Best Stationary Bikes

Not sure where to start? First off consider the different types of stationary bikes. By definition, any bike that doesn’t pedal about is a stationary bike. In my experience, the different styles do in fact matter greatly. You can definitely get a great workout in a recumbent bike, which offers more of a horizontal plane on which to ride, but it’s very different than an upright bike, or a spin bike. The Assault Fitness Airbike shown above is ideal for literally any fitness level. The air resistance naturally accommodates any skill level, so airbikes are used by beginners, pro athletes, people recovering from injury, etc. It’s also unique among exercise bikes for having movable arm bars. But as you can see, the Assault Airbike lacks a flashy console. Some folks actually want that. Let’s face it, not everyone wants a big television screen attached to their bikes. This is one of those areas where preferences rule the day. Having used an airbike myself, I can tell you the resistance is quite unique and appeals to a specific rider.

The second choice is a tech-savvy NordicTrack exercise bike. NordicTrack stationary bikes are popular for including touch screens, Internet connectivity and daily workout downloads with interactive video. Like any product manufactured by the company iFit, NordicTrack bikes these days come enabled with that app, which happens to be a personal favorite. What’s great about iFit is it brings not only live workouts, but automatic trainer control. When I’m using a NordicTrack bike with iFit, I can let either the program or trainer control the resistance while I ride. This makes mountain biking a lot of fun. I’ve ridden the trails of mountains around the world using iFit, and much like a real outdoor ride, the bike moves along with the program in terms of speed, resistance, and even incline/decline if the bike has that option. The iFit program costs $39 per month for a family plan, but you typically get at least 30 days free with purchase to try it out. The app can be downloaded onto any device these days and includes strength training, nutrition, and cardio of all forms.

Our third recommendation is from Vision. Vision is a high-end fitness brand for light commercial and commercial exercise settings. Like NordicTrack, Vision offers fun ways to incorporate tech for workouts and entertainment. Home stationary bikes from the same manufacturer have the brand name Horizon. These are produced by Johnson Fitness, the manufacturing plant of which we got to tour last year. One thing I have to say about anything manufactured by Johnson Fitness is their engineering is top notch, and that’s typically reflected in their warranties.

WHY SHOULD YOU CYCLE INDOORS?

If you want to get fit, lose weight, and tone up, you need to join a gym, right? After all, with all the exercise equipment available, gyms have to be the best place to exercise. You’ll also have access to gym instructors and personal trainers whose job it is to advise you on how best to exercise for your goals. That’s certainly not been the case for me now more than 10 years. I built myself a gym in one of the barns on my own farm and have had a blast here working out at home. While I do enjoy riding a bicycle outdoors, there’s just so many more opportunities when weather is taken out of the picture.

So, before you run off to your local gym and buy a membership, consider the drawbacks of gym membership…

DRAWBACKS OF JOINING A GYM

For starters, you will have to find the time to actually go to the gym. That was one of the primary reasons behind my decision to build my own. By the time I had travelled to the gym, gotten changed, done my workout, had a shower, and then traveled home, even a 45-minute workout wound up taking two hours out of the day. If you are busy with work and family commitments, this may mean that you simply do not have as much time to exercise as you might like. After all, when time is short, the first casualty is often your workout.

Joining a gym can also be an expensive undertaking which, if you only go a couple of times a week and use just a few pieces of equipment, can make each visit seem very expensive. Gym owners even bank on their members joining and then not attending too often. That way they can sell lots more memberships than they can comfortably accommodate. I see membership these days running anywhere from $39 to $150 per month. Meanwhile, only about 30% of gym members go regularly. The rest just keep on paying their monthly dues. Many gyms even lock you into a 12 or 24-month contract that means, even if you change your mind and stop going altogether, you cannot cancel your membership.

Also, consider what you’re are actually paying for. It’s a safe bet that a lot of the equipment at the gym will be of little or no interest to you. Most exercisers tend to focus on the cardio machines because they are arguably the best thing for fat loss and weight control – the two most common reasons for taking up exercise in the first place. All the other equipment available will only appeal to a small percentage of the users.

Of all the cardio machines in the gym, the treadmills and the exercise bikes are usually the most popular. This raises another potential issue – there may be a queue for the machine you want to use. If that’s the case, you’ll either have to settle for changing your workout or a potentially lengthy wait.

GET RESULTS – AT HOME!

And that’s why so many people are just buying equipment for their own home. Buying your own exercise equipment might seem like an extravagance but if you take a moment to think about it, it soon becomes clear this is not the case. For a start, you can equip your home with some great exercise equipment for less than a year’s gym membership, and that one year of gym fees will purchase something that will last many years. I review exercise equipment every day, and even if you were to bundle-purchase a bike and other products, you’d be able to finance the plan for a low monthly payment. By shopping online at the manufacturer’s website you’ll see regular specials and huge discounts around the holidays. I’ve noticed that these types of specials really pop out during the Black Friday and Cyber Monday events as companies are looking to unload a year’s models in preparation for the next season.

Another big benefit is that your entire family will be benefit from a purchase of an exercise bike, whereas gym memberships only usually admit one person. You’ll also be able to work out at a time that suits you best. Whether it’s my father in his late 70s or my nephews and nieces under 12, everyone in my family loves to play in my home gym when they come to visit.

With all these conveniences, working out is suddenly much less of a hassle and, because of that, you’ll do it more often, and experience better results in less time. But what should you buy?

Rowers are a good choice, as too are treadmills, but both take up a lot of space and the noise could annoy your neighbors. Ellipticals are another option but they tend to heavy and not especially portable. That’s okay if you want to limit your workouts to one room, maybe your garage, but not so good if you need a more flexible set up.

That leaves stationary bikes.

WHY CHOOSE A STATIONARY BIKE?

For cardio, cycling is hard to beat.

• It’s a low impact exercise which means it’s easy on your joints
• Your workouts will be quiet, so you won’t disturb the people around you.
• A stationary bike allows you to enjoy all the benefits of cycling without having to go out and take your chances with the weather or the traffic.
• Modern stationary bikes come preloaded with a variety of workout programs to follow and a wide range of resistance levels, so you can customize your workout according to your current level of fitness and increase the difficulty of your workout as you get fitter.

Stationary bikes offer a host of additional benefits and features.

Stationary bikes help raise metabolism, tone muscles and keep the heart healthy. Each exercise bike we review is stationary — it’s not going anywhere — yet “stationary bike” refers most specifically to an upright exercise bike. These trainers support cardio workouts with moderate to high intensity, and the best stationary bikes have padded seats for comfort. They’re more challenging than recumbent exercise bikes, which let you lean back, but less intense than spin bikes.

A good stationary bike is will also be adjustable, so you can raise or lower the seat and handlebars for a comfortable riding position. The more comfortable you are, the better as being uncomfortable could bring your workout to a premature end.

ALL STATIONARY BIKES (SORTED BY HIGHEST RATING)

Steer past the duds and find the best stationary bike for you! Many more brands and types of bikes are covered below. Click an image below to get an honest review including pro/con lists and details about the components. To help with your decision-making we consider price, resistance, saddle comfort, warranty and more in our stationary bike reviews.