Hi, I'm trying to come up with the money to purchase a stationary exercise bike. I recently had open knee surgery and was in an immobilizer for 8 weeks, non-weightbearing for three of those. I am in PT and get to ride their bike and after three weeks I finally was able to make a full revolution of the pedals. It was painful, but the feeling of making the full revolution was so great. Since I have been unable to move around easily for so long and with the coming snow and ice, I thought that I would try to find an exercise bike to keep conditioning during the winter. Do you have any suggestions as to what I should look for, what size it will take up (for an upright not the recumbant), how much I should expect to pay to get a good model, etc.? I've started looking a bikes online, but I'm not sure what is a good deal and what is too "cheap." I do have a regular bike in my garage that I'm a bit afraid of riding, especially in the bad weather. Any advice will be greatly appreciated!!!

Can you get to a fitness store to try some out? That is really key, honestly. Then, you can find the models you like and look for the best deal online. You can go to some of the big chain stores (like a Sports Authority) or a fitness store (We have one here called second wind)...you can purchase from big warehouse clubs (like Sam's or Costco), but can rarely try them out there.

We have one at home, but I don't remember what we spent on it, honestly (its an upright). We didn't need or want fancy features on it...we went in, tried out a bunch, found what we wanted and got one. Its better to get good quality, as you are realizing, because if its not comfortable or smooth riding, you'll not like doing it (and then won't).

Thanks for your response. I have been doing so well on the bike in physical therapy that I am anxious to keep on going. I can go try a few out, but there are only a few models that are within my price range. I am mostly curious as to if there are any questions I should ask aside from the comfort issue. I do appreciate your suggestions. I'll take a look at what the local sporting goods place has this weekend. Have a great day!

I'm glad the bike in therapy is helping and you want to continue at home.

I'd ask the following or look at the following:

(1) Set up and delivery: how much in $$ and do they get the bike set up totally? (if you have someone that can do this for you and don't need service for this).

(2) Power: nearly all bikes I've seen are battery operated, and that is basically for the display---but see if there are any that are electric and what the difference would be (there are differences in home ellipse systems that plug into the wall vs. don't).

(3) display features/programs: do you care about these at all? I normally don't ever care---I just want manual where I can up the resistance on my own...tracking how far you go is fun; I never rely on the calories, as well, that isn't really accurate on most unless you are wearing a heart rate monitor.

(4) fan: some have built in fans, others don't.

(5) overall comfort: I like to read on my ellipse (I have a good home ellipse---it was expensive, but worth the extra $$)---often, the display areas aren't big enough to hold a magazine and I would never get one that couldn't hold a magazine. This may or may not matter to you. I need to listen to music and read when doing cardio, and so the reading ability is key. I do the bike too and I read on the bike.

Hope that helps.

Thanks! That is wonderful information. I'm looking forward to shopping this weekend. Take care!