I am thinking about getting a stationary bike for my apartment since I work 9-8 and would rather be able to do cardio at home and hit the gym after work at night. If I do cardio in the morning at the gym I have to wake up around 6:30 which is a major pain in the azz. Do any of you guys have bikes at home? I dont have much to spend but could I get a decent one for around 200 bucks? I usually do incline walking on the treadmill but I know I cannot afford a treadmill and an hour on a stationary bike would work just the same. Any pointers on what type/brand to get?

I've been thinking the same thing. I'd love to get a stationary bike, I love running outside but I live in Michigan and winter is rapidly approaching so I would like to have it to do my cardio indoors. I say a stationary bike on the walmart website for like 78.00 or something like that, I'm not sure how good it is but if it makes me work for 45 minutes and gets my heart going it'll do the trick. I'll keep an eye on this thread cause I'd like to know what affordable brands that are decent are out there.

Good luck finding something!

My $0.10 ... I lost my weight using a fairly inexpensive stationary bike and a free weights. No frills. No elliptical trainer. No stairmaster. No bowflex. No fancy workout clothes. Just simple HIIT cardio on a bike. I lost nearly 75# with it. I plan on keeping it for posterity for years and years. :tu:

I bought my stationary bike for $200 on the nose at Gart Sports. It's compact, has wheels on the front so you can easily move it around, has magnetic resistance, pretty nice LCD display (although it doesn't have any programs or anything, just tells you RPMS, calories, temp, time, etc). Even has a HR monitor that always says 70 BPM :p I believe it's made by Linex.


In fact, here's the exact model:

http://www.gartsports.com/product/index.jsp?productId=1113988&cp=710956.863229.1382082&filter=yes&fCat=1382082&fbrandid=14462&fpricesort=priceDescending&parentPage=family

Overall, for the price, I'm very happy with it.

Try a bike trainer, as I bet you have a bicycle anyway. They take up less space and are a lot cheaper for a much better bike trainer. (an ok one from CycleOps with magnetic resistance will cost you the same as that walmart crap, and there's a lot less to break)

froogle "mag trainer" "bike trainer" or what not

they're designed for cyclists who can't bike outside sometimes. But they have adjustable resistance and some even have a monitors and such. $80-$300 for most.

I bought a bike for about 1000.00 tax incl. It's the 3100 model by Vision. Awesome bike! Ive already gone through a 150.00 walmart and a 499.00 sears bike. Remember, you get what you pay for!