Best Recumbent Exercise Bikes

Review by not sure why I bother for Schwinn Active 20 Series Recumbent Exercise Bike
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I really wanted to like this bike. Using a recumbent bike has always been my favorite way to burn some extra calories when I get out of shape. And I have. So I saw this Schwinn for less than $300 which was frankly quite surprising, but as they say, you get what you pay for.

The bike assembled easily enough, the instructions weren’t difficult to follow and they even provided tools for assembly (although you’d be better off using something of your own if you have decent tools). Once assembled and powered on, I hopped on the bike to give it a spin. Initially I was impressed. The bike was sturdy, easy to adjust and once I glanced at the manual, easy to program.

I set the bike for my age(32) and 90% target heart rate, and 40 minutes. After five minutes or so, I realized something was wrong. At this point, I had been pushing the maximum resistance the bike could give me for a couple of minutes and it couldn’t get my pulse rate over about 145. Now, if I were some fitness junky who works out all of the time, maybe I could see this, but I’m 5’11″ and 215lbs(quite chubby). I canceled the workout and tried again at 70% target heart rate and that worked better. It still had to go up to maximum to get me to THR (140), but once there it bounced up and down to keep my pulse in the target range.

After a 40 minute workout, I noticed something else wrong. According to the machine I had burned close to 900 calories! There is positively NO WAY I could have burned much more than 1/2 of that in that time frame at my current fitness level. When I was in the Air Force 6 years ago and working out 5 times a week, I would burn about 600 calories in a 45 minute workout on a recumbent bike at the gym (same ballpark for all of the 10+ different bikes at the gym). That was when I weighed about 180lbs and was much younger.

After a few workouts I noticed yet another problem. The bike emits a bad smell from the main compartment (and no its not BO). I don’t know if it is caused by friction from the workout or what, but it gets worse as the workout progresses. At this point, I emailed amazon for an exchange thinking the bike was defective. The exchange policy worked as well as possible for a 90lb piece of exercise equipment and I received a new bike promptly.

Unfortunately, the new bike is exhibiting the same problems (although to a lesser extent) as the old one. The smell isn’t as pervasive, but still shows up during/after long workouts. The calorie count is slightly closer to believable, but I still think it is way off. I’m not going to send it back however, because wrestling the pieces back into the box once was all the fun I could stand, so I’m left with a slightly smelly bike that tells me I working out harder than I actually am (and will probably not be good enough to get my heart rate up if I actually get back into shape.

For what it is worth, my parents have one of the more expensive Schwinn models (I think it is a 230 or 231) and have had no problems at all and it gave a more realistic calorie count when I rode it. Perhaps the company simply skimped a little too much on this economy model. My advice would be to recommend stepping up to one of the better models and avoid the active 20 series.

Oh, one last thing, if you are over 6ft tall, don’t expect to be able to completely extend your leg, even with the seat all the way back. I have the seat all the way back and can just barely go through a full range of motion.

Review by Mighty Battlecat for Schwinn Active 20 Series Recumbent Exercise Bike
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For the past 3 or so months all that I’ve been going to the gym for is to do some cardio on their bikes. Naturally, I was very skeptical of purchasing this bike since it is considerably smaller and with less settings, speeds and resistance levels compared to the Life Fitness bikes at my gym (LA Fitness). Also, for this price (I got it for $249) it almost seemed “too good to be true”. Key word here is “almost” as it is good enough to be true and worthwhile for what you get.

Pros:

1. Size. It is not as intrusive as I thought. Definitely recommend to take precise measurements before you buy this. I did, and I was very happy with the way it looks. Non invasive and not too intrusive and sleek.

2. Quiet. The unit makes almost no noise. The only thing you hear is a quiet whisper as you turn the pedals. You also hear a very light crank sound when the unit switches between the lower and the maximum levels.

3. Comfortable. The seat is wide enough and soft enough that I can sit on it and work out for up to 90 minutes, break a good sweat and feel comfortable the entire time.

4. Assembly. Was relatively easy considering I did it all by myself. It took me close to an hour to get it all set up (and I am no expert).

Cons:

1. Resistance level. The highest resistance level is not much of a challenge (then again, this depends on your fitness level). I am sure that a pro biker will laugh at it while someone intermediate like myself will be OK with it as it provides a good cardio work out.

2. Seat adjustment. This might be an advantage to some people depending on tastes. But the way by which you adjust the seat is by a pressure/lock type mechanism. I don’t know how this will hold out over the years but by then I might be sick of the machine and wish to replace it for something fancier.

Conclusion:

I gave it 4 stars because of the resistance level. But I definitely love working out on this bike, especially while I watch TV, the time flies by and I feel great after I’m done. If space and money are a concern, and if you don’t need high resistance levels, then this is for you.

Review by 19126 for Schwinn Active 20 Series Recumbent Exercise Bike
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I’ve had this bike for about three weeks and I really like it. The bike is sturdy and assembly is easy. There are six preset hill programs to choose from, or you can use one of the six manually levels. Instructions and use of the computer are easy as well. One of the things I like about this bike is the fitness rating option, using the “recovery” button. It monitors your heart rate for 1 minute after you stop exercising, using the pulse sensors in the handles. It monitors the rate your heart slows then gives you a fitness rating from F1 (best) to F6 (worst). I get my heart rate up as high as I can on level 2 just before I stop exercising, and then I hit the recovery button. After exercising for three weeks I’ve have dropped from F5 to F4. My resting pulse rate has dropped from 80/minute to 65. I have bad knees and hips, but this bike does not aggravate them at all. If you want to strengthen and tone your legs, just put it up to level 6 and do about 20 reps. Level 6 can’t be maintained for long, unless your a body builder. You may choose to get a more expensive bike, but I think this model will give you all you need for a good cardio workout.

Review by CBidwill for Schwinn Active 20 Series Recumbent Exercise Bike
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I’ve had this bike for about 5 weeks now and am very pleased with my purchase. I just sit in front of the TV and play PS3 for about 1-2 hours every day and burn plenty of calories. The chair is much more comfortable than our old standard exercise bike, which is paramount when using it as much as we do.

We also looked at the more expensive, older Schwinn model. Personally, we liked this one better, and it’s 200 bucks cheaper. This one was more comfortable and also much more easily adjusted, which is nice when you have 2 people using it at very different heights. This one hasn’t been on the market as long, so I’m not sure how it’ll last over the years, but so far it’s been strong and sturdy. Still, we got a 3 year warranty (not from Amazon) just in case. Even with the warranty it’s still much cheaper than the $[...] Schwinn model.

As for negatives, you can get a lot of resistance from this bike, but each step up is a big jump. It would have been nicer to be able to ramp up more gradually. Also, I believe the calorie burner count is too high. I have a hard time believing that I can burn almost 1000 calories in an hour (although I do get the resistance up pretty high and break a good sweat).

All told though, this is an excellent bike at an excellent price. Highly recommend.

Review by Ann M. Smythe for Schwinn Active 20 Series Recumbent Exercise Bike
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I bought this bike in February in preparation for knee surgery. It was extremely easy to put together – I had it together in one hour and I am a woman. It comes with all of the tools you will need. The display is nice and large and easy to understand without the manual. I used it to recover from knee surgery and now I ride it almost every morning for 30 minutes and I can really tell the difference in my legs and in my weight in general. I mostly wanted to express how easy it was to assemble and operate. I have had no trouble with it at all. I love this bike.