As the temperatures are starting to drop, it’s no surprise that more and more women are looking at the best exercise bikes for their home gyms. And it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the options! So to save you all a bit of time and research, here are the best exercise bikes to buy this year, based on features and customer reviews.
How To Choose The Best Exercise Bike For You
There are three types of exercise bikes: Indoor cycling, upright, and air. Each will have its own benefits and drawbacks, so keep in mind your specific exercise goals before shopping.
Indoor Cycling Bikes
If you enjoy regular road bike cycling or spinning classes, this may be the bike for you. Because they offer a higher intensity workout, these bikes increase physical and sports performance and physical health (weight management, cardio benefits, reducing the risk of illness). These bikes use a combination of resistance change, standing/sitting, and speed, so they’re especially great for interval training. Some users will also find that it’s easier to stand up and pedal.
Upright Bikes
Are you looking for a comfortable ride with good cardio benefits? Shop upright bikes. You can usually enjoy television/radio while you work out, and there are plenty of online workouts to take you through a range of rides. These generally aren’t as intense as indoor cycling or air bikes, so if you’re just looking for some healthy movement, upright bikes may be best.
Air Bikes
If you’re a spin enthusiast and want to take your workout to the next level, air bikes offer a full-body workout that can tone your arms, legs, and core. Air bikes are also more heavy-duty, so it’s built to last and will help you burn more calories per minute.
The Best Indoor Exercise Bikes To Buy
MyX Fitness II, $1399
The MyX II is a total fitness system for the body and mind. Featuring a stationary star trac bike that’s perfect for home workouts, the bike also has a sleek, interactive touchscreen tablet (21.5″) – big enough to use on the bike or when participating in a class. The program also has dozens of motivating, world-class trainers and thousands of workouts, with new sessions added weekly.
Editor’s Review: The best part of the MyX Fitness bike is its versatility and the vast array of options it offers for quality workouts. My favorite rides are the scenic options where you follow a route in a beautiful and often foreign location — I can ride through Italy, France, or one of the many national parks here in the US. When I’m not in the mood for a ride, the options for non-bike workouts are robust. Because you can simply rotate the screen to face away from the bike, you can turn your room into a workout studio and participate in HIIT, cardio, or weight-lifting exercises. Because of its versatility and the option to create up to four user profiles, our family has bypassed a gym membership, and we all use the bike instead. We can track our progress and participate in our favorite activities on demand, which suits our busy lives. A monthly membership to access all live and on-demand classes is $29, but that’s still much cheaper than a family gym membership.
YOSUDA Indoor Cycling Bike Stationary, $309.99
If you’re shopping for something quiet, this is the best exercise bike for you! It’s belt-driven, so it won’t drown out the TV while you’re spinning away.
The bike also includes a 30-day full refund guarantee and a 1-year free parts replacement warranty. It’s also budget-friendly compared to the other options out there and has 4.4/5 stars on Amazon as of publication.
Cyclace Indoor Exercise Bike, $369.99
This is a solid choice if you’re shopping for an affordable alternative to the pricier exercise bikes. It doesn’t come with a screen, but it does have a convenient mount to hold your tablet.
Sunny Health & Fitness Pro Indoor Cycling Bike, $200.05
This no-frills bike won’t have all of the features of other options out there, but it gets the job done for right around $200! Try it with your favorite app, or just use it on its own.
Schwinn 170 Upright Bike, $536.79
This stationary bike includes built-in tech that tracks your progress (distance, calories burned, and heart rate) and offers 29 preset exercise programs. You can also switch between 25 different resistant levels by simply clicking a button on the computer’s console.
JOROTO Belt Drive Indoor Cycling Bike, $419.99
This exercise bike is one of the most affordable alternatives to pricy exercise bikes. Although it doesn’t come with a screen, the handlebars can easily hold your tablet, letting you watch whatever you want while you spin up a sweat.
NordicTrack Commercial S22i Studio Cycle, $1,499.99
The NordicTrack stationary bike also includes a 30-day membership to its iFit service, a personal training program. The 22-inch HD touchscreen allows for 360-degree rotation and streams iFit content directly. It also arrives with two three-pound dumbbells for cross-training exercises, and its seat and handlebars are fully adjustable.
DeskCycle Bike Pedal Exerciser, $179.99
Are you struggling with mobility? This DeskCycle Pedal Exerciser could be a great option. The pedals can adjust to 10″ off the floor, so you don’t have to worry about mounting or being high in the air. This machine also has eight calibrated magnetic resistance settings, which offer just the right workout you need at a near-silence.
Peloton Bike, $1,495+
Joining the Peloton club can be an investment — once you get the bike, you need to pay for the $39 all-access monthly subscription to get the most out of your experience. However, if you love working out from home, the live-streaming and on-demand classes make sense.
AssaultFitness AssaultBike Pro, $899
The moniker is a dead giveaway for this strenuous vehicle, but there is nothing better for working toward the burn. The Assault Airbike amplifies resistance as you push, pull, and pedal with greater speed and strength — working the whole body simultaneously. Given the intensity, you’ll be grateful it lends itself to interval training, tracking whatever goals you desire (calories, distance, heart rate, time).
An Elite version is also available. It has a smoother ride and greater resistance against an increase in speed, but it also allows muscle isolating workouts. Whether you choose to cycle solely, engaging just the lower half of the bike, or focus on your arms, you still feel the assault.
Wahoo Kickr Bike, $4499.95
Newly launched by Wahoo, a tech-fitness company that specializes in indoor bike trainers, the Kickr Bike “blurs the line between virtual and reality … for a level of realism never experienced on an indoor training ride.”
The Kickr mimics outdoor riding with incline changes in real-time. Riding up and over steep mountains and replicating speed on descents (wind in your hair not included) not only feels authentic but also delivers a more dynamic workout. Innovations also include virtual braking (a new concept to indoor cycling) and programmable virtual shifting. It pairs easily with your technology of choice (bike computer, phone, tablet, etc.) for easy tracking.
Related Article: Why do some workouts leave us feeling better or worse than when we started? It turns out that there are some signs of a good workout that go beyond what’s reflected on our smartwatches, how sweaty we get, and how sore we feel. Learn more about what constitutes a rewarding exercise session and the signs of a good workout. And always keep in mind — showing up is better than not showing up at all!
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