Optimum Fitness Fitness News and equipment reviews
If anyone says that you have to spend a fortune to get fit then the Marcy Upright Mag Cycle is setting out to prove them wrong. While its price may have risen slightly in the 5 years since it was first launched it still represents the best value for money for an exercise bike, with a price hovering around $100, including free delivery.
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Read on for our Full Review of the Marcy Upright Mag Cycle ME-708
As an upright bike, this is a compact and simple to use bike. Its accessible to anyone from children to the elderly, you don’t need to worry about programming complex workouts. You can sit in the comfortable saddle, dial in the resistance that you are able to work at and pedal.
By stripping back on the bloated features of other bikes this bike is incredibly simple to both set up and use every day.
If you can dedicate your self to using the bike daily, and watch what you are eating its very easy to start shedding weight and reach your workout goals.
Features of the Marcy Upright Mag Cycle:
What do we like about the Marcy Bike?
We have ridden dozens of bikes and its clear that when Marcy set about building an affordable Exercise Bike the focused on the most important features.
To start with the bike is actually very comfortable, the style of the bike is basic but not intimidating. The first time you sit on the bike you will find that the saddle is actually very comfortable thickly padded and perfect for the average workout of 20-30 minutes. Along with a good contouring saddle the ride position is easily adjustable, a large screw keeps the seat post secure. However its large enough so as not to be fiddly, unlike some bikes with small fiddly leavers.
The comfortable padding continues on the handle bars of the bike. Which feel nice to hold, and will provide grip even if you work up a sweat! While they don’t adjust they are well positioned to be comfortable and enable you to ride with the correct posture.
When you first get hold of the bike you will have to assemble it. The box it arrives in is surprisingly small, however the build itself is simple. I made it up in about 20 minutes, there is little to do attach the foot plates, handlebar and seat and your up and running.
First ride is very simple. Sitting in the comfortable saddle, your feet clip in to the pedals that keep you safely secured to the bike. The pedals are weighted so they always face in the right direction. The toe strap only needs to be adjusted once and you can slide your feet in quickly.
There is a small console fitted. This is very simple and intuitive to use with a clear LED screen. It displays little more than Speed, Distance, Time and an estimate of the calories burned. It does however lack a heart monitor.
Pedaling is also comfortable. Just dial in a level of resistance, from the 8 to choose from. The resistance is magnetic, this really helps keep the noise down. Perfect for using in front of the television, or my favorite, listening to podcasts and audio books!
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What we didn’t like
With a price point at about $100 Marcy have made a few compromises. On the whole we think they have the balance right, with all the features you need. A couple of things would be nice such as adjustable handle bars.
We would also like to see a slightly larger LED display, along with a back light.
Reliability wise we had no issues. All the components were packed in the box, the tool provided was not really up to the job fortunately we have our own tools that make the job easy!
Comparison with other Great Value Exercise Bikes:
[table id=43 /]Marcy Upright Mag Cycle Review Verdict:
At around $100 Marcy have designed a great bike that will give any user a fantastic cardio workout. The only way to spend less is to run. Of course its possible to spend more, say on the Schwinn A40. However none of the extra features will really deliver more results to your workout.
If you can commit to regular exercise then there is no reason why the Marcy Upright Mag Cycle cannot deliver great results including weight loss and improvements in fitness.