Sunny Health & Fitness Stationary Exercise Bike Machine w/ Adjustable Cushion Seat & Multi-Grip Handlebar, Indoor Cycling Equipment for Home Cardio Training, Optional Magnetic or Friction Resistance

UPDATE Dec 4th, 2013:I've had my Sunny for just about a year now- and I use it quite vigorously, as I do Tabata drills- and it is holding-up great! Haven't had to do anything at all to it, yet! It's still like new. I'm amazed at what a bargain it is, for such a low price. I see the cheap spin bikes they have at the local Walmart.... They look like they're half falling apart just sitting there on the display platform! :DNow back to the original review:I'm going to divide this review up into three sections for convenience, to address the bike itself; Some other reviewers comments; and a little something about spinning in general. But first, a little about me: I am a recreational cyclist who logs over 3000 miles a year on a road bike and I purchased this spin bike so that I can stay fit in the winter, when, due to weather and limited hours of daylight, I don't get to ride my road bike as often. Prior to getting this spin bike 5 days ago, I'd never been on a spin or exercise bike in my life.THE BIKE ITSELF: I am amazed at the quality of this spin bike; and for such a low price. I had looked at a number of spin bikes in B&M stores- even ones that cost substantially more- and this one is as good or better than most! It is simplicity in itself to assemble (I will eventually post some notes in the comments section of this review, on how to assemble for the mechanically-challenged, as the manual that comes with the bike is not very helpful for anyone who would need to use it. But the beauty is, this bike is so easy to assemble, a child could do it, without instructions).This bike has a 40 lb. flywheel (A lot of more expensive bikes have lesser flywheels!) and having a heavy flywheel makes all the difference in smoothness; real bike feel and the ability to give you a good workout, even when you're working with little or no resistance. The bike is rock solid (I weigh 190 lbs. and can thrash around and stand on the pedals without any worries at all). The quality, fit and finish are excellent. It even looks great.I wanted a mechanically simple bike, to ensure durability and reliability- and this bike fits the bill perfectly. The resistance is provided by a simple knob, which actuates a brake caliper via 2 short cables, and causes a felt brake pad on both sides of the flywheel to move towards the flywheel or away from it. That, and a simple, sturdy chain drive, means this thing will last forever- there are no electronically-controlled switches and servos to malfunction, as on some much more expensive bikes.Also, the crank arms (on which the pedals are mounted) are regular bicycle-type arms, and plenty strong- unlike many other bikes in this price range, which often have cheesy, thin metal rods as cranks. The pedals themselves are your standard-issue platform/rat-trap types, with plastic toe clips. The pedals are plenty sturdy and work just fine.The bike is easy to move around- just grab it by the handlebars and tilt it forward (Which is easy, as it is balanced so that the weight of the flywheel helps, and you are essentially just lifting the lighter rear-end) and roll it along on it's wheels! Everything on this bike is sturdy, and the adjustments are quick and easy.You will not "out-grow" this bike if you are a beginner- as it will allow for the toughest workouts, and take all that you can give it. I much prefer this to a bike-trainer, as it is much sturdier- and plus you don't have the hassles associated with attaching a real bike.If you're looking for bells and whistles (i.e. fancy electronics and displays) this may not be the bike for you- but if you want/need such things, I would recommend that you get a bike like this, and just get a real heart-rate monitor and/or cycling computer, as the electronic gadgetry on even the most expensive fancy spinning bikes is always woefully inaccurate, anyway.Bottom line is: If you want a durable sturdy bike that will take whatever you throw at it, you can't go wrong with this Sunny, nor get a better deal.OTHER REVIEWER'S CONCERNS: I can not believe that some others are giving this bike less than 5 stars. To address a few of their concerns: First off, it seems that ANYTHING (especially large, heavy things) which require assembly, always end up getting some bad reviews simply because some mechanically-challenged types do not assemble it properly- even when assembly is extremely simple.A few reviewers mentioned the left pedal "flying off". Well...keep in mind, that just as on a real bicycle, the left crank into which the pedal threads is reverse-threaded (So you tighten it by turning CONTERCLOCKWISE)- Trying to force it on as though it were normally threaded can strip the threads. That, and they probably just didn't tighten the pedal sufficiently.I see some complaining about the seat. If you don't spend a lot of time on a bike (real or spinning) it will take you some time to get used to sitting on a bike saddle. Also, you could go out and buy a five-thousand dollar road bike, and guess what? It's going to come with a crappy