Ciclotte Exercise Bike

Exercise bike or an aesthetically-sublime torture device? Fortunately for fitness junkies who also care about things like interior design, the Ciclotte Exercise Bike is indeed what it claims to be — though it looks unlike any indoor trainer ever invented.

As an avant-garde new way to burn calories, the Ciclotte was designed by Luca Schieppati of Milan and manufactured by the Lamiflex Group in Bergamo, Italy. The Ciclotte device “breaks with the designs of gym equipment that have always emphasized the functional aspects, to address. . . users that appreciate both physical and aesthetic lines,” the company touts.

Unlike most pieces of exercise equipment, this stationary bike deserves center stage in your home. Simply beautiful to look at, the all-black modern design is a part-art and part-conversation piece — even if the conversation doesn’t lead to talking about your VO2 max.

But it ain’t cheap. At $10,700, the Ciclotte costs more than most Dura Ace-equipped custom bikes. www.ciclotte.com

—Stephen Krcmar