SCHWINN Fitness 230 Recumbent Bike

I bought this bike to replace a Nordic Track that was three years old. I shipped it using Amazon Prime, it arrived on time and in perfect condition. The box was intact, and the contents were in perfect condition.The bike must be assembled. I did not do the assembly, my husband did, and was able to finish in about a hour. There was one step where he needed an extra set of hands for a minute.The seat is un-padded, but the contoured shape is very comfortable for me. I am not sure it would be comfortable if your behind is unusually large and did not fit into the contours. The back support is excellent. The step through design makes it very easy to get on and off. The cup holder is behind the seat instead of between your legs like most models, which some may find awkward. I appreciated not having it where it was easy to bump. There is a smaller cup included in the holder that is perfect for a small item like a lip balm.The control panel is easy to use, and easy to see. It includes several really nice workouts to change up your routine, or you can use it on manual. You enter your personal information, making the feedback as to calorie burn more accurate, a very nice feature.The fans are nice, work well, and don't make an undue amount of noise. I find the rack that is provided for a book or tablet to be too high for me. I have an acrylic book rack that I hook to it to bring things down to a comfortable level for me so I'm not straining my neck. Regardless of which way I use the rack, part of the display is covered, which I don't really care for, but I've never seen a design that worked any better.The instructions that came with the bike were completely inadequate, as they not fully explain the controls. I found a more detailed manual online at the manufacturers site. If you order this bike, go ahead and download the manual online before it arrives, you will need it. This manual should be the one included with the bike, it is ridiculous to have to go looking for better instructions.This machine is very well proportioned if you are short like me. On my old machine, I had to pull the seat as far forward as it would go. I do not need to do that with this machine, there is still room to pull forward for those who are shorter than my 5' 2".The pedal action is smooth, and very, very quiet. It can't be heard outside my gym room, and I don't have to turn the TV up loud to be heard over it. The body of the bike is sturdy and there is no feeling of it moving or shaking as I ride.Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with this bike, much happier with it than my last bike.

This bike is great, especially for it's low price.It is sturdy and my husband built it in about an hour without much grumbling (so it MUST have been easy to build!). I have used it every other day for the last week. I do the "rolling hills" program and it has me sweating by the end of it. Their is a little beeping melody at the end of the workout, and the other day my 5 year old heard it and yelled out "Goal Achieved!".Programing in your name, weight, and the date got me a little confused (and it isn't covered in the manual). I evenutally figured out how to reset the programming so my name is no longer just "Ju". There are plenty of programs to pick from, and more challenging levels that I will hopefully be able to use as my level of fitness increases. The cup holder is well located. Big enough to hold an oversized bottle or cup. Fan is a perfect height and keeps me cool during my workout.The seat is easy to adjust, and it fits my height (5'2") and my husband could use it if he wanted (at 6'4"). It really does have a the feel (resistance, quality, programs) of an expensive piece of gym equipment.Note: At my height the shelf for a tablet or phone is rendered useless because it is well below eye level. I happily hold my kindle as I pedal along.Added 7/9/15 - Still using the bike. Aiming for every other day, but not always accomplishing this. I am still doing the "rolling hills" program but I have increased the time by 10 minutes and the level by 1. My pants are looser in the thigh area, and I feel better and sleep better.

Overall I am very pleased with the 230 Recumbent. It was easy to assemble and if you just follow the directions in proper order you should not have any problems. The bike was very well and securely packed and pieces for assembly were clearly separated and marked. I am a female in my 70's and assembled it by myself with no problems. The seat is surprisingly very comfortable. I was worried that it would be a problem because it was not padded but it is fine. I have a degenerative disc problem at L5/S1 and have no back discomfort whatsoever is using this bike. My usual workouts last 30 minutes with no discomfort - I would not want to sit on it for hours but then I don't think any bike seat is comfortable that long. I think the computer programming could be a little easier to use.....I am very computer literate but found it just a little unfriendly - made harder by the fact that I could not see it unless I had a lamp placed behind me. I knew upfront that the monitor was not back-lit and it is not really terrible once you get it set up but it would be so much better if it were back lit - more attractive too. That being said, once I programmed everything in and figured out where everything was I can see what I need to without any problem. I usually just target my ride to accomplish a certain amount of miles within a reasonable time period....I have looked at some of the pre-programmed choices but for now I just pedal away while tracking speed, RPM's time and distance....getting the exercise I need. One thing II really like is that it is very quiet - I often ride it in the evening while my husband and I watch TV and have no trouble with hearing the TV - in fact, we do not have to even raise the TV volume to hear it comfortably while I ride my bike. My bike is about 5 feet behind where my husband sits and he does not find it all distracting. The bike is sturdy, has a small footprint and is comfortable to use....all the things that will result in my using it and not having it just sit and take space. It would have cost quite a bit more to have the back-lit monitor or padded seat and neither of those would justify the increase. This is a good and decent bike and I thought a reasonable cost. I have tried walking and always end up with flare ups of my bursitis in my hip and my orthopedist recommended the use of a recumbent bike as the least streesful to my knees and the best option for exercise with my trochanteric bursitis. I would definitely recommend it for anyone whowants to get exercise they can enjoy without causing stress on knees and joints. If it had a back-lit monitor I would have given it a full five stars but feel that 5 Stars is pretty perfect so with this one shortcoming I could only give it 4 - really would be a 4 1/2 if that was an option.