saddle, because of the fact that all people are different- and no seat is comfortable for everyone- so manufacturers of any kind of bikes tend to put cheap seats on, to keep the prices low, since the vast majority of riders will replace the seat with one that is to their personal liking. No sense putting a $200 Brooks saddle on a bike, thereby raising the price substantially, when it still will not be to the liking of many buyers.That being said, the seat on this Sunny is not so bad. I'm using the stock seat. It was a little uncomfortable the first two times, and then I got used to it. Some reviewers are suggesting getting a wider and/or more heavily padded seat- but, unless you are extremely obese/have a huge rear-end, that is NOT the thing to do! When it comes to bicycle seats, narrower is better; and with minimal padding- as wide/heavily padded seats may seem comfortable at first, but will result in chafing if you spend any time on the bike. If anything, the seat on the Sunny is too wide and has a tad too much padding- but it's O-K. Best bet is to wear a cheap pair of standard road cycling shorts on this bike (or any other) with a chamois/padding in the crotch. (And you'll see guys riding twelve-thousand dollar Venges doing that also). All seats require some break-in time...as does your bung. Give it some time!Some have mentioned various noises. This bike is quiet. It is not SILENT! There is a bushing on the front axle which can make a little rattling sound- especially when you're really cranking- which should not be a problem. Anything with a chain-drive will make a little sound- as chains are not silent. Also, keep in mind that chains stretch- or sometimes they are not properly tensioned from the factory- which means that you simply need to adjust the chain tension- and you WILL need to do this, as the bike breaks-in over time, even if it is very quiet at first. That's just regular maintenance for anything with a chain- I will post in the comment section how to do it, since there is no mention of it in the manual.(These manufacturers could avert a lot of problems if their manuals were better-written and more thorough!)This is the exact same bike as the Nordictrack GX2 Sport Bike, and a lot of others- which cost more money. All you are paying for with them, is the name...and in some cases, for a cheap plastic water bottle holder.One valid point that some others have made, is that this bike is probably not suitable for very short people- due to the fact that there is no provision to bring the handlebars closer to the seat. Although, if you're short and intent on getting this bike, that problem could be easily rectified by anyone with a welder. All the other adjustments on the bike (seat height, etc.) will easily accommodate you.SPINNING IN GENERAL: I was hesitant to buy an indoor bike, as I thought I would find it boring and never use it (I HATE exercise just for exercise's sake- You'd never catch me in a gym!) but I needed a way to insure that I keep my fitness over the winter when I can't ride my road bike as much. Well, let me tell you......I LOVE spinning! Download a few of the spinning MP3 workout classes here on Amazon (Such as this: Rhythm Ride: Coached Cycling Workout Music Mix, Advanced High Intensity Interval Training Hiit, By Fitness Instructor Paul Katami or this: Cycleology: Coached Cycling Workout Music Mix, Interval Based Ride By Fitness Instructor Kristen James , and the time flies by! Not only that, but you get a GREAT workout. I sweat more riding this in a 55*F room than I do while riding my road bike when it's 105*! (Put a mat under the bike, as the floor WILL get wet with your sweat!)- And the beauty of it is, I took my road bike out for a spin yesterday, and just after four sessions on the Sunny, my performance on the road had noticeably improved! I was 1.5MPH faster than my best previous time....and with a good wind blowing, no less! Amazing!Interesting thing: I noticed, on the spinning bike, my legs seem to get a better workout than they do on the real bike (and I live in a very hilly area!)- but riding the road bike makes me breathe harder (Not that you don't get a good cardio workout on the spin bike...it makes me breathe pretty hard too!)- and if you're not a cyclist, but enjoy spinning, might I suggest that you also give real cycling a try?Both activities really compliment and enahance each other...only on a real bike, you get to enjoy the scenery; make friends with the loose dogs; and enjoy the weather, while traveling many miles. (And you get to coast, too!)This was money well-spent, and I am very glad that I bought this spin bike. And oh, yeah.....even though it came from 2000 miles away, free shipping was fast (ordered on a Monday and it came the following Monday) and it arrived with no damage.I think this qualifies as my best purchase of 2012!PS: One more thing about the seat: If your seat is "level", understand that level for this type of seat means that the front of the seat will be sticking up somewhat- making it look like the seat is actually slanted back a bit. If you find your seat to be uncomfortable, try adjusting it into this position (the way it's meant to be)- and it very well may cure your problem.

