The Best Exercise Bikes For Working Out At Home

Cycling is pretty great, folks. The act of hopping onto a bike and hitting a long stretch of road, seeing places you've never seen before, and getting a great workout while doing it is hard to beat. But if you live in a city or an area where the weather can turn quickly, this picture-perfect image of cycling can be harder to achieve. That's where exercise bikes come in. Working out with an exercise bike allows you to reap all the benefits of a cycling workout from the comfort of your home, strengthening your lower body and improving your cardiovascular health while remaining kind to your joints (per Livestrong). Exercising on a stationary bike also keeps your workout safe by avoiding the hazards that road cycling can present.

But as with everything in modern life, there are a lot of choices out there when it comes to exercise bikes, and it feels like every time you blink there's another option to choose from. So that's why we did the hard work for you. Let's take a look at the top exercise bikes to take your at-home workout to the next level.

There are exercise bikes, and then there's Peloton. The ubiquitous stationary bike brand has taken at-home workouts by storm, with over 2 million people utilizing the on-demand class subscription embedded into their exercise products by 2021 (per Statista). But Peloton is much more than a trend: Their exercise bike offering is one of the best on the market and the Bike+ is a solid option for both novices and exercise pros alike. The Bike+ is a compact option with auto-resistance technology, that changes itself as you're guided through your workout by your virtual instructor (per Peloton). 

For people who share homes or live in apartments, the Bike+ is also a superb choice thanks to its quiet operation, and its improved stability from its predecessor (the snappily-titled "Bike" — hey, at least you know what you're getting!), means that it won't be wobbling around on your floorboards, says Molly Ritterbeck, NASM-certified personal trainer (via Runner's World).

And those online classes? They're pretty hard to beat. Peloton boasts an extraordinary amount of lively content to enjoy, ranging from beginner classes to more advanced HIIT workouts, climbing classes, and training plans. And it's all displayed on a 23.8-inch rotating screen, allowing you to reposition it if you wanna hop off and take part in one of Peloton's yoga or meditation classes. While the Bike+ is one of the pricier choices out there, it's got something for everyone.

We don't all have endless amounts of money to spend on an exercise bike, and most people just want a model that will give them a great workout. That's where the Schwinn IC2i Indoor Cycling Bike comes in, a spin bike that provides all of the features you need at a price you'll appreciate. The IC2i has easily-adjustable pedals and handlebars and allows you to alter resistance to vary the levels of intensity for your workout (per Schwinn). It also boasts a clear LCD console that keeps track of your workout, displaying the time spent cycling, speed, distance, and an estimate of how many calories you're burning, states ExerciseBike.

The Schwinn IC2i also has a sturdy flywheel, weighing 31 pounds, which gives a greater imitation of cycling on the open road. The build of the bike is sturdy, too, and can bear a maximum weight of 250 pounds on its compact frame. It's worth bearing in mind that the IC2i may be slightly louder than more expensive choices on the market, and the warranty period may be a little shorter than other options, but it's a terrific choice for anyone looking for the essentials.

Let's be real: Very few people like to be heard while they're working out. Unless you're a gym instructor giving guidance to your clients or a natural show-off, most folks like to keep their exercise on the quiet side. That's where the Technogym Bike shines. Among its other features, one of the most attractive things about the Technogym Bike is how quiet it is, with the well-built design keeping things unintrusive even as you're spinning like your life depends on it (per Coach). The bike contains a 17.4 kilogram flywheel which is adjustable to increase or decrease resistance, and it also incorporates an extra-wide seat, giving a good degree of comfort for a pretty small design (per Technogym).

Like other competitors, the Technogym Bike has a host of training options, with an incorporated 22-inch HD touchscreen displaying exercise data and giving access to a range of on-demand classes. You can also choose to mirror your screen, giving you access to further viewing options as you rack up your miles. The touchscreen allows you to set goals for your exercise, and you can sync your Apple Watch to the bike to further keep track.

For people looking for a premium exercise bike experience, the NordicTrack S22i Studio Bike has you covered. Seeking to emulate a studio class vibe from the comfort of the home, the S22i delivers a large range of features and on-demand exercise classes, according to Healthline. One of the most notable aspects of the S22i is its ability to incline and decline during your cycle, an uncommon feature for at-home exercise bikes that creates additional variation within your workouts (per NordicTrack). The S22i is also exceptionally sturdy and has a maximum weight capacity of 350 pounds, a higher limit than a lot of other competitors — although this does mean that the bike is heavier than other options on the market.

The NordicTrack S22i comes equipped with a large HD touchscreen over its adjustable handlebars, and its streaming service offers everything from spin classes to guided workouts that copy the experience of road cycling. Automatic trainer control takes the work of changing the settings of your bike out of your hands and changes up your resistance levels based on whichever workout you're doing. The dual-sided pedals also give a further degree of choice, meaning that if you want to wear cycling shoes, you can.

