Bicycling has always been an effective way to get in shape and tone the body because it places stress and demand on every muscle in the body. This is why upright exercise bikes have been so popular for in-home fitness. Today, you have the option of an upright bike or recumbent bikes which have a more relaxed, gentle seating position. Recumbent bikes still burn a lot of calories, but they are gentler on the joints so you are less likely to come away with an injury.
When recumbent bikes were first designed it was use in physical therapy. Therapy patients often cannot balance themselves on a regular bike seat and many have difficulty getting up on an upright bike because of the center bar. That is why many recumbent bikes are designed with a step-through design that doesn’t require lifting the leg to mount. As the general public placed more demand for access to these bikes the market for residential models took off.
Today, every major home fitness manufacturer has at least a small line of recumbent exercise bikes and many are sold at very affordable price points. To give you an idea of what to expect from a recumbent bike today, we will use the popular Schwinn 240 Recumbent Exercise Bike as an example.
Schwinn is a reputable brand name in the fitness industry and they currently offer an impressive line of the recumbent bikes designed for residential use. The Schwinn 240 Bike model sells for well under $1,000 and is one of their most popular products because it offers all the basic features consumers expect from their home fitness equipment.
The Schwinn 240 Bike is designed with a heavy 20 pound flywheel and a roomy seat so users of all sizes can get comfortable. Users can adjust the console and the seat to ensure a comfortable position and the legs stretch out easily in front of the body to the pedals. The console is a nice size as well so it isn’t difficult to see workout feedback.
The 240 Schwinn bike is suitable for all users, even those who have difficulty stepping over that middle bar on regular bikes. The frame is a step-through design where you just step into the middle and sit down. There is no bar to lift over.
There are 16 resistance levels on this bike along with a nice collection of predesigned workouts programmed into the console. This gives a lot of variety between workouts so you don’t get bored. It allows you to increase intensity as your body gets stronger. This is standard for most exercise bikes today, but what is not standard is the capability of working with wireless heart monitors. This is a feature usually reserved for higher priced bikes, but this monitor will work if you have your own wireless heart monitor.
The Schwinn 240 Recumbent Exercise Bike is the perfect example of a high quality bike that is being sold for very affordable prices. It has a lot of valuable features but doesn’t go overboard with extras that would drive up the price.
If you want to pay more you can find fancy recumbent bikes that design a workout based on your active heart rate or which have built-in computer screens on your console. You can also find many with connections for your iPod and built-in speaker systems. The technology advancements in recent years have been nothing short of amazing!
Bilal Hamdan helps with a Schwinn 240 Recumbent Exercise Bike Review Site that educates consumers about different types of Schwinn 240 Recumbent Exercise Bike and much more.