After comparing reviews and prices on a number of home fitness bikes, I narrowed my choice down to the Sunny Health & Fitness Pro Indoor Cycling Bike. Before I purchase an item on Amazon, I tend to read the 5 star reviews and then begin at the bottom with the 1 star reviews and work my way back up. This approach tends to give me a view of what people liked about the bike and, starting with the least satisfied customers, allows me to get a feel for the complaints and compare them to a variety of reviews.First, be warned. The box is heavy. I mean, really heavy. The shipping weight is listed at 112 pounds and the box is large. Believe it or not, this is a very good thing. The bike is solid, mostly metal with an absolute minimum of plastic. If the box was light, I'd personally worry. Additionally, the bike is mostly assembled when it arrives. Hence the large and heavy box.A number of customers expressed difficulty in assembling the bike. I did not find this to be the case at all. The design has slightly changed since the official photo was taken (the bike is essentially identical except for the handlebars - more on that in a moment) and I wonder if the company improved the assembly process as well. It took me approximately ten minutes to assemble the bike, all of the necessary tools were included, and the assembly was incredibly intuitive and required minimal reference to the instructions. There are not a lot of parts that need to be assembled - it's just after reading some of the reviews I was especially careful, thorough, and spent a chunk of that time studying the instructions and looking for the difficult part.The bike is solid. (According to the description, the front flywheel weighs approximately 40 pounds on its own and that seemed about right to me.) To assemble the bike, you attach the pedals (they screw on), put the seat and handlebar stems into the frame, and attach the handlebars and seat to the appropriate stem. The adjustment knobs over the entire bike had been screwed in slightly too far at the factory so that the shaft of the bolt blocked the entry of the stems. Simply unscrewing each slightly solved the problem. The cross pieces of the base come with small metal blocks in place and they need to be removed and the actual wide cross pieces (the front piece has the small red wheels attached in the photo) need to be bolted into their positions. That's it. Assembly is complete.All of the parts (tools, nuts, and bolts) come shrink wrapped to a stiff piece of cardboard. Each part is clearly labeled on the board. Instead of looking for "Hexagon Flat Round Head Screw-Black M10X25mm" you simply find part "(66)". This is an exact example from the assembly process. (The "Flat Washer-Black" is part "(67)" and the numbers are clearly referenced in the instructions.)There's no searching for parts. You simply remove them from the board as needed.The only issue that I had was that the tension control knob for the flywheel was stuck. The knob literally wouldn't turn. Cranking on it really hard popped it free and it works fine. I'm not sure what happened - once it was unstuck, all was good. It works fine and just like new. It wasn't a defect, it was just initially stuck and now works fine.The handlebars are different than shown in the photo. Instead of two small bars that come out at 90 degree angles toward the inside of the handlebars, those bars are now connected with a large comfortable arc. In my opinion, this is a significant improvement over the original design and gives you a much wider range of options for hand placement.I spent several years attending the 5 AM spin class at my local gym. Being the first to use the classroom space, we early birds took the bikes from where they were parked along the wall and moved them to their positions. Having spent a lot of time with those bikes, I'm confident in stating that there is very little difference between this bike and the professional models used at the gym. I would rate it low-end professional, very high end amateur, and an absolute steal at the price.The ride is essentially indistinguishable from high-end gym spin bikes. Having ridden those bikes roughly 1,000 times, I can pick up on subtle (and I can't stress the word "subtle" enough) differences, but they do not detract from the ride in the slightest. For instance, the knob to adjust the tension has a little more play in it (a half turn adjusts the tension a little, then a tenth of a turn adjusts it a lot) but it's still very easy to get it set exactly where you want it, you just have to become familiar with it. The bike remains incredibly solid in both seated and standing riding positions and exceeds all of my expectations for a home spin bike.To address a couple of reviews that I saw while considering my purchase.The angle of the seat was mentioned by more than one person. I'm not sure what their issue was - it adjusts just like any other bike seat, including the angle. In other words, by loosening a bolt, manually adjusting the tilt, and tightening the same bolt once more, you can have the seat at any angle you wish. It's literally a non-issue.A couple of people mentioned the noise. It's not silent, but I'm not sure what folks were expecting. It doesn't make an unusual amount of noise and its mostly noticeable simply because there is no other unexpected sound in the room. I watch shows while riding and don't have any trouble becoming immersed in the program. My wife and I can actually have a conversation at a normal volume while one of us is riding. The noise is much lower than I anticipated given the reviews that I read and very acceptable for this piece of equipment, perhaps even on the low end of the noise range.At least one review mentioned an odd smell while riding. I did not experience that at all.Spin bikes don't typically come with odometers. With cardio, the duration of your ride is much more important than how far you ride. I realize that this may bother some people, but an odometer, in my experience, would have been out of place on this piece of equipment. A couple of reviews downgraded the bike because of the lack of an odometer, but I ride for a set period of time, not for distance. As one of my friends jokingly put it, "Why do you need an odometer on a stationary bike? Do you want to know how far you rode? You didn't! It doesn't move!"This one gets five stars from me. Simply put, this is an extremely good deal for the price. An absolute bargain. There are little things here and there that could be upgraded, but only at substantial cost. After reading a large number of the other reviews, I can honestly say that the Sunny Health & Fitness Pro Indoor Cycling Bike exceeded my expectations by a wide margin. I highly recommend it.