consistently in the 185-205 range.
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