What to Look for When Buying an Exercise Bike - Some Tips

Posted on October 18, 2009
Filed Under Uncategorized |

One of the most popular fitness exercise machines is the exercise bike but buying one is not as straightforward as going to the store and picking one out. There are a lot of things to reflect on before you do this. You will want to take into account not only the price, type of bike, whether you prefer a recumbent or upright exercise bike, and how comfortable and simple it is to adjust.

What is Your Budget?

Naturally this is always the most crucial consideration but you don’t want to go for the lowest cost bike you can find as it may not last very long, be easy to use or give you good exercise. A beginner’s bike at the lowest will cost you about $200, and even though this will be acceptable it may not have any of the features that can be found on more expensive training bikes. For a small amount more, say between 0 and 0 you’ll get a higher quality exercise bike with many features such as heart rate control, magnetic resistance, a comfy seat and typically quiet and efficient operation.

For about 0 you will be able to obtain a high-quality exercise bike with all the features you may want. For this cost you ought to expect lots of built-in workout programs, easy to use resistance control and LED display console, handlebars that are effortless to modify and a good warranty.

Exercise Bike Comfort

Evidently your exercise bike needs to be easy as you will be spending quite a lot of time on it! You will need a well padded seat and handlebars that can be adjusted without difficulty. Are you going to purchase an upright or recumbent exercise bike? A lot of people find that recumbent exercise bikes are more comfortable to use than upright exercise bikes as you sit in a more reclined position so there is not as much of stress on your back. Upright exercise bikes, even though they are not quite as comfy, do have the benefit that you can effortlessly boost the intensity of the workout by pedalling standing up just like you would on a normal bicycle.

Changing the Resistance

Exercise bike resistance is adjustable in two ways. Most of the lower cost models use a belt and tension, higher-priced models use magnetic resistance which is quieter and more reliable. Adjusting magnetic resistance is easy and usually done with a pushbutton or knob.

Heart Rate Monitors

It is particularly crucial to be able to observe your heart rate while training as increasing your heart rate is why you are exercising. Always purchase an exercise bike with an integral heart rate monitor so that you can change your training correspondingly. Practically all the exercise bikes do have this although cheaper ones will often just have a pulse rate monitor built into the handlebars. The costly exercise bikes will have exercises that are driven by your pulse rate so they adjust automatically to maintain your heart rate at a level that you set. This is a very good aspect but not crucial if you can’t pay for it.

Built-In Workout Programs

Many of the cheaper exercise bikes won’t have workout integrated programs. While you may feel this is not too much of a disadvantage you will discover that just sitting on the bike and pedalling will turn out to be dull very rapidly! With workout programs you can change your workout and the feedback you get will help with your motivation. Display consoles that give you feedback on distance covered,calories burned and heart rate etc. really do improve your motivation and keep you exercising longer. Nearly all of the exercise bikes in the middle range i.e. between roughly $300 and $600 will give you a reasonable range of integrated workouts and a moderately good quality display. More high-priced exercise bikes i.e. in the 0 and over range will have a large number of workouts and excellent console displays with a whole range of feedback information.

Conclusion

Certainly, with exercise bikes, as with other fitness exercise machines, you get what you pay for. It isn’t really a very good plan to purchase the lowest cost exercise bike you can find as it won’t last very long and you won’t be satisfied with the workout that you get. It is not essential to buy a very expensive bike but we suggest purchasing one for approximately $300 which will give you excellent exercise and keep you motivated. Read more at Buying a Fitness Exercise Machine

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