Stuck at home? Try spinning at home.
I’ve had four knee surgeries so the quarantine life has definitely meant that I have not been able to get good consistent cardio in. After a few weeks and knowing it would be several more, I knew it was time to find a solution. Even though our little beach condo is quite small, I decided to go ahead and get a spin bike in here somehow, some way! Not surprisingly, everyone else seemed to have the same idea because it was really difficult to find an available, decent bike under $500 that was ready to ship before 4-8 weeks.
In my search, I found a few considerations for you if you are looking to purchase a spin bike for your home use as well:
1) Weight of the flywheel
I learned that the weight of the flywheel determines smoothness and noise. It seems that most bikes in that lower to mid price range of $300-600 seemed to weigh in anywhere from 22-30 lbs. (For comparison, a Peloton’s flywheel weighs in at 38 lbs.) The bike I found had a flywheel of 40 lbs, so I felt pretty confident about it and have been really happy with it — it’s currently sold out, but for comparison of features, here is the bike I ended up purchasing.
2) Extras you may or may not need
The next consideration for me was a few of the extras that either come with the bike or that you might want to consider purchasing as an add-on. First, you may or may not want the digital monitor that comes attached to the bike. Or some of the newer bikes have devices that can stream workout videos. For me, I have an iPad so it was important to me to have the ability to place it on top of the handlebars, vs. a digital monitor or attached device. I noticed that some bikes have handlebar configurations that are spread apart and wide open, and therefore would not support an iPad or other device. Just keep that in mind when looking at your bike — what would be the best way to use that space for you? Digital monitor vs. attached device vs. your own?
Secondly, a water bottle holder is important to me but because I planned to put my iPad on the handlebars, I preferred a water bottle holder that would be out of the way, lower on the frame of the bike rather than part of the handlebars. I found that you can also purchase one to attach to your bike if it does not come with one already.
Lastly for me, one piece I didn’t think about at first was making sure I also got a protective floormat. They come in all shapes and sizes, but since I don’t have a ton of room, I got this 2’x4′ floormat that fits the footprint area of my bike perfectly.
3) Assembly
I contemplated purchasing a used bike because I was unsure I would have the tools or frankly the strength to put a new one together on my own. Ultimately though, I decided against it for two reasons: one, a new bike can be shipped directly vs. having to pick it up, and two, I was concerned that because it would live in my living room and be out in the open, a used bike would have more potential for looking, well, used. Thankfully, the new bike I purchased came with all the tools, assembly instructions, and it was easy to put together on my own. The frame comes in one piece, and it’s the foot bars, pedals, seat, and handlebars that have to be attached. Even though I read a ton of reviews about the assembly aspect, I was still pleasantly surprised how easy it was to put together. (One note: you may need help getting the box into your place. My daughter helped me!)
4) Seat adjustment to protect your knees
As mentioned, I’ve had four knee surgeries and after experimenting with a variety of cardio options, I have found that spinning is the best on my knees. One pro tip: it is best for your knees if you pull the seat as far back as you can, to get as close to a 90 degree angle bend. Therefore, I also found it important that the bike I chose had the ability to make a decent horizontal seat adjustment in order to pull myself back and achieve better alignment for my knees. There were some bikes that looked as if that adjustment is quite small and would not suffice for my needs.
5) Workout options out there
Now we can finally get to the fun part! One big bonus about this time is that there are so many options being offered for live, recorded, and group workouts. ClassPlass is offering free (or few credit) livestream classes for their members (and psst, if you didn’t know, ClassPass is female-founded!). Personally I have been thoroughly enjoying the live classes streamed by one of my favorite spin teachers here in L.A. — I love her sweet energy and her climb classes are killer! Join in on Spin Shack for daily workouts starting at 10am PT. Do you have any other workout options you use?
And please share any tips or questions you have!
