Health
Best budget exercise bikes 2024: Boost your stamina without breaking the bank
If you love home workouts, the best budget exercise bikes can help you get fitter and stronger without breaking the bank. And with so many different models available on the market, you can easily pick a bike that ticks all your boxes.
Whether you are training for a cycling event, want to lose weight or improve your cardiovascular endurance, the best budget exercise bikes are a good investment as they are low impact, suitable for all fitness levels and don’t take up too much space. They are also very beginner friendly, and useful for those returning to exercise after a break or injury.
Cycling has a ton of health benefits – as well as torching calories and boosting heart health, a study published in the journal Aging Cell found regular riding could hold back the effects of aging and keep your immune system young.
We've tested a variety of budget exercise bikes, ensuring to include our favorite low-cost options, space saving options and bikes with folding capabilities. If you’re thinking about investing in one of the best budget exercise bikes, then read on to find out the pros and cons of the latest models in stock and available to buy now.
Best budget exercise bikes
The Yosuda indoor stationary exercise bike combines affordability with a basic design that gets the job done. It’s a sturdy machine with a small footprint that will appeal to anyone short on space.
The ergonomic seat makes it really comfortable to ride, and while it’s fairly simplistic you can still enjoy a challenging workout without spending a fortune. As with many of the cheaper exercise bikes, it only has a small LCD screen and it doesn’t come with any workouts, so we recommend finding free online classes over on YouTube or via the iFit or Peloton app.
Despite the low cost, the lightweight bike has a heavy steel frame and a surprisingly quiet 35lb friction resistance flywheel. The bike’s wide base adds stability and the front-loaded transport wheels mean you can easily stow it away after use. Our main complaint is it doesn't track cadence (pedal revolutions to indicate pace), but you can look at metrics using some of the best fitness trackers.
- Read our full Yosuda Indoor Stationary Cycling Bike review
This basic exercise bike is a great entry-level machine that beginners will love. The pedals were comfortable, really easy to adjust and kept our feet secure, especially during standing rides.
The bike doesn’t have a cadence tracker, which means you can’t tell what resistance you’re at, so you have to guess your intensity during workouts. It’s also lacking a screen, device holder or any preset workouts – in fact, the only accessory is a water bottle holder. You can follow online classes on the Sunny website and YouTube channel, but they are slightly lackluster.
Our other gripe is that the seat is quite uncomfortable, especially during longer rides. If you find it an issue, too, you could swap it for a more cushioned seat or even invest in a thick seat cover or padded cycling shorts.
- Read our full Sunny Health and Fitness Bike SF-B1002 review
For challenging cardio workouts the Echelon EX5s has great versatility with a wide range of classes suitable for beginners to advanced riders. We found the hill classes in particular were great for raising the heart rate and the enthusiastic instructors were great at encouraging you to push yourself, whilst also allowing you to work at your own pace. A breakdown of real time data on the screen and an email report after each session was also an excellent way to track your progress.
On the downside finding an appropriate session could be a little tricky as the screen navigation is not the most intuitive and the class descriptions are a little vague. Sometimes the instructors could be a bit difficult to understand and it was easy to miss an instruction- but through trial and error you could find the instructor that you like best. Although the bike is a hefty initial financial outlay the monthly membership is quite reasonable and you should never get bored thanks to the endless videos in the on demand library. There are limitations however as there are only a small handful of sessions longer than 45 minutes and many of the classes are not captioned.
- Read our full Echelon connect EX5s review
When you’re buying a budget exercise bike, some of the main things to look out for are transportation wheels so you can easily move it around, easy assembly and a smooth, quiet ride. The Vigbody ticks all three boxes, and for the price is a great entry level exercise bike for beginners.
It has a high max weight capacity of 330lbs and a ‘whisper quiet’ belt drive system that you’d usually expect to find on a more expensive machine. The Vigbody has a basic LCD monitor that’s simple to use and easy to read, tracking all core metrics from time, distance, speed and calories burned. A downside is the bike only has a phone holder and nowhere to put a tablet. But you can easily buy a tablet holder to attach to the handlebars for around $15.