Unless you're blessed with abundant amounts of space in your apartment, the thought of buying an exercise bike may cause some headaches. After all, where the heck is it gonna go? That's where folding bikes, like the ExerPeutic Folding Bike, offer a solution. The ExerPeutic Folding Bike is a seriously compact option, folding down to a minimum width of 20 inches while still being able to offer a stable ride when fully extended (per Walmart). The easy-to-assemble bike boasts a large seat cushion and can bear up to 300 pounds in weight, with a quiet riding experience that won't have your neighbors banging on their ceiling underneath you (per Good Housekeeping).

Despite its lower price point, the bike also delivers a good amount of fitness features, with embedded heart pulse sensors and options to expand how much data it tracks with further add-ons. It's worth pointing out, though, that this is a model that's probably better for people just looking for a simple way to work out, as the eight levels of magnetic tension control might limit more ardent stationary bike enthusiasts.

In a world where embedded touchscreens are now the standard for high-end exercise bikes, the Echelon EX-5s still manages to stand out. This bike is a worthy addition to the market, largely thanks to its relatively lightweight design and good choice of on-demand workouts (per T3). Weighing approximately 65 kilograms, the bike still offers a sturdy and quiet ride and comes with 32 magnetic resistance options to allow you to customize your workout. The seat is adjustable to 17 different levels and offers a comfortable ride, and the rear flywheel increases the bike's stability, although it may take some getting used to for riders who are accustomed to flywheels at the front.

The touchscreen at the front offers comprehensive data about your workout, and as with many other exercise bike options on the market, there's a built-in app that gives a huge range of choices for workout classes. The content is updated every day, and whether it's a five-minute blast of exercise or a longer session, there's something for everyone. Bear in mind, though, that you'll have to pay a monthly or yearly subscription to the app and its features, which is the case with a lot of similar bikes, too.

Bowflex is a company that covers all the bases, with weights, treadmills, and home gyms all part of their workout range (per Bowflex). But just because they're not as specialized as other exercise bike companies might be, that doesn't mean you should write them off. The Bowflex Velocore 22" is a worthwhile addition to any fitness enthusiast's workout room — a smart bike with some attractive features. One of the things that makes the Velocore 22" stand out is its ability to lean, emulating the feel of a road bike by allowing riders to shift to the left or right as they work out (per Medical News Today). This makes the Velocore 22" an ideal choice for folks transitioning from on-road cycling to home-based options.

The Velocore offers 100 resistance levels to customize your workout, and these levels can be automatically altered as you follow with the touchscreen-displayed workouts. With a 325 pound weight limit, the bike's positioning is adjustable to give you the most comfortable ride possible. The Velocore 22" also comes equipped with two small dumbbells and a mat, giving you the ability to hop off and complete a different workout through the JRNY subscription you can purchase and operate through the touchscreen.

At-home studio bikes are all the rage, and the ProForm Studio Bike 22 is a worthwhile option to explore. Coming in at a slightly lower price point than other studio bikes, the ProForm Studio Bike 22 doesn't compromise anything in terms of construction quality, with a stable design offering a smooth ride and a large HD touchscreen, explains Good Housekeeping. This exercise bike is an especially good option for those looking to keep their workouts on the silent side: Using patented Silent Magnetic Resistance technology, this model keeps things quiet, providing a lesser degree of disruption to other people in your home while you work up a sweat.

The bike packs in a good range of resistance levels, and you can opt to let your virtual instructor take over, adjusting them automatically so you don't have to worry about them mid-workout. The touchscreen also rotates, and with the one-year iFit Family Membership included, you have access to a variety of workout classes, including floor workouts to mix things up. Be aware, though, that the weight limit on the Studio Bike Pro 22 is slightly lower than others, with a maximum capacity of 250 pounds.

As technology continues its relentless march forward, you'd be forgiven for thinking that every exercise bike needs the latest features, the biggest touchscreen, and the most advanced streaming services. But all of those things, folks, can cost a lot of money. And sometimes, people just need a good old-fashioned exercise bike to work out on, that doesn't break the bank. Enter the YOSUDA YB001R, a solidly-made exercise bike with a sturdy flywheel and adjustable features. With manually-changed resistance, the YB001R has a setting that will suit everyone's preferences, and offers a good degree of comfort, explains GearLab.

While those who are looking for more advanced features may find the YB001R lacking, it still contains the core essentials, with an LCD screen displaying exercise stats like the time spent cycling, your speed, and calories burned. It also has a mount for your water bottle, and the cage pedals keep your feet secure during your ride. Thanks to its simpler design, the YB001R may be quicker to put together than other exercise bikes available on the market, and it's built to bear up to 270 pounds of weight.

