Of all the exercise bikes I’ve tried and used at the gym, my favorite has to be the Schwinn recumbent exercise bike – in particular the Schwinn 231 recumbent exercise bike. It’s not the cheapest on the market, but you certainly get what you pay for.
The word recumbent simply means “lying down” – so effectively you’re in a near lying or reclined position when you’re exercising. This helps provide back support so is a good choice if you have any kind of back problems.
The Schwinn 231 recumbent exercise bike is extremely comfortable, very quiet, which makes a big difference if you’re going to be using it in a confined room at home, and it comes with a lot of very useful data monitors on the console.
Pretty much every schwinn recumbent exercise bike I looked at has several resistance levels and 5 or more preset workout programs. The 231 model comes with 10 programs and 10 separate profiles for added variety.
The workout stats it records include total elapsed time, interval break out time, current RPM (how fast you’re peddling) the power or wattage you’re generating (how hard you’re working), total distance traveled this ride and in total, calories burned and a pulse rate monitor. All of which are very handy to track and monitor your progress. The heart rate monitor is actually on the handlebars on a Schwinn recumbent bike.
If you’re looking for some kind of home exercise bike, you basically have 2 choices – the upright bike and the recumbent bike. Recumbent exercise bikes are much more comfortable than the upright equivalents, as they have a padded chair rather than a normal bike saddle.
As far as training ability goes, both types can help you improve your cardio health and fitness levels, but for me, the schwinn recumbent exercise bike is the style to go for. Most models in the Schwinn recumbent bike range are competitively priced, and offer great value for money. I’m not saying they’re cheap, as some are over $500, but for build quality, ease of use, and level of features they are hard to beat.
Schwinn also have a very good reputation in the industry, and a well established history or manufacturing rugged and reliable exercise equipment.
Whichever bike you decide on, you need to make sure it has all the features you want (like heart rate monitor, calories burned, average and current speed etc) and that it is sturdy and heavy enough not to move or wobble around as you’re using it. A schwinn recumbent exercise bike will more than likely offer everything you need – and then some.
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