Spin Bikes?

How much do I need to spend to get a not-E36 M3ty spin bike?
Recommended brands/models?

I checked with my local used sporting goods store, and they have these two: Valor AC2

Schwinn IC2

Things I want:

• Reliable
• Quiet
• Power measurement would be nice. I would like to be able to see improvement. I'm a bit of a data junky.
• A good seat, or the ability to switch the seat with a real bike seat. I'd like a seat as close to the seats on my 3 bikes as possible.

I'm in no rush, so if I can identify some good models to search CL for, that's great.

FWIW, I would rather not lose one of my bikes to a cycle trainer. I hate taking them on/off, don't want to deal with the tire wear, etc. If the price of a good spin bike is crazy enough I'd consider snagging a 4th bike to perma-fix to a good trainer, but leaning away from that.

Spin bike isn't anything like a bike on a trainer, unless your attaching a fixed gear to a trainer.

You want a stationary bike or exercise with a freewheel.

I don't care for the fixed flywheel workout as I don't think it replicates changing terrain very accurately.

I'm not sure I follow. The bikes I posted above freewheel (with resistance), just as the hub on the back of a bike would. I guess when I say "spin bike" that implies that it does not?

The Schwinn is listed as "direct drive gearing" whatever that means. When I think of "Spin Bike" I think of a fixie style pedals always moving style workout, which is annoying.

Ah, you're right. I'm pretty sure the first one freewheels though.

Yep, it says "coaster gears" which means a freewheel. Personally, I'd go with one of those. I've read that the freewheel exercise bikes typically are thought to be "easier" than a spin bike, but on a spinbike you actually cover more miles because that flywheel is keeping you moving.

On a freewheel bike, it might be easier to get up to speed, but as soon as you stop pedaling you'll need to build that momentum back up. This is great for intervals, where you sprint across the plateau, coast for a bit on the downhill, then have to crank back up the next hill. A common occurrence on an MTB.

This is a bit over the top but after a couple years with a cheap-o magnetic trainer, I sucked it up this year and bought a Wahoo KICKR. It reports power OR you can set a power level, which is really handy when working out in specific zones, especially if you have RPM targets at the same time. It has its own cassette (stock 10sp or swap in a 9, 11 optional) so no annoying tire wear issues (it pays for itself! ).

It has an open API for 3rd party apps. I do all my training with Cycleops Virtual Trainer. VT let's you virtually ride all over the world with full motion video - the app controls the resistance and you pedaling controls the video speed. The video is pretty slick but I mostly use VT to configure specific workouts ("ride 2min at 105% FTP, 30sec rest, repeat 5 times", that kind of thing) so I can just pedal while watching random videos.

If you want a spin bike and you are actually going to use it get a spinning NXT v2 or V4. They can be found used on Craigslist for 400-500$ give or take 2.5K new. I have thousands of "miles" on mine and it still in dead perfect condition even though I bought it used and it must have had thousands of hours on it then.

wearymicrobe wrote: If you want a spin bike and you are actually going to use it get a spinning NXT v2 or V4. They can be found used on Craigslist for 400-500$ give or take 2.5K new. I have thousands of "miles" on mine and it still in dead perfect condition even though I bought it used and it must have had thousands of hours on it then.

Thanks. I'll be on the lookout for one of these for sure. They list them as low as $1400 on Spinning.com. I like that the pedals are already SPDs. Does it have a computer/readout of any sort? Is there a way to add one?

I worked for an outdoor and bike shop that sold alot of the schwinn spinning bikes.

I spent MANY hours repairing those damn things. They are HEAVY. Most of the assembly hardware is not threaded correctly and the pedals like to strip out the crank threads. Other than that, they are okay.

Holy Hell that Wahoo trainer is expensive.

ProDarwin wrote:

wearymicrobe wrote: If you want a spin bike and you are actually going to use it get a spinning NXT v2 or V4. They can be found used on Craigslist for 400-500$ give or take 2.5K new. I have thousands of "miles" on mine and it still in dead perfect condition even though I bought it used and it must have had thousands of hours on it then.

Thanks. I'll be on the lookout for one of these for sure. They list them as low as $1400 on Spinning.com. I like that the pedals are already SPDs. Does it have a computer/readout of any sort? Is there a way to add one?

New ones come with a computer for watts generated and calories burned, distance that sort of thing out of the box. The older ones you can add for ~100$ if you go with the factory one. I have a 20 performance bike special meter on mine for the time being. Not perfect but it tracks "distance" so I know when I am done with a workout.

99% of the time when you have a spin bike you used SPD pedals though I use mountain bike pedals with egg beaters on mine as its easier, and much cheaper, to find mountain bike shoes in 12-12.5 in wide.

