Setting up the Ampera Office Bike is very simple, even though the assembly instructions aren’t included in the box (but they are online), and you can start your charging workout as soon as you find something to plug into the included USB-C cable. However, if you want to view and keep track of your exercise stats or adjust resistances, you’re going to need to sync it up with the LifeSpan app, too.
Once you’re ready all you have to do is pedal, with your RPMs being converted into energy that passes through the charging cable and into whatever device you’ve connected to it. The trick, though, is consistency. You won’t have much luck if you can’t maintain a steady pace, and LifeSpan recommends a minimum of 60 RPM for any meaningful results. It’s not a difficult pace to maintain — heck, even a somewhat out-of-shape tester was able to manage an average around 75 to 80 RPM — but you do have to keep going and keep it above 60 RPM to successfully charge anything.
Fortunately, it’s really easy to keep track of all these numbers if you use the official app, which will display things like RPM and power output, along with more typical exercise metrics such as calories, distance, and overall time. The somewhat bizarre caveat is that, since the bike is cordless and generates its own power, it’s effectively always off until you start pedaling — meaning you have to start using it in order to connect the two.
