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Bike riding is among the best interesting exercises that you can engage in order to maintain a fit body. Not only does riding make you fit but also provides you with fun and adventurous experiences. For this to be successful, you need to get a good bike that is comfortable to ride.
Riding bike in an upright position is the most common method that is used by many riders. However, this riding position puts more pressure on your but making it difficult to ride for long distances.
Have you given a recumbent bike a trial? If you haven’t, it is high time that you invest in one and make riding one of the best experiences. This is a bike that offers you the best riding position; you will feel like you are sitting on your comfortable office or home chair.
With a recumbent bike, your legs move at the effort level, and your muscles are relaxed as well as every part of the body. This means that you will not experience the stiffness and soreness cause by the normal bikes.
These bikes are designed for use by anybody, even people with physical disabilities. There is always a bike that will fit you perfectly well and help you enjoy the ride on hills and other adventurous sceneries.
There is always a bike for everybody, the big question is, which bike is right for you? For you to find the answer to that question, you can read this guideline and am sure you will be in a position to select the best recumbent bike.
Factors to Consider When Choosing a Recumbent Bike
Many people end up choosing the wrong workout bike because they lack enough information concerning the bikes. Do not just buy a bike without doing a research. To simply your search, read through this guideline, which provides you with important things to think of before purchasing a recumbent bike.
1# Price
This is probably the first thing that you need to consider when purchasing a recumbent bike. As compared to normal bikes available on the market, recumbent bikes start at a higher price.
This is because of their ergonomic design additional features that are not present in ordinary bikes that make riding more enjoyable.
You can get the bikes starting at a lower price of $500. These types of bikes are easy to ride but very heavy.
Other models go for up to $1000. This is a great price for a casual rider or person looking for a good bike on a budget.
There are other expensive models that cost above $6000. The benefits of these expensive recumbent bikes is that they are lightweight, offer space age components, made from exotic materials and offer more speed among other benefits.
Depending on your budget, you can get the best bike that suits your training requirements and needs.
2# Wheelbase
The wheelbase can be either short or long. Bikes that have short wheelbase are lightweight, and their steering is very responsive.
Despite the fact that bikes with responsive steering are a little difficult to get used to, they are still the most preferred by many people.
Bikes with shorter wheelbase feature a high crankset, which ensures that the rider has a powerful pedaling position. It is also easy to transport such bikes at the back or top of your car.
On the other hand, bikes with larger wheels keep the rider between the wheels and allow you to sit on a lower position. This makes medium and short riders to use the bike effectively.
3# Wheel Size
This is another important thing that you need to look at when looking for the best recumbent bike.
In most cases, you will find recumbent bikes with 16-inch or 20-inch front wheels, and the rear wheels range from 20-inch to 700c.
The main reason why you can opt for a bike with small wheels is for storage purposes. They will fit perfectly well in a suitcase as compared to larger wheels. On top of that, short wheels shorten the wheelbase.
4# Fitness Goals
Your level of fitness will also determine the type of bike that will suit you. For instance, if you are a casual rider who is planning to use the bike occasionally, you can look for bikes below $1000. Such bikes will provide you with comfort and good speed.
If you are looking for a high-performance bike, you can go for an expensive bike that is comfortable and fast to suit your fitness goals.
Additionally, if your main goal is to lose weight, this means burning more fats. The fat-burning process will only happen at a certain heart rate. This is why you need to get a bike with a heart-rate monitor so that you can tell how you are progressing towards achieving your goals.
5# Steering
Basically, there are two types of steering that you can choose from depending on the one that suits you best.
Over seat steering provides a better position for the handlebars-mounted rear mirror or a computer. Such a mirror is ideal because it is difficult to turn back while on the bike for most people.
Under seat steering is comfortable, and it is easy to ride for most people. Since there are no handlebars, it becomes very easy to get on and off the recumbent bike.
You can also attach a mirror or computer to the under seat steering handlebar, but they will e difficult to use as compared to those mounted over the seat steering.
You can try both method and decide, which fits you best.
6# Seat
Comfort is a key thing when you are riding any bike. If you are not comfortable, you will not enjoy the ride. The seat plays a significant role when it comes to the comfort of the bike.
The seats in recumbent bikes come in different sizes and shapes. The best thing that you can do is choosing a bike with a seat that fits you well.
Depending on the bike model, the seat can be made from a hard pan base or a slung material base. Some can be removed while others are not removable.
For added comfort, you can recline the seat to the position that you are most comfortable with. It is important to note that the upright you are the more pressure you put on your back and butt, which makes it difficult to ride longer.
7# Suspension
Recumbent bikes seats reduce the pressure to a greater degree such that when you hit bumps, the impact is not as big as it would be when you are riding a normal bike.
Suspension can be great if you are riding on a place with many chuckholes. Additionally, riders with physical disabilities prefer suspension because riding on bumps keep them uncomfortable.
The disadvantage of suspension is added weight and expense as well as mechanical difficulty.
8# Rider Weight and Height
Most of the bikes available on the market are made to suit riders with a specific height range. For example, short people will find riding bikes with a small wheel easy. This is because of the lower seat height.
For those people who are tall, they can ride any type of recumbent bike without any difficulty. For those people who are overweight, a bike with long wheelbase will suit them.
Consider your weight and height and look for a recumbent bike that you can ride comfortably without experiencing any hardships.
9# Bike Size
The size of bike that you buy should be determined by the amount of space that you have for storage.
You can look for a bike that folds easily for compact storage when it is not in use. If you do not have problems with storage space, you can go for a bike that is strong, sturdy and reliable.
10# Motivation
If you find yourself getting bored after a few minutes of workouts, you need to look for a bike that motivates you to continue working out.
Bikes with additional features games, toys and trinkets can be expensive, but they give you the motivation and challenge you.
You can also consider a recumbent bike with an LCD display, which provides you with more information about your workouts.
Other motivational features that you can look for include a water bottle holder and mp3 docking station among others.
Final Words
A recumbent bike is different from the normal bikes in that it allows you to ride in a more comfortable design that puts minimal pressure on your butt and back.
They provide you with an ergonomic design that gives you the most comfortable riding position. This is an effective bike that you can look for in you are planning to lose weight or maintain a healthy and fit body.
Because there are more than two hundred models of bike available, choosing the right bike that you can ride comfortably is difficult.
I hope the above tips will help you choose the best exercise bike that is right for you.
