Best affordable indoor cycling bike: Top 5 models for beginners

Are you looking for a budget-friendly indoor cycling bike? If so, then you’ve come to the right place. Exercise bikes have become a staple in today’s indoor fitness world. And it’s difficult to imagine setting up a home gym without having it in your corner.

While road bikes also offer a good workout, they can’t beat the accessibility and convenience an indoor cycling bike provides. And talking about the health benefits, very few types of equipment can help you burn as many calories while providing a full-body workout.

Today, we will look at the best affordable indoor cycling bike currently in the market. We also provide a buying guide and answers to some common questions users normally as about exercise bikes. In the end, it’s our hope that you will find a bike that will meet your criteria and help you reach your fitness goals.

Our Top 5 Best Affordable Indoor Cycling Bike

01. Editor’s Choice: Pyhigh Indoor Cycling Bike Stationary Exercise Bike

The Pyhigh Indoor Cycling Bike is an excellent choice if you want a bike that excels in quality, style, and performance. It is well-built with decent pedals and doesn’t wobble while in operation. We also love the adjustable design and noise-free operation, which is quite impressive for the price.

One of the first things you will notice is the premium paint finish on the bike. It doesn’t only look great but also protects the main frame from rust. That said, body sweat is usually very salty, so you might consider applying some car wax occasionally to preserve the paint’s integrity.

We also like the extra width of the seat and the cushion, which helps to provide a comfortable experience. Both the seat and handlebar can be adjusted to fit different heights and riding positions. The bike is belt-driven and features a 35-pounds flywheel for a smooth, quiet, and consistent ride. It has a console that records your heart rate and other important metrics in real-time.

Specifications

Pros

• Comes with a tablet and phone holder
• Easy to assemble
• Great pricing
• Heavy flywheel for a smoother ride
• Solid construction
• Quiet operation

Cons

• Lower handlebar design can be improved

02. Exerpeutic Folding Magnetic Upright Exercise Bike

Moving on, we have the Exerpeutic 1200 – a solid-built upright exercise bike with magnetic resistance. The bike comes well packaged with easy step-by-by instructions. You can also check out the video resources on YouTube if you wish. The whole bike should take about 20-30 minutes to construct.

As indicated by the name, the unit has a space-saving design. It can be folded to half the assembly size, making it easier to store in small spaces. It also has two front wheels for easy movement.

Being magnetic means, the bike operates very quietly and won’t disturb your music, TV, or anyone around. We also like the LCD screen, which clearly displays your workout metrics, including speed, heart rate, calories burned, pulse, time, distance, and scan. Talking about the heart rate, we were quite impressed with the accuracy of the readings compared with many similar models.

Overall, we are impressed with the performance and quality of the bike. For the price, it comes highly recommended.

Specifications

Pros

• Quiet and smooth operation
• Good resistance for all levels
• Seat is wide and comfortable
• Wide and decent pedals
• Easy to assemble

Cons

• Doesn’t come with a water bottle holder

03. Ativafit Indoor Cycling Folding Magnetic Bike

The ATIVAFIT Stationary Bike is another compact model that offers a foldable design and a magnetic resistance mechanism.

It’s not only quiet while pedaling but also provides good adjustment of resistance. It offers 8 resistance levels, which isn’t bad for the price. So, you can adjust it according to your needs. You will likely need more if you’re an experienced rider.

The bike is also equipped with an LCD screen that displays your workout progress. You also get multiple adjustments for the ride angle and height of the seat.

We also found the seat fairly comfortable. It is wide and contoured for extra comfort and support. If you’re older with no buns, you might find it a little hard. In this case, we recommend getting a gel seat.

The overall weight of the bike is 34.2 pounds which is not too heavy, while the recommended capacity is 265 pounds. It is also equipped with transport wheels that make it easier to lift and relocate.

Overall, this is a decent bike that doesn’t take up much storage space. For the price, you will be hard-pressed to find anything better.

Specifications

Pros

• Features auto on/off to prevent the battery from running down
• Foldable design for easy storage
• Adjustable resistance
• Comes with transport wheels
• Stable X-frame design

Cons

• Not suitable for very tall people

04. Urevo Indoor Cycling Bike for Home Gym

Last but not least, we have the UREVO exercise bike – another great option for cardio and fitness training. It’s not only affordable but also highly functional. It comes with a heavy flywheel that makes you feel like you’re riding a real road bike. Though it’s not the heaviest flywheel out there, it does help in keeping the bike steady and secure while it’s in use.

The bike operates a quiet belt drive system and features tough aluminum alloy cape pedals for increased comfort and to prevent feet slip. We also found the seat cushion very comfortable; you can also adjust it for a more personalized experience.

The bike features a steel frame with a weight limit of 260 pounds, which is quite impressive for its price. We were a bit surprised to see that it uses a belt drive system that operates smoother and quieter than a chain system. In other words, the bike is very quiet and won’t disturb your sleeping kids or neighbors.

