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Self-Powered Outdoor Cardio Equipment: Makers Compared

By OutdoorGym.com Editorial Team · Published October 21, 2026

Twelve makers publish outdoor ellipticals, exercise bikes, rowers or ski-motion machines on their own websites, and they use the word “self-powered” in two ways. Four state that the machine generates electricity from the user’s effort: Kompan (PRO line), The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO, PowerSmart), Herkules Fitness (USB range) and Norwell (Smart Power). Four state that their machines use no electricity: iGreen (Ive Outdoor), Kompan’s Essentials line, TGO’s Legacy line and Sunshine Gym’s rower. The remaining six - Fresh Air Fitness, GameTime, Greenfields Outdoor Fitness, Lappset, playfit and Proludic - sell mechanical machines and make no statement about power.

This overview compares what each of the twelve publishes: machines, resistance and power, material, standard and warranty. Every maker fact comes from the maker’s own pages, checked in October 2026; anything we did not find there is marked “n/d”. Treadmills have their own overview of self-powered curved treadmills; for the category as a whole, see our guide to outdoor cardio equipment.

How we selected the makers

A maker is included only if its own website carries product pages for at least one outdoor elliptical, bike, rower, ski-motion machine or hand cycle for permanent installation in an outdoor gym or similar unsupervised site. Reseller pages are not used as evidence of a maker’s facts. Makers whose cardio range is only steppers, climbers or combined units are left out. So are makers whose sites returned no readable product page to our tools; Lappset stays in on one product sheet from its own domain. Absence is not a judgement of quality. Model codes are quoted from websites, not brochures.

The makers are listed alphabetically. This is not a ranking.

Self-powered: generator or simply no electricity

Generator class. The wheel or flywheel drives a generator, and the electricity runs the resistance, a display, Bluetooth or a charging port. TGO describes a human-driven contactless generator inside the wheel, generating 0 to 100 watts per machine at a stabilised 48-volt output. Kompan’s PRO line uses what it calls a self-powered electrical motor, which creates the resistance; the Touchscreen models add a 7-inch screen. Herkules Fitness states that each machine in its USB range produces its own electricity from the user’s movement, for USB or induction charging. Norwell states that its Smart Power line charges a smartphone from the workout, without describing the mechanism. For scale, a 2011 IEEE Spectrum article put an average person at 50 to 150 watts during an hour of strenuous exercise.

No-electricity class. The user drives the machine and the maker states that no mains electricity is needed; iGreen adds that there are no electronics at all. iGreen describes its elliptical as 100% user-powered with no cables and no external energy source, and its bike as having zero electricity and zero electronics. Kompan’s Essentials line (magnetic brake, handle in 10 steps), TGO’s Legacy machines (no electricity required) and Sunshine Gym’s rower (self-weighted mechanism, no electricity) are in the same class.

Mechanical, no statement. Fresh Air Fitness, GameTime, Greenfields, Lappset, playfit and Proludic sell mechanical machines whose pages say nothing about power; we have not assumed either way.

What differs between machines

Four categories. Ellipticals; upright or recumbent bikes, often with an arm-and-pedal version; rowers; and upper-body or ski-motion machines, meaning hand bikes and arm cycles, usually usable from a wheelchair, plus ski trainers. The ski machines from Greenfields, Fresh Air Fitness and playfit are swinging or striding machines, not ski ergometers with a flywheel; Greenfields calls its unit resistance-free.

Resistance. Magnetic: Kompan Essentials (10 steps), Herkules Fitness (5 levels) and GameTime. Generator-based: Kompan PRO, 10 steps from 45 to 750 watts, and TGO PowerSmart, set through an app. Cylinders: Greenfields, with 16 levels on its seated row. Speed-dependent: Fresh Air Fitness’ Resistance Arm Bike. None by design: Sunshine Gym, and playfit, which says adjustable levels are not advisable in unsupervised areas. No maker here publishes an air (fan) resistance system on the pages we checked.

Electronics and charging. TGO PowerSmart publishes twin USB at 5 V, 1 A, a contactless charging plate, a watt meter and Bluetooth to its app; Herkules Fitness USB or induction charging; Norwell phone charging with no connector stated; Kompan PRO a 7-inch touchscreen with Bluetooth and an app. Only Kompan (screen, IP65) and TGO (electrical storage, IP65) publish an ingress-protection figure.

Material. Numbered grades are rare: Herkules Fitness (316 stainless range), iGreen (AISI 304, 316 optional), Kompan (S235 galvanised on Essentials, cast 304 parts on City Bike Pro), Norwell (S235 coated) and TGO (S275 galvanised, 316 bearing surfaces, A4 fixings); the rest publish no grade.

