Customer Reviews

Stamina 5325 Magnetic Resistance Upright Exercise Bike

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

I received this bike for a Christmas present. I had asked for it specifically after reading favorable reviews. (and, of course, based on the price!) It was pleasantly easy for my husband and I to put together and I jumped on it right away. The bike is quiet, the seat adjusts from very high to very low, even lower than what I need (I am 5'2"), and it feels sturdy. The battery powered screen has a place for your pulse, calories burned, time, miles, and speed. This bike is quiet enough to sit and watch tv while riding and you can hear your show just fine. My butt did get a little sore from the seat, but I got used to it. The bike is easy to move around with the wheels, however it does stay in place once you put it down. I recommend to anyone looking for an affordable exercise bike.

First - all these consumer bikes are made by the same company in China and branded. I've had 7 in the past 10 years from different companies. Reebok, Stamina, Sports Authority house brand, Target... it doesn't matter. They're all the same basic construction, come with the same little shrink wrapped tools, the front and back supports go on the same; I can put these together in my sleep. You can even interchange the parts. The only difference are the computers.

They will all die in 1-2 years if you use them every day.

I use mine 20 miles a day - it doesn't matter if it's a $150 model or a $700 model, they die in under two years. Pulse monitor? Rusts out or breaks in ~4 months. Straps on the pedals? Break in 3-9 months. Plastic drive belt? Minor damage in 6-9 months, fatal damage in 12-24 months that requires replacement, since you can't fix them. These things even come with a warning that if you actually try to use them seriously you could suffer 'severe injury or fatality.' They're cheap consumer crap and they expect you to stop using it and turn it into a clothes rack.

So you might as well get a cheap one with good features and expect to replace it. This one works well enough and is quite quiet, but is lacking several features you'd expect for a $200 model (and I should have checked for first):
* Worst of all, no pedal straps. If your foot ever slips, the pedal goes upside down and you need to come to a halt and resync. After one night of this I just took the pedals I saved off my old ones and used them instead.
* You can't see your speed and distance at the same time.
* The timeout before the computer resets everything if you don't pedal is quite short compared to other models. Need to rush to the kitchen or computer or phone? Better hurry, or at least remember how far you'd gone.
* No drink holder. A little thing, but you'll need something else for your water bottle.
* The base is on the narrow side (there seem to be two common sizes), so if you get serious it rocks from side to side a bit compared to the wider ones.
* If you're 6'(I am) or over, the seat adjusts fine, but the handlebars are then very low. The configuration pictured is for a midget or child.

So this will work for a year till it breaks, but I've had a $150 model from Sports Authority that was much better, and next time I'll remember again what to look for.

I needed a stationary bike after a total knee replacement surgery. Decided on this item due to v.good reviews it received on amazon.com. Received the bike in beginning of Dec.'09 and I love it. It works for me well. It's well designed and built. Manual is clearly written and there shouldn't be any problem(s) with assembling this bike.

The Stamina 5325 does what any exercise/stationary bike should do. I am 6'/255lbs and while I feel this bike holds/supports me no problem, it is a bit wobbly if I ride at a faster pace. Nothing that I worry about, but does concern me for the length of the life of the bike. My wife is much smaller and has no issues. We both agree the seat is fine, but not overly comfortable. Height adjustment is excellent.

My other minor gripes, you have to put it together(which I knew), but it was about 30 minutes of work. It was not necessarily difficult, but there were some steps that were "tricky"(getting the resistance adjuster cord to connect). The peddles are slightly small, and at higher rates tend to flip on you, and they are not double sided, nor do they have straps or a place to attach straps. Also, I was comparing to less expensive bikes, and I am not sure how you can get much cheaper and still feel like you got a quality product. I bought this bike wanting something to give me a good work out, and I feel it does that, but some of the assembly did not make me feel like it was the strongest construction. You are paying a little more for the heart rate monitor, which does seem to work, but I don't use all that much. With that being said, at the $200 price point, I WOULD buy this bike again. I know if sounds like I am complaining a lot, but I am just providing information that I did not see people mention in previous reviews.

If you have a little more money to spend, I would see what an extra 50-100 can get you in features and quality, but I feel that this bike is what you paid for... I would say this bike is good as a starter/light use exercise bike that will make you glad you did not pay more.

I purchased this bike cause I needed a heady duty one (handles up to 300lb body weight) and one that just plain works well with a basic electronic console. The instructions are easy to understand, the console has 6 programs, calorie counter, heart rate monitor, speed and distance and elapsed time. There are 8 resistance levels as well. The bike is solid and built very well and I am impressed since it is a $200 bike but seems built like a $400 one.

I recommend this bike to anyone who wants a well constructed, very very quiet and basic bike that works as it should.

After opening the box, the number of bolts, washers and screws were less than described in the manual. I called customer service and they responded that some assembly is already done and that's why there aren't as many as shown in the manual. So I put the bike together and it was fairly simple. Only one washer didn't match (regular washer versus curved) ... that didn't really matter, it worked.

The performance of the bike is everything I expected it to be. Very quiet which I love! The resistance levels provide a good workout. Note the programs that come with it are more geared toward how fast you are pedaling and it does not control the resistance. You control the resistance with the knob. This is a good product for the price.

Since I started riding my mountain bike again, I figured it would be a good time to get a stationary exercise bike so I would not have to ride outside on the very cold or wet days.

