Customer Reviews

Phoenix 99608 Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike

5 star:		(52)
4 star:		(32)
3 star:		(8)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

The bike shipped promptly, was easily assembled by my husband in about 30 minutes, and is everything the other reviewers says it is. It is SILENT, even when I'm biking fast (well - fast for me is 20 miles an hour). It is built well and seems very solid, although you can move it around a room pretty easily. It does not wiggle or bounce you, which makes it nice for reading. It is also nice that the controls do not block your view to the television. The calorie counter is not accurate. It shows the same number burned in my first 30 minutes at 20 miles per hour, as it does for my second 30 minutes at 15 miles per hour. I still gave it 5 stars though, because without knowing your weight and body fat percentage, no machine will accurately tell you the calories burned. I got rid of an elliptical trainer to buy this, because in order to go fast enough to get a good cardio workout on the elliptical I had lots of hip joint and knee pain - not so initially, but my body adjusted and I just couldn't work up a sweat even on the highest tension without the joint pain. I am getting a great workout on this bike, set at a level 2 difficulty, with no joint pain. Because there are 8 levels, I will have no problem continuing to challenge myself without having to just go faster.

Overall the product is well built and can easily handle the advertised 250lbs. However, if you are on the high end of the weight scale and in some form of reasonable fitness the maximum resistance will not be enough for you.

After having a few upright bikes I can say that this reclining model is much easier on your back and wrists. The padding on the seat does leave a little to desire, but it's easily bearable for 1hr rides.

All needed parts were included and it went together in about 30 minutes.

Like everything else in the world you get what you pay for. The computer frequently will not turn itself off even after hours of non-use. The dial to adjust the tension broke after the first day (springs back to max resistance when you set it). You can get around this with a little bit of tape to stick it where you want it. Realistically though, you won't be using this bike on anything but the hardest setting - so it's not that much of an impact for me.

In summary, this is a great bike to buy if you don't have very strong legs, or are a casual exerciser. I'm not in fantastic shape but the hardest resistance is really a little too easy. It is made in China but does seem reasonably well engineered. The faults with it can easily be overlooked (unlike other bikes the resistance is set mechanically, the computer could completely die on this bike and you wouldn't miss out on anything). It seems like it will be fairly durable, when/if it does break mechanically I will probably try a different model in the same price range.

This bike isn't noisy, nor does it take up a lot of space. I actually use it without the handle bars, which makes it even more compact. I also end up moving this bike around a lot (I'll move it near my computer to watch a movie, or closer to a light to read), and have had no issues- it's not as heavy as one might expect from an exercise machine.

I've had no problems with the time/distance attachment on the bike; it's very accurate. Just be careful, because the little box will fall if one knocks it by accident. Also, it's helpful to have two people when adjusting the length of the bike, I found it difficult to push together on my own. My final comment and reason for the 4 stars (not 5): Don't expect to spend more than a half-hour at a time on this bike, the seat isn't really cushioned for long usage... and it's really not super-comfortable in general- however, it is easy to add some pillows here and there.

I love this bike, it is so quiet. It was so easy to put together. I can watch TV or play video games and still get my exercise done. I bike for 90 minutes and burn 1000 calories. I can burn more calories on this than with walking or jogging. With this bike and the proper diet, I've lost 70 pounds, and I'm still losing. The price is now $50 lower than when I bought it.

First off, these recumbent exercise bikes are freaking genius -- you mean I can get in some good cardio while I sit on my ass in an air conditioned room and watch TV, read, play video games??? Deal.

I've had this bike for two weeks and am very pleased with my purchase. It's well-manufactured (all pieces fit together well during assembly), sturdy, and very quiet. I am fairly athletic and I am getting good resistance from the middle settings. My only complaints are that the assembly instructions sucked often (but it's a relatively simple assembly, so you will be able to figure it out, eventually) -- and yes, the seat is not terribly comfortable.

So basically, other than the seat (which is only sufficient) -- awesome bike.

