How to buy a spin bike?

T

Traildoggie

Cathlete
DH decided he needs a spin bike. we have road and mt bikes now. I've been searching threads etc and am not understanding where to go to look at bikes. web sites for Star trac and Schwinn don't seem to have dealers? Do these get ordered, sight unseen? Put together and fitted by you? Don't exercise equipment places or bike shops carry them? Am I missing something obvious here?
 
I bought mine at a schwinn bike shop several years ago. Depending on where you live, you might have an exercise equipment store that carries a variety of brands.
 
I am not finding a store that actually carries ANY. Those of you with spin bikes, how big a deal is it to adjust the fit between 2 different people? we don't have room or energy to drag two different road bikes up and down stairs to use a trainer.
 
I only takes a second to make the adjustments. Usually there is a knob to loosen then pull out the peg to lift or lower seat and tighten the knob again. The seats usually go forward and back as well to allow you not to have your knee over your toe.
 
DH has a much longer torso /arms than I do, legs are about the same. No way could I ride his road bike. with a trainer, we'd have to drag both bikes back and forth. that would get old in about 2 trips. as long as a spin bike is quickly adjustable that will work better for us.
I found some to look at locally. Never even sat on one & I don't like buying with zero experience. Do you use cleats & bike shoes? we have them but I usually ride in tennies.
 
Try to get in touch with a local rep. if you want to try a bike.

I am on my second spin bike. The first one I bought was cheap and squeaked a lot. For my second bike purchase I tried some at gyms and fitness stores after contacting the manufacturers. I also read reviews and contact Jeff Wimmer at StudioCycles.com for additional info. I read on Amazon that someone went to a reps. garage to try out a bike.

I ended up buying a LeMond Revmaster Pro through Amazon. The narrow crank design was created to replicate a road bike. I also wanted a Keiser M3 but the more you raise the handle bars the further away they move from your seat - just not comfortable for me. My husband and I are very far apart in size. We needed it to adjust for legs, arms, torso length and seat height. The RevMaster is whisper quiet and can handle up to 350 lbs. The cam handles on this bike adjust super quick.

Assembly was a breeze but getting this bad boy down the steps was quite a struggle for me.

I use bike shoes and clips. I prefer them to the cages while spinning.

Good luck with your purchase!
 
I've posted in a couple of the "spin bike" threads already but can't say enough about Jeff's service and knowledge about this industry. He practically wrote the book (seriously) :)

Here's a link to a buyers guide that he put together and you can call and discuss your requirements with him, great guy - great service.

FREE Buyer Aid Videos for Commercial and Residential Customers | StudioCycles.com


I got the Spinner Elite from him :D



Best of luck and let us know how it goes!
 

Attachments

  • spinbike.jpg
    spinbike.jpg
    97.3 KB · Views: 26
Last edited:
We're going to go look tomorrow.
DH uses cleats, I have some ( speedplay) but didn't like them, outdoors anyway. I use cages. kept getting caught (when I thought I was released) and falling. that got old in a hurry. without all the surprises of outdoor riding I might be able to go clipless.

DH and I are not radically different in size, so sounds like it will be easily adjustable.

I read some of the other threads and will re-read some of the links to jeff wimmer before we go shopping. he does not pull punches!

we are long time indoor home exercisers so I don't want to buy a entry level bike that will squeak and wear out in 6 months. we also don't need top of the line. middle ground somewhere. will know more after we ride a few.

Lesson #1: assemble bike where it will be used.

Nice bike and nice gym... looks like my exercise room.
 
Last edited:
The clips in the pedals can be adjusted so they're easier to get in & out of. I have 3 different bikes that I ride outdoors & have loosened the pedals nearly all the way on all of them. I am wondering if people who are new or newer to spin bikes are aware of that.
 
We each have a road bike and a mt bike.
I could not get into the spd style cleat. something about the angle of my foot/ ankle area, simply could not connect at all so returned them. so we got speedplay ones. DH uses them and likes them a lot. I tried for a season, fell too many times and went back to tennies & cages. they were very simple to switch out but we will need to decide what works for us indoors. we have the same style cleats if we use them.
Off to look at some of the lines you sent. thank you all. I'll let you know what we get.
 
So went shopping yesterday and found3 spin bikes in 2 shops. the best one was the Lemond Revmaster but we didn't buy anything yet. calling around. it seems like sometimes stores may or may not have what's on their web site. We definitely want to try before we buy.
 
Traildoggie said:
So went shopping yesterday and found3 spin bikes in 2 shops. the best one was the Lemond Revmaster but we didn't buy anything yet. calling around. it seems like sometimes stores may or may not have what's on their web site. We definitely want to try before we buy.
Click to expand...
i really like the Lemond bikes. we have them at my gym & they are great! trust me, i've been on a LOT of spin bikes over the past 15 years.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Our Newsletter

Get awesome content delivered straight to your inbox.

Top