Advice on buying a spin bike

November 17, 2023 6:13 PM

I'm looking to buy a used spin bike and have no experience them. I rode my single speed bike more than 4000km this year but now that winter is approaching, I want to keep that level of fitness. I often see used Keiser m3i and LifeFitness ICG i7 bikes in my price range but cannot find any direct comparisons between the two and no easy way to test them to compare myself. Do you have thoughts on them or other quality rides? Thanks!
posted by dobbs to Health & Fitness (7 answers total)

Response by poster: That should be ic7 not i7.
posted by dobbs at 6:15 PM on November 17 [1 favorite]

The TacX Neo is really nice. Source: partner did 18,000 km in past 12 months, road and indoor both, and loves the TacX.
posted by dum spiro spero at 7:25 PM on November 17

Will you still ride your bike around town? If it's going into storage for the season, you might convert the bike for indoor use (an article, a products-review video, one DIY). Indoor & Stationary Cycling Forum, thread; the final entry is someone using "an old bike in a cheap mag trainer" (example) with workout video recs.
posted by Iris Gambol at 7:47 PM on November 17

For most cyclists, and you are one, you're much better off using a bike that's dialed in to your dimensions, and your own seat.

Get a trainer, and you'll need a dedicated rear tire to use while the bike is on the trainer over the winter, the resistance chews up tires. Get a handlebar mount for some kind of device - my husband watches TV episodes on an iPad, I listen to podcasts. A heart rate monitor is useful.
posted by Dashy at 4:35 AM on November 18 [1 favorite]

My gym used to have that Keiser model, and I used it a lot for watts-based workouts. It’s a solid bike, and I felt that I could set it up to mimic my outdoor bike cockpit. The computer is supposed to work with a Bluetooth app, but I could never get it to work consistently. So keep that in mind if that functionality is important to you.
posted by crLLC at 4:44 AM on November 18

Response by poster: Thanks for the answers so far.

I'll ask to nip the trainer convo in the bud as that doesn't appeal. I already have a set of Kreitler rollers, and have tried other systems in the past, but find I never use them. Thanks!
posted by dobbs at 6:03 AM on November 18

Response by poster: The computer is supposed to work with a Bluetooth app, but I could never get it to work consistently. So keep that in mind if that functionality is important to you.

This has been a concern while shopping. They've been making the m3i for a long time, however, only some m3i models have bluetooth and the only way to tell is with the serial number as they otherwise look identical.
posted by dobbs at 6:05 AM on November 18