Standards. EN 16630:2015 covers permanently installed, freely accessible outdoor fitness equipment for users taller than 1,400 mm; its scope excludes electrically driven equipment and indoor training equipment. A user-driven machine is not electrically driven. Whether a built-in generator changes anything is not settled by the text we read, and the four generator-class makers all cite EN 16630. The indoor standard, EN ISO 20957-1:2024, does not apply to equipment intended for outdoor use. The US counterpart is ASTM F3101, for unsupervised public use and users aged 13 and over; only Kompan states compliance with it.

Fresh Air Fitness (United Kingdom)

Fresh Air Fitness states that it introduced outdoor gyms to the UK in 2007. Its range covers every category: an Elliptical Cross Trainer, a Recumbent Bike, an Arm and Pedal Bike, a Self Weighted Rower and a Double Rower. The Air Skier swings side to side at the user’s pace, with a two-user Double Cross Country Skier; the Resistance Arm Bike’s resistance rises with handle speed. The pages make no power statement and give the material only as a weatherproof finish. The products are stated to exceed EN 1176 and EN 16630; the elliptical page gives 25 years on structural parts, 5 on finishes and 2 on bearings and moving parts.

GameTime (USA)

GameTime, a PlayCore company, lists two such machines in its GTfit aerobic range: an in-ground Recumbent Cycle, for ages 13 and over, and an in-ground Hand Cycle. Both use magnetic resistance in a self-contained mechanism; the pages say nothing about power generation. Frames are galvanised steel tubing, 5-inch and 4-inch outside diameter on the Hand Cycle and five sizes from 4-1/2 to 1-1/16 inch on the Recumbent Cycle, powder-coated with TGIC polyester; no grade is given. The cycle pages name no standard. The warranty page gives 10 years on GTfit posts and bars, 5 on the stainless damper module and aluminium cycle cover, 2 on bearings and some cycle parts, and 1 on the Recumbent Cycle belt.

Greenfields Outdoor Fitness (USA)

Greenfields describes its equipment as USA-made. The range covers every category: an Elliptical Cross Trainer, a Single Upright Bike, a Recumbent Bike, a Hand Bike, an Accessible Hand Cycle, a body-weight Rowing Machine and a Cross-Country Ski. A seated row that the maker calls The Rower has 16 levels of adjustable resistance. The elliptical and the ski are resistance-free; the Adjustable Resistance series uses bidirectional cylinders. The pages make no power statement. The steel is galvanised and powder-coated, with hot-dip galvanising optional for coastal sites; no grade is given. No safety standard is named on the pages we checked, and the warranty page did not open, so both are n/d.

Herkules Fitness (France)

Two Herkules Fitness lines qualify here, plus a galvanised elliptical, THJ-B04, outside both. The USB range - an elliptical, a bike, a rower and the Moulinet arm crank - produces its own electricity from the user’s movement for USB or induction charging. Resistance is magnetic, in 5 levels; no wattage, voltage or display is published. The stainless range - elliptical, bike and rower - is described as 316 stainless steel on its category page. Each USB product page gives galvanised steel in its table and a stainless structure in its text. The maker states that its equipment is fully compliant with, and certified to, EN 16630:2015, without naming a certifier. The warranty is up to 10 years.

iGreen (Ive Outdoor, Poland)

iGreen is the outdoor cardio brand of Ive Outdoor. Two machines qualify: iGreenWave, an elliptical cross trainer, and iGreenRide, an upright bike. Both are in the no-electricity class: the elliptical is 100% user-powered, and the bike runs with zero electricity and zero electronics. The material is 100% stainless steel, AISI 304, with optional AISI 316. Both are stated to be designed in accordance with EN 16630:2015-06 E, with a CE mark and EU declaration of conformity. No certifying body is named, and the wording is not a certification claim. The product pages give a 5-year full warranty; the maker’s main site states 10 years for its strength machines. See also our overview of the iGreen outdoor cardio family.

Kompan (Denmark)

Kompan publishes two cardio lines. Essentials (cross trainer, bike, recumbent bike, arm bike) has a magnetic brake on a flywheel, 10 steps by handle; the pages describe no screen, generator or other electronics. PRO (cross trainer, city bike, sport bike, arm bike) uses a self-powered electrical motor for resistance in 10 steps from 45 to 750 watts. The Touchscreen models carry a 7-inch screen; the Arm Bike Pro has no screen of its own. Essentials frames are S235 hot-dip galvanised steel, powder-coated; the PRO pages give no frame grade, and the City Bike Pro page names cast stainless parts in grade 304. A TÜV SÜD certificate to EN 16630:2015 covers the Essentials cardio models; a general ASTM F3101 and EN 16630 statement sits on a strength-station page; we found no certificate for PRO. The Cross Trainer Pro datasheet gives 10 years on the frame, 2 on electronics and 10 on spare parts.

