Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

2020 just doesn't come any easier… First, you have the coronavirus pandemic, then now you have all these wildfires that are essentially making the air in the environment hazardous to breathe. Although I live in a bicycle-friendly town and that was my primary method of exercise, the outside environment simply is not conducive to such strenuous activities outdoors at the moment. I didn't want to spend too much money on a treadmill and wanted something that resembles what I have been pretty much doing outside without breathing in all that smoky air outside. I also wanted something that is relatively compact so I can put this in the living room without it taking too much space. This looked like a good option without burning a hole in my wallet. The whole thing came in a large package via FedEx. It was almost 90lbs and I could barely lift or drag it whereas the FedEx driver just lifted it to my door without any issues (I guess I am really out of shape… haha). The large package was somewhat intimidating at first, but once you take it out you notice that many of the parts are already pre-assembled! All the tools required for assembly (wrenches, drivers, etc) are included in the package. It took me about 35 minutes to put everything together, which is definitely not bad for something this large. Compared to an actual bike that has multiple gears, the resistance of this exercise bike is controlled by a resistance knob. This gives you more granular control over the resistance level on a continuum versus shifting between levels. Since there aren't any slopes or inclines for an exercise bike, I found that I tend to turn the knob too high and be tired out after 7-8 mins, whereas on a real bike I could probably go for 20+ minutes without issues. After using the bike a few times, I do find that varying the knob over time emulates the effort I am doing on a real bike more accurately. I have been using this for about two weeks now, and here is a summary of what I observed while working with and using the bike: * The heart rate monitor works well as long as both hands are firmly gripping four contacts. The reading generally stabilizes around 20-30 seconds. * Unlike an elliptical machine where your hands are on the handles all the time, the phone/tablet holder on the bike allows you to operate your phone/tablet while exercising, which is a good feature since you can watch a movie on some Bluetooth buds while you are exercising, or even take a conference call if you really wanted to. You may want to consider a fan or something at the same time since you would be sweating quite a bit (esp on higher resistance levels). * The bike does not have hand brakes for slowing down the pedals, and the braking is done by applying pressure downward (i.e. pushing) on the resistance knob (or simply allowing resistance to stop the bike naturally while biking). Unless you are biking at a rapid pace, generally the brake button does not need to be used since the bike is not going anywhere and there are no obstructions that you will need to stop for. * The package comes with a splitter cable that is only used for the app. It allows you to use the headphones at the same time while measuring your speeds at the same time. When the app is not being used, the sensor cable is plugged directly into the jack behind the LCD screen. Plugging in the sensor cable through the splitter cable to the LCD panel will cause zeros to be displayed on the screen, and vice versa. * The battery compartment for the display is behind the LCD panel, and you will need to take off the screws that the panel is attached to in the back to access the compartment. * The app that you can download has virtual games that you can participate in based on the sensor cable readings from the device. I personally think this is quite cool, even though all units are done in kilometers instead of miles per hour (not really that big of a deal though since you are not really going anywhere with that data - the LCD panel uses the miles standard instead of kilometers). For me personally, I have been watching webcasts while biking since that has been the most productive for me. * The bike comes with "bear trap teeth" style pedals that are suited for use with shoes. If you live in a shoe-free indoor environment, it may be more convenient to replace these pedals with a flat pedal without pins or teeth. The pedal uses a standard 13mm (9/16") thread and can be removed using the enclosed 15mm wrench. Using a flat pedal without teeth will also reduce the risk of injury if you slip away from the pedals and ended up biking too quickly. However, as mentioned previously, the resistance knob can be used to increase the resistance to reduce speed so that the pedals do not end up spinning out of control. * If the bike seat wobbles or moves when it is being used, it is probably because the bolt was not secured enough. Using a 13mm socket wrench or ratchet should allow you to secure this with ease compared to the enclosed hand wrench. * If you have multiple family members using the bike, it is possibly best to adjust the seat height to the lowest position that works for everyone since readjusting the seat height requires you to pull the knob out all the way and back in after the adjustment is made. Overall, I am very happy with this bike and I think it is priced very reasonably for a large appliance such as this. I will provide an update to this review if I experience any issues with this bike in the future.