Buyer's Guide to Exercise Bikes
One of the most enduring pieces of home exercise equipment over the years has got to be the exercise bike. Before purchasing one, there are a few questions you should ask both of yourself and your potential machine.
What is your budget?
If you don’t have the money, no exercise bike will be in your price range! Before considering a bike, first figure out how much you are willing to spend on this investment in your future health and wellbeing. As with most anything, the old adage rings true. You do indeed “get what you pay for” and exercise bikes are no exception. They range in price from about £100 to nearly £2000 and with the wide variation in price comes a wide variety of features and options.
Do you have the space?
Before you shop, it is wise to first measure the space where you’d like to place a new bike. Knowing the measurements beforehand will save you lots of time when you’re shopping and find yourself wondering if the machine you love at the store will even fit into the space you have.
Programmable or not… does it matter?
If you’re like most people, you can easily get bored with the same old workout day in and day out. This can lead to giving up on working out altogether. To avoid this problem, consider a pre-programmed or programmable exercise bike. Tons of choices are available including heart rate monitoring that can automatically adjust your workout based on your body’s own reactions to achieve optimum results. Many machines also allow you to record your exercise session data to track your progress over the long term, which can be an excellent motivator.
Is the machine adjustable to meet your needs?
Less expensive bikes require manual adjustment to achieve different levels of resistance. While generally lighter in weight and smaller in size, they often require more effort on your part. Magnetic resistance – that is, resistance provided by an internal electromagnet – operate more quietly and with fewer moving parts, affording you a much smoother ride.
What is a flywheel and why does it matter?
The flywheel provides the motion that gives you a workout. In general terms, the heavier the flywheel, the more smooth the operation which imparts less stress on your joints.
What difference do the shape and angle make?
Plenty! The longer you use your exercise bike, the more important the stance will become. Early on you will likely be seated, and you want to make sure the seat is going to be comfortable enough for you to sit on for 20-30 minutes at a time. As time progresses you might find yourself more comfortable using a more aggressive racing stance, but the seat is always going to be important, so do your homework or you might pay for it later.
If you’ve got back problems, you can still get an exercise bike. With the wide variety of choices come several with back pain sufferers in mind such as the recumbent bike.
Don’t take adjustability for granted either. If you are exceptionally short or tall, make sure the bike you are considering can be adjusted to comfortably fit you, otherwise you might be throwing money away on a bike that will just be collecting dust in a week or two.