Exercise bike

[Eagle]

Very recently bought a top quality exercise bike for use when the weather is bad. It is not cheap at £549 (£599 normally) but it is worth every penny. There are only 5 star (88%) and 4 star (12%) reviews on Amazon.

There is a £50 discount available until Monday 6th August if the bike is purchased directly from JTX ( NB I have no connection with JTX Fitness and I am not receiving any kickbacks from them. I am simply a very satisfied customer).

The machine is built like the proverbial brick outhouse and is totally silent.

I use a predetermined heart rate as a limiting factor, but there are hundreds of different workout options available.

I simply subtracted my age from 220 to get my maximum heart rate and then multiplied this figure by 0.8 to obtain my target heart rate.

There are sensors in the handlebars to pick up the heart rate.

I then set the bike’s computer to this figure along with the time required and then pedal away, usually with Tina Turner’s dulcet tones to motivate me!

Very highly recommended.

JTX Cyclo-5:

https://www.jtxfitness.com/jtx-cyclo-5-upright-exercise-bike

https://www.amazon.co.uk/JTX-Cyclo-5-Exercise-Feature-Packed-BLUETOOTH/dp/B00AVVQ7OQ

 

[Artstu]

I wonder if you can get a bafang kit on one ?

You could be a fast beater so 220 minus your age could be miles out. The only way to be sure is to do a max test, but only if you're already exercising a lot.
https://www.cycling-inform.com/how-to-test-for-your-cycling-max-heart-rate

 

[Fat Rat]

Each to there own
Exercise bikes always seem like a lot of effort to me to get no where

 

[Artstu]

Each to there own
Exercise bikes always seem like a lot of effort to me to get no where

Now if it had a dynamo on you could recharge your e-bike battery

ETA, you'd also have an answer to the 'does it recharge the battery as you pedal?'

 

[Fat Rat]

Now if it had a dynamo on you could recharge your e-bike battery

ETA, you'd also have an answer to the 'does it recharge the battery as you pedal?'

Now
There’s a thought

 

[Nealh]

I wonder if you can get a bafang kit on one ?

You could be a fast beater so 220 minus your age could be miles out. The only way to be sure is to do a max test, but only if you're already exercising a lot.
https://www.cycling-inform.com/how-to-test-for-your-cycling-max-heart-rate

It would have to be a Bafang hub kit as surely a mid drive wouldn't have the ground clearance .

 

[Gubbins]

Please dont laugh too vigorously.
I have had a Bkool for a few years now and use it to keep fit in the winter.
Its like a turbo trainer that takes my road bike (e-road bike running unpowered), connects to a Laptop and/or TV screen, and lets me ride video routes others have made. It applies resistance when I go uphill that is simulated to up 20% which really does make it hard that if I dont change down I can stall and have to stop but then it gets really easy on the downslope so I can change back up the gears whilst the video speeds up and slows down dependant on my speed so keeps me relative to other riders on the film. I can ride any videoed route in the world and I often ride around central park which is possibly a bit less boring than repeat Tina Turner.

Anyway, the funny bit.. You can race and chat with other users (which I do not) and also ride velodrome races as an avatar (which I do) including an elimination race with the last over the line (me) going out first which doesn't matter as I only do it for exercise..
So one day I decided to have some fun, fitted a dongle and turned the bike on.. at the end of each lap the last over the line is eliminated.. so I stay last as usual and do an overtake at the very last second.. The effect is a bit like passing a hard core roady on a hill.. they just do not like it!
Its just a bit of fun to pass an otherwise boring hour and gets me a good workout.

Using the 220 thing for HR my max would be 155 for a 69 year old, with a 0.08 target being 120. In fact when I did a stress test last year (not to be recommended) I manage 171 so dont bank on age averages being correct as it depends on other factors, not least of which is how often you push yourself.
It hasn't always been like this for me.. 10 years ago (before I started cycling) my resting HR was in the 80's and at 140 I was on my knees, and now my resting HR is mid to high 50's, I regularly ride for extended times in the 140's without being out of breath and can get into the 160''s for 30 seconds or so with a less than 2 minute recovery.
So who says e-bikes are for the lazy?

 

[Artstu]

It hasn't always been like this for me.. 10 years ago (before I started cycling) my resting HR was in the 80's and at 140 I was on my knees, and now my resting HR is mid to high 50's, I regularly ride for extended times in the 140's without being out of breath and can get into the 160''s for 30 seconds or so with a less than 2 minute recovery.
So who says e-bikes are for the lazy?

Wow well done you, just shows its never too late to improve your health and fitness.

 

[oyster]

I wonder if you can get a bafang kit on one ?

You could be a fast beater so 220 minus your age could be miles out. The only way to be sure is to do a max test, but only if you're already exercising a lot.
https://www.cycling-inform.com/how-to-test-for-your-cycling-max-heart-rate

I tried that article's new formula - I can reach that max sitting on the sofa.

