Schwinn 230 Recumbent Exercise Bike Review

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With more than 100 years of cycling expertise, Schwinn have taken the 2007 model and produced the greatly improved 2013 model of the Schwinn 230 recumbent exercise bike.

In our review we’ll walk you through all the best design features, console functions, and workout programs. We’ll also take a close look at feedback from other customers, who have already added the bike to their home gym.

This will help you decide whether the Schwinn 230 is really the best recumbent exercise bike for your own personal fitness program.

Design features

With its low profile design and walk through frame making it easier to get on and off the bike, the Schwinn 230 recumbent bike is ideally suited to low impact workouts.

Whether you are recovering from an injury, want better support for your lower back when cycling, or simply looking for a low impact form of cardio, this bike comes highly rated by customers that bought it for the exact same reasons.

The seat has been ergonomically designed to provide effective lumbar support, with a range of different positions making it suitable for both taller and shorter users.

As with their higher priced recumbent bikes, the Schwinn 230 has also been fitted with two levellers built into the rear stabilizer, and one attached to the base rail.

These help to take into account any uneven areas in the floor you rest the bike on, ensuring the bike stays stable throughout even the most intense workouts.

One final feature worth mentioning is how easy it is to move the bike around if required once it’s setup.

With a set of transport wheels attached to the front stabilizer, you can simply lift up the back of the bike using the large handle provided and roll the machine to wherever it needs to be.

Ease of assembly

One of the main positive points mentioned in the customer reviews was how straightforward the assembly was.

Partly due to the base unit and flywheel casing arriving pre-assembled, but also due to the quality of the instructions in the user manual.

All the tools you need to setup the Schwinn 230 are included in the box, with a full parts list in the manual to make sure you have everything you need before you start putting the bike together.

Each step includes a quick explanation about what you need to do, as well as providing a detailed exploded drawing that shows how the parts fit together, as well as the tools you need.

With such a detailed step by step assembly guide and a highly rated customer support service, it’s possible to go from having the parts laid out on the floor to enjoying your first workout in less than 60 minutes.

Workout programs and user profiles

If you have ever used a piece of fitness equipment before and doubted the calories burned or heart rate reading, it may be due to a lack of user profile.

Without being able to provide basic information such as your height, weight, and age it’s difficult to calculate this information accurately.

Fortunately the Schwinn 230 recumbent bike offers 2 user profiles where you can enter these details, resulting in much more accurate feedback.

This is also a benefit if more than one person will be using the bike, as each profile will store that users workout results to be reviewed later.

If you enjoy keeping your workouts varied and following a preset training profile, the Schwinn 230 has more than 20 options to choose from.

You can either workout using one of the heart rate controlled programs, set a specific goal, or choose a program from one of the 3 main categories; Fun Rides, Mountains, and Challenges.

Fun Rides – A collection of 3 workout programs designed for anyone just starting a fitness program, or looking for a lower intensity workout.

Mountains – 3 programs with higher levels of resistance and intensity than the Fun Rides, the Mountains programs are designed to feel like riding up a steep incline on a road bike.

Challenges – A variety of programs designed to challenge higher fitness levels, including two interval training options and one that replicates a continuous uphill climb.

There is also a fitness test option, which can be used alongside the goal setting and achievement tracking to help measure the improvement in your fitness level.

The test works by slowly increasing the intensity until you are cycling at 75% of your maximum heart rate. After 3 minutes the computer calculates your fitness score using your heart rate, power output, age, and weight.

Display console design

If you haven’t had the chance to use a Schwinn bike before, then the display console might look a lot larger than the consoles you are used to seeing on other bikes.

The reason for the larger size is due to a number of additional features that aren’t found on most exercise bikes, together with larger LCD screens that display all your important workout information at the same time.

As with the 250 and 270 models, the Schwinn 230 display console has been divided into 3 main sections; the top for a large display screen, middle area for button functions, and lower area for the fan and speakers.

The lower display screen has been included to make it quicker to find the information you need during your workout. This includes your speed, time, distance, resistance level, heart rate, and calories burned.

Your current workout program, intensity level, achievement display, heart rate zone, and any goal you are working towards are then displayed on the larger LCD screen.

This is a particularly effective way of monitoring your goals and achievements for the current workout, acting as a visual form of motivation.

In terms of the button functions, as well as the standard quick start and stop options, there is also a collection of quick select buttons, allowing you to quickly change the resistance between preset levels.

Customer reviews

Although Schwinn has an excellent reputation for producing high quality fitness equipment, it can still be useful to know exactly what people who bought this bike thought of it.

One of the best ways to do this is by looking on Amazon. Here you won’t just find customer reviews, but also a whole range of questions asked by people who are thinking of buying the Schwinn 230, and answered by people who have already bought it.

The following is a list of the pros and cons that were mentioned most frequently in the current range of customer reviews.

Pros:

Cons:

• Seat can get uncomfortable during longer workouts (1 hour+)
• No padding to the seat like there is on the Schwinn 270 recumbent bike
• A couple of reviews reported the fan wasn’t as powerful as they hoped

Warranty