Platform Pedal Bike

Platform Pedal Bike

Recumbent Exercise Bike -- 5 Tips For Choosing

Recumbent exercise bike models vary greatly in both features as well as price. Spend too little and you may well waste your money. Spend too much and the benefits you receive may not really be worth the price. Here are 5 tips for getting a good value at whatever price point you decide to look at...

No Rock And Roll

A stable platform is a must for workouts. What's that mean? Your bike must be heavy enough and constructed properly so as you ride the bike does not rock, sway and roll. Firstly, a bike that moves around as you pedal does not encourage hard workouts. Of course, the more you ride and the harder you ride, the better results you get.

Secondly, bikes that move around while you ride tend to begin to develop loose connections and to break pieces. As joints loosen and parts break, the moving gets worse and it all just cascades as the bike slowly comes apart.

Cheap bikes often do just that, come apart. Number one for a great bike is solid construction.

The Seat's The Thing

A main advantage with recumbents is comfort. Get a bike noted for a comfortable seating position along with a quality seat. One way to find out about this is to actually spend time on the bike you are considering. An almost as good method is to check out consumer reviews. Fortunately, several bike models are reviewed by many owners on the Internet and you can often read dozens of owner reviews and often you can see patterns develop since rider impressions are often similar.

Drive In Quiet

Another real plus to most recumbent is the low noise level. That results from the magnetic drive on most bikes which is virtually silent. That quiet opens up many possibilities. You can watch movies as you pedal or read or even listen to music. By doing other things as you ride, you can reduce the boredom factor which has stopped many an exercise bike workout program.

Electronic Workouts?

Another plus to better recumbents comes with the computer power built into the machines. Electronic drives teamed with computer power produces ability to simulate real-world workouts right at home. The resistance level variations programmable or already programmed in the machines lets you ride much like you would on the road. Again, boredom fighters keep you in the saddle actually benefiting from owning the machine.

Warranty Means More Than You Think

Electronics is central to the function of most recumbent bikes. Electronic failures are not usually fixable at home and are only fixable at high cost. That's why the warranty with the machine is a major factor with recumbents. Death of the computer means the machine is not usable, so check out the warranty on these. It's key.

Recumbent exercise bike use becomes much more likely if the machine possesses certain qualities. Often the cost to get a very useful bike is not really all that high. Get the right features though or you may be wasting all the money you spend.

About the Author

Al Bullington has been riding the same Schwinn exercise bike for twenty years. Get more details about the Schwinn 231 Recumbent exercise bike at another of our articles.

Get our free review of the different Schwinn exercise bikes at our website: http://ExerciseBikeFitness.com.

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