Some things are unclear in the instructions manual, but that doesn’t mean the bike is hard to put together. You will likely encounter a few puzzling moments which can affect how long it takes you to complete the setup. But it’s not something to worry about.

Specifications

Pros

• Doesn’t take up much space
• Moves around easily
• Comes with a phone and water bottle holder
• Comes with a floor mat
• Great for beginners
• The seat is quite comfortable

Cons

• Assembly instructions are not very clear

05. Sunny Health & Fitness Indoor Cycling Exercise Bike – SF-B1423

The SF-B1423 is one of the newer models by Sunny Health that is also low-priced but offers many useful features for indoor cycling. Some of these include a belt drive system for quieter rides, a heavy-duty 40 pounds flywheel, a solid steel frame, and adjustable resistance with a step-down braking system. This makes the bike an excellent choice for high-intensity workouts from the comfort of your home.

This model features an adjustable seat and handlebars, which allow you to achieve proper form when you want to work out. The seat is four-way adjustable, so you can move it forth or back and up or down, while the handlebar can be moved two ways – up or down. You can make all adjustments by simply turning a knob.

We also found the bike quite easy to assemble. This is because it comes preassembled with some key parts like the crankset, flywheel, and belt. All these are already attached to the frame, including the resistance pad. The only work left is to connect the frame to the bases and attach the pedals, seat, handlebars, and meter. All the hardware you need is included in the package, together with the instruction manual. The whole process should take about 30-60 minutes.

The bike is equipped with a heavy-duty frame made of steel tubing with a double coating to prevent corrosion. The dimensions are 47″ x 20″ x 44″, making it fairly compact compared to other fitness machines. So it doesn’t take up all the floor space in the room. The total weight of the bike is around 92 pounds, while the recommended user weight capacity is 265 pounds.

Specifications

Pros

• Heavy-duty frame
• Adjustable seat and handlebars
• Simple LCD display
• Easy installation steps
• Quieter ride
• Adjustable resistance

Cons

• The seat could use more padding

Best Affordable Indoor Cycling Bike: Buying Guide

Here are a few things to consider when shopping for an indoor cycling bike.

Resistance

Before putting out your money for any cycling bike, you should consider the resistance levels. Ideally, you want a bike with variable resistance. The number of resistance levels differs with each bike, but generally, the more resistance levels a bike has,  the more challenging or demanding it will be. So, except you’re a beginner, you probably want a bike with more resistance levels.

Most bikes usually come with a button, lever, or knob to adjust the resistance. Any one of these control is fine, provided it’s placed where you can easily access it.

Digital Monitor

A digital monitor might not be a must-have, but it can be very helpful, especially if you need something to keep you motivated. The screen displays useful information about your workout, which often includes real-time metrics like calories burned, time, speed, distance, pulse, and even heart rate.

As earlier indicated, this is not an essential feature, but it’s definitely useful and will make it easier to keep track of your progress. This can be a huge motivator to reach for the next level.

Flywheel weight

One of the major components of a spin bike is the flywheel.

A flywheel is a revolving wheel located at the front of the spin bike or any other exercise bike. It is used to increase the bike’s momentum in order to provide greater stability and power.

Generally, a heavy flywheel is usually desired, especially when you’re looking to replicate the same rolling movement found in regular road bikes. It also guarantees a smoother ride. On the other hand, a lightweight flywheel will be easier on the joint but not as challenging as the heavy ones.

Price Range

Even when you’re shopping for a cheap spin bike, it’s still a good idea to have a specific budget in mind. This helps to narrow down your options.

You can find many cheap spin bikes under $300, but if you want something with higher quality, you can move up further to $500. Looking up user reviews can be helpful in determining whether a particular bike is reliable and can meet your needs. This is very important since many cheap spin bikes are usually of low quality.

FAQs

Is an indoor cycling bike worth it?

Yes! A cycling bike provides a great way to stay in shape by working out from home. It is compact, quiet, and easy to maintain. It’s already becoming a staple in the world of home gym equipment.

Is it necessary to place a mat under my exercise bike?

This is not necessary. Most bikes normally come with rubber pads or footings. However, we still recommend having a mat to help protect your floor.

How long should I spend on an indoor cycling bike?

30-60 minutes of exercise is great. In fact, most spinning classes are designed to take that long. That said, you can cycle for as long as you want. It all depends on your fitness goals.

Conclusion

So what’s the best affordable indoor cycling bike? For us, that would be Pyhigh. It’s not only one of the more affordable models, but it also offers all the basic and advanced features which you would normally expect from a cycling bike. That said, you can’t go wrong with any of the other units we reviewed above. It all depends on your needs and budget.

To ensure you make an informed decision, please check out our buying guide section if you haven’t done so already. With that said and done, don’t hesitate to splurge some money on any bike from the list that catches your fancy. You won’t be disappointed.