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Best Cheap Exercise Bikes, Exercise Bike Reviews

Contents Buying Guide » What to Look For » What to Expect »

Best Cheap Exercise Bikes Good Cheap Exercise Bikes Schwinn 231 Recumbent Bike starting at $550 Stamina 15-0200 InTone Recumbent Bike starting at $140 Marcy ME-708 Upright Bike starting at $100 Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike starting at $197 Don't Bother Budget Exercise Bikes  »

Cheap Exercise Bikes Buying Guide

Whether you're rehabilitating a sore knee or training for your next triathlon, an exercise bike is a valuable addition to your home gym. Medical experts and trainers praise stationary bicycles for their low-impact workout (gentle on joints) and ease of use for beginning exercisers. For more seasoned athletes, most budget exercise bikes offer a variety of preset programs and resistance levels, as well as heart-rate monitoring, so you can enjoy an intense cardio workout.

Major players in the home exercise bike market include Cybex, Healthrider, Kettler, LifeCycle, Nautilus, NordicTrack, Precor, ProForm, Schwinn, and Stamina. With so many brands and models available, you can easily find a quality exercise bike costing less than $600; several that we recommend are under $300, although these models are generally intended for novice exercisers. Some inexpensive exercise bikes can even be folded away and stored in a closet or remote corner of your living room, a bonus if you don't have a dedicated space for a home gym. To help you decide which cheap exercise bike is best for you, we've prepared a rundown of features commonly found on the affordable machines as well as a summary of their performance and consumer reviews.

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What to Look for: Cheap Exercise Bikes Features

Low-cost Exercise Bikes Ergonomics.

The key to successful bicycle riding, whether stationary or not, is a comfortable fit. A good budget exercise bike should be height-adjustable. What this means is that you should be able to raise and lower the saddle (the seat) so that your pedal stroke is smooth, even, and comfortable. You don't want the seat so high that you overextend your knees and ankles, but you also don't want it so low that your knees hit the handlebars as you pedal. The Marcy ME-708 Upright Exercies Bike (starting at $100, Amazon) has a height-adjustable seat, as do the Schwinn 231 Recumbent Exercise Bike (starting at $548, Amazon) and the Stamina 15-0200 InTone Folding Recumbent Bike (starting at $109, Amazon). Seat height on the Proform GR 80 Recumbent Cycle (starting at $238, Amazon) can also be changed but on an exercise bike review at Trainersecrets.com the reviewer grumbles about the inability to make horizontal adjustments. The Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike (starting at $175) may not be ideal for tall people despite its adjustable seat; users over six feet tall complain in their exercise bike reviews posted on Walmart.com and QVC.com that their knees hit the handlebars when they pedal. The Marcy PL-43211Upright Exercise Bike (out of stock at most vendors), gets rave reviews for versatility, function, and ease of adjustment, but several exercise bike reviews at Amazon grouse about the seat and recommend upgrading it or adding a gel pad.

Cheap Upright Exercise Bikes vs. Recumbent Exercise Bikes.

The decision about this feature is a matter of preference. A recumbent bike, like the Schwinn 231 and Stamina 15-0200, situates the rider against a backrest, with legs out in front -- a position that's more comfortable for many people, especially those who suffer lower back pain. Upright bikes, including the Marcy ME-708 and Gold's Gym models, are better for mimicking actual bicycle riding, a plus for people training for road or mountain bike events. And, it's commonly believed that upright bikes provide a more vigorous workout because they require more of your body to move. Recumbent bikes, including the Schwinn 231 and Stamina 15-0200, are often more expensive because they're bigger and the mechanism to operate them is more complicated.

Inexpensive Exercise Bikes Storage.

A few budget exercise bikes have the added bonus of folding or collapsing for easy, compact storage; such is the case with the Stamina 15-0200 InTone Folding Recumbent Bike. If you live in a small space, this is an important feature. Also consider that upright bikes take up less floor space than recumbent bikes, regardless whether they fold or not.

