ErgAdvanced

Assault Bike

Fan-driven, arms-and-legs cycling intervals on the most brutal piece of cardio kit in the gym.

GIF · Demo Assault Bike

What is the assault bike?

The Assault Bike (or Echo Bike, BikeErg with arms) uses a fan that resists harder the faster you push. That means there's no ceiling: you can always go harder, and you will pay for it. Intervals on this machine target the full anaerobic system. Calories are the standard unit, not distance, because the fan rewards raw power output. Twenty seconds at full output spikes your heart rate to redline, and you'll feel it deep in the lungs and quads within two efforts.

How to do the assault bike

Set the seat correctly

Hip-bone height with the bike. At the bottom of the pedal stroke, your knee should have a slight bend. Too low cooks your quads, too high rocks your hips.

Push and pull the handles

Don't just let the arms ride along. Drive the handles like you're punching and pulling. Synchronised with the legs, this is what builds the calorie count.

Find your interval pace

For 20s efforts: max output, Z5, 100 percent. For 60s: hold a calorie/min number you can repeat. The bike punishes anyone who opens too fast on round one.

Recover by spinning, not stopping

During rest, keep the legs turning at very light resistance. Stopping completely makes the next interval feel ten percent heavier.

Coach tip

Pick one metric per session: calories per interval, or average watts. Chase it. The Assault Bike rewards repeatable output, not one heroic round.

Common mistakes

All legs, no arms. You leave 30 percent of your power on the table. Drive the handles aggressively.
Opening round at 110 percent. You blow the next four rounds. Pick a number you can hold, then lift it on the last interval.
Stopping during rest. Restarting the fan from zero costs energy. Keep a slow spin going.
Hunching forward. You compress the diaphragm and lose breathing capacity. Stay tall, ribs over hips.

Variations & progressions

Easier

30s on / 90s off × 6

Long recovery, short effort. Lets you push hard each round without redlining your nervous system.

Harder

Tabata: 8 × 20s/10s

Four minutes of total agony. Score the lowest calorie round. If you drop more than three cals across the eight, you opened too hot.

No Assault Bike?

Rower or SkiErg intervals

Both fan-resistance machines deliver similar conditioning. The bike just punishes the legs more directly.

How to program it

Three protocols by goal. Pick one per cycle and aim for progression on load or distance.

Goal	Sets × Distance	Load	Rest
VO2 max	5 × 60s	Z5	90s
Anaerobic power	Tabata 8 × 20s/10s	All-out	10s between, 4 min after
Calorie target EMOM	10 × 12 cal men / 9 cal women	Hard	Remainder of minute

Log every rep

Add the assault bike to your ZON program

Track load, distance and progression in one timeline.

Download ZON →

Assault Bike FAQ

Why does the Assault Bike feel harder than running?

Because it recruits the upper body and lower body simultaneously, which doubles the muscle mass demanding oxygen. Your heart rate climbs faster than on any single-limb modality. That's also why it's the best 10-minute conditioning tool you'll find.

Calories or distance: which should I track?

Calories. The fan's resistance curve means a steady RPM gives wildly different distances depending on body weight and effort. Calories are output-based and comparable session to session. Hyrox-style workouts almost always score in calories.

How often should I do Assault Bike intervals?

One or two sessions per week is plenty. Anaerobic work taxes your central nervous system heavily. Pair it with one easy aerobic session and you'll see massive cardio gains in four to six weeks without burning out.