Muscle Insider
New member
Sometimes, a little distance can be healthy. While folding up and rolling away your dog or partner may not be morally acceptable, the best exercise bikes don’t have feelings. After working up a sweat in a virtual studio class or just pedaling while you catch up on Love is Blind, the best portable exercise bikes easily drift away...
The post The 9 Best Portable Exercise Bikes of 2024, According to Our Experts appeared first on BarBend.
Sometimes, a little distance can be healthy. While folding up and rolling away your dog or partner may not be morally acceptable, the best exercise bikes don’t have feelings. After working up a sweat in a virtual studio class or just pedaling while you catch up on Love is Blind, the best portable exercise bikes easily drift away out of sight without consequence.
With lightweight frames, transport wheels, and upright folding, our favorite portable exercise bikes are designed to save you some space after you finish your workout. After years of pumping the pedals on more than 20 exercise bikes in our home gyms and studio apartments, we’re confident in our ability to spot a quality portable bike. Check out our top picks for exercise bikes that, after adding wonderful and terrific value to your life, can politely buzz off.
The 9 Best Portable Exercise Bikes of 2024
About Our Expert:
This article has been reviewed by Amanda Capritto, CPT, CF-L1, CES, CSNC a certified personal trainer, certified nutrition coach, and CrossFit Level-1 Trainer. She reviewed the research we cite to help ensure we’re providing helpful, accurate descriptions and recommendations.
How We Tested and Chose the Best Portable Exercise Bikes
The BarBend team is loaded with cyclists, certified personal trainers, CrossFit professionals, and fitness enthusiasts. We’ve never met an exercise bike we didn’t want to clip into, and after completing countless workouts on over 20 bikes, we donned our expert-colored glasses to bring you the perspectives of some real cardio fiends.
Throughout our testing, we kept in mind how easy or difficult each bike would be to relocate. Across the 13 categories in our methodology, we assigned ratings of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) for aspects like footprint and portability, adjustability, and tech capabilities, among others. In addition to the actual bikes, we worked hard to bring our experience to life to give you a feel for what it’s like to take the best cardio machines for a spin. Here are a few of the main factors that drove our decisions.
Footprint and Portability
Our biggest consideration was — unsurprisingly — the amount of space these bikes take up, as well as how easily they can be moved. In the specs for each machine, we included the exact dimensions so you can grab your measuring tape and map out the exact spot your bike needs to go. If your exercise bike is going to be living the nomadic lifestyle, it’s important that it will be (relatively) lightweight, so also check the weight of each machine to get a sense of whether you could comfortably tilt and roll it across a room or down a hallway.
Our BarBend tester riding the NordicTrack S22i.
Most of our picks measure roughly 20 to 22 inches wide, but range from 61 inches in length down to just 10.24 inches in our smallest option. Just as we did, identify the size and weight of the exercise bike that matches your fitness goals to ensure it works in your space.
Price
The bikes on our list come at a wide range of prices — $189 to $1,999 — because we wanted to accommodate as many budgets as possible. Whether you’re counting your exercise bike as your next five Christmas presents, or you just need something to pedal while sitting at your desk, one of these bikes should suit your purposes.
[Related: The 12 Best Budget Home Gym Equipment]
Bikes closer to the upper end of the range may include more technology, heavier-duty builds, or larger footprints. As you approach the $189 mark, you’ll notice fewer conveniences, as well as less tech, but these options tend to be smaller and lighter, which could be a deciding factor for you.
Adjustability
Between the seat height and depth, handlebar placement, and levels of resistance, the exercise bikes on our list can suit the needs of athletes of various body types and fitness levels. Beyond finding your perfect fit, though, the adjustability on your machine may indicate just how portable it is. Options with four-way adjustable seats and handlebars may include a bit more hardware, which may affect the overall weight.
Our BarBend tester adjusting the seat stack on the Yosuda Indoor Cycling Bike.
Another factor influencing the weight is the flywheel. Heavier flywheels create more momentum, which generally equate to smoother operation, but the heavier the flywheel, the heavier the bike — thank you, first-grade math.
