Go to the store for an exercise bike, and the salesman (when he has time to come around) will probably ask you what kind of model you're interested in – upright or recumbent. You will know upright exercise bikes by their upright look – they look like regular bicycles.
People prefer these for the way they allow a full and free range of motion to an exerciser trying to use them. You'll find that you can adopt any kind of position pumping those pedals – you could stand upright on those pedals or crouch down in a racing position.
Recumbent exercise bikes are different – they are like those funny long-distance quadracycles where you lean back in a chair-like seat and pedal with your legs stretched out. If you're someone who has back pain or other kinds of health problems, a recumbent model may be excellent. But some exercise experts feel that an easy chair-like position doesn't really encourage hard work in anyone.
Upright exercise bikes have their own critics – mainly that the seat is hard and not really a good fit for large people. There's really no scientific way to choose one kind over the other. You can get a good workout with either kind of exercise bike. They don't either one of them hurt you in any way. Whatever difference there is probably comes down to the psychological effect it has a person to exercise while in a reclining position or an upright one.
Shopping for exercise bikes, you do need to be realistic. You can spend a lot of money on exercise equipment in your initial enthusiasm to get a home exercise program started. Only to realize later on that you don't really spend much time exercising with your new equipment, after all. For instance, you certainly can get great exercise bikes for as little as $150, from companies like Stamina and Marcy.
Schwinn though, makes expensive models for $600 or more that you could blow your money on. Buying any kind of exercise equipment, you want to be on the watch for any tendencies you might have to not stick with an exercise program.
Even the most basic exercise bikes these days though, come with all the useful features you’ll need. You want to look for variable resistance, an adjustable seat, a quiet action and a few conveniences like a bottle holder. If you need to pay more for an LCD display and a heart rate monitor, that wouldn't be a bad idea.
And finally, if you have little children in the family (anyone under 13 would need to be considered a little child in these things) make sure that you get a model that has a fully covered wheel. Little children often find the flywheel so fascinating, they try to touch it when it's moving.
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