Customer Reviews

Recumbent Magnetic Bike

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I'm a big guy (like 6'8" tall, 350 lbs). I was looking for an exercise bike that could accomodate me (trying to do something about that second stat), and I picked this one because it didn't list a maximum user weight, and fit in my budget (others I've seen list 250 or 275).

Unfortunately, that's because the specs are incomplete. The max user weight on this thing is rated at 250 lbs. Says so right on the front column. But as a matter of necessity, I'm ignoring that. It hasn't catastrophically failed under a 350 pounder's weight, which is to its credit, I suppose.

Construction was fairly straightforward, it'd be easier with two people, but not much easier. A few parts kind of sucked though... specifically the rear handlebar mounting. The manual instructs you to mount the seat first, then the rear handlebar assembly, but I found that the seat back really got in the way of accessing the bolts necessary for that. It was workable, but would have been better a little differently.

On the bike, it's pretty quiet (I can listen to relatively quiet music over the sound of it anyway), and the resistance is pretty smooth, as you'd expect of a magnetic resistance bike.

The computer is disappointingly batter powered (instead of harnessing the natural power generating abilities of a magnetic bike), and also doesn't control resistance at all, so no workout programs or anything. But the odometer, timer, and calorie counter are nice.

The max resistance isn't quite as high as I'd hoped it would be, but it's pretty reasonable. The minimum resistance pretty well approximates first gear on a mountain bike on level ground, and the max is about in the range of high gear on the same. There's no comparison to biking up a stiff hill like I've seen on some commercial bikes, but that's to be expected for something in this price range, I guess.

If you're particularly tall though, this bike probably isn't for you. at 2 meters tall, the front handlebars are low enough that my knees just barely graze them as they hit the highest point of the arc. If my legs were about one inch longer, this would likely be quite painful (instead of just ticklish). If you're within a normal size range (in other words, anything smaller than me) and want a not-too-extravagant bike with some nice features, it's pretty good though.