The Best Recumbent Exercise Bike
Our Top Pick for 2019: Diamondback 510SR Fitness Recumbent Bike
Amazon
Getting into the swing of working out can be difficult no matter your age or health situation. Having your own equipment in your home can be a great motivation to get started in the morning. Instead of being able to rely on excuses like traffic and having to drive to the gym at ungodly hours of the morning, having your own recumbent bike in your basement will encourage you to get up and out of bed and start off your morning with a great workout. Recumbent bikes are also a wonderful way to sit down and do a little bit of work before you start your day.
Let’s Have a Quick Look of Our Top 4 Picks:
#1. Diamondback 510SR Fitness Recumbent Bike
View it on Amazon: -*
*Price typically updated every 24 hours. Current price may be different.
Our first machine is by Diamondback and is sure to put a little bit of spunk in your step when you sit down to use this bike every day. Overall this machine has some of the best reviews a recumbent bike has featured on Amazon and a variety of other sites. Often, when using a recumbent bike, all of the design features focus on the workout the bike will give you as opposed to the comfort level of the bike. While having a great workout definitely the most important part of this purchase, the more comfortable you are while using the bike, the more likely you are to continue use and stay on for longer workouts.
Some recumbent bikes feature a bike seat on the frame of the bike, which can sometimes give you the feeling of authenticity, but can also cause pain issues. Bike seats are notoriously uncomfortable to use, and won’t contribute to your workout. With this bike, it features a large mesh seat accompanied by a mesh back for ultimate comfortability. The smooth sleek lines featured on the bike are very aesthetically pleasing, but also lead to creating a more comfortable workout for you. Alleviating the pressure points on your bottom and back will reduce the uncomfortable tension it can cause while working out, as well as the pain issues an uncomfortable seat can cause after your workout. For anybody who is currently recovering from injuries or chronic pain, this is a great machine to get back in shape without pushing yourself over the edge. Since this bike can provide a low impact workout, you can continue to train during your pregnancy in addition to joint or injury issues.
In regards to your workout with this bike, it is easy to say that no matter what your height and weight are you can have a great workout. The seat can adjust for a wide variety of different heights based on your preference. In terms of functionality, this stationary bike will give you all of the necessary adjustments for both the fore and aft saddle position, vertical back and lumbar settings in addition to the adjustable console. For your feet, there is a wide adjustable toe strap on both of the pedals to keep you comfortably touching the pedals for the duration of your workout. This is one of the many reasons the bike is great for both newbies and seasoned athletes.
There are 20 different workout programs to choose from so you can adjust your workout based on what you want to do that day and what you feel like. This is also a great feature for switching up your routine to avoid boredom. It is also ridiculously easy to alter your resistance levels due to the QuickSet program keys that you can access through the main menu on the LCD screen in a few seconds. If you get tired of one level, there are many different levels of resistance that can challenge even the most seasoned of athletes. Mounted to the bike is a cooling fan as well as a bottle holder so you don’t have to worry about tipping the bike over when you reach down to grab some water from the floor. The cooling fan is relatively strong as well to keep you comfortable during your workout and make sure you don’t get interrupted for any reason.
In regards to advanced features, this recumbent bike doesn’t lack anything there. You know that feeling when you’re all geared up and ready to go with all of your workout gear on and you put in your headphones ready to get a hot beat going to keep you pumped up. Then you glace up at your battery and realize that you are at a whopping 5% and wouldn’t even be able to get through one song with it. It’s at this point that you can either sacrifice music and struggle through your workout without it, or you can wait for it to charge and slowly lose your energetic spirt that got you going to work out in the first place. If you do decide to purchase this recumbent bike, you won’t ever have to go through a situation like that again. Featuring a USB charger for your phone you can listen to all the music you want without having to worry about your battery dying. There is also music player support and speakers if you want to listen to your music out loud.
Speaking of the screen, this is outfitted with a large display console that features a bright, easy to read, backlit LCD screen. When you work out, it will track your vital statistics in real time so you can pay attention to your heart rate if you plan to work out at a certain level. During the duration of your workout, this machine will track your speed, distance, heart rate and burned calories among other statistics to help you see your progress. However, the bike cannot save your statistics so if for any reason you wanted to keep track, it would be necessary to keep your own athletic diary. If for any reason you have an issue with the bike, it does have a lifetime warranty as well as a three-year warranty on the electronic components and the mechanical parts. Available on Amazon for a total of $799, this would be a wonderful addition to your home exercise routine.
