mainly it's my girlfriend who's interested in an exercise bike/treadmill/elliptical for cardio. Since i'll probably use it too for some cardio I want to know what is best most beneficial and what to look for when it comes to cardio and burning calories.

For a little background we're both in good shape and already exercise regularly. We have a decent home gym in the garage and will actually use whatever we end up buying. Currently we both run and do other stuff for cardio, but my Gf wants to start doing more. She dosen't like jogging alone and I can't always go w/ her. She works out at a local free gym but the machines are frequently occupied. The soultion to the problem we figure is getting something for cardio at home. By the way she's pretty girly, my suggestions to hit the bag or do burppes or anything not using a machine seem rediculous to her.

We don't have much to spend around $400.00 or maybe a little more if it's really worth it. We don't want a piece of crap. I've had a few people I know offer crappy ellipticals and i'm not interested. I talked to a salesguy at the local FitnessMaster store about ellipticals and he said unless you've got around $1000.00 treadmills and bikes are better. He explained what to look for w/ ellipticals and what to avoid.

My questions are; what offers the highest quality for the price?

Does it matter what type of machine it is for cardio, or does it all do pretty much the same thing?

What do I look for in a treadmill/exercise bike?

What are some brands to look for in my price range?

damn! no advice yet? Does anyone here even use this kind of stuff for cardio?

I don't care for treadmills, maybe because it feels like I'm going to put a hole in them every time I take a step. That might just be me, though.

As far as exercise bikes go, find one that's comfortable to ride. I cannot stress this enough. Problems I've had with stationary bikes include:
-seats like a cavity search
-handlebars that are too far forward for me to even reach
-weird jagged metal things in space that my thighs attempted to occupy
And various other kinds of bullshit.

If you're planning to do intervals on them, you'll want something with quickly adjustable tension (or maybe an Airdyne (http://www.schwinnfitness.com/schwinn-fitness/equipment/airdyne.jsp?lid=Airdyne) if you're feeling fancy), and maybe a timer/heart rate monitor (although you could buy your own of either of those instead).

I just use a regular bike. You can bike with a bike club if you need the social thing. You can put the thing on a trainer when the weather gets bad.

So long as you know that I'm not an authority, I'll say this...

I strongly prefer a recumbent exercise bike to any other kind of cardio equipment. I seriously doubt that you'll find a quality recumbent within your budget, however.

The only thing I can tell you with certainty is that I have greatly enjoyed my MagneTrainer (http://www.magnetrainer.com/proddetail.php?prod=MAG-TNR), and it is within your budget. I would like a better way to gauge the resistance setting, and it can be hell to keep still on a hardwood or tile floor, but overall I find the MagneTrainer to have been well worth the money. If you're interested, I can give you a couple of recommendations about buying one:
Think about the seating options in the area of your home we're you'll want to use it. Pay particular attention to the seat's height, width, back support, and where the front edge of the seat touches your legs.
Think about how you're going to keep it still while you're pedaling. It really helps to consciously pedal in a cicle (as opposed to kicking foward and then following the pedal's range of motion), and a carpeted floor will pretty much solve the problem.
You will probably want to have at least two accessories:

These pedals (http://www.magnetrainer.com/proddetail.php?prod=LargePedals) make all the difference in my ability to use the MagneTrainer as an exercise bike (I'm a spastic, and that's not slang).
These handles (http://www.magnetrainer.com/proddetail.php?prod=ErgoHandles) will give you a different kind of arm workout than the standard handles (which I guess some people could also use as pedals, but I need the ones listed above), but I haven't bought them yet.


Come to think of it, you could buy two units (each with a set of the aforementioned accessories) within your budget. I have no idea if you could sit in front of a table and use both at once, but it might be worth a try. At the very least, you wouldn't have to wait for your girlfriend to finish her cycling before you could start yours.

Get one which was used as a clothes rack on Craigslist.

I don't care for treadmills, maybe because it feels like I'm going to put a hole in them every time I take a step. That might just be me, though.

As far as exercise bikes go, find one that's comfortable to ride. I cannot stress this enough. Problems I've had with stationary bikes include:
-seats like a cavity search
-handlebars that are too far forward for me to even reach
-weird jagged metal things in space that my thighs attempted to occupy
And various other kinds of bullshit.

If you're planning to do intervals on them, you'll want something with quickly adjustable tension (or maybe an Airdyne (http://www.schwinnfitness.com/schwinn-fitness/equipment/airdyne.jsp?lid=Airdyne) if you're feeling fancy), and maybe a timer/heart rate monitor (although you could buy your own of either of those instead).

yeah, when I use it i plan on doing intervals. So i'll make sure its quick/easy to change. Thanks for the advice. that's something I just might have forgotten to pay special attention to when I check some out.


