Uncategorized – Elliptical Bike Blog

So now that we’ve covered elliptical trainers in the previous post here, let’s talk about elliptical bikes. What exactly is an elliptical bike?

Now this is confusing for a lot of people because manufacturers put a couple of different types of equipment under the same category and call them all an “elliptical bike”. Here’s a rundown of your options:

#1 An Elliptical – and a Bike

This type of elliptical works as both an elliptical trainer and as a bike. So you can use it as either an elliptical or as a recumbent bike – but never both at the same time.

Usually this means you have to make a few changes, move a few things around and snap a couple of other things into place to make the transformation complete. But the bottom line is you get two machines in one.

An example of this kind of elliptical bike is the Hybrid Trainer from Proform shown below. You’ll see that it can work as both:

The advantage to this is that you can get 2 exercise machines in one. Or two exercise machines for the price of one.

So you have different people in your home – one who wants a bike but another who wants an elliptical, this is the perfect option. Everybody gets what they want.

Another benefit is that these bikes tend to be recumbent bikes. And recumbent bikes can be a lot more comfortable than upright bikes. They are certainly more popular these days.

#2 An Upright Bike With Elliptical Arms

Another option when it comes to an elliptical bike is to get an upright bike that also comes with moving arms, similar to an elliptical trainer.

So you basically are buying a bike – but with the ability to train your arms as well. An example of this is seen in the Schwinn bike below:

The benefit to this is that these can be (but not always) cheaper than the 2-in-1 bike example above. This is not always the case however and it really depends on the quality of the bike you purchase.

The downside of course it that you don’t really get to use this as an elliptical trainer – it’s just a bike.

#3 Elliptical Bike Hybrid

This is kind of like #1 in that you can use it as both a bike or as an elliptical trainer.

But I thought I’d give it another category because these are the models that are dirt cheap. That’s the advantage. You can find a lot of them at Amazon or any cheapie department store. Here’s an example:

The advantage to these is that they are very affordable and technically you can use them as both an elliptical and as a bike.

However the disadvantage is that they are super-flimsy and usually not worth your time. As I found out the hard way, they break easily and are really poorly made.

They also don’t hold your body in an ergonomically correct position for either the bike or the elliptical setting. So you end up being very sore and in a lot of pain after your workout.

My advice?

Avoid these kinds of elliptical bikes like the plague! They will waste your time and money. And you’ll probably come out in pain after your first or second workout.

There is another elliptical bike on the market where you have a recumbent bike seat but move your legs back and forth like an elliptical trainer. Schwinn used to make one of these models.

But I can’t seem to find them anymore so I’m guessing they may not be available for sale at this time.