7 Best Folding Exercise Bikes – 2024 Buying Guide

The flywheel is the powerhouse of any cycle. It gives you resistance and determines the fluidity of the pedaling action. As the name suggests, it is a big wheel, made of metal, that is positioned at the front of the bike. When you turn the pedals, the flywheel also turns. A chain or belt drive connects the flywheel to the pedals.

The more massive a flywheel is, the harder you need to pedal to get it moving and the more revolutions it will make before slowing down once you stop pedaling. Before flywheels were introduced in the 1980s, exercise bikes did not produce the natural pedal motion that you get with a bike. If you get a bike without a flywheel, you will find it way too easy to pedal and you won’t get a good training experience.

Flywheels are measured by weight with the more substantial, the better. It is because heavier flywheels replicate the hard pedaling that you need to do get started when cycling an outdoor bike. If the flywheel is too light, you will always be having to increase your resistance level to keep the pedal motion natural and fluid. It can produce a jerkiness that is not only frustrating; it’s also hard work on your joints.

Spin bikes have the heaviest flywheel weight, followed by upright. A flywheel weight of around 30 pounds (18kg) will provide you with a fluid motion and plenty of resistance. As a beginner, you will want to get a bike with a flywheel that is at least 20 pounds. Any less than this and the motion is not very smooth.

Flywheel weight is a big contributor to both the weight and the cost of a bike. As a result, more budget bikes and those that are foldable will have lighter flywheels. However, it would be a mistake to compromise on this critical feature to save a few bucks or to get a lighter bike.

One more feature to look out for is the resistance type. Exercise bikes will use either friction, magnetic, or electromagnetic resistance. The best most expensive is electromagnetic resistance, which uses a copper coil wire and electric current which is controlled through the bike’s console.

Next, best is magnetic resistance, which is what you will find in most mid-range bikes. It features a series of ferrous magnets placed around the flywheel which are controlled by the computer console. Of the three resistance types, this is the most reliable and the one we recommend.

Friction resistance is the least desirable of the three. It features a felt pad which contacts the flywheel and can be tension adjusted. It often produces a jerky action and will wear comfortably.

The monitor is a handy feature almost every bike has. Many bikes will market the multi training programs that are built into their monitors. However, most people hardly use such programs, so don’t make several programs a deciding factor. An upright that provides 5-10 programs is plenty. However, your monitor should provide the following training diagnostics: Speed, RPM, workout time, pulse rate and distance. These allow you to keep an eye on how you were progressing in terms of fitness from one session to the next.

The seat will determine the comfort of your bike. The seat should provide you with the means of custom adjustment. You should be able to move it both fore and aft (up, down and sideways). Being able to move the seat closer to the handlebars is essential if you have lower back niggles as it relieves the tension on the erector spinal muscles that run alongside your spine.

Getting the right seat height will allow you to maintain a proper knee to heel angle when pedaling. It prevents the knee from coming out excessively past the line of the pedal, which places undue stress on the knee joint.

The seat of your bike should also provide you with a decent level of comfort through its padding. You will be spending a lot of time on your bike seat.

Sometimes you may find that you don’t see it comfortable and are wanting to replace it with another that is more to your liking. You need to know that many bikes under two hundred dollars do not easily allow you to swap out the seat. You should check whether the bike has a quick mechanism for removing the seat before buying.

Since you will probably be paying more than enough for your new bike, it’s vital that the bike you get lasts at least two years or more, with regular use of course. Many things will determine the durability of your bike - the material it’s made out of, how it was constructed, how much you use, what your body shape and size is, and much more.

Look for a bike that has a solid, stable, steel frame. An ‘A’ shaped frame provides you with an excellent base with all of the pressure being driven into the ground: the fewer separate parts, the better as there is less that can go wrong. Look for a bike that has a max user weight of about 50 pounds more than your weight. Keep in mind, though that the more sturdy and weight resistant a bike is, the more it will cost. So, if you are 145 pounds, you don’t need a bike that is more than 200 pounds (unless you are buying it for other users who are 200+ pounds). The bike should have a stable, wide base that prevents it from sliding around when you are going all out with high intensity.

The upholstery of the seat and the screws, bolts, and pedals are also something you should consider before buying the bike. The seat cover will likely be made out of synthetic leather or vinyl, although genuine leather can also be seen from time to time, it will make the bike pricier. The padding inside will likely be some foam, most commonly high-density foam, or gel. If the seat you have does not work well for you, you can always replace it with another one, or get a seat cover that doesn’t leave you saddle sore.

The screws and bolts should all be screwed in tightly, and to make sure they stay that way, you should check them out now and then. If your bike rattles and squeaks when you ride it, it’s time to look at the construction! If it did that ever since you got it, likely, it was cheaply or poorly constructed, and you should either replace the parts making all of that noise or replace the bike altogether. The pedals and the chain must withstand constant turning, so it’s vital that they stay lubricated for a smooth ride.

Make sure to check your bike for flaws now and then, and we’re confident that it will help you achieve your fitness goals for as long as you need it to!

The amount of money that you pay is going to determine the weight of the flywheel, the sturdiness of the frame, seat comfort, fluidity of pedaling motion, and the quality of the monitor. Here’s what you can expect in the various price ranges.

Under $200 – You can get quality beginners or intermediate bike for under $200 with a flywheel around 30 pounds in weight and a smooth pedal motion. As your intensity level goes up (for example when doing HIIT workouts), these bikes may get a little stutter in their pedal action, which can be a bit hard on your joints. The biggest compromise in bikes under $200 comes in the functionality of the monitor. It will be pretty basic and will probably lack built-in exercise programs. While these are nice to have, they will not affect the performance output possible on the bike.

$200-$500 – In this price range, you can expect a heavier flywheel that will allow you to get a higher level of riding intensity. It should be enough to meet the needs of all but the most advanced of riders. However, those who are after challenges such as extreme hill climbs for a bike under $500 should be able to find what they’re after in a mid-priced spin bike. In terms of a computer monitor, in this range, you will get a good range of inbuilt programs and one press resistance levels (usually between 6 and 12 of each).

$500+ - Bikes in the 500 plus range are often designed for light commercial use. As a result, they will have a more durable frame, enabling them to take more punishment, and the seat and handlebars will be fully adjustable to suit a range of users. Flywheel weights will range between 25 and 55 pounds, providing the experienced high-end user with plenty of grunts. The monitor on a bike in this range will feature more in-built programs and resistance levels, with some providing dozens of each. The monitor will probably also be paired with an app so that you can download your training data to your computer for future analysis. Bikes in this price range are best suited for experienced cyclists or high-intensity advanced fitness trainers. Beginners should be able to find everything they need for a lot less of an outlay.

We are talking about the best stationary bikes here, so their size is something you should consider. The smaller the folding exercise bike is, the easier it will be for it to fit inside of your house or apartment. But smaller bikes cannot withstand a lot of weight, so they don’t have a high maximum user weight threshold. What you need to do is find a bike that is large enough to withstand your weight and your demands, but still small enough to fit into your space.

Luckily, even the most giant bikes on the market today are foldable, or at least they can be taken apart so you can easily store them away. Most of them allow you to remove the seat and pedals, which you can just put away in a closet or under the bed, while the frame can also easily fit in a small amount of space. If the bike is a way to heavy for you to move it around, you shouldn’t worry, as many of them do come equipped with transportation wheels. These wheels will make moving them around wherever you want an easy task, so you will be able to store them away even faster and easier!

Exercise bikes are not that large, to begin with, so you shouldn’t have trouble finding a small one. If you do, consult our list, and we’re sure you’ll find just what you’re looking for!