Lappset (Finland)

Lappset, in Rovaniemi, dates its story to 1970. Its catalogue pages did not return readable content to us, so the one product we can report is the Cross Trainer 081001M, from its product sheet. The sheet describes a traditional cross-trainer for outdoor use, which can also stand on loose-fill surfacing; it is 2,570 mm long, with a maximum free fall height of 620 mm. Material is given only as “metal”, and the safety line reads “EN 16630 TÜV”, without a certificate number. Other machines, a power statement and a warranty are n/d, because we could not open the pages.

Norwell (Denmark)

Norwell was founded in Denmark in 2007. The standard range includes the Cross elliptical, the Hand Cycle and the Rider, a rowing machine despite its name. The Smart Power range - Cross SP, Cycle SP and Hand Cycle SP - charges a smartphone from the workout; the generator, connector and display are not described. Structural parts are S235 steel, e-coated, primed and powder-coated, on stainless steel bearings of unstated grade. The equipment is TÜV Product Service tested and approved to EN 16630:2015. The warranty is 10 years against material and manufacturing defects, including corrosion breakthrough, and 2 years on moving parts. The maker asks to be contacted for sites within 5 km of the sea.

playfit (Germany)

playfit GmbH, set up in Hamburg in 2005, lists an Elliptical Crosstrainer, a seated bike with a backrest and low resistance, a rower, an arm cycle usable from a wheelchair, and a stainless steel cross-country ski trainer. On its rower and elliptical pages the maker states that body weight provides the resistance, and on those and the arm-cycle page that adjustable levels are not advisable in unsupervised outdoor areas. No power or display statement is made. The machines are stainless steel and ABS plastic, without a grade. The home page states certification by TÜV Süd on the basis of DIN EN 16630:2015. No warranty is published on the pages we checked.

Proludic (France)

Proludic describes itself as a manufacturer and installer of play and sports areas for 35 years. Its ACTI’Fit line includes an Elliptical trainer, a Bike and a Rowing machine. The pages describe no resistance system and make no power statement. Construction is a 70 x 70 mm painted galvanised steel post with 40 mm stainless steel tubes and 13 mm HPL panels; no grade is given. The maker states certification to EN 1176 and EN 16630 by an independent laboratory it does not name. Its guarantee table gives a lifetime on posts and supporting structures, 10 years on other metal components, 5 on springs and mechanical systems and 2 on component parts.

Sunshine Gym (United Kingdom)

Sunshine Gym is operated by Broxap Ltd. Its single-function range covers the Sky Stepper cross trainer, an Outdoor Exercise Bike, an Arm & Pedal Bicycle, a Wheelchair Accessible Arm & Pedal Bike and a Rower. The Rower uses a self-weighted mechanism with no electricity, and the maker states that its equipment has no in-built resistance, so users set their own pace. The steel is pre-galvanised and powder-coated, with stainless steel fixings; no grade is given. The products are stated to be certified to, and tested to, BS EN 16630:2015. The maker gives a 25-year structural guarantee as standard; its FAQ page, which may add other terms, did not load fully for us.

The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO) (United Kingdom)

TGO installed its first outdoor gyms in 2007. Its PowerSmart range - Re-Cycle Bike, Recumbent Bike and Handbike - carries a contactless generator inside the wheel: 0 to 100 watts per machine and a stabilised 48-volt output. An energy store can feed lighting or the grid. The pages give differing voltage figures, so we quote only the 48-volt output. The Legacy range - Cross Trainer, Spinning Bike, Recumbent Bike and Hand Bike - requires no electricity. PowerSmart frames are S275 steel, fully galvanised, with 316 stainless bearing surfaces and A4 fixings; Legacy is cold-galvanised. The maker states certification to EN 16630 and compliance with what it calls the legacy standards BSI PAS 888 and DIN 79000. The warranty gives no term in years: a replacement or fix within 4 weeks, conditional on quarterly servicing.