Best Overall Portable Exercise Bike: NordicTrack S22i
NordicTrack Commercial S22i
NordicTrack Commercial S22i
The NordicTrack Commercial S22i is high-tech and high quality, featuring both advancements like a 22” touchscreen display, and solid specs like 24 levels of quiet magnetic resistance.
Shop NordicTrack
Specs
Pros
Cons
As our pick for the best overall portable exercise bike, the NordicTrack S22i checks a lot of boxes — heavy-duty steel frame, 24 levels of quiet magnetic resistance, and the technology to create a studio-quality virtual experience. It earned at least a 4.5 out of 5 in nine of 13 categories during our testing, including perfect 5-out-of-5 scores for its tech capabilities, customizations, and dynamic programming, which comes courtesy of its iFIT integration.
Our BarBend product tester moving the NordicTrack S22i.
On the swiveling 22-inch HD touchscreen, you can follow over 16,000 live and on-demand iFIT classes, including — of course — indoor and outdoor cycling, strength training, yoga, Pilates, and more. The display and the iFIT experience caught the attention of Kate Meier, certified personal trainer and BarBend editorial member. “The tech built into the S22i kind of blew me away,” she said. “I think ‘immersive’ is the best word. My scenic rides through Hawaii were absolutely stunning.”
While it will cost a monthly subscription of $39.99, Meier and Jake Herod — BarBend’s expert product tester and certified nutrition coach — both feel it’s worth the extra cash. “You don’t have to purchase iFIT, but I personally think that’s how this was meant to be used,” Herod explains in his video, which you can watch below. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JbKMsCmG4Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: NordicTrack S22i Exercise Bike Review (2022) — Most INTERACTIVE BIKE? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JbKMsCmG4)
As far as its footprint and portability, with all the technology and customizations on board — like 24 levels of magnetic resistance and incline and decline capabilities — Meier rated the S22i just 3.5 out of 5. “Even with the front wheels, 205 pounds may be a lot for some people to move by themselves,” she explained. “When I was moving it, I also noticed the screen could kind of throw off the balance.”
Despite its heavy build and footprint of 9.32 square feet, some may find it just portable enough for their space. The S22i occupies slightly less space than other high-end bikes with large displays that we have ridden. Both the Peloton Bike+ and Echelon Connect EX-8s are a bit wider and require 9.42 square feet of floor space.
Read our full NordicTrack S22i Exercise Bike Review.
Best Lightweight Portable Exercise Bike: Concept2 BikeErg
Concept2 Bike Erg
Concept2 Bike Erg
The lightweight Concept2 BikeErg eschews the moveable arms you'll find on most air bikes, delivering a power-driven ride that operates more like a standard cycle than a spin bike. The flywheel's unique damper allows riders to adjust airflow, which is akin to switching gears on a mountain bike.
Shop Amazon
Specs
Pros
Cons
Air bikes, with their massive flywheels and moving handlebars, aren’t the most portable cardio machines, but the BikeErg isn’t like other air bikes. It swaps out moving handlebars for fixed ones, and its flywheel — which has a damper system that works to emulate the gears of a mountain bike — is less unwieldy than what you’ll find on something like the Rogue Echo. This allows it to be more compact than other air bikes, and, at 68 pounds, roughly 42 to 62 pounds lighter than many exercise bikes.
Our tester taking the Concept2 BikeErg for a spin.
The front wheels should allow most users to tilt and roll it without assistance. And without huge handlebars or a bulky screen above the handlebars, balancing the bike while moving is much easier. Citing its 7-square-foot footprint, our tester scored the footprint and portability category a 4.5 out of 5. “I think it would fit in most home gyms or even apartments without much issue,” they noted.
[Related: The 6 Best Air Bikes]
The customizations earned a 4 out of 5 from our tester, as adjusting the seat and handlebars allowed them to find a comfortable fit. “All I had to do was flip a lever and pull the seat up, so finding the right spot was pretty easy,” they pointed out. “I could also move the handlebars up and down, as well as forward and backward.” If you’re loyal to a particular brand of pedals, the ones on the BikeErg can be switched out for clipless options or other compatible units.
