Easy instructions, Great shipping, fast assembly, Great bike for Money. This is an initial review based on the first week of ownership.
ABF (the shipper) contacted us and asked when we would like Schwinn 240 Recumbent Exercise Bike delivered. It came when they said. I live on a farm lane and the driver could not get to my house due to the snow. No problem I am use to that. I drove my ATV to the truck, we loaded it into my trailer. He rode on my ATV with me to my house and we unloaded it in the room I wanted it. Excellent. The box was in great shape, solid.
My 14 year old son put it together in about 1 hour, then I reviewed his work as we spent another 30 minutes going over the nuts and bolts checking for tightness. He had the front cross leg on backward so it wouldn’t roll when we picked up the back, no biggie, we reversed it. It was easy for him to assemble.
Initial rides on it are favorable, make sure you tighten the seat fully after each adjustment. Don’t sit on it when moving the seat. So far the seat is the weak point. We’ll see how it holds up. You have to understand the programming to get the best use of it. I have had other equipment where you had pre-programmed courses to ride on.
There is no on/off button. Just walk away from it and it will shut off. I had to read that somewhere.
The drink holder is mickey mouse and probably won’t be used. I don’t think the basket will be used either.
I have read reviews on older models along the same line as the 240 and people complained about the packaging, shipper, assembly was too hard, instructions were poor. I had no issues with any of these, perhaps I got lucky.
Product is excellent, shipping company is NOT—. During these hard economic times, I wanted to save nearly $45 in taxes and purchased this bike through Amazon. Unbeknownst to me at the time of placing the order, another shipper, “Pilot”, was used to ship the bike to me instead of the usual UPS, FEDEX, or USPS. This was not a problem until they only gave me the option of one 4 hour window for the bike to be delivered because it was a Friday—–I didn’t request a Friday delivery and they mistakenly offered several other time slots the first time they called, but then retracted them because it would be on a Friday afternoon in California (they ship from Arizona). They were VERY inflexible so I will be buying this bike locally and Amazon loses the sale (after my money is refunded). If you’re able to work with the shipper’s schedule, then Amazon has a great price & the shipping was free.
UPDATE: Was charged $70 for the return of the bike so make sure you’re available—to think this all started to “save” money 
Second Update…12/23———–ordered again through Amazon (best price, no tax, AND vacation time), bike was shipped via FedEx and I received it overnight even though I’m a Prime Shipping member and was expecting it in two days—–FedEx has been delivering ahead of schedule by a day this holiday season, at least in my area—anyhow, many more reviews have been added since I first posted mine, so I won’t elaborate—-just had to say that I LOVE the bike, it is QUIET, and my arthritic knees have felt improvement after just two sessions on the bike. It is the answer to my dream of a low-impact workout that doesn’t kill my knees/ankles (arthritis/old fractures).
Despite poor instructions for assembly, my mechanically-inclined husband put it together for me in about an hour with only a few colorful words.
Initial Impression: Solid Machine, Abysmal Documentation, Poor Computer Programming. Machine is smooth, silent and comfortable. Appears to be well built overall.
Documentation is poor. Parts list includes 17 bolts and washers which are not included on the placard, or elsewhere, however there was enough hardware to complete the job.
Programming a user is frustrating, grossly inefficient, and abysmally explained. Once you figure it out, it’s perfectly usable.
Blue on blue display is sometimes hard to read, however I am colorblind so this may not effect everyone.
The telemetry unit works fine.
I broke off a cover on the crank with my foot on the second use. Just a decorative thing, but another minor annoyance, e.g. I don’t think it should be built to break like that.
All-in-all a solid effort and I would recommend the machine, just be prepared for a few frustrations.