At a glance

Maker Country Elliptical Bike Rower Ski-motion / upper body Power statement Standard stated Warranty Steel grade
Fresh Air Fitness United Kingdom ECT RB; APB SWR; Double Rower Air Skier (ski motion); Resistance Arm Bike n/d “exceed” EN 1176 and EN 16630 25 y structural; 5 y finishes; 2 y bearings and moving parts n/d
GameTime USA n/d Recumbent Cycle 14922I n/d Hand Cycle 14924I n/d (magnetic resistance) n/d on cycle pages 10 y posts and bars; 5 y damper module; 2 y bearings and cycle parts; 1 y belt n/d (galvanised tubing)
Greenfields Outdoor Fitness USA SHP503 UBX289; UBX288 UBX290 (16 levels); SGR091 Hand Bike UBX287; UBX287W; Cross-Country Ski SGR009 (no resistance) n/d n/d n/d n/d (galvanised, powder-coated)
Herkules Fitness France USB-01; SN-03; THJ-B04 USB-02; SN-10 USB-06; SN-01 Moulinet USB-03 (arm crank) Generator (USB range): own electricity, USB or induction “fully compliant” and “certified”, EN 16630:2015 up to 10 y 316 (stainless range, category page)
iGreen (Ive Outdoor) Poland iGreenWave iGreenRide n/d n/d No electricity, no electronics “designed in accordance with” EN 16630:2015-06 E; CE, EU DoC 5 y (product pages) AISI 304; 316 optional
Kompan Denmark FSW23901; FAZ52100; FAZ52101 FSW24601; FSW24101; FAZ50101; FAZ50201 n/d Arm Bike FSW24001; FAZ51100 PRO: self-powered motor, 45-750 W, screen, Bluetooth; Essentials: magnetic brake, no electronics described ASTM F3101 and EN 16630 (general statement); TÜV SÜD certificate, EN 16630:2015, Essentials cardio 10 y frame; 2 y electronics; 10 y spare parts (FAZ52100) S235 galvanised (Essentials); 304 cast parts (City Bike Pro)
Lappset Finland 081001M n/d n/d n/d n/d “EN 16630 TÜV” (product sheet) n/d n/d (“metal”)
Norwell Denmark NW202; NWSP212 (SP) NWSP217 (SP) NW206 Rider Hand Cycle NWS113; NWSP115 (SP) Smart Power: phone charging, mechanism n/d TÜV Product Service, EN 16630:2015 10 y structure and corrosion; 2 y moving parts S235 coated; stainless bearings, grade n/d
playfit Germany JS-0922D JS-0555D JS-0541D Arm cycle JS-0672D; ski trainer JS-0265D n/d (body weight, no levels) TÜV Süd, DIN EN 16630:2015 n/d n/d (stainless steel, ABS)
Proludic France J37215 J37217 J37202 n/d n/d EN 1176 and EN 16630, independent laboratory lifetime posts and structures; 10 y metal; 5 y mechanical; 2 y components n/d (stainless tubes; galvanised posts)
Sunshine Gym United Kingdom Sky Stepper BX/SG 3000 BX/SG 3019; Arm & Pedal BX/SG 3017 BX/SG 3014 Wheelchair Arm & Pedal BX/SG 3025 No electricity (rower); no built-in resistance “certified to” BS EN 16630:2015 25 y structural n/d (pre-galvanised; stainless fixings)
The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO) United Kingdom Cross Trainer (Legacy) PowerSmart Re-Cycle, Recumbent, Shortened Recumbent; Legacy Spinning, Recumbent n/d PowerSmart Handbike, Shortened Handbike; Legacy Hand Bike PowerSmart: contactless generator, 0-100 W, 48 V, twin USB; Legacy: no electricity “certified to” EN 16630; BSI PAS 888; DIN 79000 n/d in years; fix or replacement within 4 weeks S275 galvanised; 316 bearing surfaces; A4 fixings

“n/d” means the maker does not publish this on the pages we checked.

How to choose

  • Decide what self-powered must mean on your site. For energy - charging, a watt readout, lighting from a store - the shortlist is Kompan PRO, TGO PowerSmart, Herkules Fitness USB and Norwell Smart Power. For the fewest parts that can fail, choose the no-electricity class or a mechanical maker.
  • Check whether resistance is adjustable. Published settings: Kompan 10 steps, Herkules Fitness 5 levels, Greenfields 16 levels on its seated row. Sunshine Gym, playfit and Greenfields’ resistance-free units have none by design.
  • Treat electronics outdoors as a separate specification. Ask for the ingress-protection rating of every electrical part and its warranty: Kompan gives 2 years on electronics against 10 on the frame, and Herkules Fitness and Norwell publish no IP figure.
  • Match the material to the climate, by part. Numbered grades are listed above; Greenfields offers hot-dip galvanising for coastal sites, and Norwell asks to be contacted within 5 km of the sea. No material is maintenance-free near salt. Our comparison of wood, galvanised and stainless outdoor gym equipment explains what each finish needs.
  • Ask for the standard with the document, naming the model. “Designed in accordance with”, “compliant” and “certified” are three different statements. Kompan’s TÜV SÜD certificate names the Essentials models it covers; Greenfields and GameTime name no standard on their cardio pages.
  • Get the warranty in writing, split by part. Structural terms run from 25 years (Fresh Air Fitness, Sunshine Gym) to none stated (TGO, Greenfields, playfit, Lappset); electronics and moving parts are typically 2 years.
  • Ask about spare parts and consumables. Kompan’s Cross Trainer Pro datasheet guarantees spare parts for 10 years; TGO promises a replacement or fix within 4 weeks; GameTime’s 1-year term on a cycle belt shows that belts are consumables.

