In home cardio machine

BrutulTM

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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That's right, I want to buy a laundry rack for my house. I have always been an outdoor cyclist as a first choice, but I am coming to the realization that where I live, surrounded by gravel roads and far enough north that riding outside is not practical in the winter time, that is not working for me anymore.

So what's the best? I am leaning towards a bike just because that has been my favorite in the past. I have used a stairmaster in the past as well, but they seem to have become less popular in recent years. Haven't tried an elliptical. The treadmill doesn't appeal to me much either, I suck at running and I have a bad knee. Anyway, unless someone has a compelling reason to do otherwise, I'm probably looking at a bike.

So if it's a bike, which one? I prefer upright to recumbent. I don't care too much about electronic gizmos as long as there is a speedometer and a timer of some sort. I had hoped to pay less than $500 for it, but I have been looking at theSchwinn AD6 Airdyne Exercise Bikeat about $650. Downsides I see are the fan is probably noisy and it's a bit pricey. I don't want to waste money, but I am a big dude and I go pretty hard on a stationary bike so I know if I use one of the $200 Walmart specials it's going to fall apart on me.

Anybody got a stationary bike that they actually use and like or dislike for whatever reason? Anybody want to make a case for an elliptical or a treadmill or something? I'm all ears, TIA.
 
lurker

lurker

Vyemm Raider
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Search Craigslist. Lots of 'em out there. People buy them only to find out that exercise is hard work. I picked mine up for $50.

Bikes-They're all noisy to some extent. The fan on that Schwinn would be welcome here in AZ. I use a small fan near me when I exercise.

I have a recumbent. It's not that comfortable, but what I do like is that it has "programs" that you select and so during a thirty minute ride, the resistance changes every couple of minutes to simulate going up and down hills. Makes it more interesting to ride. The recumbent also frees my hands so I can read a book at the same time. Riding a bike in your house can be very boring compared to riding outside.

Take Care,
Eric
 
K

Kedwyn

Silver Squire
3,915
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I prefer bikes shaped like this one:

http://www.amazon.com/Schwinn-A20-Re...=exercise+bike

Those airdyne bikes are crap compared to those IMO.

That isn't the brand I use but its close. Tons of options, difficulties, varying terrain, hills etc all can be recreated. The programmed work out types can give you as much or as little as you can take.

My suggestion is to go to a sporting goods store and check them all out. Play with them a bunch and buy the one you like off craigslist or second hand. Since most of this stuff gets bought and never used then sold later on.
 
Soygen

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
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After I broke my ankle in 2002, it was very difficult for me to run any long distances on the ground without my ankle being completely useless the next day. I ended up buying a Schwinn Elliptical for around a grand. It's been great, though I've had to replace the small servo motor that controls the resistance twice(it's a cheap 20 dollar part). I figure that wasn't too bad, as I've used it extensively on cardio days over the last 8 years. I prefer swimming for cardio, but you can't swim all the time!

All that said, I think I would have preferred a stationary bike as it's even lower impact on the knees/ankles. I think you can get the same thing out of either machine, particularly if you're doing interval training, so go with whatever you want more(which looks like bike!). I agree with Kedwyn, that you should go and 'test' them at the sporting goods stores first.
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

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I wound up ordering the AirDyne one. It's supposed to arrive today. Kind of a lot of money for me to spend on that sort of thing but I hope it will last a long time. I looked around a bit for something used but I live in the middle of nowhere and going 200 miles to pick up a used bike kind of defeats the purpose of saving money.

I have ridden a lot of exercise bikes at various gyms and such over the years. I am not into the recumbent ones just because it's hard for me to get into an exercise mindset when I feel like I'm sitting in a chair and I find that the arm motion makes it easier to work up a good sweat. I do think the variable intensity programs are kind of neat but I'm pretty good at staying motivated with just a speedometer. I have also had pretty good luck on the plain "spin bikes" that they use in classes and such, but it's easier to keep the intensity up if you have the speedometer for feedback.
 
Xexx

Xexx

Vyemm Raider
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Hmm i like my water rower - I had a bike and a treadmill prior but overall im pretty pleased with this.

rrr_img_42037.jpg
 
Soygen

Soygen

The Dirty Dozen For the Price of One
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What the hell is this hipster-rowing machine?!
 
BrutulTM

BrutulTM

Good, bad, I'm the guy with the gun.
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Never tried one, but it would definitely be good for a few "WTF is that thing?" reactions from guests.

FWIW, the damn AirDyne came but the RPM sensor was defective. Waiting for a replacement now.
 
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