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Despite being one of the lowest priced ‘X-position’ cycles available, the Marcy Foldable Bike (NS-652) has an impressive average review rating and collection of features.
In this review we take a look at the reasons behind the high customer review ratings, as well as the design features, display console functions, and benefits of owning such a compact exercise bike.
Design features
Whether you’re just starting your first fitness program or are simply looking for a more space efficient exercise bike for indoor cycling, the ‘x-frame’ folding design has become an incredibly popular solution.
One of the highest rated yet lowest priced bikes of this type is the Marcy Foldable Bike, which uses a simple safety pin to switch between being folded and its X-position.
As well as its space saving benefits, you also have the ergonomically designed seat and handlebars, designed to help you maintain a natural posture and reduce pressure on the lower back.
The seat itself is fully height adjustable to cater for a wide range of user heights, but also well padded to make your workouts more comfortable and enjoyable.
The wrap around design of the handlebars has been ergonomically shaped to provide several different options when it comes to choosing a grip position.
It’s also a bike that provides you with all the benefits we’ve come to expect from a magnetic resistance system. This includes a smooth flywheel and pedal motion that’s quiet enough to allow you to watch your favourite movie or listen to music while you workout.
Despite the lack of transport wheels, this really shouldn’t be something that prevents you from moving the bike between rooms if required, as the entire bike weighs less than 35 pounds.
Marcy Foldable Bike – Features Summary
- Manual adjustment continuous resistance
- High density foam padded seat and height adjustment for different body types
- Easy to read computer screen displays speed, distance, time and calories burned
- Innovative frame design folds up for easy storage
- Counterweighted pedals with adjustable foot straps
- 8 resistance levels
Display console design
As with most exercise bikes in the $100 to $150 price range, the Marcy Foldable Bike does provide you with a display console, but its functions are fairly basic.
Unfortunately you don’t have the option to follow any preset workouts, perform a fitness test, or have your workout information synced to an app or your computer.
This is really to be expected from an entry level cycle, and if these sound like features you would enjoy during your workouts, it might be worth taking a look at one of the higher end designs from Schwinn.
Instead, you have a single LCD screen which scrolls through several important workout stats, including time, speed, distance, and calories burned.
Despite the limited feedback, this can still be used in combination with the different resistance settings to put together your own workout plan.
You can then set targets based on different resistance levels and how quickly you can cover certain distances, to keep your workouts feeling fresh and challenging.
Ease of assembly
If you’re not a fan of self assembly fitness equipment but still want to enjoy an effective cardio workout, the Marcy Foldable Bike could be the ideal choice.
The flywheel casing and main cross frame arrive already pre-assembled, meaning you only have to attach the pedals, seat, base stabilizers, and display console.
Unlike heavier ellipticals and treadmills, the frame is light enough to move around and setup without the need for an additional pair of hands.
The user manual even provides a quick pre-assembly checklist of the parts you should expect to find in the box, and an in-depth step-by-step walkthrough of the assembly process.
One of the benefits of having such a compact display console is that you don’t have to worry about threading wires through uprights and other complicated steps you would expect to find on larger machines.
Instead, just one cable is all that’s needed to connect to the console and provide you with detailed feedback on your current workout.
Due to the simplicity of the assembly, you should have no trouble in getting this bike setup and ready to use in less than 30 minutes.
Customer reviews
While reading positive reviews and looking at a collection of photos and videos online can be a useful form of research if you can’t use the product before you buy, a high average customer review rating is equally as important.
Currently one of the most reliable sources for finding large numbers of honest and high quality reviews is Amazon, with over 100 available for the Marcy Foldable Exercise Bike.
Considering its low price, we were expecting to find a relatively even distribution of medium to high ratings. What we actually found was an overwhelming number of full 5 star ratings, with almost zero ratings under 4 stars.
Finding an average rating this high is rare, let alone for a bike that costs less than $150. That’s why we wanted to read through these reviews ourselves, and provide you with a quick reference guide to the most frequently mentioned pros and cons.
The results of this research are displayed in the lists below.
Pros:
- Easy to put together
- Incredibly quiet, with a smooth pedal motion
- Compact footprint, even when in use
- Challenging levels of resistance
- Easy to move around thanks to its lightweight frame design
- Height adjustable seat makes the bike suitable for users between 5 feet 2 inches and 6 feet tall
- Folding design reduces the space needed to store the bike when not in use
- Competitively priced
- Free shipping
- High weight capacity
Cons:
- Some people found the seat uncomfortable after extended periods of cycling. This can be resolved by investing in a seat cover, such as the Sunlite Cloud 9 Gel version, for just a few extra dollars.
- Package doesn’t include batteries needed to operate the display console
- No transport wheels
What’s included with the warranty?
- Frame: 2 years
Review Overview
Overall Review Rating
4.5 / 5
If you're looking for an exercise bike where you don't have to setup user profiles and configure different workout settings, then the simplicity of the Marcy Foldable Bike is a great alternative.
The range of resistance settings makes it suitable for almost all levels of personal fitness, apart from seasoned fitness enthusiasts with many years of competitive or high level cardiovascular training.
This is really what you have to expect for the price. For anyone that's looking for more challenging workouts, you'll probably be looking at spending at least twice the price on an incline treadmill or studio style bike.
In terms of low cost stationary upright bikes, you'll struggle to find a lower priced design that can be backed up by such highly rated reviews and provide an effective cardio workout.
Product dimensions:
42.25" (H) x 18.25" (W) x 32" (L)
Product weight: 34 lbs
User weight limit: 250 lbs
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We go to great lengths to ensure that our reviews are completely comprehensive, usually covering everything from the design features to the warranty coverage and exercise options. This is all to help guide you towards the home gym equipment that’s best suited to your goals and budget, whilst also being the highest quality option in your chosen price range.