Sources

Maker data comes from each maker’s own public pages, checked in October 2026:

Standards and background:

Frequently asked questions

Who makes self-powered outdoor cardio equipment such as ellipticals, bikes and rowers?

We found twelve makers with outdoor ellipticals, bikes, rowers, ski-motion machines or hand cycles on their own websites: Fresh Air Fitness, Sunshine Gym and The Great Outdoor Gym Company (TGO) in the United Kingdom; Kompan and Norwell in Denmark; Herkules Fitness and Proludic in France; GameTime and Greenfields Outdoor Fitness in the USA; Lappset in Finland; playfit in Germany; and iGreen (Ive Outdoor) in Poland. Only four of them state that the machine generates electricity; the rest are mechanical. Makers whose sites we could not open are not listed.

Do self-powered outdoor bikes and ellipticals generate electricity?

Only where the maker says so. Four makers state a generator: Kompan's PRO line uses a self-powered electrical motor for resistance, and its Touchscreen models carry a 7-inch screen; TGO's PowerSmart range states 0 to 100 watts per machine at a stabilised 48 volts; Herkules Fitness' USB range produces electricity for USB or induction charging; Norwell's Smart Power line charges a phone, mechanism unstated. iGreen, Kompan Essentials, TGO Legacy and Sunshine Gym's rower are stated to run with no electricity; the remaining makers sell mechanical machines and make no statement about power. For scale, IEEE Spectrum put an average person at 50 to 150 watts during an hour of strenuous exercise.

Does EN 16630 cover self-powered outdoor cardio machines?

EN 16630:2015 covers permanently installed, freely accessible outdoor fitness equipment for users taller than 1,400 mm, and its scope excludes electrically driven equipment and indoor training equipment. A machine driven by the user is not electrically driven. Whether a built-in generator changes the position is not settled by the text we read; the four generator-class makers all cite EN 16630 themselves. The indoor standard EN ISO 20957-1 states that it does not apply to equipment intended for outdoor use. Ask each maker for a certificate that names the model, not a general statement.

Should outdoor cardio equipment be 304 or 316 stainless steel?

Few makers publish a numbered grade at all. Herkules Fitness names 316 for its stainless range; iGreen states AISI 304 as standard with optional AISI 316 for marine environments; Kompan names S235 galvanised frames on its Essentials pages and cast 304 parts on its City Bike Pro; TGO uses 316 only for bearing surfaces, with A4 fixings, on galvanised S275 frames. The others publish galvanised or coated steel, or stainless steel without a grade. No grade removes the need for inspection and cleaning. Ask which grade applies to which part.

What warranties do makers of outdoor cardio equipment publish?

They range widely and are split by part. Fresh Air Fitness gives 25 years on structural parts, 5 on finishes and 2 on moving parts; Sunshine Gym gives a 25-year structural guarantee; Proludic a lifetime on posts, then 10, 5 and 2 years by part; Norwell 10 years on structure and 2 on moving parts; Kompan 10 years on the frame and 2 on electronics; GameTime 10 years on posts, down to 1 year on a cycle belt; Herkules Fitness up to 10 years; iGreen 5 years on its product pages. TGO publishes no term in years, and Greenfields, playfit and Lappset publish none we could find.

Can you charge a phone on a self-powered outdoor bike?

On some machines, by the maker's statement. TGO's PowerSmart range has twin USB outputs at 5 V, 1 A and a contactless charging plate; Herkules Fitness' USB range charges by USB or induction; Norwell's Smart Power line is stated to charge a smartphone while training, without a stated connector. Kompan's PRO line publishes a touchscreen and Bluetooth, but we found no charging port on the pages we checked. The remaining makers publish no charging feature; Kompan Essentials and Proludic's rower offer a phone holder only. Electronics outdoors also raise the question of ingress protection, which only Kompan and TGO publish, and only for part of the machine.

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