 

[Gubbins]

I tried that article's new formula - I can reach that max sitting on the sofa.

I think you need to see a doctor/funeral director..

 

[flecc]

I think you need to see a doctor/funeral director..

I don't think I'd have much faith in a doctor who was also the local funeral director.
.

 

[Crockers]

Please dont laugh too vigorously.
I have had a Bkool for a few years now and use it to keep fit in the winter.
Its like a turbo trainer that takes my road bike (e-road bike running unpowered), connects to a Laptop and/or TV screen, and lets me ride video routes others have made. It applies resistance when I go uphill that is simulated to up 20% which really does make it hard that if I dont change down I can stall and have to stop but then it gets really easy on the downslope so I can change back up the gears whilst the video speeds up and slows down dependant on my speed so keeps me relative to other riders on the film. I can ride any videoed route in the world and I often ride around central park which is possibly a bit less boring than repeat Tina Turner.

Anyway, the funny bit.. You can race and chat with other users (which I do not) and also ride velodrome races as an avatar (which I do) including an elimination race with the last over the line (me) going out first which doesn't matter as I only do it for exercise..
So one day I decided to have some fun, fitted a dongle and turned the bike on.. at the end of each lap the last over the line is eliminated.. so I stay last as usual and do an overtake at the very last second.. The effect is a bit like passing a hard core roady on a hill.. they just do not like it!
Its just a bit of fun to pass an otherwise boring hour and gets me a good workout.

Using the 220 thing for HR my max would be 155 for a 69 year old, with a 0.08 target being 120. In fact when I did a stress test last year (not to be recommended) I manage 171 so dont bank on age averages being correct as it depends on other factors, not least of which is how often you push yourself.
It hasn't always been like this for me.. 10 years ago (before I started cycling) my resting HR was in the 80's and at 140 I was on my knees, and now my resting HR is mid to high 50's, I regularly ride for extended times in the 140's without being out of breath and can get into the 160''s for 30 seconds or so with a less than 2 minute recovery.
So who says e-bikes are for the lazy?

Put a moped on it.....

 

[Nev]

It hasn't always been like this for me.. 10 years ago (before I started cycling) my resting HR was in the 80's and at 140 I was on my knees, and now my resting HR is mid to high 50's, I regularly ride for extended times in the 140's without being out of breath and can get into the 160''s for 30 seconds or so with a less than 2 minute recovery.
So who says e-bikes are for the lazy?

I wonder if pedelec manufacturers should highlight the health benefits of their products more than they actually do. I went out to the garage this morning with the intention or riding my e-mountain bike to Costa coffee for a flat white (round trip of 20 miles) and found I had a flat rear tire. I did not feel like fixing it so I took my old un assisted mountain bike instead. Now the route has quite a lot of hills, but I still managed it without too much difficulty.

Two or three months ago I would have struggled to do a quarter of this journey and would probably have had to push up some of the hills. The thing is I have gained this fitness all by using the e-bike and yet when I go on it I hardly feel I am putting in much effort.

Its almost as if you are getting fit without even trying, it really is absolutely amazing. My bike has a torque sensor so I am not sure if you would get the same fitness benefits if the bike just had a cadence sensor.

 

[flecc]

Its almost as if you are getting fit without even trying, it really is absolutely amazing. My bike has a torque sensor so I am not sure if you would get the same fitness benefits if the bike just had a cadence sensor.

After many years of unpowered riding I first had a torque sensor bike which didn't seem to have any effect on my fitness which was quite high anyway. But later adding a cadence sensor bike with a fairly powerful motor soon started to lose me my fitness. It's hard to say how much since I was also growing older and that would account for some loss, but there was no doubting the negative effect of having the lazy option which was tempting to use.
.

 

[Crockers]

I blame the lack of steroids......

 

[daveboy]

Exercise bikes are very good for hanging clothes on for next day.

 

[jfak76]

My dad bought an exercise bike just to keep fit daily and exercise at home instead of going to the gym. So, it's ideal for those, who don't want to go outside, but still want to work out. It doesn't take to much space and stored folded in the living room pushed up to the wall. My dad is very pleased with his bike, it's price and the ability to maintain his health. So, if someone is interested in exercise bikes this is the one my dad got from Amazon- https://www.amazon.com/Exerpeutic-Folding-Magnetic-Upright-Exercise/dp/B007595TKU/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=Exerpeutic+Folding+Magnetic+Upright+Exercise+Bike+with+Pulse&qid=1577160799&sr=8-1

 

[jfak76]

By the way, came across this guide https://pickadvisor.org/best-folding-exercise-bikes/ concerning the exercise bikes. Found it quite useful and informative, so maybe some of you would too.