Exercise Bikes

Mai-Kero

So, traditionally speaking, I know these are generally a waste of time and money compared to more effective forms of exercise, but I've got a fairly specific situation where I think it will actually benefit me. I have a tablet, and I enjoy reading comics, but I never have time in the day to read them because there are a million other things that occupy my attention. With Old Republic coming out to replace Skyrim, any free entertainment time I have will probably be spent on my computer. I figure if I get an exercise bike, I can commit 30-60 minutes per day actually doing something for my body, and reading at the same time. I'll be able to work through my massive back-catalog, and feel slightly less lazy while doing so.

I have two questions, though:

1) For someone who is intensely sedentary, riding an exercise bike for 30-60 minutes enthusiastically will at least do something for me, right? I'll be raising my heart rate if nothing else, which I believe is a good thing, generally speaking.

2) I've got a few choices on Amazon that are all balls-cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Marcy-ME709-Recumbent-Mag-Cycle/dp/B002KV1MJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Marcy-ME708-Upright-Mag-Cycle/dp/B002KV383S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-1300-Magnetic-Resistance-Upright/dp/B001ICNNOY/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-12
http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-4825-Magnetic-Resistance-Recumbent/dp/B001I8A1Z2/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-13

Or if not balls-cheap, at least they have a hefty percentage off.

What would be more beneficial, a stationary upright bike, or a recumbent? Is there any advantage to magnetic resistance, or is that standard on all bikes?

taliosfalcon

1. I dropped from 340 to 180 LB in a year and a half doing nothing but using a stationary bike for 30-60 minutes a day so i'd say it'll definitely do something.

2.ehh...honestly in that price range nothing is going to be great, i'd be very surprised if there's much difference between any of them, pretty much everything has magnetic resistance, you definitely do want it though as it makes things much smoother. Recumbant vs upright is down to personal preference, i find it eeasier to really get going and get my heart rate up on an upright but ymmv. you'd be best off hitting a gym or fitness store in person and trying each type out to see what works best for you.

Mai-Kero

taliosfalcon wrote:

1. I dropped from 340 to 180 LB in a year and a half doing nothing but using a stationary bike for 30-60 minutes a day so i'd say it'll definitely do something.

2.ehh...honestly in that price range nothing is going to be great, i'd be very surprised if there's much difference between any of them, pretty much everything has magnetic resistance, you definitely do want it though as it makes things much smoother. Recumbant vs upright is down to personal preference, i find it eeasier to really get going and get my heart rate up on an upright but ymmv. you'd be best off hitting a gym or fitness store in person and trying each type out to see what works best for you.

I am intrigued by your amount of weight loss. Did you adjust your diet, or was the only change you made really the bike?

taliosfalcon

Mai-Kero wrote:

taliosfalcon wrote:

1. I dropped from 340 to 180 LB in a year and a half doing nothing but using a stationary bike for 30-60 minutes a day so i'd say it'll definitely do something.

2.ehh...honestly in that price range nothing is going to be great, i'd be very surprised if there's much difference between any of them, pretty much everything has magnetic resistance, you definitely do want it though as it makes things much smoother. Recumbant vs upright is down to personal preference, i find it eeasier to really get going and get my heart rate up on an upright but ymmv. you'd be best off hitting a gym or fitness store in person and trying each type out to see what works best for you.

I am intrigued by your amount of weight loss. Did you adjust your diet, or was the only change you made really the bike?

Just the bike, some days when I have nothing else to do mostly on weekends etc. I'll do 3 or 4 hours instead of 1 though, usually while playing 360 or something. Although when I started I literally could not do more than 15-20 minutes so it took me like 2 months to be able to do more than half an hour.

Donovan Puppyfucker

Mai-Kero wrote:

So, traditionally speaking, I know these are generally a waste of time and money compared to more effective forms of exercise, but I've got a fairly specific situation where I think it will actually benefit me. I have a tablet, and I enjoy reading comics, but I never have time in the day to read them because there are a million other things that occupy my attention. With Old Republic coming out to replace Skyrim, any free entertainment time I have will probably be spent on my computer. I figure if I get an exercise bike, I can commit 30-60 minutes per day actually doing something for my body, and reading at the same time. I'll be able to work through my massive back-catalog, and feel slightly less lazy while doing so.