Its not like a powertap hub though on watts and readouts/ As far as I know nobody is making powertab style hubs for spin bikes.

Yeah, I don't need super precision wattage, just something comparable from one workout to the next. Calories/time is a decent approximation.

I just like SPDs because I already use them on my road & mountain bike (same shoes too). Not a big deal if I need to swap pedals though.

I also came across a "Waters Tsunami Pro Commercial Spin Bike" which seems to be comparable to the NXT, but it was priced a little high for my tastes.

I should probably get something soon though if I want to be in shape for the race I'm doing in April. Last year was miserable.

Just a note, the Wahoo trainer is also incredibly popular with "real" riders, and the spin bikes are popular with the gym crowd. That alone should indicate which is preferred.

Like I said, a fixed wheel trainer is a great workout, but not necessarily similar to riding a real bike.

I am also going to say that a set of rollers is the way to go with a powertap hub if you are really serious. The reason I like the spin bikes is they do not allow me to freewheel and and I can just crank down on the resistance and get out of the saddle for 20 minutes without balance issue or I can do serious hits easily.

Mind you my spin bike sits in-front of a TV and I catchup on Netflix while riding or play PS4 while riding.

PHeller wrote: Just a note, the Wahoo trainer is also incredibly popular with "real" riders, and the spin bikes are popular with the gym crowd. That alone should indicate which is preferred. Like I said, a fixed wheel trainer is a great workout, but not necessarily similar to riding a real bike.

Agreed.

But the Wahoo trainer is $1100 plus a bike.
A used spin bike is in the $500 range it appears.
A pieced together bike + trainer could probably be done in the $300 range I would image with both used.

It doesn't need to be like riding a real bike. Its a workout to improve biking strength/stamina/cardio. The spin bike seems to check the right boxes here from a simplicity standpoint, although I could be swayed to the bike + trainer if I came across the right deal.

Mine will sit in the basement, where I can watch stuff on my computer while riding and possibly incorporate it into cross training workouts with my KB, barbell, pullup bar, etc.

That's why I advocate for the coaster style/freewheel variant of a stationary exercise bike. Cheaper (because spingym types don't want them) and more similar to riding a real bike.

I'm not a fan of spin or bike trainers. I'd rather be outside.

Buy a fat bike. Ride all year. Drink beer. Be happy.

I have a Specialized Fat Boy and ride it all the time even in the winter crap. Its super fun. Off days are elliptical and weights at the gym. I ride enough in the summer months.

Isn't this GRM? WalMart bike plus an alternator plus a ceramic space heater and a couple of stands?

I just use my old MTB grocery getter with street tires on a mag trainer. I pull the Garmin speed/cadence set off my primary MTB for the winter so I have some mileage/speed and an HRM to look at. Since this is GRM, my total outlay was maybe $100, since the mag trainer came with another bike, and I built this one up from a decent quality trash-picked frameset and random take offs and ebay parts.

93gsxturbo wrote: Buy a fat bike. Ride all year. Drink beer. Be happy. I have a Specialized Fat Boy and ride it all the time even in the winter crap. Its super fun. Off days are elliptical and weights at the gym. I ride enough in the summer months.

I do ride year round. I just don't get out on the trails nearly as much in the winter. You are not supposed to ride them in the wet (some are actually closed), and its dark all the time, so I'm limited to just my dry weekends.

XLR99 wrote: I just use my old MTB grocery getter with street tires on a mag trainer. I pull the Garmin speed/cadence set off my primary MTB for the winter so I have some mileage/speed and an HRM to look at. Since this is GRM, my total outlay was maybe $100, since the mag trainer came with another bike, and I built this one up from a decent quality trash-picked frameset and random take offs and ebay parts.

I'm tempted to snag a $25 trainer off CL and just give it a shot. If it turns out to be a good solution, I can take my time and build up another cheapie CL bike just for trainer duty. How do you like the mag trainer? I've heard their resistance maxes out fairly low compared to the fluid units.

I have an older Blackburn with 3 settings, no remote, works OK but I don't have experience with a 'good' trainer to compare with. I just leave it set on the middle setting and vary the resistance by shifting during my session.

Well, I gambled and bought a trainer off CL. It was $50, had decent recommendations online (it's "Little Red" in this review), and I figure I can re-sell it for probably the same amount if I decide I don't like it.

So far, not great. Need to adjust my road bike's front derailleur so I can use my top 3 gears. I'm on Cog #6 in the back (Shimano 105 9spd, 700c tires), and the big ring up front. Trainer is on its hardest setting. Still pretty easy to overpower it. May be good for some very long rides, but for shorter stuff or intervals its kind of a joke.

Kinda how I feel. I also hate how much wear they put on the rear tire. My wife has tire with very fine tread, great for gravel and slick roads, but man does it get chewed up on the trainer.