Posts Tagged ‘recumbent’
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.
First Look at Schwinn 220 Recumbent Bike. Please note that this review is written based on only ONE WEEK of use, so Schwinn 220 Recumbent Exercise Bike can’t possibly address performance over the long term. If I remember to, I’ll come back in a few months and give a more complete review.
First, the machine was shipped promptly and arrived on time. The package was somewhat damaged, but all the bike parts arrived in good condition. It appears to me that the Chinese manufacturer packaged the bike for containerized shipment, and not for individual transport. Nevertheless, all was okay.
Assembly is straight-forward. I was interrupted (neighbor’s horses got out), but total assembly time was probably about one hour, working alone. Note that I’m an experienced assembler, having put together many wagons, carts, bikes, trikes, etc. in the wee hours of Christmas morning. Also note that Step 5 (page 11) calls for REMOVING the seat rail bracket; the bracket on my bike WAS NOT already installed, and, not reading the instruction, I installed the bracket, as that’s what the diagram suggested. No big deal, but you’ll have to remove it later. Other than that glitch, all went smoothly. By the way, all the tools that you will need are included in the package – nice touch.
With only one week’s use, the machine has been absolutely silent in operation; I certainly hope that continues. By default, the bike starts at intensity level 3. Stepping up to level 4 is detectable but not severe. Further steps seem to increase resistance at a higher level.
I cannot grasp the front handle bars while sitting with my back against the backrest; in fact I can barely touch them with my finger tips. To grasp the handles I must lean forward. Not a biggie, but I would prefer them to be located in front of the electronic display, rather than behind it.
As to the electronic panel, it appears to me that the MPH shown is high; at 80 RPMs it registers 16 miles per hour, while my old bike showed 13 MPH. The display registers about 25 calories per mile at resistance level 4. The heart rate monitor shows about 5 beats per minute higher than my Polar unit, but I can’t say for sure which one is closer.
I do not like the way the “time” feature changes between “elapsed time” and a one-minute countdown display at 6-second intervals – I would prefer it to stay on the elapsed time screen. If there is a way to reset this feature I haven’t been able to find it.
Also, my old bike stopped the elapsed-time clock whenever I quit pedaling, but this one continues to run – a stop to answer the doorbell reflected 5 minutes of exercise time while I was away.
I have not used any of the programmed workout programs, because I exercise at 78-82 RPMs for 30 minutes, varying pedal resistance during the workout (I’m a 70-year-old male, and I’m not trying to build endurance.)
The “magazine rack” is merely a small ledge. It will hold a magazine, I suppose, but I place my very small MP3 player on it. I don’t believe that some of the larger players would stay on the ledge.
I knew this before I ordered the bike, so I can’t really complain, but I would much prefer the display unit to be powered by a battery, as my old bike was. The Schwinn 220 must be plugged into an AC outlet – without electricity you don’t get any readouts, and can’t vary resistance.
The Schwinn 220 seems to be pretty stout, and my overall impression, at this point, is favorable. If it continues to function like it does now, I’ll be pleased with my purchase. Time will tell