Our product tester adjusting the seat stack on the Concept2 BikeErg.
The LCD screen is about all the tech there is on this bike, but our tester took advantage of the ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity to connect their fitness tracker and heart rate monitor. Its tech capabilities earned a rating of 3 out of 5, but again, replacing a screen with a smartphone cradle is part of what makes this bike so portable.
Best Budget Portable Exercise Bike: ProForm Carbon CX
ProForm Carbon CX Exercise Bike
ProForm Carbon CX Exercise Bike
The ProForm Carbon CX is a sturdy steel 125-pound build with 16 levels of silent magnetic resistance. In addition to being one of the quietest options on the market, this bike also comes with a free year of iFit and a swiveling tablet holder, so you can stream classes on and off the bike.
Shop ProForm
Specs
Pros
Cons
The $399 ProForm Carbon CX is our pick for the best budget portable exercise bike because it’s up to $450 less expensive than other bikes that feature 16 levels of magnetic resistance and compatibility with the iFIT fitness app. Sure, you’ll need to link up your own device to access the app’s bounty of classes, but we still think it’s a quality option for those on a limited budget. When I tested the Carbon CX, I scored its portability, customizations, durability, and ergonomics all at least a 4.5 out of 5.
BarBend reviews writer Matt Cummings on the ProForm Carbon CX.
During testing, I had no issues tilting or rolling the Carbon CX on gym flooring. At 125 pounds, I was expecting a more difficult time, but once I got it upright, I was comfortably driving it with one hand. Its 8-square-foot footprint is close to average for upright bikes, so after seeing how easy it was to move, I scored its overall footprint and portability 4.5 out of 5.
An area where the Carbon CX may be lacking is its onboard technology, as its LCD display can only display basic metrics. It’s worth noting, though, that the bike’s iFIT compatibility means it can make automatic adjustments to your speed and incline based on the specifications of iFIT classes.
BarBend reviews writer Matt Cummings adjusting the resistance knob on the ProForm Carbon CX.
I also rated the Carbon CX’s ergonomics 4.5 out of 5, because in addition to the seat being adjustable up, down, forward, and backward, you can also swap it out for a more comfortable option.
I used the vertical grips the most, but you can also grab the triangle in the center, as well. My feet felt secure in the adjustable cages on the pedals, but these can also be switched out if you have a preferred style of pedals.
Read our full ProForm Carbon CX Exercise Bike Review.
Best Adjustable Portable Exercise Bike: Schwinn IC4
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike
The Schwinn IC4 combines upper and lower body work with its included set of dumbbells and 100 levels of cycling resistance for a complete upper and lower body burn. Dial up your favorite streaming app and hop on, this bike is compatible with JRNY, Peloton, and Zwift.
Shop Schwinn
Specs
Pros
The post The 9 Best Portable Exercise Bikes of 2024, According to Our Experts appeared first on BarBend.
Sometimes, a little distance can be healthy. While folding up and rolling away your dog or partner may not be morally acceptable, the best exercise bikes don’t have feelings. After working up a sweat in a virtual studio class or just pedaling while you catch up on Love is Blind, the best portable exercise bikes easily drift away out of sight without consequence.
With lightweight frames, transport wheels, and upright folding, our favorite portable exercise bikes are designed to save you some space after you finish your workout. After years of pumping the pedals on more than 20 exercise bikes in our home gyms and studio apartments, we’re confident in our ability to spot a quality portable bike. Check out our top picks for exercise bikes that, after adding wonderful and terrific value to your life, can politely buzz off.
