What is the best home exercise bike?
So you’re looking for a home exercise bike? Well you’ve come to the right place. Whether you’re into spinning classes, road biking or just looking for a way to workout at home and lose some weight through effective cardio workouts, choosing the right stationary bike for your needs can be daunting.
But here we’re going to assess the best options for indoor cycling on the market and help you to choose the right bike for you (and your budget).
Our top all around exercise bike pick for those in a rush
The UREVO 10kg Flywheel Indoor Exercise Bike is great for home use with a 260LBS Weight Capacity. It has a comfortable seat, great HD screen and multiple exercise options and serves as a combo between an upright and spin bike
What are the different types of exercise bike?
Effectively there are 4 different types of stationary bike (ignoring converting a road bike through the use of a turbo trainer). Which type would be best for you, depends on your purpose of use.
The 4 different types are;
- Upright stationary bikes – usually the first bike people think of when thinking of a home exercise bike, resemble regular outdoor bikes, are easy to operate and comfortable
- Recumbent stationary bikes – a laid back seat design without handlebars, more so for comfort than strenuous activity
- Dual action stationary bikes – think of it as a cross trainer meets bike, giving a wider range of workout for both lower and upper body
- Interactive stationary or spin bikes – more realistic action often with screens fitted to mimic road use, used for spin classes and higher intensity activities
So now we’ve covered off the different types of bike, let’s look at what the best options are for each and why.
Best Upright Stationary Bike
When looking for the best upright stationary bike, essentially what we’re looking for is for it to be sturdy, comfortable, cost effective and offer a range of exercise programmes to suit your needs.
With that in mind, here’s our top picks;
Best Budget Upright Stationary Bike
Best Overall Upright Stationary Bike
The JTX Cyclo-5 is more expensive than many counterparts, but what it lacks in affordabilitity it more than makes up for in features.
With each purchase they also offer a free personalised training plan, which for those looking to commit and make a change is definitely not a bad thing. Take a look at the full feature list;
- Cushion Seat + Fully Adjustable
- 17kg Flywheel, 16 Resistance Levels
- 19 Programs + Design Your Own
- Kinomap app connectivity
- Heart Rate Training
- Self-generating power option available
- Suitable For All User Heights
What’s not to like?
Best Recumbent Stationary Bike
Whilst we wouldn’t automatically opt for a recumbent bike, if you’re looking for something lower impact this option from HOMCOM is definitely right up your street.
It’s cost effective, has a great screen and range of exercise options and is the top rated on Amazon!
Take a look;
Best dual action bike
The main benefit of a dual action bike is to utilise more muscle groups and increase output through using your arms and in effect core and back alongside your legs during your workout.
The calorie output on a bike is higher and can be more effective in expenditure targets to create a deficit for weight loss.
But what is the best dual action bike on the market?
Well our budget choice is the SportPlus Air Bike, a simplistic assault bike that has dual action but less of the frills of more expensive versions, you can find it here;
However our best overall pick without question is the JTX Mission Air Bike. It’s not cheap, but more than makes up for it with incredible features including 8 different training programmes!
Best Spin Bike
Spin classes are all the rage and whilst options like a Peloton bike are great if you have the budget with hd touchscreens and built in screens for your home workout, there are some great peloton alternatives that give realistic rides and live and on demand app features for you to get the most out of your workouts.
But what would our choice be?
Well, when choosing a spin bike, we’re looking for comfortability, features, size for storage and ultimately price.
Our best budget option and it really is budget, is from Sunny health and comes in at just over £100. Meaning, you can get all the needs of a spin bike, follow along with classes and get a sweat on at home, for a budget.
But, if we’re picking the best option on the market, we’re going for the JTX Cyclo Studio. It’s a full commercial spec piece of kit, incredibly stable, has a training computer and a mount for your phone or tablet to track on Strava or other apps like Peloton. It really is a best in class machine.
So there you have it, our picks for the top exercise bikes in the UK. Have any suggestions for us to try out? Then why not leave a comment and share yours!