I just use a regular bike. You can bike with a bike club if you need the social thing. You can put the thing on a trainer when the weather gets bad.

I'm not sure I follow you. Are you talking about a regular stationary exercise bike? In that case i'm not sure I even know what classifies a regular exercise bike, i've never really used one. Or just riding a "regular" bike around the neighborhod?

Schwinn, Giant and Spinner make decent exercise bikes in your budget.
Try to buy through a local bike dealer, that way you can get easy service if something breaks.
Use a HRM, a fixed "spinning" type (ie spin classes) bike and clipless or clip/strap pedals for the most benefit.

Bike trainer:
http://images.teamsugar.com/files/users/1/12981/25_2007/indoor-bike-trainer.jpg

So long as you know that I'm not an authority, I'll say this...

I strongly prefer a recumbent exercise bike to any other kind of cardio equipment. I seriously doubt that you'll find a quality recumbent within your budget, however.


The only thing I can tell you with certainty is that I have greatly enjoyed my MagneTrainer (http://www.magnetrainer.com/proddetail.php?prod=MAG-TNR), and it is within your budget. I would like a better way to gauge the resistance setting, and it can be hell to keep still on a hardwood or tile floor, but overall I find the MagneTrainer to have been well worth the money. If you're interested, I can give you a couple of recommendations about buying one:
Think about the seating options in the area of your home we're you'll want to use it. Pay particular attention to the seat's height, width, back support, and where the front edge of the seat touches your legs.
Think about how you're going to keep it still while you're pedaling. It really helps to consciously pedal in a cicle (as opposed to kicking foward and then following the pedal's range of motion), and a carpeted floor will pretty much solve the problem.
You will probably want to have at least two accessories:
These pedals (http://www.magnetrainer.com/proddetail.php?prod=LargePedals) make all the difference in my ability to use the MagneTrainer as an exercise bike (I'm a spastic, and that's not slang).
These handles (http://www.magnetrainer.com/proddetail.php?prod=ErgoHandles) will give you a different kind of arm workout than the standard handles (which I guess some people could also use as pedals, but I need the ones listed above), but I haven't bought them yet.

Come to think of it, you could buy two units (each with a set of the aforementioned accessories) within your budget. I have no idea if you could sit in front of a table and use both at once, but it might be worth a try. At the very least, you wouldn't have to wait for your girlfriend to finish her cycling before you could start yours.

a recumbant bike sounds good. any reason they're better than just comfort? The magnetrainer is interesting and within my bidget but it just looks cheap in the pics. I didn't see anyone using it in a video on the site so i'm skeptical. It may be good for the money but I think I can spend a little more for something quality. I'll have to look further into the magnetrainer before I'm convinced. But still a good suggestion to save the money.



Get one which was used as a clothes rack on Craigslist.

That's what i'm hoping for. I'm hoping to get lucky and find one that's actually more effective as exercise tool than a clothes rack though. Problem is I don't know much about all this so I'm not sure i be able to tell the difference. But, i'd like to think I can spot a piece of crap when I see one.


Schwinn, Giant and Spinner make decent exercise bikes in your budget.
Try to buy through a local bike dealer, that way you can get easy service if something breaks.
Use a HRM, a fixed "spinning" type (ie spin classes) bike and clipless or clip/strap pedals for the most benefit.

Possibly the best suggestions yet. I didn't think anything schwinn would be in my budget. I'll have to check around and see if there are any bike stores around here. I think i've seen at least one bike store I just figured they only sold real bikes, the outdoorsy type.


Bike trainer:
http://images.teamsugar.com/files/users/1/12981/25_2007/indoor-bike-trainer.jpg

What the hell is that? I don't even know what it is, but i'm sure I can't afford it.

bicycle - you know, one of those two wheeled thingies that people use to get around with? you know, that first taste of freedom when you're a kid and suddenly the world isn't limited to your neighborhood, even if you have ruined a whole mess of baseball cards in the spokes. Mine is a Trek, carbon fiber frame. I use Sidi shoes. You can get a decent bike used for cheap. Hell, you can probably pick up a steel Schwinn Varsity for free from your local police.

trainer - a less than $100 piece of equipment that attaches to your rear wheel, bringing it up off the floor and providing resistance to your spinning back wheel. It also holds your bicycle somewhat stationary (if you don't fit your back tire in nice and tight and practice sprints, you might find yourself off the trainer and in the wall. I consider this art).

