Customer Reviews

Ironman 125 Recumbent Exercise Bike

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

This bike is well worth the money. I have ridden much more expensive exercise bikes that don't ride as smoothly. The manual tension control is precise and gives low to very high impact, and ensures that the bike will still work if the computer dies. The pulse feature is nice and accurate. There were no assembly instructions, but assembly is fairly straightforward. It has a very solid construction; I see it lasting a very long time.

I bought the bike and it worked for about 3 weeks. I never could get the tension controls to work. Then the pedals fell off. I tried reattaching them but they would not stay on the bike longer than a few minutes. I contacted the manufacturer and was told they had no replacement parts available. So, I called Amazon and they sent a replacement. The replacement worked for 1 week before the exact same problem happened. Amazon is taking that one back too, but the product seems to have issues.

Maybe others have had better luck, but I wanted to share my experience in the hopes that you don't have to go thru what I have.

UPDATE: After I returned bike #2, I bought the "Schwinn Active 20 Series Recumbent Exercise Bike" and it works great. It is about $100 more expensive, but it is well worth it.

I noticed that the price on this ironman now is much lower then when I originally purchased it - which speaks volumes about the product as well. You get what you pay for.

I really like it. It rides very smooth and I appreciate all the bells and whistles. Only negative is that it isn't easy to adjust for riders of different sizes. It takes a little effort.

Pros_=
After going through two expensive magnetic track bikes (one over $400) and having the drive fail each time, I figured it was time to go with a simple old tried-and-true tension control drive.

-The number one plus for me is that the bike is perfectly constructed so that my knees are never at risk of scratching the console or handle bars. I'm only 5'11" and I've had embarrassing accidents scraping the skin off my knee during an intense workout.
-Took a bit to assemble but it feels sturdy, the seat is OK
-It offers an even tension that goes as high as I'd ever like.
-Doesn't take up too much space in my living room
-Calorimeter is accurate

Cons_=

-Assembly is a hassle but you only need to do it once
-Except in my case where I had to detach the front pole the tension control connects through so I could properly assemble it with the tension cord stretched over the top of the metal piece (otherwise there is no tension as others have experienced apparently)
-The instructions neglect to mention the latter and also had a misprint about the screws
-Hopefully the pre-fixed seat positions fit you as perfectly as they fit me. (I guess you could always drill a new hole)
-Seat isn't uncomfortable, but it's no lounge chair seat, feels like it'll last long though.

I have had this for 2 months now in the box. I didnt assemble cause I was exhausted still from the elliptical I last assmebled.

The purchase price was 146. shipping from amazon was fast. of course the box
looked as if it had been opened and repackaged.

all parts were in there. there was no instruction manual and it took me 15 minutes online to actually find one.

assembly is fairly straightforward but the manual should be clearer. the diagrams are awful and some parts should have been easy but were confusing.

this took me 3 hours to assemble. but I think two people can set it up in 45 minutes. it just needs 3 hands to do it right.

the included tools are subpar but anyone with the right sized wrench can do it right.

the most confusing part was the cable end and spring hook. that is why many people had no tension working....

1. take the skinny metal part of cable and worm it into the hook (the bottom one).
2. then extend it upwards and pull on it until the upper metal part aligns properly and with a little finagling u should be set.


also make sure you have the all three cables and extensions hooked up. it took me 20 minutes to snake all three through the upright tube. pay attention to which end attaches to which end or you will repeat again and again.

finally when all was said and done, it was good to go and worked properly from the get go. the pulse sensor is super quick and fastet to pick up then higher end equipment.

I would have given it a 4 or 5 for price but I took off points for packaging, absence of a manual, and poor instructions.
I think the build is solid and this thing will last.

I like the bike OK but have never gotten the pulse sensor to work. It always say error or zero.

I ordered this bike last month from Amazon. It was easy to put together and looks pretty good. The only problem is the tension adjustment never worked. You do not feel any difference when you turn the knob from minimum to maximum.

I ordered this. Even though I read some reviews that did not sound so great I figured for the price it was hard to beat. That is true, it is great for the price but you kind of get what you pay for. I received it and it seemed well packaged but it is heavy. All the parts seemed to be there but there were no instructions. I am a mechanical engineer so I managed to put it together but instructions and parts breakdown would have been nice. I am sure you could find those online. When it was fully assembled I went to adjust the seat. That is when I noticed the lock pin on the end of this was badly bent. Probably shipping damage. I also think the way you adjust the seat is kind of bad. I figured the seat would slide on the top of the frame but instead you extend the entire frame from the bottom. Then there is the LCD display unit. It has no power switch but states that it auto shuts off after a few minutes on no use. It did seem to do this but after a day I heard it beeping and chattering, and found that it had killed the batteries in less than a day just sitting there. You can use it without the LCD display so I just have no batteries in it. Either that or you have to remember to remove them. Apart from that, the bike seems very large. I am over 6ft and there is more room for adjustment. Pedal feel is nice. The tension force is OK but I would like it a little harder at the highest tension. I notice the price keeps dropping so I may return this to Amazon.com if they will not give me a credit.

this is a great bike. everything came in on time and in good condition. the tension nob does not work...it is probably just for looks. other than that, I love it

I should have been leary at the "great" price and free shipping from Amazon, however, I ordered this bike any way. As I watched the UPS driver pull it off of the truck, my fears were realized. The box looked like it had been used as a punching bag for somone's kickboxing workout. I still accepted delivery anyway. As I was opening the box I then realized that the top was not sealed. Upon closer inspection it was clear to see that the box had been carefully opened before with a knife or blade and the only thing holding it together was three yellow banding straps (which were not tight to begin with. Digging into the box, I discovered that almost every smaller box of assessories had been previously opened and then re-taped closed.

Digging all the way to the bottom of the box, I could not find any instructions. I carefully removed every box and piece out of the container, paying close attention to how they were packaged in case I had to put everything back. The instructions were no where to be found.

Since I have been shafted in the past on online purchases, I have become pretty savvy. I went online to the Ironman web site and located the owner's manual. After downloading the manual, I took a very careful inventory. To my relief, every last piece to include every nut and bolt was present. I decided to proceed with the assembly. Not all of the instructions were very clear, but I was able to figure everything out.

As I was alomst complete with the assembly, I noticed that I did not have the same LCD readout as described in the assembly instructions. The diagrams all showed three (3) wires coming from the LCD display. Mine only had two (2)so I had to make a choice of what wires to connect them to coming from the bike. When all is said and done, I cannot use the pulse feature that was included, because that was the missing wire coming from the display.

I still am going to use this machine, because it was a good price. I just feel like Amazon ripped me off (again) by advertising a "NEW" product that clearly was either a refurb or just a return from someone else who decided not to keep it.

If you decide to make this purchase, think twice before buying it from Amazon.