The Schwinn 230 Recumbent Exercise Bike Gets Good Marks From Riders And Here's Why

One of the worst mistakes you can make when choosing an exercise bike is spending too little money. Here's the deal... Cheap bikes self-destruct and are no fun to use while they last. What light bikes mostly do is rock, sway and roll. None of that is particularly an encouragement to hard use since it suggests that you may at any time be dumped from the bike. What's more, the excess motion often loosens nuts and bolts and may even crack joints and welds. All that taken together means no fun and an early grave for an exercise machine.

As a contrast, the Schwinn 230 exercise bike offers good value, but at a fair price too. The 230 is noted for 3 particular advantages.

All but silent...

You get a magnetic drive and electronics that is virtually a silent resistance system. The load you feel as you pedal comes from magnetic resistance. That differs from a friction band as still on some bikes of a fan resistance as found on dual action bikes like the Schwinn Airdyne. The magnetic drive is almost whisper quiet. That way you can watch movies or read a book and you get to do it in quiet. Listening to music is another option. Quiet workouts for some riders likely result in longer pedaling sessions and more results in a shorter period of time.

Comfortable position and seating.

Schwinn seats get high praise. It's a big almost reclining seat that's rated high for comfort. Plus the seat is on a sliding rail so it fits just about anybody. It's comfort all the way. Again, the comfort ride likely means more time in the saddle. This differs from many upright bikes which concentrate all your weight to a small area and produce pain rather than comfort. Recumbents also work better sometimes for folks with back challenges since the weight is off the riders back to some degree.

Fights boredom.

Why do exercise bike owners not ride those machines? Easy... Boring rides... Let's face it, mindlessly pedaling away for long periods of time at the same pace with little distraction is not most people's idea of fun, far from it actually. Programmable workouts are one way to put some variation in your time exercising. That's another way this machine is rated high. Lots of programs make for more interest and less boredom. You can mix up workouts and fight back the boredom. The workouts, of course, are possible because of the computer interface with the magnetic current resistance system and makes for quiet as well as variation to the steady pedal routine.

The Schwinn 230 exercise bike or the similar Schwinn 240 are good values in recumbent exercise bikes. Ride in quiet and comfort on this machine. You also gets powerful electronics for more interesting rides. Here's another thing... You can buy these bikes at a big discount off of retail price, if you buy at the right place... As mentioned the 240 and 230 are similar and the 240 is a newer model. Very similar to the 230, the newer model comes with several refined features. Another option in a smaller and lighter bike is the Schwinn Active 20 Series recumbent exercise bike.

Get our article about the Schwinn Airdyne bike, a classic machine that is worth a closer look.


A favorite, and a quality choice, is the LifeCycle exercise bike.