The Best Exercise Bikes for Your Home

The NordicTrack S22i is our pick for the best overall, and it’s easy to see why. The large, 22-inch HD touchscreen projects interactive, gym-like and personalized cardio workouts through the iFit program. As a bonus, you receive a full year of family membership with your purchase. The bike’s Bluetooth connectivity allows you to listen to a trainer or iFit music with your own headphones for distraction-free workouts. 

From a workout perspective, the bike offers incline and decline training and 24 resistance levels controlled digitally. The seat is padded and can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally. NordicTrack even throws in a pair of 3-pound dumbbells for the strength training programs that iFit provides.

The ride is smooth and incredibly quiet. With iFit, you can roll through scenic views or be involved in a race-type setting. There are two water bottle holders and extras like wireless heart rate monitoring.

The price of the S22i is a little steep at $1,999, but NordicTrack offers financing at 0 percent APR for 39 months. There is also the monthly subscription fee of $39 for the iFit family membership once your free trial runs out. We found the assembly to be fairly involved. NordicTrack offers expert assembly at a price of $250.

Read our full Nordictrack S22i review.

The XTERRA SB2.5 delivers when it comes to giving you comfortable, joint-friendly exercise on a competitively priced machine. This recumbent bike features an adjustable seat that moves forward or backward with a mesh back as well as oversized cushioned pedals. We loved how smooth the ride felt, which is in part due to the 22-pound flywheel. 

The dual back-lit LCD screen is small, but still easy to read and measures time, distance, speed and calories. There are also sensors on the handlebars to measure heart rate. The SB2.5 measures heart rate through hand grip sensors. There is a wireless heart rate sensor, but you need to purchase the belt separately in order to use it. 

For just $599, the SB2.5 gives you 12 preset workouts as well as 24 resistance levels. The competitive pricing does mean sacrificing some technology capabilities. Additionally, we would have liked to see a longer warranty, as XTERRA only guarantees the frame for five years and the parts for just one year.

Upright bikes offer a little more life-like experience on a stationary bike than a recumbent bike does, but without the stress on the lower back that some indoor cycling bikes can create. We like the Schwinn 130 for the best upright bike on the market right now. It is extremely reasonably priced at $349 and doesn’t sacrifice much.

Though it doesn’t come with a fancy monitor to stream classes, you can subscribe to popular apps like Zwift on your own device, which you can connect to the bike.

Additionally, the monitor itself gives you all the feedback you need for an effective workout, like time, distance and speed. There are 13 pre-programmed workouts to choose from.

The warranty on the 130 is mixed: 10 years on the frame, two years on parts, but just 90 days on labor. There are also reports of how complicated the assembly of the bike is. 

There is a lot to like about the Schwinn IC4. As the best indoor cycling bike on the market, it offers compatibility with Peloton and Zwift apps but at a fraction of the cost of high-end bikes. It has the sleek design of the studio bikes you may be used to from the gym, and the extras to have that workout experience at home.

For just $899, you get a lot of bang for your buck with the IC4. Both the seat and the handlebars adjust vertically and horizontally to cater to riders of all sizes. The pedals are compatible with clips and also offer toe cages. There are also 100 micro-resistance levels. However, these have to be adjusted manually, unlike more expensive bikes with digital resistance levels. 

The bike weighs just 106 pounds, making it easy to move around your home. It also comes with a pair of 3-pound dumbbells for strength training options. The very basic LCD monitor reports your stats, but there are no preset workouts. For those, you will have to bring your own tech to the table, using the bike’s docking station.

We can’t talk about the best home bike without talking about Peloton. Since it came on the market, the Peloton bike has been the gold standard for luxury exercise bikes. Perhaps the most attractive feature is the live, around-the-clock classes you can connect to through membership to the app. The training is immersive, and it’s not just bike workouts. We loved that there are classes of varying lengths that include options for strength training. 

On the Bike+, there is a 24-inch HD touchscreen that can swivel as you move on and off the bike during your workout. The tech seems endless: four speakers, automatic resistance that adjusts during class, USB port, and integration with Apple GymKit to sync workouts with your Apple Watch. 

The Bike+ alone costs around $2,000, with higher priced options for packages that include items like the clip-in cycling shoes that are required and dumbbells. Additionally, membership to the app is $39/month. There is also the Peloton Bike, which is priced at just under $2,000. For both models, delivery and assembly is included in the price.