Granted, neither make quite the clothes hanger that a stationary bike makes, but then, riding around the countryside is actually a lot more fun than a stationary bike. Besides, there's that visceral excitement when you're at the top of a long hill looking down....

bicycle - you know, one of those two wheeled thingies that people use to get around with? you know, that first taste of freedom when you're a kid and suddenly the world isn't limited to your neighborhood, even if you have ruined a whole mess of baseball cards in the spokes. Mine is a Trek, carbon fiber frame. I use Sidi shoes. You can get a decent bike used for cheap. Hell, you can probably pick up a steel Schwinn Varsity for free from your local police.

trainer - a less than $100 piece of equipment that attaches to your rear wheel, bringing it up off the floor and providing resistance to your spinning back wheel. It also holds your bicycle somewhat stationary (if you don't fit your back tire in nice and tight and practice sprints, you might find yourself off the trainer and in the wall. I consider this art).

Granted, neither make quite the clothes hanger that a stationary bike makes, but then, riding around the countryside is actually a lot more fun than a stationary bike. Besides, there's that visceral excitement when you're at the top of a long hill looking down....

Thaks for the clarity. Problem is... "riding around the countryside...tops of hills"... I live in flat ass FL near a major highway known as bloody 98. I figured someone would make this point, about just get a real bike blah, blah. But that's not what I asked about and for a few good reasons. My gf wants an indoor means of cardio exercise. That's enough in my book. I'm not going to ride along a highway at 4:00 in the morning. I'm not going to circle my small ass neighborhood 100x to get 30-45 min of cardio. What about those bitter cold FL winters? What are we to do then? Surley not ride around in spandex the freezing cold 40 deg. temp. (we're pussys here when it gets cold).

Still wouldn't be bullshido if someone didn't suggest the logical option. Problem is logic dosen't apply to everything...or something like that.

a recumbant bike sounds good. any reason they're better than just comfort? The magnetrainer is interesting and within my bidget but it just looks cheap in the pics. I didn't see anyone using it in a video on the site so i'm skeptical. It may be good for the money but I think I can spend a little more for something quality. I'll have to look further into the magnetrainer before I'm convinced. But still a good suggestion to save the money.

Comfort is a major factor, but I can't decide if it's a stronger motivation than the fact that recumbents work more of my muscles and really loosen up my back. I thought the MagneTrainer looked cheap too, and to be honest the construction isn't impressive, but the key to understanding its value to think of what it is (rather than what it isn't).

The MagneTrainer is essentially the heart of a high quality recumbent exercise bike: a pair of pedals mated to a variable magnetic resistance mechanism. You will be most satisfied with the MagneTrainer if you treat it simply as a pair of pedals and remember that your usage environment (how likely it is to slide on the floor and the nature of your seating) constitutes the body of the imaginary recumbent exercise bike you'll be using. If you don't know how vectors work in physics, I'll be glad to discuss seating concerns with you.

I can attest that pedaling on the MagneTrainer feels exactly like the Life Fitness Classic Series Recumbent Lifecycle Bike (http://us.commercial.lifefitness.com/content.cfm/classicseriesrecumbentlifecyclebike) (damn, that was a lot of words) that I've used at a physical therapy facility and at the local YMCA. For what it is, I don't find the MagneTrainer to be disappointing in the least—my earlier comment about gauging resistance nothwithstanding.

Possibly the best suggestions yet. I didn't think anything schwinn would be in my budget. I'll have to check around and see if there are any bike stores around here. I think i've seen at least one bike store I just figured they only sold real bikes, the outdoorsy type.

Last I heard, most of the Schwinn exercise bikes were actually the same Chinese crap that had several other brands' names on them. Google should be able to tell you all you need to know once you've got a model number.

Any video of someone using the magnetrainer? I haven't looked yet. I'm kind of studying for school and posting at the same time. When/if I find a particular bike I'll be sure to google it and find some reviews. I'll probably mention it here too and see what people say.

Thaks for the clarity. Problem is... "riding around the countryside...tops of hills"... I live in flat ass FL near a major highway known as bloody 98. I figured someone would make this point, about just get a real bike blah, blah. But that's not what I asked about and for a few good reasons. My gf wants an indoor means of cardio exercise. That's enough in my book. I'm not going to ride along a highway at 4:00 in the morning. I'm not going to circle my small ass neighborhood 100x to get 30-45 min of cardio. What about those bitter cold FL winters? What are we to do then? Surley not ride around in spandex the freezing cold 40 deg. temp. (we're pussys here when it gets cold).

Still wouldn't be bullshido if someone didn't suggest the logical option. Problem is logic dosen't apply to everything...or something like that.
I liked biking in FL. Good clubs there, and while going down hills is always fun, climbing them is another story entirely.

Now, if you paid attention, I suggested the bicycle + the trainer. The trainer allows you to bike inside, without circling your livingroom 100000 to get 15 minutes of cardio in.

The nice thing about the bike and trainer thing is that when you ditch the gf, you'll still have a decent bike and trainer. But, hey, this wouldn't be Bullshido without an OP missing the boat entirely.

the bike + trainer recommendation is a good one. Or get a second hand rowing machine instead - better cardio workout than the bike, and in less time.