While spin bikes are generally what most people think of when they picture stationary cycle machines, air bikes are also a great choice. Air bikes, which operate via air resistance provided by a large fan embedded into the machine, are especially well-suited to HIIT workouts and total-body training, says Trevor Thieme, certified strength and conditioning coach (via Men's Health). The AssaultBike Classic is a solid choice for those who favor an air bike's ability to work you hard. With movable handles, the AssaultBike Classic is designed with stability in mind, and gets your heart racing in a matter of seconds, reports Good Housekeeping. This bike is easy to assemble and move, and the seat's height is adjustable to your preference.

The AssaultBike Classic also comes with a lightweight console that, despite its simple design, contains preset workouts for you to follow along to. There's an integrated timer, and you can also opt to set targets for your workout, exercising to achieve a set time, distance, or amount of calories burned. If you're tired of standard spin bikes and want to seriously challenge yourself, the AssaultBike Classic could be for you.

Okay, so we know that the visual appeal of an exercise bike is probably not the most important thing about it, but let's be real: We want things to look good. And so if you want to marry design with function, The MYX II has you covered. Coming in a sleek natural white, as well as a charcoal shade, The MYX II is a reasonably-priced smart bike that offers an array of features, like a Bluetooth-enabled speaker and an improved sensor to keep track of your fitness (per Good Housekeeping). The bike has adjustable seats and pedals, and holds up to 350 pounds of weight, making The MYX II an impressively sturdy choice.

This model also comes with a sizeable touchscreen, measuring 21.5 inches, on which you can stream a large number of classes and trainers through a BODi subscription. There's no need to feel like you're just following along, either: The touchscreen has an eight-megapixel camera embedded into it, which you can use to take part in live classes with others around the world. The touchscreen can rotate 360 degrees, allowing you to use it to take part in floor exercise classes, and MYX provides a 12-month warranty for the bike parts, with a five-year warranty for the frame.

Folding exercise bikes are superb choices for the space-conscious, but it's natural to worry that what you gain in compactness, you lose in comfort. Luckily, this doesn't seem to be the case with the XTerra Fitness FB150 Folding Bike, a space-saving option that delivers a wide padded seat, giving you comfort while you exercise (per Men's Health). The FB150 folds up into a compact 18.1" by 18.1" for easy storage — and when it's fully extended, it still only has a length of 32 inches and a weight of 32 pounds, meaning that it can fit into any corner. Unfortunately, this means that it's better for riders on the lighter side, and can hold weight up to 225 pounds, less than other options on the market.

As with other folding bikes, the XTerra has a low price point and is great for folks on a budget. It's also adjustable via a tension knob embedded just below the handlebars and offers eight different resistance settings. The LCD monitor provides the essentials needed to keep track of your workout, although heart rate monitoring is not included.

For folks who have the space for a recumbent bike, they can be an awesome choice. Thanks to their partially reclined style, recumbent bikes are especially attractive for individuals who experience back issues, "where they can't tolerate the upright riding position, or it's harder for them to get on and off a standard bicycle," says certified strength and conditioning specialist Vint Schoenfeldt (per Bicycling).

And of all the recumbent bikes on the market, the Schwinn 570R Recumbent Bike is one of the best. The lumbar-supported seat gives you comfort while you ride, and there are a huge amount of resistance options, fitness tracking options, and even in-built speakers to keep your workout lively (per Fitness Brain). Pleasingly, the 570R Recumbent Bike even has a three-speed fan embedded into its body, to cool you down as you're heating up. The console for this model is particularly comprehensive and gives you a total of 29 programs to choose from, pairing to various apps and with a nifty dual LCD. The bike even has a USB port embedded in it, so your phone won't run out of battery on those long, virtual rides.

We're a big fan of keeping things simple, and the Sunny Health & Fitness Belt Drive Indoor Cycling Bike does just that. This entry-level product has a few tricks up its sleeve, though, which sets it apart from other bikes at the same price point. Most notable is its heavy flywheel, weighing in at 49 pounds, which emulates the feeling of on-road cycling and offers excellent resistance throughout your workout (per Live Science). The weighted flywheel also means that this bike operates quietly, minimizing disruption, and the model itself doesn't take up too much space.

The Sunny Health & Fitness Belt Drive Indoor Cycling Bike also delivers a stable experience, with a maximum weight of 275 pounds — although that's largely due to its heavier design, so make sure you bribe a friend to help you get it into your home and set it up. It's worth pointing out that, as an entry-level model, the Sunny Indoor Cycling Bike doesn't have the comprehensive monitoring features that other bikes may have, with no cadence tracker or screen.