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Thread: Cheap exercise bikes

  1. #16
    Pretty sure my mom has the bike in the OP's post. She was a pretty hardcore about water aerobics at the local pool before the pandemic but needed a Plan-B after it got shut down. She seems happy with it. There is no way she would be safe on an actual road bicycle, by the way.

    Off-topic, I taught indoor cycling for several years at a local gym. Not the soul cycle type-stuff but classes designed more like actual rides. Many hardcore riders and triathletes. Our gym used Keiser stationary bikes. Hands-down, the best out there. The owner sold me one of them before the gym changed ownership and I still ride it all the time. I agree that serious riders would probably be disappointed with any of the budget bikes but for the average senior who just wants a low-impact aerobic workout, they're fine.

    Erik
    Ex-SCM and Felder rep

  2. #17
    Join Date
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    I bought a used one for about $100. It has electric eddy current braking. No wear parts but it was battery operated. Batteries only lasted a month so I soldered in a jack and use a wall wart for power. The pulse meter never worked but the time and calory counter does.
    Bill D

  3. #18
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mike Chance in Iowa View Post
    Yes, it's boring to be on an exercise bike, but while I'm doing the easy motion, I read a book.
    A place to set a tablet or Kindle is definitely a feature to look for. I've been surprised at the number of not-cheap ones that have no provision (short of duct-tape) for doing that.
    Yoga class makes me feel like a total stud, mostly because I'm about as flexible as a 2x4.
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  4. #19
    Quote Originally Posted by Zachary Hoyt View Post
    We have an exercise bike that someone dumped in a ditch along our road frontage years ago. It works. I've never done any maintenance to it other than I might have oiled the chain when we first found it, I don't remember. It gets used occasionally in the winter. I don't find the seat comfortable, it's huge and wide. I agree with Jim Becker's suggestion, and the benefits of an actual bike. I am much more comfortable on my real bicycle, and like to ride it when practical, though there are months in the winter when I don't ride at all because of the snow and ice on the roads. In August of 2019 I had my longest bicycle day, 13 hours and 129 miles towing a trailer with a canoe on it, and camping things in the canoe. I had a fair wind that day which helped a lot, especially since I was gaining some altitude on my way from near Lake Ontario up into the Adirondacks.

    129 miles towing a canoe uphill? That must have been some tailwind. Did you put up a sail?

  5. #20
    when I stopped running used the racing bike on rollers. Hard rollers to ride as you have to balance on four small pipes. Loose your balance and feet in rat traps no fun so usually kept it set up close to a wall. Stopped using it as the racing bike is too uncomfortable. have a cruiser bike as well too large for the rollers then it only has one gear and gears are good on rollers at least the type I have. I dont know how people can make a living working at a desk.

  6. #21
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    I dont know how people can make a living working at a desk.
    When my work required a lot of walking my weight went down. When it was at a desk my weight went up. That is likely the same for many folks.

    jtk
    "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty."
    - Sir Winston Churchill (1874-1965)

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