
Club-quality recumbent bike
- Solid construction
- Easy on the back
- Great warranty
- 350-pound weight limit
- Keep-cool mesh back
- Expensive
- Not as good as other Spirit models
At $1,200, the Spirit XBR25 is pricey for a home exercise bike, but reviews say you'll get fitness-club quality for the money you spend. The XBR25 is a recumbent bike, meaning you sit as though you were in a chair, rather than atop the bike, which can be more comfortable for your back. The Spirit XBR25 offers some upgrades over the top budget recumbent bike in reviews, the Schwinn 230 (*Est. $450), namely more levels of resistance (20 versus 16) and a higher weight limit (350 pounds versus 300). In addition, the XBR25 carries a better warranty: a lifetime guarantee on the frame and a year on labor, compared with the Schwinn's 10-year frame coverage and 90 days for labor. The Spirit XBR25 also has a chest-strap heart monitor, eight pre-programmed workouts and a mesh seat back to keep you cool.
ConsumerReports.org has the best coverage of exercise bikes, based on thorough laboratory testing. Although a subscription is required to see the ratings chart, a Consumer Reports news release identifies the Spirit XBR25 as a Best Buy. FitnessProfessor.com appears to be unbiased, but testing methods aren't detailed and you have to click on each product to see its score. That site says the XBR25, although a step down from other Spirit models, is a "nice bike" nevertheless. Perhaps because $1,200 exercise bikes border on high-end territory, we found no owner reviews at the usual sources such as Amazon.com.
| Featured Stores | Store Rating | Notes | Total Price | |
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| In Stock. | $1,099.00 | See It | ||
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Our Sources
1. ConsumerReports.org
Consumer Reports ranks just five recumbent bikes, including the Spirit XBR25, and four upright bikes. There are no individual reviews, and the bare-bones ratings chart is behind a subscribers-only wall. Still, testing is thorough and ratings are highly credible.
Review: Stationary Bikes Ratings, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Feb. 2009
Although Consumer Reports' ratings chart is behind a subscription-required wall, the publication sometimes reveals top ratings in news releases like this one. The Spirit XBR25 is named a Best Buy among recumbent stationary bikes.
Review: Big Promises of Some Infomercial Exercise Machines Fall Flat; plus, Set up a Home Gym for Under $100, Editors of ConsumerReports.org, Jan. 5, 2009
FitnessProfessor.com rates about 50 recumbent exercise bikes, most of them costing more than $1,000, but there's no way to see at a glance which rank highest. The Spirit XBR25 scores 67 out of 100, which is about average given that almost every bike gets a rating in the 60s or 70s. Editors call it a "nice bike."
Review: Spirit Fitness XBR25, Editors of FitnessProfessor.com
Exercise Bikes Runners Up:
2 picks by top review sites.
2 picks by top review sites.
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