We bought an exercise bicycle just before Christmas. (*He* bought it and canceled his gym membership.) So a couple times I week, I hop on for about 20-30 minutes of high intensity cycling. I’m so out of shape, I have to start off small like this. While I prefer running, an exercise bicycle takes up a lot less space than a treadmill and it weighs a heck of a lot less, as evidenced by my boyfriend pulling me into a nice spot near the TV while I was still astride.
The trick about the bike’s cheapness is that it is a health club model that has been fully refurbished. The LifeCycle 9500HR was about $2,000-3,000 new. (That’s the price you’d pay for the current equivalent model.) Factory refurbished ones on Amazon go for $1,800 or $850 on eBay for ones in unknown condition. We were able to get a nicely refurbished one locally in Maryland for about $700 and it was delivered to the house!
What I like about the bike is that it does not use up electricity the way the free treadmill did. Just by pedaling, you’re able to generate enough energy to power the light up display. This model also measures your heart rate if you hold the side handles or you can get a plug-in heart monitor. (For some reason I do not naturally grip the handles correctly to register my heart rate.)
My boyfriend and I are unlikely to ride the bike as much as it would see in its lifetime at a gym. It’s mostly to burn off calories while watching TV. (This leads to other discussions about intensity of workout, etc, but some is better than none for me.) I think this bike will last us quite some time.
The refurbishment included a new motherboard for the electronics, a tear down and rebuild of the moving parts, lubrication, and delivery from Columbia, Maryland to DC.
How does $700 compare to a gym membership for two people? With my company discount, I can get a Gold’s Gym membership for $400/yr per person. So just by having the bike, we’re already saving $100 in gym fees in the first year, and every year it’s $800 in gym fees we’ve saved. We also save ourselves waiting time for machines, parking fees at the gym, and the opportunity cost of time going to the gym and back.
Obviously, this solution isn’t for everyone. It does take up a good amount of space and it’s not in a hideaway spot at all. But so far it’s working for us. If I feel cold, I can jump on the bike a bit at night and warm up. (Secretly, that is why I’ve been motivated to ride it. We keep the thermostat really cold inside the house!)
With a little portion control over the next 6 months, I hope to slim back down so I don’t have to buy any new clothes!
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