11 best exercise bikes that are worth adding to your home gym

Formerly known as the IC8, this bike has managed to stay at the head of the pack for years now, thanks to its connectivity and compatibility with established and emerging third-party platforms, so you can ride with any number of other cycling apps like Peloton, Zwift or Jrny using your own tablet in the bike’s cradle. The magnetic resistance is adjusted through a centralised twisting knob that’s easily accessible no matter how hard you’re pushing and although the resistance won’t always match those of alternative apps, like Peloton’s, there are conversions online that will help you sync up, so you can ride seamlessly.

We really like the design of the handlebars on the IC8, particularly the tactile tab at the top of each handlebar that makes it much easier to stay stable when you’re riding out of the saddle. And there’s a comfortable saddle waiting for you when you sit back down, that takes the pressure off in all the right places.

It’s got a sturdy in-built console, to feedback your usual metrics (time, calories, speed etc), excellent adjustability and with 100 levels of resistance to choose from you’ll have no problem finding a level that works for you and will continue to challenge you as you get fitter.

Not everyone is going to want a bike that can stand up to a rigorous schedule of intense spinning workouts, day after day. Instead, many will be after a piece of kit for more modest cardio goals, only using the bike for a few hours a week.

If that’s the case, you don’t want to blow your budget on a state-of-the-art machine, but will still need a bike that allows you to work hard and make good weekly progress towards your fitness goals, which is exactly what this bike will do.

The self-assembly wasn’t particularly straightforward, but it’s worth persevering because at the end of it you will have a fitness station that’s more than capable of upping your heart rate and providing a good cardio workout without it feeling like it’s about to fall apart underneath you.

The magnetic flywheel is smooth, although it’s not particularly quiet, so the rest of the house may not thank you if you’re working out in the early AM.

The monitor is clear and allows you to cycle through all the relevant metrics to ensure your workouts are progressing, with the eight levels of tension giving you scope to extend your workouts as you get progressively fitter.

The problem with many of the less expensive bikes is their limited adjustability, which makes it difficult to find a comfortable riding position and immediately puts up barriers to achieving your weekly fitness goals. That’s not the case with this machine that allows you to angle the handlebars and also position the seat through seven different heights and adjust it horizontally.

Care and attention needs to be taken throughout the assembly, but we really liked the machine’s modest footprint and there are wheels tucked away into the very sturdy steel frame so you can move it around easily. This means that the bike is an excellent option for anyone who wants to get pedal fit but has limited room at home.

The easy-read control is battery powered, so there are no wires restricting where the bike should live and there’s a drop-down shelf that you can rest a phone or tablet on if you want to employ some third-party apps to dictate the workout.

The magnetic resistance is smooth and the eight levels are easily adjusted via a quick-grab dial located underneath the handlebars.

If you often spend your weekends covered in Lycra, battling the UK winter on a road bike then you might be interested to hear that the US manufacturer Bowflex has brought its innovative Velocore bike to the UK.

Clear instructions meant that assembly took around 45 minutes and the bike immediately impressed from our very first ride with 100 magnetic resistance levels that were smooth and controlled from a centralised knob that was very responsive.

Fully adjustable seat and handlebars and good in-saddle comfort makes for excellent on-bike ergonomics, but the feature that makes this bike so different to the others in our edit is that with the simple push of a button you can change the mode of the bike from stationary to leaning mode. This means you can tilt the bike, at will, to the left or right and it’s a feature that’s utilised in the many workouts on the excellent JRNY fitness app which comes included in the price of the bike.

We initially found it a little disconcerting, but after we had got used to the sensation and realised that we weren’t going to keel over, it’s a fantastic tool to recruit more muscles as you ride (particularly your core) and really keeps you engaged with any workout that you’re following on the bike.

We really liked the well curated online content and outdoor scenic rides when we originally tested echelon’s EX-5s and they also work well with the brand’s entry level offering.

The more modest pricing of the Sport, compared to the other bikes in the echelon stable, means you will have to put the bike together yourself and also have access to a tablet, as the bike doesn’t have a built-in screen.

Assembly was problem-free and there’s good adjustability, comfort and stability, which all add to the bike’s appeal. The magnetic flywheel is quiet and smooth and offers up 32 levels of resistance, so the bike can support long-term fitness goals (all controlled via an easy access knob) which allows you to change resistance quickly without interrupting your pedalling cadence, which is essential if you’re taking part in an instructor led class.

We really enjoyed echelon’s live fitness classes, complete with engaging UK instructors, which are available through three different plans, starting at £19.99.

On-demand content was plentiful, whether that’s instructor classes or a wide variety of scenic rides, so your training is in no danger of going stale.

