Updated: Feb 29, 2024

Are your feet getting tired from too many miles on the pavement outdoors? Indoor workout sessions offer an ideal opportunity to switch up your routine and engage different muscles. Especially when you’re dealing with a physically taxing, high-impact sport like running, cross-training provides a chance to maintain your hard-earned aerobic fitness without continuing to wear on your legs. For a low-impact home workout that keeps your blood pumping, consider investing in an Give A Gift on days when you just don’t feel like going out or stomping around on a treadmill.

Also known as indoor stationary bikes, these are relatively compact and quiet, and they tend to have a smaller footprint than treadmills. You can churn out a low-effort workout on an exercise bike without overworking your joints, providing an approachable yet effective foundation for cross-training, whether it’s your preferred alternative exercise or a way to warm up for strength training.

The Best Exercise Bikes

• Best Overall: Schwinn IC4
• Best Value: We earn a commission for products purchased through some links in this article
• Best Display: or trying in vain to do the Sunday crossword. You can check out his latest work below
• Adjustable toe clips: Assault Fitness AirBike Classic
• DAA Industry Opt Out: Schwinn 190 Upright

What to Consider

Up to five workout profiles

A traditional exercise bike puts you in a fairly standard riding position: Chest in front of your hips, hands on handlebars below your head, knees tucked underneath your stomach. This is the most effective riding position for most people as it activates a wide range of motion in your legs and properly simulates riding an actual bike.

That said, not everyone feels comfortable settling into that position, as it can put some stress on your back. For extra comfort and support, a recumbent bike may be a bit more your style. (These include a seat with a back, among other subtle differences.)

Perhaps you have a bike you like riding outside during the warmer months on drier roads. If you have concerns about transitioning to a different cycling platform with a different fit, you can use a bike trainer. This relatively simple machine attaches to your bike’s wheels or drivetrain to simulate outdoor riding on your very own trusty steed. It can feel less stable than a dedicated stationary, but it’s ideal if you love how your road bike fits and feels.

Resistance

There are several ways exercise bikes provide resistance to make your workouts more difficult and productive, but the two main systems you’ll see on our list and elsewhere are fans and flywheels.

The former is the simpler option: All you need to do is start pedaling, which turns the fan’s blades to naturally create resistance as they push against the air. The one issue with these fans, however, is that they tend to lose their energy the moment you stop pedaling. In other words, you can’t coast without having to get back up to speed from zero again rather quickly, which unfortunately feels like you’re climbing uphill. This setup can also be precarious if you manage to get anything caught in the spinning blades.

If you want an experience a more bike-ride-like workout, you’ll benefit from the other system: the flywheel. Flywheels get their resistance from friction or magnets, and they maintain more momentum due to their mass—good flywheels are heavy, which gives them plenty of inertia. This option tends to be more expensive, and you might need to call in a repair tech if your flywheel breaks (rather than fixing it on your own), but it does offer a smoother ride. Plus, if your workout area is a little chilly, this option won’t cool it down further, whereas fans push air around your legs.

Pedals

Aside from standard flats, the two most prominent pedal options are toe clips, also known as foot straps, and clipless pedals, which require metal or plastic cleats (you’ll need to buy those separately) to hold your foot on the pedal. This is similar to how a ski boot is held in by its bindings—that’s actually where this tech originated.

The name may sound counterintuitive, but clipless pedals were originally introduced as an alternative to toe clips—even though one colloquially “clips into” clipless pedals. Is it confusing? Absolutely. We don’t blame you if you’re scratching your head at that.

Semantics aside, both of these pedal styles are superior to flats because they allow you to pull up on your pedals as well, rather than just pushing down or forward. This means you’re providing power through the full rotation on each pedal, which engages more leg muscles.

Toe clips give you the freedom to do this in whatever shoes you’d like, whereas clipless pedals require cycling shoes that can fit the same cleat that your pedals require—the most common is a Shimano-style SPD. Many bikes have both fitments—one on each side of the pedal—but it’s worth checking before you buy if you don’t want to invest in cycling shoes.

Another point on safety: If your feet are bound to your pedals, you may not be able to catch yourself as easily if your bike tips over. This is a rare occurrence, but one worth acknowledging as a possibility, especially if you want to knock out some intense efforts that include upper body workouts. If this is a concern for you, be sure to ride carefully at first and practice removing your feet quickly.

Displays, Accessories, and Digital Content

Indoor workouts, especially for endurance-style sports like cycling, can feel like a drag if you don’t have a display. These can be as simple as a tiny screen that shows you distance, time, or calories burned, or as elaborate as a 22-inch touchscreen that plays videos to keep your experience as immersive as possible.

Fancier displays often allow you to load up spin classes and follow-along virtual rides that keep you from focusing on the wall in front of you, but they’re also pricier—and not entirely necessary if you like to entertain yourself in other ways, such as reading a book or throwing something on a nearby TV.

If watching a movie on your phone or tablet while you work out keeps you motivated, look for a bike with a large media holder or a display that can connect to streaming services. Think about other small bits of hardware that could benefit your workout in smaller ways, too—for example, if you constantly sipping water, a bottle holder is a must.

Also, consider smart features and compatibility with health apps if you like to sync your workout data with your phone. Several machines on this list come with a companion app that allows you to preset workouts and automatically adjust your resistance to coincide with your intervals. Many also come stocked with spin classes that can accompany you as you churn out some virtual miles.

Likewise, some high-end exercise bikes include classes that take you off the bike and direct you through bodyweight, HIIT, yoga, and other low-equipment workouts while you stand nearby. These add-ons, while sometimes pricey, are worth considering if you want to expand your home workout repertoire without investing in a bunch of bulky equipment. Just make sure you have the space around your bike to perform these comfortably before you go all in on a fancy subscription plan.

How We Selected

To properly assess these exercise bikes without the ability to test them en masse, I combed through our testing notes on other indoor exercise equipment, especially treadmills, to identify trustworthy brands with a consistent track record of quality builds. I combined that knowledge with my familiarity with brands I serviced during my days a bike mechanic (our shop worked on the stationary kind, too!) to develop a shortlist of names that you won’t be cursing into your ceiling while you try in vain to repair your bike.

From there, I assessed each brand’s list of models to find options with a wide range of resistance settings, readable displays, and a footprint that balances compactness and stability on your floor. I also looked for features like water bottle holders and weight racks to help you consolidate your workout space, and analyzed the subscription services available with each model to ensure you’re getting a high quantity of good workouts—and an opportunity to try the service before you start monthly payments on it.

And to round out our choices to make sure there were no underdogs we missed, we consulted reviews from other trusted sources, such as our colleagues at Men’s Health. Overall, each option below is guaranteed to be well worth the price and last you for years.