5 Best Exercise Bikes for Bad Knees (Review) In 2023

No matter at which stage you are in your fitness journey cardio workouts would definitely be a part of it. Especially if you are looking to lose weight or reduce fat percentage, cardio workouts must be an essential and major part of your routine.

Among all the options available in cardio exercises, the safest and low impact exercise is biking. And among biking options, stationary bikes have the least impact on your joints and almost no chance of inflicting any injury.

If you have any knee problems like arthritic knees, osteoarthritis or an old knee injury, your options for cardio reduce drastically. But you don’t need to let your bad knees be a spoilsport in your fitness endeavour. There are many exercise bikes that are best for arthritis and bad knees and you can use them for not only to burn the calories but also to strengthen your knees.

There are many stationary bikes available in the market. While most of them are safe enough to use in spite of knee problems like painful joints or anything else, but some of them are better than others.

If you are already suffering from bad knees you definitely don’t want to be taking any risk and thus should choose the bike which is good for your joints and not making things worse for you.

It can be difficult to find the right bike which would suit your need, help you stay fit and at the same be easy on your knees. To make this process easy for you we have researched among the exercise bike options available for arthritic knees.

After going through specifications, features, pros and cons of many bikes and listening to the users of these bikes we have consolidated this list of the best stationary bikes available in the market that are suitable to be used by someone with knee injury.

Best Exercise Bike For Bad Knees

There are variety of stationary bikes in play that are broadly categorised between spin bikes, upright bikes and recumbent bike categories. Among these only the recumbent bike are suitable for users with injured knee.

The recumbent bike doesn’t put your body weight on your knees while exercising. The posture with which you ride a recumbent bike makes it the best choice for riders with arthritis and bad knees.

Following are the top 5 exercise bikes that are best for arthritis and bad knees. We have chosen them on the basis of usability, features and all of these are good for your joints.

Schwinn 230 Recumbent Bike

You cannot get a better fit for your requirement if you are looking for a stationary bike which can be used with bad knees. The Schwinn 230 along with being good for your knees, also has many distinctive user friendly features.

The bike is built for comfort and designed with a solid structure. With features like goal tracking, fitness metrices, 22 pre-set programs and DualTrack LCD display you can set individual goals and track them. The programs include 8 heart rate control, 2 fitness test, 9 profile and 1 quick start program.

Along with improved back support this bike also provides you with comfortable seat and ergonomic pedals to enhance your riding experience.

The high speed high inertia drive system lets you have an easy start up and a smooth noise free workout. You can have wide range of intensity for your workouts with the 20 resistance levels.

Pros:

• Can set and track individual exercise goals
• Noiseless functioning
• Good visibility with two LCD displays
• Good flexibility of workouts with many resistance levels
• High number of pre-set programs
• Ventilated back support
• Comfortable seat and ergonomic pedal position
• Strong and sturdy structure

Cons:

• The fan doesn’t blow enough air

This bike has a built in fan to keep you cool although it mostly won’t be necessary as you would be using this exercise machine at the comfort of home. With great ergonomic design, built in programs and ease on the knees, Schwinn 230 recumbent bike is perfectly suitable for anyone having osteoarthritis or other knee problems.

Nautilus R616 Recumbent Bike

With Nautilus R616 bike you can virtually travel the globe with explore the world app. You can map your workouts, share them on popular fitness apps, track your heart rate, speed, calories etc. The bluetooth connectivity of this bike helps you enhance your performance with effective tracking.

With 25 levels of magnetic resistance and 29 customisable programs, you have wide range of options for choosing workout intensity and variations.

The ergonomic design of the bike includes well cushioned seat, ventilated back support and sliding seat rail adjustment for making the bike fit to your use.

Pros:

• Can set goals and track progress with fitness apps
• Can access explore the world app
• Big LCD display for better visibility
• Wide range of workout intensity
• Ergonomic design good for your painful joints
• Smooth and quiet operation
• Easy to assemble

Cons:

• Seat material is not that good

If you are looking for a bike with many features, digital connectivity and workout flexibility then this is the one for you. A little low quality seat material can be ignored as compared to the usefulness of this versatile bike.

Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike SF-RB4708

You can burn your calories faster and accomplish a full body workout on Sunny health & fitness magnetic recumbent exercise bike. It comes with arm exercisers. You can move the long handlebars while pedalling to work on your upper and lower body simultaneously.

The belt drive mechanism makes your ride silent and smooth. This bike has self-levelling, non-slip pedals to place the feet comfortably.

The digital monitor along with countdown timer make it convenient to set and track workout goals. Oversize seat and back support will keep you comfortable and reduce the pressure on the knees. This makes it suitable to be used by users with arthritic knees.

Pros:

• Adjustable 8 level resistance
• Easy seat adjustment, can be adjusted while being seated
• Integrated pulse sensors
• Wide cushioned seats
• Wide, non-slip pedal platform with straps
• Countdown timer with alarm sound indicating completion of chosen countdown

Cons:

• LCD display is very small and displays limited data
• Height adjustment cannot be done in arm exercisers

If you want to keep everything simple about your workout and looking for something which comfortable for your bad knees and don’t need much fancy digital features then this is the bike for you.

Marcy Recumbent Exercise Bike with Resistance ME-709

A simple, lightweight recumbent bike to boost your cardo endurance and help you shed some pounds while going easy on your knees, can be opt description for Marcy ME 709 recumbent bike.

Made with heavy duty steel tubing this stationary bike has 8 levels of magnetic resistance that can be adjusted by rotating the tension knob. It has an easy to read simple LCD screen that displays speed, time, distance and calories burned in large sized numbers for better readability.

Pros:

• Simple design
• Compact size can fit into small exercise spaces and can be easily moved
• Padded seat and back support
• Easy to read one function at a time display
• Counterbalanced pedals with adjustable straps

Cons:

• Needs batteries for display screen
• Bit tedious to adjust the seat position
• Doesn’t offer much flexibility in workouts

This is a simple bike without any bells and whistles. Not many features but has sturdy, durable structure.

Exerpeutic 400XL Folding Recumbent Bike

If you are very short on space availability and wish to buy a bike that goes easy on the painful joints then Exerpeutic 400XL is the one for you. It is foldable, lightweight and doesn’t need much space even while in use. It can also be used as a desk bike. When folded the bike takes only 20×17 inches of floor space.

The bike has 8 levels of adjustable resistance and pulse rate sensors among the features. Its 3 piece hight torque cranking system, v-belt drive and balanced flywheel provide a smooth riding experience.

Pros:

• Easy to get on and off, semi recumbent design
• Foldable, takes a very little space
• Large pedals with adjustable safety straps
• User height can be anywhere between 5 feet to 6 feet 2 inches
• Large seat and back support

Cons:

• Not as comfortable as full recumbent bike
• May generate clucking noise after few months of use
• The speed, distance display not as accurate as you expect

It is a good choice for someone who looking for a basic bike that takes little space.

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