I have two questions, though:

1) For someone who is intensely sedentary, riding an exercise bike for 30-60 minutes enthusiastically will at least do something for me, right? I'll be raising my heart rate if nothing else, which I believe is a good thing, generally speaking.

2) I've got a few choices on Amazon that are all balls-cheap.

http://www.amazon.com/Marcy-ME709-Recumbent-Mag-Cycle/dp/B002KV1MJU/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-1
http://www.amazon.com/Marcy-ME708-Upright-Mag-Cycle/dp/B002KV383S/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-3
http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-1300-Magnetic-Resistance-Upright/dp/B001ICNNOY/ref=sr_1_12?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-12
http://www.amazon.com/Stamina-4825-Magnetic-Resistance-Recumbent/dp/B001I8A1Z2/ref=sr_1_13?ie=UTF8&qid=1323840190&sr=8-13

Or if not balls-cheap, at least they have a hefty percentage off.

What would be more beneficial, a stationary upright bike, or a recumbent? Is there any advantage to magnetic resistance, or is that standard on all bikes?

Uprights are generally cheaper. And if you really bust your arse when you ride, weight will drop off you. Especially if you do 45 minutes to an hour every day.

bowen

Get the recumbent. Upright exercise bikes are notoriously terrible unless you're dropping like $400 on them. Not terrible quality, but just terrible on your assbones. So much easier to keep yourself entertained on a recumbent too, like if you want to grab a controller and bust out some ps3 or something.

illig

Rather than getting an inexpensive new one, look for a used bike on Craigslist or in the classifieds. You'll get a much better machine than the cheapies - and if it's comfortable, quiet, and well put together you'll be more likely to use it.

People sometimes literally toss equipment worth thousands or give it away for pennies b/c their grand plans of becoming home exercise mavens vanished.

We have an elliptical that was close to $1K new - we picked it up for $200 and only 2 years old and barely used from what i can see.

By 'we' I mean my wife

By 'elliptical' i mean a wet towel holder in the shape of an expensive elliptical machine b/c it's probably been used only twice in my house for its originally intended purpose

acidlacedpenguin

bowen wrote:

Get the recumbent. Upright exercise bikes are notoriously terrible unless you're dropping like $400 on them. Not terrible quality, but just terrible on your assbones. So much easier to keep yourself entertained on a recumbent too, like if you want to grab a controller and bust out some ps3 or something.

this. I can recline on the recumbent and really dig in to my pedaling and simultaneously play call of duty and then have about an hour fly by, on the upright my ass would be killing me after 30 minutes. That and balancing while cycling and concentrating on the game is just too many things to consider, for me one of them would always suffer (and that's usually the pedaling because lazy bastard).

You should also considering asking local gyms if they're willing to sell some equipment. If you're lucky and they're upgrading their stuff you could pick up a high quality bike for a great price.

bowen

I have to say $250 was better spent on 3 years of a gym membership than a bicycle.

Fairchild

If you can, I'd suggest trying both an upright and a recumbent during a visit to your local gym and decide then which is more comfortable for you. Personally I find the upright to feel more "natural" but the recumbent is easier on my backside.

If you don't exercise at all right now, any activity that increases your heartrate and aerobic level is a good idea. Don't expect to go from sedentary to Lance Armstrong in a couple of hours; you will need to build up your endurance so don't get discouraged when you don't see enormous improvement and weight loss right away. Keep plugging away, eventually the benefits will come.

I

Six

bowen wrote:

I have to say $250 was better spent on 3 years of a gym membership than a bicycle.

Around here, $250 gets you 2-3 months of a gym membership at best.

If you can get a gym membership for $7 a month, do it.

Kyougu

Not exercise bike, but treadmill helped me get into losing the weight that I had been trying to do for years.

Having it in my room where I could watch TV made it easier to do at first, not to mention that I would just roll out of bed and use it, so I didn't have much of any excuses.

So yeah, anything that can motivate you to start working out is a good investment.