Best budget spin bikes for your home

By Fin Cousins

Published: Monday, 28 November 2022 at 12:00 am

When winter comes around and you’re looking for some effective indoor training, spin bikes can be a great option.

Spinning classes are typically all-out, high-intensity affairs, which is great if you’ve got a high-intensity session planned as part of your training plan.

However, that’s not so great if you’re trying to keep the intensity down and stick to lower heart rate zones.

But the good news is that you can now buy spin bikes to keep and use at home, meaning you can control the intensity.

If you’re tempted to add one of these to your home setup, read on for our guide to budget spin bikes and check out a selection of highly rated ones. The selection has been picked based on in-depth research and analysis of user reviews.

Benefits of spinning from home

Spin bikes represent a great way to bring your outdoor rides indoors, as their compact frames, low body profiles and weighted flywheels are designed to closely replicate the experience of a road bike.

One of the biggest advantages of spin bikes are their convenience. You can save time by just jumping on to the bike and getting started, without having head out in poor weather or bring your bike inside and stick it on a turbo trainer.

You can also vary your workouts between aerobic and anaerobic, which is helpful if you’re looking to use your spin bike for high-intensity sessions.

If you’re looking for specific workouts that can be replicated on a spin bike at home, check out our excellent hour-long interval session.

What to look for in your spin bike

There are a number of factors to consider when looking for the right spin bike for you. Nearly every manufacturer will advertise the weight of the flywheel, the weighted disc that provides the rotational energy.

Bikes with a heavier flywheel tend to replicate the smooth ride and movement of road bikes more accurately, but will take more energy to get spinning. Bikes with lighter flywheels may not provide the same smoothness, but will be able to build momentum quicker.

For home use, it’s a good idea to consider the connection between the crank and the pedals, which can be either a belt or chain. Belt-driven bikes make less noise but may wear over time. A chain is likely to be noisier, but should prove more durable long term.

Also consider the type of resistance, which will usually be friction or magnetic. Both tend to work well, but friction may eventually need to have the pads replaced due to wear.

Clipless pedals are great for seasoned riders wanting to replicate the feeling of being out on the road but toe straps will suffice if you’re not familiar with the former.

An adjustable seat and handlebar are an absolute necessity to ensure you can ride comfortably, while weight and height capacity is worth checking, as they can vary depending on the bike.

In terms of the smaller details, water bottle holders are useful given how sweat inducing this cardio is. All of the options listed below also feature transportation wheels, which are extremely helpful for such a heavy piece of kit.

Best budget spin bikes of 2022

Labgrey Exercise Bike

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This exercise bike from Labgrey features a digital LCD monitor that allows users to monitor time, speed, distance and lifetime miles (odometer).

The handlebars have built in sensors to monitor heart rate and there’s also a bottle holder, as well as phone and tablet holders for follow-along rides.

This bike features a 15kg flywheel and has a fully adjustable seat and handlebars. The brand says the bike is able to facilitate a maximum height of 6ft 5in and a maximum weight of 127kg.

Labgrey says it’s also fitted a belt-driven system and thickened wool brake pad to keep the noise to an absolute minimum.

Meanwhile, the fully adjustable magnetic resistance is designed so that all users can find a resistance that suits them. Caged pedals are included to keep your feet tightly locked and are said to be suitable with most footwear.