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Considering Buying An Exercise Bike
By Sean R Clark
Exercise bikes are popular with users of all ages and abilities, from the confirmed fanatic to the more mature, or, perhaps, less able user. Exercise is low impact, avoiding the heavy, shock impacts to the knee and ankle joints – a common cause of painful conditions, such as “shin splints” – associated with running, or jogging, on hard surfaces. Exercise bikes are generally kinder, too, to the whole body, but especially to the knees and the lower back, making them a popular choice for users who experience problems in these areas, or, for example, high blood pressure. An exercise bike can be adjusted to comfortably accommodate your body size and shape, and the level of exercise can be adjusted, by increasing, or decreasing the resistance that you work against, or altering the simulated “terrain” to suit your level and ability – whether you want to run, jog, or walk.
Features
Whether you choose an “upright”, or “recumbent”, exercise bike, will depend, to some extent, on your physical characteristics, medical history and ability (and, of course, the amount of floor space that you have available), but, those issues aside, the choice is largely subjective.
By way of brief description, an “upright” made is rather like a traditional bicycle, with a saddle positioned above the pedals, and can provide the same level of vigorous exercise that a traditional bicycle might provide. A “recumbent” model, on the other hand, has the pedals out in front, rather than below the saddle (or, in this case, the seat, which is equipped with a backrest), and the user adopts a more horizontal position when exercising. This type of exercise bike puts a little less strain on the body, as a whole, and is easier to mount and dismount, but occupies a little more space than an upright model. The Carl Lewis EMR17 Exercise Bike, for example, is a recumbent model, with variable magnetic resistance, and a load bearing capacity of over 300 lbs.
The resistance that an exercise bike provides, and against which your muscles work, comes in a number of different forms, categorised by efficiency, noise level, and, of course, expense. Basic models use friction, in the form of braking callipers, or bands, to create resistance, and, moving up the scale, you may also come across air resistance, provided by an on-board fan, and magnetic, flywheel systems, the latter being the method of choice in the better models. The Carl Lewis SPN1 Exercise Bike, for example, has a 14kg flywheel, and the Carl Lewis EXB777 Exercise Bike offers computer controlled magnetic resistance.
Responsible Exercise
Any form of exercise, whilst potentially of great benefit, is not entirely without risks and the use of exercise bikes or any other type of exercise equipment may not be appropriate for you. To reduce the risk of
any injury,
illness or other adverse effects you should ALWAYS consult your
doctor before beginning any form of exercise program. You should
also seek advice from a suitably qualified professional as to the suitability of your proposed programme as this will be determined by your age, weight, gender, current level, any medical conditions and other factors. As with any exercise,
if at any point during the use of an exercise bike you begin to feel faint, dizzy,
light headed or experience any other form of physical discomfort, you should
stop immediately and consult a doctor.
Conclusion
Real
customer reviews, or user forums, on the Internet, are a great source of information
regarding exercise bikes – particularly the kind of information that a manufacturer,
or retailer, is unlikely to be too keen to share with you – as are the results
of tests conducted by reputable magazines. The unfortunate thing about these sources, however, is that
you cannot get on and pedal them – and that’s really the only way to find out
the true capabilities of an exercise bike – to get on it, and see (and hear)
for yourself.
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