Overall, I really like this machine. I bought it to warm up before lifting weights and to do cardio on my off-days. I weigh too much to run on a treadmill (and ones that could handle me are way too expensive), and running would be too hard on my knees at this point, so a recumbent bike seemed like a great way to work up a sweat without making my knees explode. Here's my observations from using it about ~4 days a week for the last couple of months.-No damage to the unit or packaging upon arrival.-Fairly easy to assemble.-Everything worked.-Feels sturdy. Very smooth/quiet ride.-Fan is a nice touch.-Speakers are loud-USB port has low voltage, so if you've ever noticed how your phone/tablet charges much more slowly (or not at all) when plugging it into the USB port on your computer vs. plugging into an A/C adapter, that's what this is like. I just make sure my device is charged from the get-go.-Programs are varied. I like using the heart-rate control program, setting a target heart rate, and letting the machine automatically raise the resistance until I hit the target, and lower it if it gets too intense and my heart rate gets too high. Sometimes I just set it to Interval training, let the machine raise and lower the resistance according the program, and ignore the heart rate stuff. It then gives you a 3-minute cool-down when you're done.-Resistance is changed digitally and not through a crank or dial or anything like that. The 20 levels of resistance go from nice and breezy, to oh-my-god-who-would-ever-need-it-this-hard. I can really feel it in my quads when it starts to get up past 10.-The heart rate sensors are inconsistent and a little finicky. I find sometimes they'll get a much higher reading right off the bat than what my heart rate actually is, and I'll keep adjusting my hands' positions until it picks it up correctly. Once it gets going, it seems less sporadic. This hasn't been too much of an impediment.-The seat is a little... "shallow", I guess I would put it. It's still pretty comfortable. I'm pretty big and I feel like my butt is slightly over the edge sometimes but it hasn't been a problem, even after about 40 minutes. I guess it helps in terms of getting the seat out of the way of the motion of your legs.-I haven't had any of the problems with the sliding, adjustable seat that were described in other reviews, such as wobbling. Everything stays more or less in place while all 260 lbs of me toils away on this thing.TL;DR: A very good product with some very minor issues. Pretty much exactly what I wanted.

I've only used this bike three sessions now, but it is very sturdy and easy to use. The program navigation is a little odd but easy enough to get the hang of, while the feedback is very good.The tablet holder, audio and USB ports are very handy; I've been using my Nexus7 to watch Netflix during workouts using the bike's speakers for better audio. Simple, but excellent feature. While the tablet blocks the view of the top display, heart rate, speed, distance, calories and time continue to scroll by on the lower display unimpeded.The resistance feels excellent; as a long-time cyclist I hate exercise bikes that have poor resistance, where this feels quite akin to actually peddling a bike.Seat adjustment is a breeze and fits both myself at 6'5" and my daughter at 5'4".

Very fast delivery - arrived in one day instead of the expected two days. I read all the reviews before buying this bike and I would agree pretty much with what have been said.I tackled the assembly process without difficulty, although I am a woman! I am used to assemble kits, IKEA furniture, STAPLES furniture, you name it! I'm the DIY person of the houselhold. So, I would say to any woman out there who buys this bike: don't feel daunted when you see that huge box and all the pieces, you can do it all by yourself! The assembly pictograms were clear enough. You just need to follow the steps in order. I would say that the only problem I found was the screws! Either they were going in in an angle, or they wouldn't go in as if the holes were too small and then you had to force them in, or they weren't easy to screw in because there was a piece of equipment in the way, so you could only screw them in using half turns, sometimes not even that. I spent an awful amount of time with these....The console works fine, although I need to go online to get hold of the user manual. The manual isn't included with the bike and it's one thing that would have been nice to have handy. The bike runs very smoothly and quietly. I was amazed to see a fan is also included on the console!My main concern was that the bike would be too big for me. I read a review that said short people under 5'5 would have difficulty using that bike. As I'm just under 5'4, I did worry about it thinking what if I can hardly reach the pedals!!! Didn't need to worry at all - the seat is adjustable enough to fit even shorter people than me. What the review meant, thinking about it, is that for short people, the console is even higher as they have to move the seat forward even more and they wouldn't be able to watch TV while on the bike unless the TV set is way high up like you see in fitness centres! It would have been nice if the console had been slighly lower, but it's no big deal to me as I never watch TV when using an exercise bike anyway - I read!The seat is a bit on the small side, but still OK for me. I don't find it particularly uncomfortable.I like the fact that it has so many different programs to choose from and I can't wait to try them properly. As the bike arrived yesterday, I haven't had the chance to use it much yet...All in all, a good bike that I would recommend.

Quality components and easy to assemble though you need to be patient and follow the steps else rework will be necessary !Adjustable seat is great with different users in the house but there should be more than 2 customer users allowed ( 4-5 would be about right)VERY quiet so one person can ride and the others can watch TV , eat chips and drink beer without being offended.

I bought this almost 2.5 years ago, and I was totally pleased about it, until recently. Assembly was a cinch. It is still silent as a ghost. The design was also great in that it was easy to keep clean, there were no sweat/gunk traps and the covers shielded the joints and fastenings. It was also very comfortable, hard plastic seat notwithstanding. I didn't use the programs after the first few days as I found that I preferred to ride with maximum tension at my own pace. I rode regularly and racked up plenty of miles.But recently the weld holding the seat mount to the frame started to fail. This is likely attributable to an exercise I perform while riding. I do arm curls with weights which have me leaning out to the sides. Too much stress for the weld. Not what the bike was designed for perhaps, but still a disappointing flaw - a weak spot - in my opinion.