#2. Schwinn 270 Recumbent Bike
View it on Amazon: -*
*Price typically updated every 24 hours. Current price may be different.
With all things considered, this might just become the best part of your daily training routine. If you thought that the other seat sounded comfortable, than this one is going to sound like absolute heaven to you. The bottom part of the seat itself is gigantic and very cushy. Even if you’re somebody who has a bony butt and can’t sit down for too long without losing all feeling, this is going to be wonderful for all shapes and sizes. The back part of the seat has a thick back padding as well to give you additional added comfort so as not to detract from the comfort of your exercise. The seat as a whole can be adjusted for a variety of different postures you may want to assume which is helpful if more than one person will be using the seat. As with most things, one size does not fit all. The back seat is also vented with a thick mesh to keep you cool and dry during the whole workout. There’s even a built in fan on the back to add additional comfort for the duration of your time.
There are a total of 29 different programs you can run on this model alone. The previous model had 20 different programs, which in itself is quite a bit, but this can offer you 9 additional ones. It manages to pack all of those programs in with tests, heart rate controls and user profiles for different people. All you have to do is select what user you are and you’re on your way to constantly tracking your progress. A grand total of 25 different resistance levels will allow you to take it easy or challenge yourself depending on what you feel like. Again, the top resistance levels will be able to challenge even the most seasoned of athletes.
The on screen monitor features 13 statistical parameters that are split into two columns for your added convenience. One of the columns will display the results of your current workout session while the other one is able to track the progress of your overall workout goal. The first time you use this bike, just input what your goals and parameters are and this recumbent bike will be able to track the progress you are making and how close you are to your current goals. This monitor forgoes all of the old fashioned knobs that are used for changing resistance levels and other optional features. Now this one is entirely digital so all you have to do when you want to change things up is press a button on the screen and you are all set to move towards progress. Interestingly enough, you can transfer the results of your workout onto a USB drive to store on your computer or other programs such as MyFitnessPal or Schwinn Connect. Since the LCD screen doesn’t not use batteries and instead plugs into the wall, you won’t have to be concerned about it running of energy like some other machines do. The USB charging cable is also included on this model as well.
Equipped with many other features, the recumbent has a water bottle holder and acoustic chamber speakers so you don’t have to limit yourself to listening to your music through headphones that seem to always get tangled up. With transport wheels, you can move it from one room to another easily without struggling to find someone to come over and help you move it.
A heart rate monitor comes in addition to all the other fancy bells and whistles if you choose to hold only the hand grips to measure where your heart rate it at. If the idea of using hand grips isn’t your favorite idea, it is possible to purchase a separate chest strap to wear when you ride the bike. If this sounds like your idea of a good time, this bike can be purchased on Amazon for $455.
#3. Nautilus R614 Recumbent Bike
View it on Amazon: -*
*Price typically updated every 24 hours. Current price may be different.
This bike as a whole is the lower priced version of the R515, but can still offer you a wide variety of different workout programs and options that will increase the enjoyment and intensity of your workout. So far this is the only bike on our list that has a low frame profile and walk through design for easier access. Comparable to a step through frame on a bike, you won’t have to do any hops or jumps to actually get on the thing. This is ideally suited for those who are looking for a low impact but high intensity workout that will really get your heart rate up.
As for the most important part of this exercise bike, the actual workout will give you a run for your money. If you are looking for great improvements and making literal strides in your progress, variation is one of the most important things to keep in mind when you work out. The more you switch up your routine, the better the workout you’ll receive. Because of muscle adaptation your body will naturally become more efficient when you perform an exercise frequently. Nautilus has created better suited programs that are set to your exact fitness goals. With these, they are all grouped into five different categories including; fun rides, mountains, challenges, heart rate control and fitness tests.
If you are interested to figure out what the fun rides are, they can be compared to a collection of lower intensity programs that offer less variation with resistance levels and a focus on steady cardio. Whether or not this is your idea of fun, it is ideal for people who are starting a new fitness routine. As for mountains, it is what you think it is. The program will offer greater variation on resistance levels with a variety of different levels of intensity. Within this program are different “mountains” you can climb. Challenges will offer you the highest intensity workouts you can find on this bike, and truly does withhold its name as a challenge. Moving on to the heart rate control, you can set a target heart rate for yourself prior to starting the workout and this program will automatically adjust to keep your heart rate right where you want it to be. With this one, you of course have to be holding on to the sensors or wearing the chest belt to monitor your heart rate. Finally, the fitness tests will monitor your constant progress with fitness apps such as FitBit so you can choose your own fitness test.