Budget Exercise Bikes Exercise Programs.

Preset programs are a helpful tool for orienting your workout around your specific fitness goals -- fat burning, cardio, or interval workouts. Some low-cost models, such as the Schwinn 231 Recumbent Exercise Bike, have multiple workout programs that target heart-rate zone or keep you on track for your fat-burning or intervals. Other models, like the Marcy ME-708, don't have preset workouts but do include a basic computer that tracks your distance, calories burned, speed, and riding time -- more like a secretary than a personal coach. In general, the more expensive the bike, the more programs it tends to offer. For instance, the LifeCycle R1 Recumbent (starting at $1,500), a leading high-end model, features 10 or more preset programs, including "race modes" (which let you compete against the computer) and multiple user profiles (helpful if you share the machine); the Schwinn 231, whose price puts it at the high end of the Cheapism niche, features 10 preset and 10 profile workout programs.

Bargain Exercise Bikes Resistance.

Whether manual or electronic, resistance is something you want to be able to easily adjust during your workout -- preferably without stepping off the bicycle. Planning to do interval workouts? If so, electronically adjustable resistance is helpful; you'll find this feature on the Schwinn 231 Recumbent Exercise Bike and Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike. Other affordable exercise bikes, such as the Marcy ME-708, feature magnetic resistance that you adjust manually by turning a knob before or during your workout. Typically, the higher the price of the exercise bike, the greater the number of electronic resistance levels. The Schwinn 231 offers 16 levels of resistance, which is on par with pricier brands such as Diamondback Fitness, Precor, and LifeCycle. More levels add variety to your training and keep you motivated.

Cheap Exercise Bikes Noise Level.

A well-designed cheap exercise bike provides quiet, smooth operation at all intensity levels and speeds. Unlike household appliances, however, manufacturers don't disclose how loud the exercise bike registers in decibels. The noise level from pedaling is purely subjective, and a good test is whether you can easily listen to music, carry on a conversation, or watch TV while using the machine. Unless you purchase a fan-style resistance bike, such as the $97 Stamina Air Resistance Upright Bike (think back to the exercise bikes of the 1980s), you can expect most home exercise bikes to be fairly quiet. All the affordable exercise bike models we recommend offer magnetic or electronic resistance so you won't hear much noise.

Budget Exercise Bikes Warranty.

Good budget exercise bikes come with a manufacturer's warranty of at least one year. The longer and more comprehensive the warranty, the better for consumers. The Schwinn 231 Recumbent Exercise Bike offers one of the better warranty packages in this price range: 10 years on the frame, one year on the mechanical and electric, six months on wear items and 90 days on labor. ProForm gets some low marks in exercise bike reviews by users commenting on blogs such as Chovy.com and Exerciseequipmentexpert.com for its warranty, which runs 90 days on most models; several owners posting reviews on Sears.com specifically complain about durability problems with the ProForm GR 80.

Low-cost Exercise Bikes Console Gadgets.

Extras such as an in-console CD player, MP3 port, speakers, fan, water bottle holder, and LCD screen or TV certainly aren't necessary but can add fun and comfort to your workout. If any of these extras need repair, however, having them serviced can be costly. Most budget exercise bikes, however, such as the Stamina 15-0200 and Marcy ME-708, don't have fancy gadgets but do include basic computers for tracking your workout stats. Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 includes a port that lets you plug your MP3 player into the console and play your favorite music files through the built-in speaker. The Stamina 15-0200 offers an LCD monitor for workout stats that's easy to read and program. And the Schwinn 231 has hand grips that double as a heart rate monitor. If you crave wide-screen LCDs with CD or TV capabilities, look to the higher-end brands of exercise bikes, such as Precor or LifeCycle, whose price tags start at about $1,000.