With a 120cm x 60cm footprint, the Peloton bike plus is no different from its predecessor (from £1,345, Onepeloton.co.uk), but what has gone up in size is the HD touchscreen, so you can feel more involved in whatever class you choose. Peloton has also boosted the surround sound with a quality soundbar so you can be screamed at (sorry, motivated by) the instructors with ear munching volume and clarity.

You still control resistance from the magnetic flywheel via an easily accessed and sensitive knob, but we really like the fact that the resistance on the new bike can automatically track the instructor’s resistance throughout an on-demand workout, which is becoming a must-have feature for connected cycles, we think.

What it comes down to is whether these features warrant the price bump for the basics package. Of course, you also have to factor in the £39 a month that you’ll need to find for the streaming service, which is still the industry standard.

This bike can be connected to the 1Rebel fitness studio in London or Revolution in Milan (£29 per month) to offer up live and on-demand classes, streamed directly to the bike. It features a very intuitive, easy-to-use, 22in HD touchscreen and you can see your progress on a leaderboard of connected cyclists.

The handlebars were comfortable and there were lots of options for hand placement to find a comfortable riding position. As well as this, the seat was very easy to adjust mid-workout and the bike didn’t take over the room.

Exercise bikes are always on show in your home and the UK manufacturer Apex has clearly put a lot of thought into how their bike will look in whatever room you put it in. For a start, it comes in customisable colours according to the room it’s headed for and it has really sleek, stylish lines that make it one of the most modern-looking bikes on sale, plus it helps that it has afairly modest footprint, that won’t totally take over the room it stands in.

It’s a “smart” bike, but the reason there’s such a difference in price from other, well-known brands in the indoor cycle space, is because the Apex doesn’t have a built-in display and instead has a stand for your iOS device.

So, you can connect to the Apex app content (£29.99/month) via an iPhone or iPad or for an even more immersive experience you can set up in front of a widescreen and cast the classes to an Apple TV, if you have one.

In use, the on-screen metrics were easy to read and understand and the Apex has a comfortable saddle and “aero” handlebars with the resistance coming from a flywheel controlled via a sensitive, but not too sensitive, dial that’s easy to use.

The bike was nice and stable too, even when we were really going for it.

Apart from the price, the other thing that might really appeal to indoor riders are that the online and live class instructors are all UK based and the content comes from London spin studio Boom cycle. Although they still cater for high energy spin classes there’s a little less hype and Britney when it comes to your morning sweat session.

The next iteration of the Atom is comfortable to ride with well-gripped Aero bars which incorporate a tablet for you to follow the various third-party apps that the Wattbike relies on to make it connected.

The Atom’s resistance comes from an electromagnetic drivetrain, which is favoured by plenty of hardcore cyclists because it accurately mirrors the feel of being out there eating up the miles dressed head to toe in lycra, rather than being in a stationary spin class. The Atom is comfortable to ride, unmovable even when you’re really going for it and works with the Wattbike app, Swift and Sufferfest, which is where you’ll get an indication of which gear you’re in, otherwise it’s based on an educated guess.

In terms of the gears the Atom uses electronic shifters to go up and down the drivetrain and the changes were absolutely seamless without a hint of judder.

The newest offering from Echelon is a very accomplished smart bike that’s an absolute dream to ride in terms of its adjustability and ergonomics. There are multiple handle positions on the bars which are really comfortable, and the nice saddle makes this one of the most rideable bikes on test.

The tilting 21.5in HD screen displays all your metrics very clearly, whether you’re enjoying the well-curated online content or the outdoor scenic rides, which provide a welcome distraction as you pedal your way through coastal or country roads, keeping an eye on output, distance, speed, calories etc.

It’s a shame that you can’t see yourself covering more distance the faster you ride the bike, as the speed of the video is set, but that’s a very minor niggle. Whether it’s live-streamed spin classes or on-demand you’re after the amount of content on offer is impressive.

The flywheel runs super silent and operates on magnetic resistance, and there are 32 levels – plenty to get your heart pumping or to make for an easy warm down.

The EX-5s was very stable even when riding heavily side-to-side, and there was minimal screen wobble during a workout or class, which can be a little distracting.

This bike looks so good that you probably shouldn’t confine it to the spare bedroom. It’s just as much an exercise in design as it is indoor cycling engineering, but if you have just won the lottery then the bike will also deliver a complete fitness experience too. The bike is supremely comfortable to ride, either upright or in a racing position, with a whisper-quiet flywheel and magnetic resistance that offers infinite resistance.

Connectivity comes from Bluetooth sensors that connect you to a proprietary app (available for free on iOS and Android) that provides an excellent source of original training plans. It’s not the most compact of bikes, but if you’re shelling out this amount of money, you’ll probably want to show it off anyway.