A free app called Deck de France just dropped on GitHub, and the premise is exactly what it sounds like: connect your smart bike trainer to your Steam Deck and pedal your way through games. No subscription, no hardware mods, just a Bluetooth bridge between your legs and your library.
Get 1-month GTA+ subscription with pre-order.
Pre-Order GTA 6 Now
How pedal power becomes controller input
The app works by reading data from any smart trainer that broadcasts Cycling Power Service (CPS) over Bluetooth Low Energy. That covers a surprisingly wide range of hardware, including popular trainers from Tacx, Elite, Wahoo, and CycleOps, plus standalone power meters from brands like 4iiii, Stages, and Favero. The Zwift Hub and Zwift Hub One are listed as compatible too, though those remain untested by the developer.
The core mechanic is simple. The harder you pedal, the more power output the app registers, and that output maps to a specific in-game action. Sukolupo, the developer behind the project, built it primarily with the Tour de France game series in mind, where the logic is almost 1:1: pedal harder, go faster. That makes sense as a starting point.
What games actually work with it
Beyond the obvious Tour de France use case, Sukolupo has mapped pedal power to inputs in a handful of other titles:
- Rocket League: pedalling activates boost
- Forza Horizon: pedal power maps to acceleration
- Grand Theft Auto: controls vehicle throttle
Here's the thing, the Rocket League implementation is probably the most entertaining one to think about. You play normally on a controller, then physically pedal whenever you want to boost. It's equal parts absurd and genuinely clever as a way to gate an in-game resource behind real physical effort.
The catch is that this is still early-stage software. Compatibility outside of the Tour de France games is limited, and the developer flags several trainers as untested. What most players miss is that the app technically runs on any Linux PC, not just the Steam Deck. The Steam Deck just happens to be the most natural fit given its handheld form factor and SteamOS base.
Five minutes from box to bike
Sukolupo claims setup takes around five minutes, and the instructions on the Deck de France GitHub repository back that up. The process involves pairing your trainer over Bluetooth, configuring which power thresholds trigger which inputs, and launching the app before your game. No deep Linux knowledge required.
The name, for what it's worth, is a solid pun. It nods to both the Steam Deck and the Tour de France, and the project feels like exactly the kind of thing that gets built by someone who owns both a smart trainer and a handheld PC and wonders why they can't use them together.
For players who want to keep their brains occupied while doing cardio, or just want the most physically demanding way to farm boost in Rocket League, this fills a niche nobody knew existed. If you want something to actually play while you test it out, check out our Black Jacket deck building guide for a low-intensity game that pairs well with a longer ride.
Compatible trainers at a glance
The project is open source and free, which means the compatible game list will likely grow as more people try it and contribute mappings. Whether Sukolupo expands support to more titles or the community forks it in interesting directions, the foundation is there. For more hardware-adjacent gaming curiosities and gaming guides covering everything from card games to extraction shooters, keep an eye on what the community builds next.
