John’s Reviews

I’ve had my new exercise bike now since Friday, May 5. I put it together that night and have done serious workout type rides on it on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.

My initial impressions are:

• Solid construction where it counts. Frame, pedals, handle bar, seat, seat adjustment knobs. Ok construction where it doesn’t matter, plastic coverings, water bottle holder, etc..
• Easy to program. Took a second to figure it out the first time, but now it’s easy. It also remembers what you had the last time for each individual program. (It will remember my settings for the Cross Training program and also remember my kid’s settings for the Pike’s Peak program.)
• Effective resistance. I’m doing 20 minutes on Level 04 for the Cross training program and it’s almost too hard. I believe there are 16 levels of resistance.
• Quiet. The only noise that bugs me is an occasional click from the toe pedal strap things hitting the arm of the pedal turncrank. I can usually adjust my feet so that this stops. The resistance makes no real noise beyond what you would expect from moving the pedals on a well oiled machine. The computer beeps once in a while.
• Still getting used to the seat. There are some adjustments that I can probably make, but it sometimes feels like I am slipping forward. Other than that, I’m comfortable.
• Computer display is LCD with no backlighting. To properly read it, you need to have good light on it.
• Heart Monitor. Seems to work. If you take a break from holding on over the sensors, the sensor will start back up displaying 72 beats per minute and build from there when you regrab them. It takes a while for them to reach your true heart rate.
• Assembly. OK. But there where some steps that were not well documented. The actual process was not that difficult.
• Other points:
• I like the adjusters on the rear “legs” that allow you to correct for a non-wobbly stance on an uneven floor.
• My kids seem to like it.
• There are two spots for drinks, one like you’d see on a bike with a wire frame water bottle holder, and another deep hole above the top of the computer.

Bottom Line:

I’m happy with it. You should consider the Schwinn 112 if you are in the market for an exercise bike. I was able to find it for about $300 at Overstock with $2.95 shipping. (here’s a link: Schwinn 112 Upright Exercise Bike ). Amazon had it for more.