Mini Exercise Bike Pedal Exerciser Resistance Cycle Indoor Gym Office Fit

Easy to use, not too big, does what it says

First and foremost, this pedal exerciser is currently doing what it was bought for, where a more expensive electric one didn't. My elderly mother had a stroke, and now back at home, community physiotherapy for her can best be described as patchy. So she wanted a pedal exerciser. First I got her an electric powered one from a mobility specialist, thinking the power assistance would help. It didn't. My mother couldn't keep her feet in the pedals as the electric exerciser went round, even on its lowest speed.So that one was returned, and I ordered this cheaper one from Amazon, that has no power. I wasn't necessarily expecting it to be a success, but three days into my mother using it, as I write this review, despite her disability she can make the pedals go round for a few minutes, on a low resistance setting. Which pleases me. However, unlike the electric pedal exerciser, I had some assembly issues with this one that I wanted to highlight. You may find identical pedal exercisers on sale from different sellers, that look the same but have a different brand name. I would think my comments apply to all. Of course, my example of pedal exerciser MIGHT have had issues that others don't, but I have read other reviews where assembly issues were found.So, first job upon unpacking, apart from checking everything was there, was to fit the feet. One short foot, that goes near your chair when you pedal, and one long foot that goes furthest away from you. You get some chrome dome head hex key screws (more about those later), some plain washers and two oval plates with holes in. You also get a cheap hex key and a cheap tin spanner. The short and long feet screw into the underneath of the pedal exerciser, into threaded holes drilled in a metal box section. The long foot was pretty easy. A plain washer goes under the head of a chrome screw, then you put the screw through a hole in the oval plate and then through a hole in the foot, and screw it into the box section metal under the exerciser. Do the same with a second screw, and tighten both screws with the hex key. The oval plate spreads the load from the screw heads to stop the plastic foot from breaking under pressure. All good.When it came to the short foot, I had a problem. The plastic moulded short foot touched the bottom of the exerciser's plastic moulded casing, before it touched the metal box section underneath. It left a gap underneath. If I'd have fitted the screws, washers and plates and tightened up the short foot just as it was, I'd have likely broken some plastic as the screws pulled the foot closer to the metal, and either cracked the foot or the exerciser's casing, or both. So - having got tools and screws and washers in my shed, I got some extra plain washers, and used both my own washers, as well as the rest of them that came with the exerciser, to 'pack out' the gap between the foot and the box section metal, so when I tightened the screws threaded into the box section metal, to hold the short foot, the screws were clamping down on my extra washers and not stressing the plastic mouldings. Problem averted. The exerciser either had a design issue here, or maybe poor quality control, but with extra washers it was an easy fix, but it's something to be aware of.Problem number two came with fitting the pedals. With the more expensive electric machine I'd had no issues. With the machine I'm reviewing here, I had trouble getting the pedal threads started in the pedal crank. The pedal marked 'R' goes on the right side as you look as the machine with the LCD clock facing you, and is a clockwise thread. The pedal marked 'L' goes on the left and is an anticlockwise thread. For a while, I thought I was getting it wrong, as the threads would not start, but 'L' is left and 'R' is right, that is correct. EVENTUALLY I managed to start the right pedal thread clockwise and started screwing it in with the tin spanner. And BOY WAS IT TIGHT TO TURN! I got maybe a third of the way in with the tin spanner, and had to keep backing out and going forwards again to make progress. Like tapping a hole with taps and dies. I did 32 years as a maintenance and fabrication engineer, and this pedal exerciser GAVE ME PROBLEMS! Eventually I HAD to go and get a 15mm AF drop forged chrome spanner out of my toolbox or I wouldn't have been able to screw the right hand pedal in. It was really difficult. When a little bit of the thread emerged through the pedal crank as the pedal screwed fully home, the tops of the threads were shiny and polished (see photo) which means the pedal thread was too big for the threaded hole in the crank. I think maybe when the pedal crank was manufactured, the holes for the pedals were tapped with the threads before the crank was chrome plated, so the thickness of the chrome plate reduced the size of the hole. Fortunately, the left hand pedal was relatively easier to screw in, although it was still a bit tight and I still used my own better spanner, not the 'tin' one.Having got past the assembly issues, As I reported earlier, this cheaper machine is doing a better job for my disabled mother than the more expensive electric one did. I've got no idea about the longevity of this machine, but my mother is unlikely to work it hard anyway. If you look for and find different black or silver pedal exercisers, with different names on them, that look a lot like this one, it's likely the same one. If it's what you were looking for and the price is right, buy it, but look for how things fit together when you assemble it, and improvise rather than risk breaking the plastic.One final thing - well two actually - the exerciser came out of the box with four chromed domed screws screwed into the threaded holes underneath the machine, and four chromed domed screws in a bag with all the washers and oval plates. The instruction book says there should be eight domed screws. You only need four - two for each foot. ????! Also, neatly coiled up and held with a rubber band, and sealed into a small resealable polythene bag, was a woven strap with a plastic buckle. NOWHERE in the instruction book is this strap mentioned and there is nowhere for it to go on the machine! VERY STRANGE.

The media could not be loaded. It's a good way to get cardio while I am still walking on crutches. I don't understand the reading though. I did 60 minutes and the km read 1.149It isn't possible I only did 1km so why is the decimal there... In the manual it says the format is 0.000 ML (KM)

Wanted this since I've started working from home, to put under my desk. I didn't have much of a budget, and for the price (I paid £35.99), it's ok. Not bad enough to return, and I'll still use it, but it doesn't quite fit my purpose.Positives: Very quick and easy to assemble. My small feet fit well on the tightest strap setting, and it's also nice to have the option of using it for arm exercises. I really like the adjustable resistance, so I can decide how much of a challenge I want. I don't really look at the screen, as it's all random numbers to me, but I guess that could be a nice addition for some. It doesn't take up much space and is a good compromise if you can't get a full bike.Negatives: It's very lightweight, and the feet don't have much grip, so when you pedal, the whole thing jumps around, making it virtually unusable (and very noisy). The mat that comes with it barely helps, and the strap only works if you have something secure to tie it to. The best solution I have found is to place the unit on a foam exercise mat. It still slips a little, but is much improved. Also, it doesn't fit under my desk without me hitting my knees as I pedal (my desk is around 73cm high), so I can't actually use it for that. I've decided to put it by the sofa instead.I don't know whether I'm going to get much exercise in my legs using it, as it feels a bit cramped. Sort of feels like I'd get the same amount of exercise just bouncing my legs up and down. But it does get my heart rate going and kicks up a sweat if I'm on it for a while, so it could be good cardio. It also makes my knee joints hurt, which I'm not sure is a good thing or not. I think I prefer using it for my arms.Again, not bad, and better than nothing, but not ideal either. Could really do with weighing it down so it stops jumping.

I bought these as I've just had a knee replacement and I'd read lots of people use these pedals for good exercise. I find them excellent.But the one issue many people said was it was slippy, and I completely agree. I tried the non slip may they provided, a non slip door mat, all of which made no difference. So now I've put it against my bedroom cupboard, so it cannot slide forwards. This has worked very well.I also like the fact you can use it to strengthen your arms, something I will start doing soon.But anybody who will be getting a new knee or hip, I cannot state just how good this is to strengthen your limbs before and after surgery

A+

Love it

Husband uses it to strengthen his legs following an op