If you are looking to buy an exercise bike, you should have heard of Lifecycle. They are simply the Rolls-Royce of exercise bikes. However, what follows is not an enthusiastic recommendation; instead, you will know what models are offered, their features, price, and if they are a good buy or not.

Life Fitness has been manufacturing exercise bikes for over 30 years and is in the enviable position of being considered the market leader. The company’s customer list says a lot about the quality of its machines. Clients include Gold’s Gym, 24-Hour Fitness, and full sports teams like the Los Angeles Lakers, San Francisco 49ers, Houston Astros, and Colorado Avalanche. A fitness company cannot get a better recommendation than when its machines are the first choice of professional athletes.

The company’s entry-level vertical C1 model retails for around $ 1,000. It sounds pretty absurd to say both entry-level and $ 1,000 in the same sentence when talking about exercise bikes, but remember we’re talking about the best in the industry. For the same amount of money, you could buy a high-end Schwinn exercise bike.

So what exactly do you get for your money? Well, you will get a very well made bike. The company is so confident of the build quality that there is a lifetime warranty on the frame, 3 years on the parts and 1 year on the labor.

Another thing you should keep in mind is that with each bike there is the option of the Basic Console or the Advanced Console. The basic console comes with 5 programs; Manual, Slope, Random, Incline EZ, and Sport training. The LCD console displays the following information; level, time, speed, distance, heart rate, target heart rate, and calories. The Advanced Console has the same 5 programs and 5 additional ones; fat burning, cardio, increased heart rate, heart rate interval and extreme heart rate. You also get 2 special training programs; goal and custom. The cost of any Schwinn exercise bike will be an additional $ 300 for the Advanced Console, so the C1 model would cost around $ 1,300 with the Advanced Console.

The next model of the C1 is the C3 (C3-5). The bike is of stronger construction and has an increased user weight capacity of 400 pounds (the C1 has a weight capacity of 300 pounds). It is also self-powered. With the basic console, it retails for around $ 1,500.

The third and most expensive in the vertical series is the C9i. This is the home edition of Lifecycle’s exercise bike gym model. It comes with its own console. Key features include wireless and LifePulse digital contacts and special workouts; Programs include Worldwide, Waterfalls, Foothills, Kilimanjaro, Speed ​​Training, and Interval Training.

There is a corresponding Lifecycle recumbent exercise bike for each upright. So for the C1 the equivalent recumbent model is the R1, for the C3 and C9i the corresponding models are the R3 and R9i. You get the same consoles, programs, and other features as the studs.

All Lifecycle exercise bikes are excellent machines and it’s really hard to fault them. Perhaps one aspect that could find fault is the seat of the reclining C1 and C3 models. Whether a seat feels comfortable or not is a very subjective matter, but I have a Tunturi stationary bike and find its seat to be more comfortable than Lifecycle’s, but I’m sure others would disagree.

Also, one could find fault with the price. They are good machines, but the cost makes them inaccessible to many. And it could well be argued that you could find a machine of the same quality, or better, for less money. For example, my Tunturi E60R costs around $ 1,000 but it comes with 8 scalable and motivational workout profiles and 8 user profiles to suit individual fitness goals, iFIT, and you can edit and adjust the preset profiles even when exercising.

A Lifecycle stationary bike is great equipment; it’s well done, it comes with a console option, sophisticated programs, and it’s made by a company with one of the best names in the industry. My advice, however, would be to look at the models from many other manufacturers and compare them; you will pay a lot of money, so you have to be absolutely sure that this is the right machine for you.