This is a great exercise bike for beginners and it provides a smooth and quiet ride. While we found the seat was rather uncomfortable, this is something you can easily change.
- We are currently reviewing this bike and will update this guide once our full testing process is complete.
The Urevo Kardio T1 exercise bike is good value for money for people who want a low intensity ride without all the bells and whistles of more expensive machines. Put simply it’s a great option for people new or returning to exercise.
It’s compatible with Zwift so you can enjoy virtual workouts, but bear in mind that after the free trial there’s a $13pcm fee. The Bluetooth connectivity means you can pair it with other apps, too.
It’s not ideal for taller users, and the resistance range is rather poor. To get a reasonable amount of resistance you have to turn the knob all the way. That said, if you prefer gentler exercise on a bike and you're a complete beginner, this cheap model could be a good fit.
- We are currently reviewing this bike and will update this guide once our full testing process is complete.
With a small and simple LCD screen, the Xterra Fitness FB150 bike is super compact and folds away easily. It has a large and comfortable padded seat and takes up just 18.1” x 18.1” of floor space when folded. In fact this is probably its biggest pull, and it will appeal to people short on space.
It has a manual magnetic resistance system, which you adjust by turning the dial. There are eight resistance levels in total, so while it’s not that inspiring for seasoned cyclists, it’s enough to work up a sweat and be challenging for low impact training.
While it’s lacking any real features, including a bottle holder or somewhere to put your tablet or phone, if you want a bike that does a basic job without taking up too much space, this is a good choice. It's incredibly cheap, too, often retailing for less than $100.
- We are currently reviewing this bike and will update this guide once our full testing process is complete.
How we test
How do we test the best budget exercise bikes at Live Science?
We test budget exercise bikes by putting them through their paces. We complete a sprint interval session on each model and a lengthy recovery ride, to see how well they hold up under pressure. We then also rank each bike for its design, features, performance and value for money.
FAQs
What should I look for in an exercise bike?
The best budget exercise bikes often come without a screen (you’ll find these on more expensive machines) but you can use your smartphone or a tablet to access free and paid-for virtual classes.
One of the first things to consider is size and space. If you live in an apartment block or shared accommodation, you might want to opt for one of the more slimline models, or a foldable bike.
If you are particularly tall or short you will also want to check if you can adjust the seat and handlebar height. Budget exercise bikes often have a lower weight capacity, so take this into account too if you are on the larger side.
How noisy is the bike? You can read online reviews to find out if the bike you have your eye on is loud or quiet. Also think about resistance levels – beginners will probably be happy with a manual system, whereas more dedicated riders might prefer an auto-resistance feature, more often found on expensive models.
If you like group exercise, then you might want to consider a bike that comes with an app to stream live and on-demand workouts, like Peloton or iFit (subscription needed). You can use these apps on your phone or tablet even if you don’t have an actual Peloton Bike, but you won’t be able to sync your metrics.
Lastly, pedal type is important. Toe cage ones work best with normal sneakers, while clip-in ones need special cycling shoes. Many exercise bikes have dual pedals, which are interchangeable. Once you’ve chosen the best budget exercise bike for you, make sure you read our handy guide on how to get the most out of your exercise bike.
Is an exercise bike right for me?
If you're wondering if an exercise bike is the right piece of cardio equipment for you, we've spoken to physiotherapist and bike fit expert Sam Birch to find out more about who indoor cycling suits best. He told us that cycling is a brilliant way for those recovering from lower-limb injuries to still achieve a cardio workout, without the impact.
Cycling is considered more of a lower body workout, but your upper body provides stabilization, and you can still improve your cardio and ramp up calorie burn.
Your glutes, quads, hamstrings, and core benefit most from cycling (alongside your heart and lungs), but physiotherapist Birch says consistency is the key. He recommends daily cycling if you want to improve because this progressively loads and trains those muscle groups. “You will notice increased leg strength and improved cardio fitness, too,” he says.
However, Birch recommends adding variation to keep it interesting. After all, variety is the spice of life.
Our Expert
Currently a Specialist Musculoskeletal Physiotherapist at Pure Sports Medicine, Birch has a keen interest in post-surgical rehabilitation, cycling injuries and sports rehabilitation.
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