Hey guys- I am looking get back into shape and fit into my old clothes again. Really my legs are the only thing that are in shape, so that wouldn't help my whole body but it would definately help burn calories. I love riding and I imagine that I would be doing it at home during most of the day. there's a gym right down the street but I don't want to work out in a sweat pitt and get staph and warts. I am basically asking if anyone owns a stationary bike, how is it, or what would you reccomend for me. Let me mind you that I have a very low budget.

Hmm. They are a bit trickier to learn to use, but you might want to look into rollers. They are more like the way one really rides a bicycle. I find an exercise bike to be quite tedious to use, although my husband seems to like using one. He claims he gets a better workout on the exercise bike than he does riding. I think he doesn't go up enough hills, myself.

Stationary bikes have a lot of bells and whistles. It's nice to have a way to change the resistance, but essentially all you need is a timer, and an odometer. If you get some DVDs of the Tour de France, you should get some great exercise.

Any other opinions?

East Hill

Thats what I did,borrowed a couple of vids and started cranking.I would love to get a trainer I just don't have the budget for one right now so I gotta make due with what I could find.
It was better than nothing.As to getting a better work out than actually riding.IMO I don't think so.

There's nothing like learning how to get up hills than to actually go up hills .

East Hill

I've seen many good deals on trainers and stationary bikes on Craigslist.

In my experiences with the stationary bike there is a world of difference compared to a trainer. When I was first getting into riding I would jump on my stationary bike at home to prep for my weekend rides. It sucked! It was good to build up some muscle and lose some weight but I was learning to pedal incorrectly on the stationary. I was pushing throughout the whole revolution instead of pulling and pushing (more effiecient pedal stroke). It didn't help much for real world cycling.

For general fitness and weight loss the stationary bike was good. But for training for my first MS 150 ride, it was junk. And it's easy to vary cadence just by switching gears on my bike trainer.

Just get a few cycling vids like Carmichael and Spinervals and you'll learn to ride correctly and efficiently while they kick your butt with the videos!

Good luck!

Check out New Balance online...they do some really good deals and ship straight to your house. I bought one from them since our Wisconsin winters can get a bit long and I wanted to give my good bike a rest instead of using a trainer or rollers. Get some training videos and good music, also, check out videos called "Bike-O-Vision." I bought several of those -- slowed them to half-speed so they'll last a couple of hours at a pop, put on some loud music, and I'm addicted. Without the videos and music I'd be bored, but those make it work.

I use a NB stationary to supplement my regular rides and have found my speed's already increased a bunch over last year in outdoor rides.

Schwinn AirDyne stationary bikes are common equipment
in both gyms and rehab centers. I bought a used Schwinn
Airdyne "pro" to rehab from knee surgury 2 years ago and
use it everyday still to keep in good cardio shape.

Why Schwinn Airdyne??

Easy really. These machines are so well constructed that
they will take the beating of gym's & rehab's that they are
well......bulletproof. As an example....My Airdyne pro was
bought used for $350 from a person who used it for hip
joint rehab. This machine retailed for $1200 (!!!) new
but I can see why with the way it's built.....Brick out
house springs to mind.

With that now on the table, a person could do very well
with careful shopping in the used market for a Schwinn
airedyne to use as an everyday "ride" winter & summer
to stay in shape good weather or bad weather.