The 9 Best Portable Exercise Bikes of 2024
- Best Overall Portable Exercise Bike: NordicTrack S22i
- Best Lightweight Portable Exercise Bike: Concept2 BikeErg
- Best Budget Portable Exercise Bike: ProForm Carbon CX
- Best Adjustable Portable Exercise Bike: Schwinn IC4
- Best Foldable Portable Exercise Bike: Marcy Foldable Upright Exercise Bike
- Best Compact Portable Exercise Bike: Yosuda Indoor Cycling Bike
- Best Portable Exercise Bike for Small Spaces: Sharper Image Space Saving Stationary Bike
- Best Portable Mini Exercise Bike: DeskCycle 2
- Best Portable Exercise Bike for Seniors: Exerpeutic 400XL Folding Recumbent Bike
About Our Expert:
This article has been reviewed by Amanda Capritto, CPT, CF-L1, CES, CSNC a certified personal trainer, certified nutrition coach, and CrossFit Level-1 Trainer. She reviewed the research we cite to help ensure we’re providing helpful, accurate descriptions and recommendations.
How We Tested and Chose the Best Portable Exercise Bikes
The BarBend team is loaded with cyclists, certified personal trainers, CrossFit professionals, and fitness enthusiasts. We’ve never met an exercise bike we didn’t want to clip into, and after completing countless workouts on over 20 bikes, we donned our expert-colored glasses to bring you the perspectives of some real cardio fiends.
Throughout our testing, we kept in mind how easy or difficult each bike would be to relocate. Across the 13 categories in our methodology, we assigned ratings of 1 (lowest) to 5 (highest) for aspects like footprint and portability, adjustability, and tech capabilities, among others. In addition to the actual bikes, we worked hard to bring our experience to life to give you a feel for what it’s like to take the best cardio machines for a spin. Here are a few of the main factors that drove our decisions.
Footprint and Portability
Our biggest consideration was — unsurprisingly — the amount of space these bikes take up, as well as how easily they can be moved. In the specs for each machine, we included the exact dimensions so you can grab your measuring tape and map out the exact spot your bike needs to go. If your exercise bike is going to be living the nomadic lifestyle, it’s important that it will be (relatively) lightweight, so also check the weight of each machine to get a sense of whether you could comfortably tilt and roll it across a room or down a hallway.
Most of our picks measure roughly 20 to 22 inches wide, but range from 61 inches in length down to just 10.24 inches in our smallest option. Just as we did, identify the size and weight of the exercise bike that matches your fitness goals to ensure it works in your space.
Price
The bikes on our list come at a wide range of prices — $189 to $1,999 — because we wanted to accommodate as many budgets as possible. Whether you’re counting your exercise bike as your next five Christmas presents, or you just need something to pedal while sitting at your desk, one of these bikes should suit your purposes.
[Related: The 12 Best Budget Home Gym Equipment]
Bikes closer to the upper end of the range may include more technology, heavier-duty builds, or larger footprints. As you approach the $189 mark, you’ll notice fewer conveniences, as well as less tech, but these options tend to be smaller and lighter, which could be a deciding factor for you.
Adjustability
Between the seat height and depth, handlebar placement, and levels of resistance, the exercise bikes on our list can suit the needs of athletes of various body types and fitness levels. Beyond finding your perfect fit, though, the adjustability on your machine may indicate just how portable it is. Options with four-way adjustable seats and handlebars may include a bit more hardware, which may affect the overall weight.
Another factor influencing the weight is the flywheel. Heavier flywheels create more momentum, which generally equate to smoother operation, but the heavier the flywheel, the heavier the bike — thank you, first-grade math.
Best Overall Portable Exercise Bike: NordicTrack S22i
NordicTrack Commercial S22i
NordicTrack Commercial S22i
The NordicTrack Commercial S22i is high-tech and high quality, featuring both advancements like a 22” touchscreen display, and solid specs like 24 levels of quiet magnetic resistance.
Shop NordicTrack
Specs
- Price: $1,999
- Dimensions: 58? H x 61? L x 22? W
- Weight: 205lbs
- Resistance: 24 levels of magnetic resistance
- Weight Capacity: 350lbs
Pros
- It has a stable steel frame, iFIT integration, and a -10- to 20-percent incline and decline range.
- The 22-inch HD touchscreen works to provide an immersive, studio-quality experience during iFIT classes.
- It has 24 levels of quiet magnetic resistance.