Without the monthly membership, the bike still works, but your options are limited to mostly self-guided workouts. Also, while Peloton states that the bikes are meant to last, the warranty is just five years on the frame and 12 months on parts and labor. Returns must be done in a 30-day window and will cost an additional $250 with the possibility of additional restocking fees.

The MYX from MYX Fitness is an affordable Peloton bike alternative. It gives you a lot for your money, including comfort, preset workouts, compact design and versatility.

For starters, the MYX syncs with the MYX app, where hundreds of workouts and on-demand interval training is available at your fingertips. Your workout streams on a 21.5-inch touchscreen that make you feel like you are actually in class.

Also, the screen swivels so you can do strength training workouts from the app alongside the bike or elsewhere in the room. The app is an additional cost at $29/month. We love the variety of workouts, especially the targeted heart-rate zone training. 

The bike itself is $1,299 (or $1,499 for the MYX Plus), but financing is available. This is still well under the high-end bikes that offer many of the same features.

The warranty leaves much to be desired at just a five-year frame and one-year on parts. MYX does offer free shipping and assembly. 

The Bowflex VeloCore is a stationary bike that is, well, not totally stationary. This is our choice for the best exercise bike to lose weight because you are going to really move on this guy. You are welcome to use it in its stationary mode or put it into leaning mode to imitate what it’s like to be on the road. This is fun, exhausting, and gives your core a great workout, too.

We found the leaning mode ride on the VeloCore is incredibly realistic. To boot, using a 16- ($1,699) or 22-inch ($2,199) HD touchscreen to navigate 25 destinations makes the workout actually enjoyable. The bike is designed to hook into JRNY, which features trainer-led videos and virtual coaching. JRNY also has features like streaming video on Netflix, Amazon and Prime Video. 

On the upside, you get two months of JRNY free with your purchase. The downside is that the bike requires the subscription after your free trial. The VeloCore can also hook up with Peloton and Zwift subscriptions.

The seat and handlebars are adjustable to fit your body. There is a short, two-year warranty on mechanical and electronics parts, which we wish were longer. 

The best under $500 on our list is the Sunny Health & Fitness Synergy Magnetic. At just over $450, this affordable but quality machine offers the basics of what you need for a good workout. The Synergy Magnetic uses – wait for it – magnetic resistance adjusted manually, with seats and handlebars that can also be moved into the correct position for your body.

Though small, the monitor displays distance, speed, calories, pulse and rpm. There is, however, a tablet holder for you to stream from on your own iPad or other smart device. Other conveniences include a water bottle holder, dumbbell holder (though dumbbells not included), and floor stabilizers to ensure a balanced ride.

At just 88 pounds and with built-in wheels, it is incredibly easy to move this compact bike around. The light weight does, however, lower the machine’s overall weight capacity to just 275lbs. 

With the extremely affordable price also comes sacrificing luxuries of high-end bikes, such as preset workouts and tech compatibility. Overall, you can still get a good sweat on this bike for just a small investment. 

The Exerpeutic Folding Magnetic is our pick for the best foldable exercise bikes. In general, folding exercise bikes are affordable, compact and free of frills. Where the Exerpeutic shines is its large LCD screen and total adjustability. The large, comfortable seat helps make for a more comfortable ride.

The monitor tracks the very basics of what you would want from a workout: current speed, time, distance and estimated calories burned.

Additionally, the bike offers a hand pulse monitor to track your heart rate. Impressively, the bike is just 39 pounds but designed with a weight capacity of 300 pounds. 

At just $149, the Folding Magnetic is extremely budget-friendly. With that, however, comes some sacrifices.

The bike itself can be adjusted to accommodate riders between 5’3” and 6’1”, which leaves many potential users out of luck. Also, there are no tech capabilities or preset workouts. 

For a smooth, quiet ride in comfort, look no further than the Marcy ME-709. This recumbent bike is excellent for seniors or anyone else looking to reduce pressure on joints.

With a walk-through design, you can easily get in and out of the seat. There are eight resistance levels you can navigate to make your workout as challenging or as relaxed as you want.

At around $200, the machine offers a lot of comfort for your money. The padded, high-back seat feels great on your back and entire posterior chain. Additionally, the seat can be adjusted so you get the right distance for your stride.

An LCD screen – which is on the smaller side – reports on your distance, time, speed and calories. 

There are a few things to keep in mind with the ME-709. First, it has manual resistance, which could be challenging to adjust if you have arthritis or other grip-related problems.

Additionally, there are no preset workouts and no heart rate monitoring. However, if you just need to move in comfort, this is the bike for you.