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[Updated 12-12-2021] With Christmas approaching, inevitable healthy New Year’s resolutions and Omicron on the rise people, many people may be looking for effective ways of working out at home.

I originally wrote this post last year, when fitness-related equipment was hard to come by. Stock is readily available, currently, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this changes in the new year.

While there are plenty of ways to work out at home for free, things like exercise bikes can offer an excellent alternative to the gym. An indoor bike was what helped me lose 100lbs as part of my fitness journey, while I have upgraded that, multiple times, they make a good investment compared to other gym equipment. They are more affordable and smaller than treadmills while making less noise.

There are a lot of options on the market, I am sure most of us would love a Peloton, but their monthly membership is more than my gym membership. I am a big fan of smart turbo trainers and Zwift, and recently bought the Tacx Neo Smart bike, but they are very expensive, so may not be the best suggestion for someone starting out.

Best reviewed bikes on Amazon

I have not used any of these bikes personally, I have just highlighted the ones with the best reviews on Amazon. Looking at the reviews, JLL appear to receive constantly high scores and I suspect it is a case of you get what you pay for, as they are a bit more expensive.

If you are not very fit you can probably get away with a bike that has a lighter flywheel. With upright bikes, they have a lighter flywheel as they then use magnetic resistance to control the difficulty better.

With all exercise equipment, you get what you pay for, if you are very fit, or hope to increase your fitness considerably then you will quickly outgrow cheaper products.

JOROTO X2 Exercise Bike Belt Drive – £499.99

  • Rating: 4.5 / 5 – 4902 reviews
  • Details: belt driven 35lbs (16kg) chromed flywheel with magnetic resistance – total weight of bike is 49Kg
  • Delivery: In stock
  • Price Change: Same price since being listed

This is the most and best reviewed bike on Amazon. Which is curious, since it looks like it has only been on Amazon since June. It looks like the reviews have been merged from the international Amazon listings with the bulk of the reviews coming from the US.

There are three bikes under the listing and it is a promoted listing too, which may help explain the huge number of reviews. There is £100 difference between all three bikes but and the X2 is the highest spec.

UK Fitness Pro Fit S1000 – £229.99

  • Rating: 4.3 / 5 – 437 reviews
  • Details: 13KG fly wheel with friction resistance. Works with Kinomap for video workouts
  • Delivery: In stock
  • Price Increase: Was as low as £160 in 2019

This includes 3 months unlimited Streaming Membership to Studio SWEAT onDemand, where you can access hundreds of Indoor Cycling workouts, Yoga, Bootcamp and other body sculpting workouts.

Bluefin Fitness TOUR 5.0 Exercise Bike – £349 [In Stock]

  • Rating: 4.3 / 5 – 317 reviews
  • Details: 12KG fly wheel with friction resistance. Works with Kinomap for video workouts
  • Delivery: In stock
  • Price Increase: Was £280

YOLEO Stationary Exercise Bike – £149.99 [In Stock]

  • Rating: 4.1 / 5 – 303 reviews
  • Details: Unknown flywheel with friction resistance. (Flywheel looks tiny)
  • Delivery: In stock
  • Price Increase: Was £220

No products found.

Dripex Upright Exercise Bikes – £101.99 [In stock]

  • Rating: 4.2 / 5 – 620 reviews
  • Details: 6KG flywheel with friction resistance
  • Other: In stock
  • Price Increase: Jumped up as high as £269 during the lockdowns

JLL IC300 PRO Indoor – £399[In stock]

  • Rating: 4.3 / 5 – 1092 reviews (700+ new reviews while retaining the same rating)
  • Details: 20KG flywheel with friction resistance
  • Other: In stock
  • Price Increase: Same price as my original post

Nero Sports Bluetooth Upright Exercise Bike £219.99[In Stock & works with Zwift]

  • Rating: 3.9/5 with 598 reviews
  • Details: 12KG fly wheel with friction resistance
  • Other: In Stock
  • Price Increase: Dropped from £350

This is an interesting option and is likely the cheapest way to be able to use Zwift. Though I am not sure how enjoyable Zwift would be on a Spin bike. This has quite a high percentage of 1-star reviews, some people say it is no good for tall people above 6ft, and another user says it is can only do one slow speed on Zwift.

JLL JF100 Home Exercise Bike – £149.99[In Stock]

  • Rating: 4.3 / 5 – 1147 reviews
  • Details: 4KG flywheel with magnetic resistance
  • Other: In Stock
  • Price Increase: Increased in price by £50, that’s a 45% price hike!

JLL IC400 ELITE Indoor Cycling Exercise Bike – £349.99

  • Rating: 4.5 / 5 – 364 reviews
  • Details: 20KG fly wheel with friction resistance
  • Other: In stock

Nero Sports Upright Exercise Bike – £229.99

  • Rating: 4.1 / 5 – 509 reviews
  • Details: 12KG fly wheel with friction resistance
  • Other: In stock
  • Price Increase: Was as low as £155

That’s all as above. Just pick the one that best suits your need and start rolling. Make sure you have complete gear while working out. Any clothes of form can work but you need to extra cautious about the shoes. Normal shoes might not work with exercise bikes due to their normal features so it’s better to invest in bike shoes. Bike shoes are designed specifically for biking; they are tough and can easily take the extra pressure off the foot while you ride. Loom’s indoor cycling shoes are recommended as they are lightweight and provide utmost comfort. Whether it’s about running on tough terrain walking on a normal surface, or working out in the gym or dancing in the rain, Loom’s all-season shoes are perfect for any kind of activity. And above all, they are vegan and made with cruelty-free material sourced from the best eco-friendly farms around the world.

[Original Post 23-03-2020]

Last update on 2024-03-29 / Affiliate links / Images from Amazon Product Advertising API

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