Top positive review
5.0 out of 5 starsBetter than the gym machines.
Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2020
Very pleased so far. The package arrived on time and in good condition. It was packed in a very orderly fashion, easy to identify small loose parts. Ships with custom tools for assembly - the instructions correctly recommend only to provide a utility knife and scissors for unpacking.
The assembled unit is extremely quiet. The loudest sound comes from the surprisingly effective rider cooling fan mounted in the display console. This can be aimed up or down separately from the adjustable console tilt.
Ergonomics are very good. I am 6' 4" tall and had no trouble adjusting for comfortable leg extension. The seat is fairly comfy, but it is replaceable with any standard bicycle seat to suit the rider. Also, it adjusts not only up/down but also fore/aft, and feels quite secure under my 265 lbs.
The display console mast wiggles just a bit in its base socket, but this does not appear to be a significant mechanical weakness.
The pedals and their included straps are large enough for my Size 16 shoes and feel quite secure. These may also be replaceable with standard bike pedals for those riders needing something specific (shoe locks, etc).
The included wireless heart rate sensor is an ECG Chest Strap type. It suffers from the problems which all such units (as well as handlebar contacts) have relating to electrical contact with the skin, signal noise from "muscle artifacts", electrical interference, etc. I find that after I've worked up a good continuous sweat, the HR readings become steady and reliable. Also, one could use medical-grade ECG probe contact conductivity grease with the chest strap to improve the signal reliability.
The instructions indicate that the display console can receive wireless HR signals from some Polar sensors. I have 2 Polar sensors (one ECG chest strap, on optical arm band), but the display console does not recognize either of them. In general, I find that my Polar optical arm band sensor is by far the best - it is stable and reliable, and does not depend on sweat or moisture to maintain proper connectivity. It would be nice if this exercycle could recognize it.
The display console does a pretty good job of setting up resistance and HR ranges based on user input of height, weight, age, and gender. This feature tracks my Polar fitness app figures fairly closely. The console allows for separate profile setups for up to 4 different users.
The pedal resistance is very smooth. The unit only has a small flywheel, so "accelerating" (increasing pedal RPM) doesn't feel quite like a real bicycle, but I quickly stopped noticing the difference.
As on all exercycles, the display values for "Speed" and "Distance" are arbitrary. Compared to my real bicycle, these numbers come up higher than out on the road. It would be nice if the display console setup allowed for configurable scaling of these display parameters.
The available pedal resistance range seems reasonable. I've started off with a resistance setting of 9 (out of 25), which gives me a nice easy "cruise ride" with HR around 120. The "Intensity" bargraph on the upper display comes up at about 40%, and the HR bargraph on the right at about 70%. My actual maximum HR is somewhat higher than the recommended "220 Minus Age" value - I wish this parameter could be customized to my actual value. The "Intensity" bargraph does recognize pedal RPM increase as well as resistance increase.
The arrangement of the display console is nice - the "split display" feature allows me to use my smartphone with the Polar fitness app for HR, calories, etc, in place of the "upper" display, but still see the times, RPM, etc on the lower display. I have not tried the on-board data logging feature (dump to USB drive), because I like to keep all my fitness data in a single general-purpose app on my smartphone. I also have not tried the recommended Nautilus fitness app for my smartphone.
All in all, I can highly recommend this exercycle - it is so convenient having it always set up and available. No more scheduling qym trips, road traffic, weather, or outdoor air pollution to deal with.
