About Bicycles Online > Indoor Fitness Bikes

Exercise Bike Reviews and Ratings

“Just wanted to say thanks for your very informative website. It has helped me to choose a new exercise bike that I love” – Brian ~ Barrington, New Jersey. Exercise Bike Types

When you are looking for the perfect Exercise Bike or Indoor Cycle for your own specific needs, you will need to select the right bike type and know which brands and models are the most reputable and give you the best buy within your price range.

At about-bicycles.com, we are into cycling fitness ~ indoor and outdoor ~ and have been helping people by providing high quality, professional fitness bike reviews for years.

Reading Customer Reviews alone may not always give you an accurate assessment of a particular fitness bike.

We have reviewed over 100 fitness bikes, have met with product specialists for different brands, ridden the bikes and have also researched the latest customer reviews online to give you a better overall assessment the fitness bikes sold in stores and online.

There are some high quality fitness bikes out there at good prices as well as some cheap junk sometimes priced higher than it should be. We can help to show you the difference and to select the fitness bike that is best for your needs and your budget.

Fortunately, fitness bikes are generally priced lower than other aerobic fitness equipment, such as treadmills and elliptical trainers so you will be saving money to begin with when selecting a fitness bike over the other aerobic equipment options and you will still get an excellent aerobic workout.

Exercise Bikes and Indoor Cycles prices usually vary from $200 to $1,000 and more and there are quite a few different types, brands and models to choose from. You don't want to buy a low quality fitness bike that will not last or buy a model that is not right for you.

To get you moving in the right direction, see our Fitness Bike Categories below if you have not already decided which Fitness Bike Type is best for your needs.

When you already know the Fitness Bike Type that you are looking for, See the links on top and on both sides of this page ~ bottom of the page for mobile users ~ for our reviews of many of the most popular fitness bikes available online and where you can purchase these bikes at the lowest prices.

Some of the other popular resources on this website include our Best Fitness Bike list which includes our "Best Buy" Fitness Bikes by price and category, our Exercise Bike Ratings page which includes our professional ratings on all exercise bikes and indoor cycles reviewed on this site and our Online Fitness Bike Stores list for a good selection of online fitness bike resources.

Fitness Bike Categories

There are quite a few different kinds of Stationary Bikes, and other indoor cycling and exercise equipment available. Below is a summary of the most common types of indoor fitness bikes and cycling equipment.

Upright Exercise Bikes

These bikes are similar to traditional upright bicycles, provide a good lower body workout (and in some cases an upper body workout) and take up less space than recumbent models (in length although they are usually higher).

The Upright Exercise Bike category usually refers to the upright bikes with magnetic resistance mechanisms and electronic display panels to adjust the resistance, set workout programs and monitor workout information.

Although Dual Action Fan Bikes and Indoor Cycling Bikes are also upright they really fall into their own specific categories.

Indoor Cycling and Spin® Bikes

When you are looking for an upright fitness bike for serious training and workouts you will probably be most interested in this category. 

Indoor Cycling bikes are upright bikes that are mostly mechanical and use a friction based resistance mechanism (although some models have electronic panels to monitor your workout).

These bikes are usually provide easy access to unlimited resistance levels and easy riding position adjustments.

Note: Indoor Cycles are often referred to as Spin® Bikes but keep in mind that SPIN, SPINNER and SPINNING are registered trademarks identifying Mad Dogg Athletics and its indoor cycling goods and services. When you are searching for these kinds of fitness bikes from the many other manufacturers that produce them you will want to refer to these bikes as Indoor Cycles to include all brands.

Recumbent and Semi-Recumbent Models

The biggest advantage to recumbent stationary bikes is that they are more comfortable than upright models. Recumbent bikes have a chair like seat and many models have handlebars next to the seat as well as in front of the seat.

Recumbents provide better back support, a good lower body workout and promote more efficient blood flow to the body. Recumbent bikes provide the same level of workout as upright bikes and are often used for physical therapy especially when better back support is needed.

Semi-Recumbent stationary bikes are the same design as recumbent except the seat position is higher you are in a more upright (less recumbent) position. One advantage of this type of fitness bike is that it is easier to get on and to get off of these bikes.

Dual Action Fitness Bikes

This is the category that you will want for an full body workout. Dual action fitness bikes provide additional aerobic exercise due to the upper body workout.

The most common Dual Action Bikes are Fan Bikes (such as the Schwinn Airdyne AD2) , which are upright bikes with arm handles that move along with the pedals and fans that are used as the resistance mechanism and for cooling (to some degree).

Another category, which is technically not an exercise bike but is more of a cross between a Recumbent Exercise Bike and an Elliptical Trainer is the Dual Action Recumbent Elliptical or Seated Elliptical. See the HCI PhysioStep RXT-1000 Recumbent Elliptical Review for an example of this kind of machine.

Bike Trainers

When you are looking for an exercise bike stand (stationary bike stand) to use with your regular bike for indoor exercise in the off season, when you can't be outdoors or for training purposes then you will want to review Bike Trainers.

Bike Trainers are bike stands that attach to your normal (outdoor) bicycle so you can exercise or train on your bicycle indoors.

Fitness Bike Consoles, Electronic Display Features and Functions

The control panel and electronic display on fitness bikes is usually referred to as the console. An exercise bike console (recumbent and upright) includes controls to electronically adjust the bikes resistance, run built-in programs and workouts, and display numerous statistics recorded during your workout.

Some models also include a USB port or wireless connection to connect to the internet, workout card slots, iPod or MP3 music player jack and speakers and wireless heart-rate receiver.

There are many different electronic console displays and styles and exercise bike consoles change each year more than most other features on these bikes.

Some of the most common features and functions that you get on an exercise bike console include: Speed in mph or kph, Calculated Distance, Workout time, Resistance Levels, Calories and/or fat burned, Pulse and Heart rate, various workout program modes and RPM (cadence).

Some Indoor Cycles also come with electronic consoles although their resistance is adjusted manually (not through the console) and the statistics collected are all based on the flywheel RPM. You can still get a number of workout stats but not as much detail as with a magnetic resistance exercise bike.

See www.treadmill-ratings-reviews.com for reliable Treadmill information and resources. My good friend, a former V.P. in the fitness equipment industry, and recognized fitness equipment expert, Fred Waters,has contributed excellent information to the website above and has also provide valuable fitness equipment information to www.about-bicycles.com.