Edit 5/27/23: I've had it for about a month now, I ride roughly 30 mins/7ish miles 3-4 days a week. Still whisper quiet, motion has either gotten better or I've gotten used to it, a good beginner bike cuz as the giant wall of words below says, the resistance here is not going to be for intermediate/advanced bikers. One thing to note if you aren't thinking about it, although this folds and can be stored, there are no wheels, so, you're either going to have to pick it up or drag it.
Original day 1 review starts here:
TL;DR: Good bike for the price, can't speak on durability, whisper quiet, meh seat, I'd recommend it based on ease of assembly/first ride on the bike.
I know what you're thinking, "Day one? I'm here to see if it'll last", and I totally get that, I'm just not able to give you that kind of a review yet. I will however update when I've had it for longer and have logged some more time with it, promise. Even if the $135 I spent on it wouldn't hurt my feelings too much if it broke within a year, I'd still be annoyed enough that it broke within a year that I'd have to tell someone other than my wife.
So, day one reactions to this machine. The box is labeled "heavy" and "team lift" but…take that for what you will since the box says Net Wt 31.68 lbs/Gr Wt 36.96 lbs, just, trying to be informative. The instructions also say you should use "two or more people (to) assemble this machine to avoid possible injury", again, take that for what you will. I assembled this machine by myself in roughly 40 minutes, with the most time spent unpacking it and threading the left pedal since it was being a punk (there's always one piece when you're assembling something). Assembly, even if you have little to no experience in assembling things, is really about as easy as it gets since the machine only has: the body, front stabilizer, rear stabilizer, seat post, seat, pedals, strap for pedals, and handlebars/display. Attach the stabilizers (feet) to the body, seat post where it looks like the seat goes, seat on the post, handlebars where they look like they should go, and pedals where they look like they should go, easy breezy.
Now, I wouldn't be posting a review if assembling it was all I did, that would be silly. Instead, I just took it for a 21 minute ride while watching an episode of "Darkwing Duck" so I could test it out. Now, this is the part of the review where I tell you a little bit about myself. I am 5'-11" (short legs) and weigh 225 lbs, I have a basement gym where I have a 6 day workout schedule which incorporates lifting, elliptical (more expensive than this bike), walking/jogging, and (kick)boxing. This is NOT my primary and/or only method of exercise, I bought this to supplement everything else since I am a remote worker and if I had a pedometer, my steps per day would be like…50. I also live in a state (NE) which has all four seasons so going outside for an afternoon walk all the time can be, annoying, like when it's 20 with 25mph winds or when it's 90 with 25 mph winds. I wanted something I could use to get some relaxed cardio in while watching TV and the wife also wanted it so, to the cart it went.
Now, for the performance part. I took it on a 21 minute ride and tested all of the resistance levels with 8 being the highest but….an 8 on this bike is more like a, 3 or 4 on a pricier bike, while a 1 is like riding downhill. I chose to chill at level 5 for a bit and then finish at level 4 for the last 8 or so minutes, a very relaxed resistance level for me since I'm a bit tired from my earlier exercising. The movement felt a bit jerky at first but it loosened up as the ride went on, and the bike is whisper quiet, it didn't make any noise…at all. I tested going fast (for me, got to 20+ on its Speed rating) and the bike still didn't make any noise, so, that's pretty sweet. Note to the reader here: our house is half tile/half carpet and I had the bike on the stone tile, not good old slippery linoleum tile (more prevalent in TX and other Southern states…so if you plan to put this on linoleum tile then take my review for what you will).
This bike also has no power cord and the display is powered by two AAA batteries (included). The display can tell you Speed, Distance, Time, and "Calories" (in quotes cuz, c'mon, that thing's not accurate, this machine doesn't know anything about you/your body composition so take this number with a truckload of salt). There is also a display setting called ODO which is your Odometer, which means it should track all of your workout miles logged until it gets to 9999, then it resets (based on the instructions). If you are first starting your fitness journey then I suppose this is a good way to set milestones for yourself and if you are first starting your fitness journey with this bike, I wish you the best of luck on your journey. The other option on the display is Scan, in which it will just go through all of the settings, just for fun. You can also choose to use the bike without the batteries since the resistance settings are manual, no problem.
Now, did this product with its 6,755 ratings really need my review? Absolutely not, but, just in case you're sorting reviews by "Newest" then, hello. I do that too so, yeah, don't worry, I got you. Random note: the instructions and several reviewers say the nuts/bolts are already supposed to be in the machine but, yeah, mine were not, they were separate except the screws used to attach the seat.
SPEAKING OF THE SEAT…this is where the 5 star became a 4. This seat, remember I was only on it for 21 minutes, is……….exactly what you'd expect from a budget bike. I can't criticize it TOO much (it's a budget priced bike) but I will more than likely be spending a little bit extra to get a seat cushion which would raise it up to about a $160 bike, so, food for thought.
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