Cons
- We believe iFIT — an additional $39.99 per month — is integral to bringing out this bike’s full potential.
- At 205 pounds, it’s on the heavier end of portable machines.
As our pick for the best overall portable exercise bike, the NordicTrack S22i checks a lot of boxes — heavy-duty steel frame, 24 levels of quiet magnetic resistance, and the technology to create a studio-quality virtual experience. It earned at least a 4.5 out of 5 in nine of 13 categories during our testing, including perfect 5-out-of-5 scores for its tech capabilities, customizations, and dynamic programming, which comes courtesy of its iFIT integration.
On the swiveling 22-inch HD touchscreen, you can follow over 16,000 live and on-demand iFIT classes, including — of course — indoor and outdoor cycling, strength training, yoga, Pilates, and more. The display and the iFIT experience caught the attention of Kate Meier, certified personal trainer and BarBend editorial member. “The tech built into the S22i kind of blew me away,” she said. “I think ‘immersive’ is the best word. My scenic rides through Hawaii were absolutely stunning.”
While it will cost a monthly subscription of $39.99, Meier and Jake Herod — BarBend’s expert product tester and certified nutrition coach — both feel it’s worth the extra cash. “You don’t have to purchase iFIT, but I personally think that’s how this was meant to be used,” Herod explains in his video, which you can watch below. .
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JbKMsCmG4Video can’t be loaded because JavaScript is disabled: NordicTrack S22i Exercise Bike Review (2022) — Most INTERACTIVE BIKE? (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6JbKMsCmG4)
As far as its footprint and portability, with all the technology and customizations on board — like 24 levels of magnetic resistance and incline and decline capabilities — Meier rated the S22i just 3.5 out of 5. “Even with the front wheels, 205 pounds may be a lot for some people to move by themselves,” she explained. “When I was moving it, I also noticed the screen could kind of throw off the balance.”
Despite its heavy build and footprint of 9.32 square feet, some may find it just portable enough for their space. The S22i occupies slightly less space than other high-end bikes with large displays that we have ridden. Both the Peloton Bike+ and Echelon Connect EX-8s are a bit wider and require 9.42 square feet of floor space.
Read our full NordicTrack S22i Exercise Bike Review.
Best Lightweight Portable Exercise Bike: Concept2 BikeErg
Concept2 Bike Erg
Concept2 Bike Erg
The lightweight Concept2 BikeErg eschews the moveable arms you'll find on most air bikes, delivering a power-driven ride that operates more like a standard cycle than a spin bike. The flywheel's unique damper allows riders to adjust airflow, which is akin to switching gears on a mountain bike.
Shop Amazon
Specs
- Price: $1,467
- Dimensions: 41” H x 48” L x 21” W
- Weight: 68lbs
- Resistance: Air
- Weight Capacity: 350lbs
Pros
- Its 68-pound overall weight is between 42 and 62 pounds lighter than the average exercise bike, which is around 110 to 130 pounds.
- The adjustable seat and handlebars make it easy to quickly find your fit.
- With Bluetooth and ANT+ wireless connectivity, you can connect third-party heart rate monitors to track workout data.
- You can switch out the included set of pedals with any compatible options.
Cons
- If you plan on streaming workouts or entertainment, you’ll need to use the smartphone cradle above the LCD display.
- As opposed to other air bikes, the arms are stationary.
Air bikes, with their massive flywheels and moving handlebars, aren’t the most portable cardio machines, but the BikeErg isn’t like other air bikes. It swaps out moving handlebars for fixed ones, and its flywheel — which has a damper system that works to emulate the gears of a mountain bike — is less unwieldy than what you’ll find on something like the Rogue Echo. This allows it to be more compact than other air bikes, and, at 68 pounds, roughly 42 to 62 pounds lighter than many exercise bikes.
The front wheels should allow most users to tilt and roll it without assistance. And without huge handlebars or a bulky screen above the handlebars, balancing the bike while moving is much easier. Citing its 7-square-foot footprint, our tester scored the footprint and portability category a 4.5 out of 5. “I think it would fit in most home gyms or even apartments without much issue,” they noted.