Being 6ft tall and weighing about 275 pounds, my first objective in purchasing an exercise bike was to find one with a suitable weight limit since most seem to top out at the 250 pound range. So I decided to give the Stamina 5325 a try since it has a 300 pound weight limit and the price was pretty good.

When I got it, I had the bike put together in about 30 minutes. As some have said in other reviews, the hardest part is attaching the tension cable. But all I did was push down with my thumb on the clip part and the cable slid right in to place.

So I hop on the bike figuring that I would take a 10 mile ride since I do that almost everyday on my mountain bike. I put the resistance on 4 and away I went.
I quickly found out that I would not be doing 10 miles due to the fact that I cannot coast on this bike, haha, so I rode 5 miles non stop. I can say that 5 miles on the exercise bike feels like 10 to 15 miles on my mountain bike which I consider a good thing. So everyday I ride at least 5 miles on my exercise bike, sometimes twice a day. Even on days that I ride my mountain bike.

I have had it just over 1 week and I have to say that I really like it. It is a very sturdy bike, I really figured it would shake all over the place but it doesn't. The handlebars are at a perfect distance for comfort, I have no problems with them at all. The bike it very quiet. Once I started getting a slight noise but it was just the plastic center cover. I tapped the cover with my foot and the noise went away and has not come back yet.

The computer that the bike comes with is simple and does what it is designed to do.
The seat takes a little getting use to. I quickly figured that I could use my padded biking shorts when I ride it and that took care of the butt problem.

Overall it seems to be a great bike but I guess only time will tell how well it is made. Definitley worth the price so far.

*****UPDATE*****

It has been about 11 months since I wrote the review above when I first got the bike. I have been riding this bike almost everyday since then at around 10 to 15 miles a day. The bike is holding up better than I expected. A couple of months ago I got a clicking noise coming from the flywheel but taking the side cover off and moving the plastic piece where the cable goes into the side of the flywheel fixed the problem. I also got a vibration last week but adjusting the same piece fixed the problem. Right now it rides just as smooth and quiet as the day I got it.

So far I have lost 45 pounds since starting. No special diets or anything besides riding this bike and also doing some walking. Hopefully I will be riding this bike for at least another year, but only time will tell. I plan on getting a new road bike within the next year or so and also a trainer but only after I have completely worn this exercise bike out.

I purchased this bike based on price range and reviews. The other reviews were dead on and I'm very grateful for their input. The bike was easy to put together and is very quiet. It's nice and sturdy for both me and my husband. I'm very happy with my purchase. It was exactly as advertised.

My Stamina 5325 by a short, out of shape, fat, woman in her early 40's. I have owned this bike for about a month now. I am riding it 6 days a week and I am slowly building up the time I ride.

Pros:

I am 5'1 and it goes short enough for me.

The seat is wide. Since I was not used to exercising the seat still felt uncomfortable but as time goes on it is feeling better. I have a wide back end too.

The bike is compact and doesn't take up alot of space. I have mine in the living room next to the couch.

It offers pre-programed workouts.

Heartrate monitor built in.

It is quiet. I can watch tv and ride.

Price for a stationary bike it is considered inexpensive.

Easy to put together. I assembled it myself without any help from my husband. My son did have to help hold the bike so I could put the cables together.

Cons:

Honestly, I can't think of any.

UPDATE TO ORIGINAL REVIEW March 2, 2010

I would like to update my review to FOUR STARS.
FIVE STARS for the bike and ONE STAR for customer service.

When I received the bike, it was during one of the snow storms.
During shipment, the bike was probably in the cold and damp surroundings.

Now the bike and electronics are WORKING GREAT ...
I suspect the electronics was sensitive to the damp and cold (just guessing)

Also there was a plastic layer over the sensing pads on the handle bar.
Not clear plastic (I'm not that stupid)...it appeared to be part of the sensor.

Bottom Line is the bike works great.
Solidly built and quiet.
Resistance variation adjustment works great.

And most importantly for a correction...The pulse rate detection
is very, very accurate ... right on.

The sensor was working before I removed the plastic coating, so I really believe
the trick is to NOT JUMP TO CONCLUSION ... wait a week for sensor to adapt.

BTW, "jumping to conclusions" and "pressing my luck" was the only exercise
I had before receiving the bike Sorry for misleading with my original review.
But CUSTOMER SERVICE has still not gotten back to me.
Someone should let cust serv know that weather may affect the sensors and THEY could
have told me to wait a week to see what happens.


ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW:
The bike seems very solid and well built.

The problem is the Electronics and Customer Service

1. Customer Service is non-existant.
I went to the web site and left them a question over a week ago and I have not heard back from them.

2. The pulse rate detection portion is intermittent (for more than one user)
In the brief period of time that it is working, the numbers are way off.
The bike reading is 105 pulses per minute and on a medical device that I have the actual reading is 85.

3. The electronic panel data displays numbers/readings across the bottom of the panel and they
do not ALIGN with the silkscreen lettering. It's hard to tell what the numbers represent.

If I had to do it over again, I would have purchased a bike WITHOUT the worthless electonic panel for $50 less
Maybe even a Stamina ... solidly built but then again NO CUSTOMER SERVICE.

By the way, yes the medical device is accurate and there is more than one of them all reading the same result