BONUS review notes -- Comparison to Schwinn Active 20:
I did check out the Active 20 in a sports store, so I can give these comparison notes to anyone else who is struggling to pick a bike between the two. The big upsides of the Active 20 are comfort -- much more comfortable seat and a sweet cup holder -- and brand name. Another upside of the Active 20 is a more advanced computer (looked like you could do resistance programs and stuff) -- HOWEVER, I also feel like this is a big downside, because you change resistance using the computer, whereas it's a mechanical dial on the Phoenix. The computers on both bikes seem pretty cheap, so I like that if something goes wrong with the computer on the Phoenix, I really don't even need it, I can still adjust resistance and pedal away. Knowing what I know now, with a [...] difference I would still re-buy the Phoenix magnetic bike, but if the difference was [...] Much tougher call; I could probably go either way at that point, which speaks to the excellence of both bikes. Just depends on whether you want a very bare-bones but very usable bike (Phoenix) or something a little more luxurious (Schwinn).

--Not too hard to assemble if you follow the instructions.
--VERY quiet, nice for watching TV while riding.
--Eight settings that provide enough of a range for most people.
--Would appreciate a more padded seat.
--Unfortunately this bike does not work well for a short person. Even my 5foot-7inch wife has to put a pillow behind her to be comfortable. We added another setting by drilling another hole, but that shouldn't be necessary.

This is a bare bones system that works well. I use it as part of a varied workout routine. It's simple workout display gives me all the information I need....speed, time, calories and distance. Without the big console many higher end bikes have, it's easy to watch tv and knockout a half hour ride seemlessly. The ride is smooth and quiet and easily adjustable. It's simple enough to use that you might just stick to the program.....if not how much did you lose?

Compared to other non-commercial exercise bikes, the Phoenix 99608 is an excellent buy. It was easy to assemble, well constructed, and operates very quietly. It was exactly as advertised. I expect it will provide many hours of hassle-free use. Don't expect to use the bike for hours at a time - the seat padding is not thick enough for that. My only other concern is that the seat may not be able to be adjusted appropriately for a person with short legs. Those observations not withstanding, I would recommend it to anyone who wants an inexpensive home exercise bike.

I love my new exercycle! I am 79 yrs old and needed to exercise. I had another bike, but could no longer lift my legs high enough to get over the middle bar. (I have artificial hips and knees) With this new cycle. I can just sit and slide my leg across and onto the peddle. I have facing the TV and try to do it 3x a day for about 10 min. each time. In three weeks I have lost 10 lbs! Yippee! There's hope for me yet. It is so quiet and comfortable too; I love it!

The bike shipped quickly. The shipping box was covered in saran wrap (likely to keep water out and make the cardboard weak - the box is pretty heavy for 1 person to move around). Unpacking the bike needs to be done carefully, as the parts are sort of intermixed in the box and do not lift out easily - in trying to pull out the heaviest item, I dropped it and cracked off a piece of the front cover. Pulling things out from a box laid sideways would have probably been more effective.

Bike setup is easy enough, just follow the directions. In all, it took me about an hour. There is a piece of black plastic used to make adjusting the leg length easier that is a bit difficult to get exactly in place - I hammered that part down to get it to sit right.

The bike itself is very nice. When they say silent, they mean it. You can peddle and watch TV (or whatever) without having to turn up the volume or annoying other people nearby like a treadmill would. The adjustable resistance will do for anyone looking for a basic workout. The reader works well enough, although I'm a little doubtful about how they count calories burned. At 5'6", the bike leg length was perfect, but it might be a bit of a reach for someone shorter than me. Once assembled, it drags around easy enough for me to be able to move it between my tv and my computer. If you are going to try and use a laptop while peddling, i recommend getting one of those adjustable 'laptop stands/desks' so your neck doesn't have to stay craned in one direction for the duration of your peddling.

4/5 stars because I was annoyed the front panel cracked open when I dropped it due to bad packaging technique. The bike maker could have also figured out a way to make the peddling motion capture energy to power the display instead of requiring batteries. No other complaints. Great for people who don't want the knee/foot pressure of running, want to stay indoors, want a recumbent bike for multi-tasking, or have the requirement to not be plugged into an outlet to operate.