[Related: The 6 Best Air Bikes]
The customizations earned a 4 out of 5 from our tester, as adjusting the seat and handlebars allowed them to find a comfortable fit. “All I had to do was flip a lever and pull the seat up, so finding the right spot was pretty easy,” they pointed out. “I could also move the handlebars up and down, as well as forward and backward.” If you’re loyal to a particular brand of pedals, the ones on the BikeErg can be switched out for clipless options or other compatible units.
The LCD screen is about all the tech there is on this bike, but our tester took advantage of the ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity to connect their fitness tracker and heart rate monitor. Its tech capabilities earned a rating of 3 out of 5, but again, replacing a screen with a smartphone cradle is part of what makes this bike so portable.
Best Budget Portable Exercise Bike: ProForm Carbon CX
ProForm Carbon CX Exercise Bike
ProForm Carbon CX Exercise Bike
The ProForm Carbon CX is a sturdy steel 125-pound build with 16 levels of silent magnetic resistance. In addition to being one of the quietest options on the market, this bike also comes with a free year of iFit and a swiveling tablet holder, so you can stream classes on and off the bike.
Shop ProForm
Specs
- Price: $399
- Dimensions: 51? H x 52.5? L x 21.9? W
- Weight: 125lbs
- Resistance: 16 levels of magnetic resistance
- Weight Capacity: 250lbs
Pros
- The Carbon CX is up to $450 less expensive than other bikes featuring 16 levels of magnetic resistance and iFIT compatibility.
- Even at 125 pounds, I was able to use the wheels to move it around with just one hand.
- The swiveling device holder allows you to stream workouts on and off your bike.
Cons
- You’ll have to stream iFIT workouts on your own device, as this bike only has an LCD display showing basic metrics.
- It lacks conveniences like fans, heart rate sensors, and speakers.
The $399 ProForm Carbon CX is our pick for the best budget portable exercise bike because it’s up to $450 less expensive than other bikes that feature 16 levels of magnetic resistance and compatibility with the iFIT fitness app. Sure, you’ll need to link up your own device to access the app’s bounty of classes, but we still think it’s a quality option for those on a limited budget. When I tested the Carbon CX, I scored its portability, customizations, durability, and ergonomics all at least a 4.5 out of 5.
During testing, I had no issues tilting or rolling the Carbon CX on gym flooring. At 125 pounds, I was expecting a more difficult time, but once I got it upright, I was comfortably driving it with one hand. Its 8-square-foot footprint is close to average for upright bikes, so after seeing how easy it was to move, I scored its overall footprint and portability 4.5 out of 5.
An area where the Carbon CX may be lacking is its onboard technology, as its LCD display can only display basic metrics. It’s worth noting, though, that the bike’s iFIT compatibility means it can make automatic adjustments to your speed and incline based on the specifications of iFIT classes.
I also rated the Carbon CX’s ergonomics 4.5 out of 5, because in addition to the seat being adjustable up, down, forward, and backward, you can also swap it out for a more comfortable option.
I used the vertical grips the most, but you can also grab the triangle in the center, as well. My feet felt secure in the adjustable cages on the pedals, but these can also be switched out if you have a preferred style of pedals.
Read our full ProForm Carbon CX Exercise Bike Review.
Best Adjustable Portable Exercise Bike: Schwinn IC4
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike
The Schwinn IC4 combines upper and lower body work with its included set of dumbbells and 100 levels of cycling resistance for a complete upper and lower body burn. Dial up your favorite streaming app and hop on, this bike is compatible with JRNY, Peloton, and Zwift.
Shop Schwinn
Specs
- Price: $999
- Dimensions: 51.8? H x 54.6? L x 30.7? W
- Weight: 112lbs
- Resistance: 100 levels of magnetic resistance
- Weight Capacity: 330lbs
Pros
- The 40-pound flywheel supports 100 levels of quiet magnetic resistance.
- With a four-way adjustable seat and handlebars, finding the perfect fit is a breeze.
- Track your workout data by connecting some of the...
Click here to view the article.
