Before You Buy an Exercise Bike

Choosing the best exercise bike for your personal goals is crucial. Exercise bikes can improve cardiovascular fitness, tone muscles and burn fat. So how to choose the best exercise bike for you? Start by selecting your fitness goal.

We have a team on the phones during business hours ready to provide customer service or personal training advice. If this page doesn’t help you find your perfect exercise bike please do get in touch and we’ll be happy to help.

Best Exercise Bike for Weight Loss

Most upright exercise bikes come with workout programmes specifically designed to help you burn fat and lose weight. The programmes will help you to stay motivated and will display your progress throughout your workout. If your budget can stretch to an upright exercise bike with a heart rate chest strap it’ll enhance your training experience and help you to burn fat more efficiently.

Check out our exercise bike workouts to help give your new fitness regime a great head start.

Upright exercise bikes are also one of the smallest types of home gym equipment. So if you are short of space these are probably the best place to start.

We think that the best exercise bikes for weight loss should have these features:

• A good range of exercise programmes that include interval training.
• Polar or heart rate chest strap. This will allow you to exercise more efficiently.
• Clear warranties, returns policies and independent reviews.
• A comfortable, padded, seat.
• A large flywheel will provide a smooth ride.
• Electro magnetic resistance.
• A high maximum user weight. Your weight may be comfortably within the user weight guidelines but they also indicate the build quality of the machine.

Best Exercise Bike For Event Training

If you are training for a cycling event these bikes will provide you with the best alternative to cycling outdoors. Don’t let the British weather put you off your training plans. Indoor cycling bikes allow you use a racing style posture and are great for sprint, interval or endurance training.

These bikes are also used in gym classes or ‘Spin®’ style training classes. A Spin® bike is the name of an indoor cycle bike brand. These classes are generally high intensity and use a mixture of resistance and changing seat positions to ensure your workout is challenging and improves your fitness quickly.

These indoor cycling bikes have a broad range of resistance and heavy fly wheels. The seat and handle bars should be fully adjustable to offer all users a comfortable riding position. We think that the best indoor training or ‘Spin®’ bikes have these features:

• These bikes rely on a large fly wheel size (minimum 20kg) to provide a smooth ride.
• Emergency stop breaking feature.
• Clear warranties, returns policies and independent reviews.
• No creaks or squeaks. These bikes should be made of high grade steel and have a large footprint for stability.
• Fully adjustable saddle and handle bar positions.
• A high maximum user weight. Your weight may be comfortably within the user weight guidelines but they also indicate the build quality of the machine.

Best Exercise Bike For Low Impact Workouts

Recumbent exercise bikes provide the best low impact workout. The seat offers full back support and encourages a better posture than upright or training bikes. This is better for the long term health of the lower back (lumbar spine).

Your knees and ankles also have much less weight exerted onto them with a recumbent cycling position. This means they are less likely to be strained or injured than other forms of exercise.

Recumbent bikes are also thought to be more comfortable because of the wider seat…no need for padded lycra shorts!

The best recumbent exercise bikes should all have these features:

• A large padded seat which is fully adjustable.
• A good range of exercise programmes that include interval training. Polar or heart rate chest strap. This will allow you to exercise more efficiently.
• Clear warranties, returns policies and independent reviews.
• No creaks or squeaks. These bikes should be made of high grade steel and have a large footprint for stability.
• If you are looking for a bike for an elderly or unstable user make sure it has an easy step through feature and handles for support.
• Electro magnetic resistance.
• A high maximum user weight. Your weight may be comfortably within the user weight guidelines but they also indicate the build quality of the machine.

Types of exercise bike

Upright Exercise Bike

Also referred to as a static exercise bike, this is the most common type of home fitness equipment. The position when exercising is similar to a regular shopper bicycle. Upright exercise bikes are frequently the cheapest type of bike to buy for the home and are a great entry level option for anyone who doesn’t regularly exercise. An upright bike is also the best option if you are looking for a compact exercise bike. They are an excellent low-impact option that will improve muscle tone and strengthen your legs and also provide a great cardio workout. We offer two upright exercise bikes: the JTX Cyclo-Go and the JTX Cyclo 5.

Recumbent Exercise Bike

These bikes provide a similar type of workout to the upright exercise bike but allow you to sit in a position which supports the back. The choice between an upright or recumbent exercise bike normally centres on exercising comfort – recumbent seats resemble a chair rather than a saddle. People who are recovering from knee or back injuries also seem to benefit from a recumbent rather than upright bike. The focus of the exercise tends to be slightly more on the glutes (bottom) and has slightly more impact on the lower stomach muscles compared to an upright exercise bike. For a solid, stable and feature-packed recumbent bike, check out our Cyclo 5 Recumbent Bike.

Combination Or Hybrid Exercise Bikes

These are a combination of upright and recumbent bikes to suit the whole family. With a combination or 2 in 1 exercise bike you have the ability to work a broader range of leg and lower abdominal muscles and varying your exercise position can be better for your back and posture. They are good for an introduction to exercise, but not advisable if you want to really put your fitness to the test.

Spinning®, Racing Or Indoor Training Cycles

If you regularly cycle to work or are training for an event, we highly recommend buying a training bike, very similar to those used in Spinning® classes. They have a greater range of resistance levels compared to the traditional exercise bike, which simulates the gears and hills when using a road bike outdoors. These home training bikes are great for more vigorous workouts and training. The saddle is generally as high as the handle bars and the flywheel is open. For a gym quality trainin bike see the JTX Cyclo 6 and JTX Cyclo Studio Indoor Training Bikes.

Self-Powered Exercise Bikes

No external power sources are needed for these bikes. This means you don’t have to worry about placing the bike near a socket or about getting tangled up in wires. They can go anywhere inside your home. The generator inside the machine produces all the power needed for the bike to run. These bikes are generally more expensive than their mains powered counterparts due to the advanced power system. If you are looking for a self-powered exercise bike the Cyclo 5 Recumbent Bike and the JTX Cyclo 5 upright bike have self powered upgrade options.