If you know that more than one person will be using your fitness bike, you don’t have to worry about losing all of your data or having your settings changed. The Nautilus bike gives you four different user profiles to choose from so everyone can keep track of their unique workout. You can keep track of your personal information including your weight and age so the bike can use calculations to make your workout feedback more accurate. With four user profiles, you can start to get the whole family involved in exercising and even making it a little more fun by turning it into a game.
Looking at the display console can be a tad bit intimidating at first since there are a ton of different features that turn it into a high tech design, but once you play with the buttons a few times, it’s relatively simple to figure out. There is a media shelf included on the design so you can position a smart phone to watch videos while you work out. You also have 2 backlit LCD screens to keep track of feedback such as time and distance using the lower display.
Overall with an ergonomic design that will keep you conformable and cool while you sweat it out, this is a wonderful mid-range bike to add to your home. If you are interested in purchasing this recumbent bike, it is available on Amazon for $379.99.
#4. Exerpeutic 400XL Folding Recumbent Bike
View it on Amazon: $148.98*
*Price typically updated every 24 hours. Current price may be different.
Expensive does not always mean better and this bike can offer you a wonderful workout for a fraction of the price that some others can. One of the most amazing features about this bike is that if you are hard pressed for space, this can be folded up and put out of sight when it isn’t being used. The bike as a whole only weighs 39 pounds meaning that every member of the family will be able to set it up and put it back away. So the kids definitely don’t have an excuse on this one. Since it does fold up it isn’t so much a recumbent bike, but a semi-recumbent bike as the pedal isn’t completely in front but is still positioned below you. Keep this in mind if sounds like something you wouldn’t like.
It may not have as many levels of resistance as the previous bike, but it will offer you 8 which is wonderful if you aren’t a serious athlete, but instead want to dabble around in the exercise field. The highest level is still quite hard though, so don’t let the low number fool you. This bike may not come with the fancy high-tech LCD screen some of the others do, so you will have to manually adjust the resistance via an adjustment knob that is placed just below the console. Overall this is a very sturdy bike and has a padded seat for extra comfort to cater to people ranging from 5’2” to 6’2”. The maximum user weight however is 300 pounds, but considering how light the machine itself is this is a hefty weight. It also offers you a quiet workout so you can watch a television show without drowning it out, or you won’t make too much racket for the rest of the members in your household if you tend to be an early riser.
The crank system gives you smooth and constant pedaling due to the high-torque. The pedals themselves are quite a bit larger than other bikes so you can get a great grip and stay on there. The safety straps are also added to provide you additional support and comfort. A single number display is able to keep track of your workout data as you go through the exercise. It isn’t a touch screen and can only show you one statistic at a time, but it does get the job done. This simplistic yet powerful machine can be purchased on Amazon for a grand total of $149.00.
Pre-purchase considerations
What is your budget?
Exercising is an important part of your life, and it is truly a way to invest in your future. However, it isn’t necessary to spend excessive amounts of your hard earned money on a machine that only serves its basic use. If you are a seasoned athlete who wants to build a wonderful full time home gym, you can definitely go big and go home on this list. However, if you just want to get some pedaling for the day in, there’s also a less expensive option on this list for you.
Does it work with your exercise routine?
Each of the above options has different available features and extras that may appeal to some people but not others. If you have a very specific routine that you want to stick to, keep in mind what that routine is before you purchase a bike as it may not come with the necessary programs that you need. If you want to branch out and purchase something that will offer you a ton of variety, there is also a recumbent bike here that will let you do that.
How many people will be using this recumbent bike?
If you’re the only athlete in the household, you will be able to purchase a bike that appeals to your exercise style alone. One the flip side, if you have a very athletic family then you want to keep in mind what their workout routine is. Also look at how many users can be programmed into the machine at once so you don’t have to be worried about constantly losing your data.
How important are the bells and whistles to you?
Simplicity can be a blessing and a curse depending on a variety of different factors. If you just can’t get enough of technology and you can connect it with your other tech gadgets, why not spring for the one with two different LCD screens? It could improve your workout by giving you the ability to track what you are doing. If you prefer to just get on the bike and go, the final choice offers you a relatively simple readout that will tell you what you need without too many buttons and knobs to figure out.
Conclusion (Wrapping it up)
All in all, getting into shape can offer you a lifetime of happiness and feeling good about yourself. Whatever machine you choose here will get you into the best shape of your life. The only decision you need to make is what options are right for you in your personal life.