How to Choose an Exercise Bike

One of the most prevalent fitness exercise machines is the exercise bike but purchasing one is not as straightforward as going to the shop and choosing one. There are lots of things to take into account before you do this. You may want to consider not only the price, type of bike, whether you want an upright or recumbent exercise bike, and how comfortable and effortless it is to adjust.

How Much Do You Want to Spend?

Obviously this is usually the most important consideration but you do not want to go for the cheapest bike available as it may perhaps not last very long, be easy to use or give you good exercise. A beginner’s bike at a minimum will cost you roughly $200, and although this will be adequate it may not have many of the features that can be found on higher quality training bikes. For a little more, say between 0 and 0 you’ll get a better quality exercise bike with many features such as heart rate control, magnetic resistance, a comfortable seat and generally quiet and smooth operation.

For approximately 0 you will be able to buy a first-rate exercise bike with all the features you may want. For this price you should expect plenty of built-in workout programs, easy to use resistance control and LED display console, handlebars that are trouble-free to modify and a very good warranty.

Exercise Bike Comfort

Certainly your exercise bike should be comfy as you will be spending quite a lot of time on it! You will want a well padded seat and handlebars that adjust without difficulty. Are you going to buy an upright or recumbent exercise bike? Many people find that recumbent exercise bikes are more comfy to use than upright exercise bikes as you sit in a more reclined position which puts not as much of pressure on your back. Upright exercise bikes, even though they are not quite as comfortable, do have the advantage that you can effortlessly increase the level of the exercise by standing up to pedal just as you would do on a standard bike.

Changing the Resistance

Resistance on exercise bikes is adjustable in 2 ways. Most of the cheaper models use tension and a belt, more expensive models use magnetic resistance which is quieter and more consistent. Magnetic resistance is usually adjusted with a knob or a pushbutton. Most people find it easier to use a pushbutton.

Monitoring Your Heart Rate

It is really crucial to be able to check your heart rate while exercising as this is the whole aim of riding your exercise bike in the first place! Always buy an exercise bike with a built-in pulse rate monitor so that you can adjust your workouts correspondingly. Almost all the exercise bikes do have this while cheaper bikes will often merely have a pulse rate monitor built into the handlebars. The more expensive exercise bikes will have exercises that are controlled by your pulse rate so they adjust automatically to keep your pulse rate at a level that you fix. This is a very nice aspect but not essential if you can’t afford it.

Built-In Workout Programs

Many of the cheaper exercise bikes won’t have workout incorporated programs. While you may believe this is not too much of a disadvantage you will discover that merely sitting on the bike and riding will become monotonous very rapidly! With workout programs you can modify your workout and the feedback you get will help with your enthusiasm. Display consoles that give you feedback on distance covered,calories burned and heart rate etc. actually do help your enthusiasm and keep you exercising for longer periods. Nearly all of the exercise bikes in the middle range i.e. between roughly $300 and $600 will give you a realistic range of integral workouts and a fairly high-quality display. More expensive exercise bikes i.e. in the 0 and over range will have a large number of workouts and excellent LED displays with a complete range of feedback information.

Conclusion

Evidently, as with other fitness exercise machines, when buying an exercise bike, you get what you pay for. It is not really a very good plan to purchase the cheapest exercise bike you can find as it won’t last very long and you will not be happy with the exercise that it gives you. It is not essential to buy a very high-priced bike but we suggest buying one for approximately $300 which will give you good quality exercise and keep you motivated. Read more at Buying a Fitness Exercise Machine

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