COMPUTER games are hitting the gym, hot on the heels of hugely popular virtual
fitness programmes available on the Nintendo Wii.
The Trixter X-dream exercise bike is sure to be a success because it helps you
forget you are working out, just like when you play Wii Sports.
It has everything a normal gym bike has plus an LCD screen and moving
handlebars.
As you ride, you see a virtual version of yourself on the screen. And sensors
on the bike make the cycling experience as realistic possible - you speed
up, the character speeds up; you stand up, he stands up; you steer left, he
steers left.
You can race on different terrains - including forest highlands or the desert
- and you have to change gears to suit the conditions, as if on a real bike.
Slogging
But it is the multiplayer mode that will appeal to Wii fans.
You and up to five others can race - and I took on two colleagues and pro
mountain bike racer Scott Beaumont at the launch of the impressive Virgin
Active Twickenham.