Optimum Fitness Fitness News and equipment reviews
We have long been fans of the excellent value Exercise Bikes from Exerpeutic. The older version of this bike has been around for some time and has been given a polish to its looks and a bump to its weight capacity. This was the only small criticism of the old model, however it has now been increased to 400lbs, which makes this available to a wider range of users.
Exerpeutic Bikes are well known for being great value and are the best choice for budget conscious people looking to get fit and save on expensive gym memberships.
Read on to find out more about this great value bike and where you can find it with a small 5% off its already low price…
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Features of the 500 XLS
Magnetic Resistance
The bike has a nice smooth feel when pedaling, this is thanks to the magnetic resistance. Old bikes used felt pads rubbing noisily against a flywheel to make pedaling harder. Exerpetuic have done a way with this and now use near silent magnetic resistance. This makes the bike much more manageable in the home as it can be used without disturbing others round the house. To further keep the noise down the pedals power a rubber chain instead of a noisy metal one.
In addition to the low noise output, the 500 XLS has 8 levels of resistance, we found that low resistance was fine for the warm up and cool down. The higher levels were challenging for really working up a sweat!
Console
Admittedly the console is very simple, however it does show all the information that you might need:
- Time
- Distance
- Calories
- Pulse (via handle bar sensors)
- Odometer.
The main issue is that you can only see one bit of information at a time. I would prefer to be able to see the time constantly then switch through to distance and pulse. However this is only a minor issue especially given the price is less than $200. Its better that they cut a corner here than in other areas!
Comfort and Ride Features
The bike is designed to be very comfortable even for heavier users they have increased the steel content of the frame by 20% to make it stronger than ever before and allow for riders upto 400lbs. The first thing that you notice is the large comfy saddle. This really makes you look forward to using the bike as its not like sitting on a razor sharp racing bike saddle of some indoor bikes.
For your feet there are nice solid feeling flat pedals, that even have toe straps that attach you securely to the bike and make pedaling even at high speed or resistance feel confidant and reassuring. Exerpeutic suggest a size limit for riders of between 5’1″ to 6’5″ I am 5’10 and felt right at home.
You can adjust the saddle to fit, and it bolts home securely when done.
Product Dimensions
This new Exerpeutic 500 XLS bike has dimensions (in inches) of 39 (L) x 26.4 (W) x 48.4 (H) when it is fully assembled, but it can easily be folded away to approximately half its usual size if space is at a premium in your home.
Pros and Cons of the Exerpeutic 500 XLS Indoor Bike
Pros
- Great comfortable bike designed for riders of all abilities up to 400lbs
- Pulse rate feedback to allow you to measure performance
- Quiet and easy to live with bike, that folds for storage
Cons
- Its a little picky but I preferred the old sliver color, the brown finish looks a little dated
The console can only display one bit of information at a time- The rolling wheels for transport are small and a little fiddly on carpets.
What are other user reviews saying about the 500 XLS?
This is a new bike to the market, and there are very few consumer reviews. We found a few on Amazon and they are largely positive scoring 4 out of 5 stars:
“Excellent stationary bike for the price”
“It is extremely easy to assemble, quiet, comfortable and all features perform great.”
“This bike is great. Installation was easy, materials are high quality, and it works quite well.”
Summary and Final Thoughts
As a great value entry level bike this ticks all the boxes. While it may lack a certain refinement it delivers in all the main points. If you are wanting a very cost effective home exercise bike this will do the job for years. I know of a couple of friends that lost over a hundred pounds using a very basic bike like this so it does work for losing weight.
There were some worries about the weight limit for users, However Exerpeutic have confirmed that the bike is sutible for riders up to 400lbs and corrected the typo in an early manual they issued,
We love the smooth and quiet motion that makes it great for sitting watching telly or even reading a book while exercising. Given the success of the old model we expect this to be a huge success!
Exerpeutic GOLD 500 XLS Foldable Magnetic Upright Bike Review Summary:
Video