Spinning Bike - under £400

durhamwasp

Anyone recommend a decent spinning bike, for under £400?

I know i'm not going to get a top of the range job at that budget, but should still be able to find something decent-ish.

mercia_man

My wife wanted a spin bike some years ago after breaking her ankle and needing to do non weight bearing exercise. We spotted one for sale in a village shop window ad and bought it (virtually unused) for around £40.

It’s a Body Sculpture Speed Bike BC4620. I think it’s no longer available but there are plenty of bikes around which look very similar and have the same spec - adjustable seat and bars, digital display, chain drive and a 13kg flywheel. Lighter flywheel bikes are cheaper but apparently less like a real bike to ride. So I would avoid models which have only an 8kg flywheel. A quick search would suggest the Body Sculpture Pro is the latest equivalent of ours:
https://www.ambrosewilson.com/shop/body-sculpture-pro-race-studio-bike/JU919/product/details/show.action?pdBoUid=6011&optionColour=&optionSize=&utm_source=google&utm_medium=organic_shopping&utm_term= JU919

At £299.99 it’s well within budget and seems to be available from several outlets. Ours is pretty good for indoor workouts using GCN training videos on an iPad resting on the bars. I’m sure all the other near identical spin bikes on the market perform just as well.

I changed the soft saddle to one of my spare road saddles but had to stick with the standard flat pedals with toeclips as they are a different size to ordinary pedals used on “proper” bikes. I found the Q factor to be wider than I liked but got used to it. Also, if you have long legs, you have to push the saddle back quite far so that the cranks are further forward than ideal but again it’s no deal breaker.

Spin bikes are a good way to get in some cycling exercise if the weather is bad. But I have to say it’s boring compared with getting out on the road.