Exercise Bikes Reviews

We found the best comparative reviews of exercise bikes at Consumer Reports and Which? magazine, a British review publication. These tested only eight and seven exercise bikes, respectively, and with the exception of one model, both test entirely different models. We found exercise bike reviews to be all over the map, with very few across-the-board home runs. We also found a number of articles that discuss only one exercise bike or make recommendations for one bike without any shown basis for comparison. Other reviews, including exercise bike coverage in articles at Money magazine, are helpful but limited. We also found some highly useful comments from owners at WalMart.com, Amazon.com and Sears.com. But when it comes to exercise bikes, Consumer Reports and Which? Online are easily the most credible test reports.

As with other types of fitness equipment, reviews say you generally get what you pay for when it comes to exercise bikes. Brands that are not well known or don't have an established name in home fitness equipment often receive mixed or even harsh criticism from users. It's also not a bad idea to choose exercise bikes that have replacement parts still available from manufacturers in the event a repair is needed. In our research, it wasn't unusual for even the most highly reviewed bikes to receive a very harsh, critical review every so often. Even the best-reviewed expensive exercise bike – the Lifecycle C3-5 (*est. $1,700) – wasn't without a few comments complaining that it didn't fit the particular dimensions of one or two users. So carefully consider your own height and weight, and try out the bike in a store to gauge comfort.

If you aren't totally sure you want an exercise bike, you might check the other ConsumerSearch fitness-equipment reports. Treadmills are still by far the most popular type of home fitness equipment. According to surveys, a treadmill is least likely to be gathering dust in a year's time; people who buy treadmills tend to be better about using them than owners of other types of equipment. Elliptical trainers are also gaining in popularity. Fitness experts and owners like them because they reduce knee stress, combining the motions of a treadmill with that of a stair stepper. We also have a report on stair steppers , which might be the least popular piece of fitness equipment these days.  ... Continued

Our Consensus Report shows how many times products are top-ranked by reviewers included in our
All The Reviews Reviewed chart.

Recommendations for exercise bikes are all over the map, mostly because Consumer Reports and Which? magazine don't test the same models. But reviewers do agree that club-quality bikes like Life Fitness offer the best stability and features. The Life Fitness C3-5 and R3-5 are upright and recumbent versions of the same bike. Even so, we found lots of owner recommendations and expert reviews for the Schwinn series of exercise bikes, which are much less expensive.