Ultiracer NEO Named a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree in Digital Health
By Shaun Cheon
Our third-generation cycling simulator, Ultiracer NEO, has been recognized as a CES 2024 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Digital Health category. The CES Innovation Awards, run by the Consumer Technology Association, honor outstanding design and engineering in consumer technology products, and the honorees were showcased at CES 2024 in Las Vegas in January (CES, 2024).
A cycling simulator for a lifetime of exercise
The award listing describes Ultiracer NEO as a "cycling simulator for a lifetime of exercise." It combines hardware built with safety in mind and software designed to make every ride engaging (CES, 2024):
- Riding that feels like riding. NEO is designed to reproduce the balance and movement of cycling outdoors, so riders lean and steer rather than simply pushing pedals on a fixed frame.
- Screen and bike in sync. The software links the bike's left and right movement to what happens on screen, so riders control games and virtual trips with their own riding.
- Wind that follows your speed. NEO generates airflow that changes with riding speed, adding to the sense of being out on the road.
- Exercise without the usual barriers. Because it is used indoors, riders can exercise at any time, free from weather, traffic and other constraints that keep people off their bikes.
The goal behind the name is simple: a way to keep cycling that people of any age can enjoy for years.
Support that made it possible
On January 11, the Korea Sports Promotion Foundation (KSPO) announced that two companies it supports had won CES 2024 Innovation Awards, including RealDesignTech for Ultiracer NEO, which it described as an indoor cycling system that recreates the feel of riding outdoors. Since 2022, the first year of its program for commercializing innovative sports technology, KSPO has provided funding to help bring these new products to market (Sports Kyunghyang, 2024). We are grateful for that support.
Noticed by cyclists, too
In his annual roundup of cycling technology at CES, writer and longtime cyclist Daniel Payne included Ultiracer NEO among the indoor trainers. He described a design in which the bike rides on rollers while the frame is supported, so riders don't tip over at slow speeds. Having first used rollers in the 1970s, he noted the learning curve that classic rollers demand to stay balanced, the very barrier NEO is designed to remove (Payne, 2024).
From concept to third generation
This recognition builds on a journey that riders and media have followed for years. In 2020, Bicycling named Ultiracer among the most exciting cycling technologies at CES, and in 2023 we brought Ultiracer to CES to show how outdoor cycling can be brought indoors. Ultiracer NEO is the next step: the same belief that indoor riding should feel balanced, steerable and fun, refined into a third-generation design.
We thank the Consumer Technology Association, KSPO and everyone who has ridden Ultiracer along the way. If you would like to learn more about Ultiracer NEO, get in touch with us.
References
- CES. (2024). ULTIRACER NEO: Cycling simulator for a lifetime of exercise. CES Innovation Awards 2024 Honoree, Digital Health. https://www.ces.tech/ces-innovation-awards/2024/ultiracer-neo-cycling-simulator-for-a-lifetime-of-exercise/
- Payne, D. (2024, January 11). CES 2024 and all things cycling. SemiWiki. https://semiwiki.com/events/340414-ces-2024-and-all-things-cycling/
- Sports Kyunghyang. (2024, January 11). 국민체육진흥공단 지원 국내 기업들, CES 혁신상 수상 [Korean companies supported by KSPO win CES Innovation Awards]. https://sports.khan.co.kr/article/202401111615013