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What to Expect: Cheap Exercise Bikes Performance

A few professional reviewers and fitness web sites test and review exercise bikes each year, but we found the most extensive feedback comes from consumers who buy and use the bikes at home. Here's what users have to say about how their budget exercise bikes perform.

Bargain Exercise Bikes Ease of Assembly.

To get the best prices on exercise bikes, you typically have to order online, which means your machine comes to your doorstep in a box and you have to assemble it yourself. Exercise bike reviews by Walmart customers praise the Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike for its ease of assembly, noting that it takes about an hour for one person to finish the job. Professional reviewers at Exercise-Equipment-Review.com put an earlier version of the Schwinn 231 to the test and found that even someone without mechanical ability would only need an hour to assemble the bike; exercise bike reviews by consumers at Amazon, however, say two to three hours is more realistic. The new Marcy ME-708 Upright Exercise Bike is relatively easy to put together, but two exercisers posting on Walmart report difficulty connecting the tension cable; similar comments surfaced on Amazon about the Marcy PL-43211, although professional exercise bike reviewers at ObsessionFitness.com did not report the same problem.

Cheap Exercise Bikes Comfort.

Bottom line: If you're not comfortable on your exercise bike, you're less likely to use it on a regular basis. Not surprisingly, the recumbent bikes get highest marks for comfort because they support the back and neck more than upright models. Editors at Exercise-Equipment-Review.com tested and reviewed an earlier version of the Schwinn 231 and gave it high marks for comfort based on the "dual-action lumbar seat," as well as the ergonomic foot pedals and handlebars. The Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike includes a workout fan, which increases your comfort level while riding, but tall or long-legged customers might find the bike a bit cramped even at the seat's highest setting, according to exercise bike reviews posted by users on the Walmart website. The budget exercise bikes that fold away for easier storage don't rank as high on comfort.

Bargain Exercise Bikes Durability.

Most consumers review products within the first few months of use, so it's hard to predict how well the bikes hold up to multiple users or years of wear and tear. Fitness-Events.com, a site that reviews products and promotes events nationwide, conducted a review of fitness bikes using a panel of experts and consumers to rate several models, and the Schwinn 231 came out on top in the recumbent category for its durability and overall reliability with heavy use. The Stamina 15-0200 InTone Folding Recumbent Bike receives mixed reviews for durability from users posting on Amazon; the consensus is that this low-cost exercise bike is best for light-moderate workouts, but if you plan to use it for an hour or more each day (and/or if you are very tall or weigh more than 250 pounds) it could wear out quickly.

Budget Exercise Bikes Results.

Consumers have decidedly different goals when it comes to exercise bikes. Some are looking for a comfortable way to burn a few calories while they watch TV while others are avid athletes who need an indoor alternative to their outdoor bicycles during foul weather. With that in mind, the results from using cheap bikes are mixed. For hard-core athletes, you'll get the best results from an upright bike, such as Gold's Gym Power Spin 210, and/or a bike that offers the most resistance levels and preset workouts, such as the Schwinn 231, which has an impressive 16 levels with 10 preset and 10 profile workout programs. Results may be limited, however, on the older Marcy because the seat is not comfortable enough for long workouts, say exercise bike reviews by users on Amazon. The Stamina 15-0200 gets high marks on results from more casual users posting on Walmart.com, though hard-core fitness buffs seem to wear out the bike over time.

Final note:

Once you've narrowed down your choices, if you have time, take your research a step further and visit retailers to test-drive the budget exercise bikes. Wear comfortable clothing and use each machine for several minutes, noting the fit, noise level, ease of adjustability, overall comfort, and ease of use.

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Products Mentioned in This Review

ProForm GR 80 Recumbent Cycle
Ironman Fitness Walk-Through Recumbent
Marcy ME-708 Upright Bike
Gold's Gym Power Spin 210 Upright Bike
Schwinn 231 Recumbent Bike
Stamina 15-0200 InTone Recumbent Bike

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