Q: What are the benefits of a recumbent bike?
Recumbent bikes are a low-impact way to get your heart rate up and stay in shape. These bikes are especially perfect for those who are recovering from injury or who are older and need a way to exercise that won’t cause undue stress on their body.
These bikes often come with a variety of exercise options, so you can focus on heart rate one day, intervals the next, and increase the resistance settings to torch some calories.
For some, this will be the only piece of exercise equipment they need. For others, it supplies the perfect warm-up or cools down to another workout.
Q: Why should I choose a recumbent bike over an upright bike?
The main factor is comfort. Upright bikes have smaller – and less comfortable – seats, and your back will be asked to remain in a hunched, curved position for an extended length of time, leading to soreness.
Added back pain is simply out of the question for some riders, as they are already prone to back injuries and need something that supports their back rather than placing it in a position of increased stress. Recumbent bikes provide the leg activation of an upright bike, but in a much more tenable position.
Q: How do I maintain my recumbent bike?
Happily, once your bike is set up, it doesn’t need much maintenance. Make sure you wipe it down after each use so that sweat doesn’t start to mess with the machine, but other than that you should be fine for a very long time.
Q: How do I know if I’ve set my seat to the right height/distance?
Ah, the seat. Getting your seat the right height and distance will be the most difficult thing about your recumbent bike experience besides the actual workout itself, but once it’s set, you’ll be good to go.
Though there have been studies done to find an equation that will nail the appropriate distance between seat and pedals, it’s far from perfect. Instead, spend some time playing with seat distance yourself. Ideally, you want your legs to be bent at a 10-15-degree angle when fully extended on the bike.
Height is less of a concern for recumbent riders – it’s more of an upright bike thing. The height here is more applicable to finding the right height of your seatback. When shopping for a bike, check out the listed height of the seat back and measure your own back against it.
Make sure the seat isn’t so high that it’s going to be resting uncomfortably against your neck or the back of your head while you ride, or so low that it’s not offering enough support. It takes a bit of time and effort, but it’s worth it.