About Bicycles Online > Fitness Bikes > Nautilus R514 Recumbent Review

Nautilus R514 Recumbent Exercise Bike Review
Ride with No Hands on the Handlebars

Remember that timeless line that you hear from so many kids after they have become proficient at riding their outdoor bikes ~ "Look Ma, No Hands"? OK, maybe that's a little dramatic. My point though is that you can also ride this Recumbent Exercise Bike with no hands ~ and still monitor your heart-rate accurately through out your entire ride.

Of course, you can ride any stationary bike with no hands but most only come with handle grip heart-rate monitors so if you let go of the handle grips (with the monitors) then you are no longer monitoring your heart-rate.

The Nautilus R514 Recumbent comes with handle grip heart-rate sensors and a Polar wireless heart-rate console plus the chest strap is included so there is no additional equipment to figure out and to buy for this option.

Why is this important? Well, first of all the wireless heart-rate monitors are more accurate than the handle grip monitors (although you still have these on the R514 for convenience).

Next, you can monitor your heart-rate and/or use the built in Heart Rate Control (HRC) programs through out your entire ride while your hands are free for whatever you need them for holding a magazine, reaching your water bottle, talking on the phone, using the TV remote control or just fooling around with your laptop, tablet or other mobile device.

You also get a Large, Easy to Read Backlit Console with 2 Programmable User profiles and 7 Courses for some good variety in your workout (to help break any boredom that may creep into your routine), a convenient water bottle holder and magazine rack and this bike has a 300lb user weight capacity (which is a good indicator of the bikes durability even if you weigh less).

---

Note:  The Nautilus R514 is no longer available from this site or no longer for sale online.

Please see our Exercise Bike Ratings page for a full listing of the exercise bikes that are available with prices and ratings.

(was selling for $437.99 indirectly from Amazon).

---

 

Nautilus Exercise BIkes are very similar to Schwinn Exercise Bikes ~ since they are made by the same company ~ and the Nautilus R514 is most similar to the Schwinn 240 Recumbent. Both of these models have been very popular since they are very inexpensive and come with plenty on convenient features for in-home fitness rooms.

The main differences between the Nautilus R514 and the Schwinn model is that the console displays are quite a bit different, the Nautilus model has a better warranty and comes with the heart-rate monitor chest strap included and with 4 HRC programs.

The HRC (Heart Rate Control) programs allow you to set the heart-rate zones that you would like to maintain then they automatically adjust the bike's resistance levels (making it easier or harder to pedal) to keep you in the HR zones that you have selected in order to give you the maximum benefit from your fitness routine.**

The Nautilus R514 is more comfortable and provides more back support than upright models while it gives you just as good of an aerobic workout.

Recumbent Exercise Bikes, like the Nautilus R514, take up very little space and are usually much less expensive than other kind of fitness equipment (i.e. elliptical trainers and treadmills).

About-Bicycles Review

The Nautilus R514 is a good quality recumbent exercise bike, from a reputable manufacturer that sells at a very low cost. The 300lb user weight capacity along with the very good warranty are good indicators of this bikes durability and quality.

Nautilus has loaded this bike with plenty of convenient features and the large backlit console is easy to read and to operate. The wireless HR monitor, chest strap and HRC programs are what really make this bike stand above the other recumbent bikes in this price range.

The features that you do not get with this model are the higher teck and entertainment options. There is no iPod/MP3 player jack and sound system and no options to upload or download your workout stats to a computer or the internet and no way to load new programs to the console.

Personally, I love having music for my workouts but I keep a small stereo on our workout area anyway so there are ways around not having the built-in sound system on the bike itself. So it really comes down to the features that you want/need and the price that you want to pay.

Customer Reviews

This Recumbent has been around for a few years now so there is no shortage of Customer Reviews online. Most customers are pleased with this bike. Here are a few summaries from some of the more popular review sites for this model.

At the time of this review, the Nautilus R514 is currently rated at (4.4 of 5 stars) by 19 customers on the BowFlex site, (4 of 5 stars) by 12 customers at Wal-Mart and (4 of 5 stars) by 127 customers on Amazon.

---

Nautilus R514 Features at a Glance:

• Workout Programs: 17
  
• Resistance Levels: 16
  
• Resistance System: Quiet
• Magnetic ECB (Eddy Current Brake)
• Consol Display: Blue Backlit LCD
  
• Polar heart rate system with chest strap (included)
  
• 4 Heart Rate Control (HRC) programs
• Reading rack
  
• Water bottle holder
  
• Built-in fan
  
• Rear stabilizer and frame levelers
  
• Transport wheels
  
• Adjustable handlebars
  
• Fully adjustable seat with lumbar support
  
• Oversized pedals
  
• Oversized, heavily padded saddle
  
• Maximum User Capacity: 300 lbs
• Machine Weight 88 lbs
  
• Dimensions: 42"L x 21"W x 52"H

Warranty:

Frame: 10 years
Mechanical: 2 years
Electric: 1 year
Wear Parts: 6 months

** Please check with your doctor before you start a workout program based on heart rate.