Schwinn Fitness A10 Upright Exercise Bike (Discontinued)

The Schwinn A10 is a relatively new product, and is the new iteration of the much more reviewed Schwinn Active 10. It has improvements over the former, but also commands a higher price as of now. Whether or not Schwinn will eventually phase out the Active 10 for the A10 is unknown to me.====================PACKAGING: The bike was in a large box which had a shipping weight of 65 pounds. All of the components are placed into two foam molds, which were very secure. The condition it will arrive in will most likely vary depending on the carrier and how they treat it.====================ASSEMBLY: Each component is wrapped in a plastic bag, and the console comes in its own box inside the package. Assembly instructions are provided, along with two User's Manuals, in both English and Spanish. All necessary tools and fasteners are supplied***. If one did not have trouble taking the components out of the package, it should be easy to assemble alone, otherwise additional help may be required. The heaviest individual part would be the mechanical component housing which needs to be angled slightly upwards in order for the stabilizing bars to be attached on the bottom. Remember to connect the console to the base before attaching the support. ***During assembly, it became clear that the supplied hex key did not fit several of the bolts. A standard 5/16 hex key works fine. ***One of the four capped nuts for the stabilizers was unthreaded. A trip to the hardware store was required to obtain a metric M8x1.25 nut.====================USAGE REVIEW: The bike is powered by 4 D-cell batteries (unsupplied) which had cost around $6 locally. An optional AC adapter can be purchased from Schwinn for $15 + Tax, S&H. As of current usage, it is unclear how long a set of batteries will last. The electronics shut off after 5 minutes of non usage, with no manual way to turn off.The final assembled dimensions of the bike at the base are: --27.5" from front to back --16.5" at the front stabilizer --14" at the rear stabilizer --47.5" high at the handlebars ***Note that the bike is trapezoidal in shape, with a narrow base and wide top.The bike seat post has a wide range of adjustable heights, done so by a twist knob that is inserted along a series of holes on the post. At 6' (184cm), I can comfortable ride the bike, and there are 2 higher positions and 5 or 6 more lower ones.The bike seat itself is adequate. Having not rode a bike in over 7 years, I was fine at the end of a 20 minute ride with just minor soreness as expected.***IMPORTANT NOTE: This bike seat attachment is nonstandard. If you plan to change it, you will need to buy an adapter, which will cost around $20 + Tax, S&H. Look for a 3-bolt bike seat adapter on the internet.A bottle holder comes standard, it is plastic and works fine with my 28oz  Klean Kanteen Stainless Steel Water Bottle . The top of the console also doubles as a book holder, but depending on your handlebar setup, it may limit the width of the book or magazine you wish to read.The pedals come with straps and feel very solid. Shoes are recommended when using the machine.The fan that is in the center console is an asthmatic 60mm PC case fan. It does spin but provides no measurable airflow.There are a total of 8 resistance levels which vary gradually. The console has 6 setups and 1 free/manual mode for user controlled resistance, which is the Quick Start button. The predefined modes work by displaying a set of 10 columns with the variances in resistance, and with each column representing 1 minute. After the user selects the amount of time and the starting resistance level, the program will adjust according to the setup. The manual mode lets the user change how long the machine stays at a particular resistance level.The console also has a contact heart rate monitor. Just place your hands on the contact areas and it will display the measured heart rate. I cannot vouch for the accuracy, but it does at least work.During operation, there is a noticeable but unobtrusive hum from the mechanical movement. However, changing resistance levels on my machine has a a very minor ticking noise. This seems to be coming from the small motor in the front of the housing. Whether or not this is a problem or is part of the normal use is unknown to me.====================PERSONAL OPINION:I am an adult male in my early 20's. I am 6' tall and weigh roughly 175 lbs. I purchased this machine to help improve my health and allow me to exercise at my leisure and in the comfort of my own home. So far I have been happy, as a 20 minute session feels like a nice workout. Even though there were some assembly issues, I am overall very happy with this piece of equipment. If there are any drastic changes to that opinion, I'll be sure to update this review.

The purpose of this bike is to help people who want to exercise to lose weight or get in to some shape other than round. I feel that it is very effective for this if used properly. Most stationary bikes are pretty straight forward when it comes to how to operate them; most people know how to ride a bike which is even easier when the bike is stationary.However, a lot of current stationary bikes have increased not only effectiveness but overall usability characteristics by incorporating exercise programs within a console or some type of user interface. By doing this exercise equipment manufacturers have added an input/output device to what was once nothing more than a bicycle that didn't go anywhere. While this has the potential of adding to the complexity of the appliance the particular model I have works quite well for me. The added features of this bike that further aide in its effectiveness will be discussed further under the other characteristics since effectiveness is a "very general" characteristic. (Preece, Rogers, & Sharp, 2007)This stationary bike is very efficient since it minimizes the amount of buttons you have to press to set up a workout. If the user finds a workout or "course" that they prefer over the others offered by the bike, it can be programmed to a quick start button further increasing the efficiency. Further adding to efficiency is the fact that the manufacturer included a tray area above the display that allows a smaller laptop or tablet computer (ipad) to be used while riding the bike. For me this helps "sustain a high level of productivity" since I can interact with the computer during the workout. This helps take my mind off the fact that I am pedaling like a madman which would otherwise cause me to slow down. This provides me with an efficient workout.I would have to say that this seems to be a very safe piece of equipment. It is very sturdy with the weight being closest to the floor keeping it from being easy to tip over. It has a built in water bottle holder which could help prevent dehydration. Straps are attached to the peddles to prevent feet from spiraling out of control. For me, it is safer than jogging because it is low impact causing less pain on joints.While this bike may not offer the same utility as a more expensive model, it does offer plenty for someone like me. It has six different courses to choose from with eight levels of resistance for each course. While the user inputs data (peddling) the display will output several types of information to give the user feedback. These include speed, distance, calories burned, current resistance level, revolutions per minute, and heart rate when the user placed his or her hands on the monitors. It even has a small fan that can be used to help carry out the task of exercising. To me this is an excellent amount of utility in such a compact form factor.As can be seen from the discussion on efficiency this bike is very easy to learn how to use. I would say that the manual may only be needed when trying to determine how to program an exercise to the quick-start button. Regarding starting a workout it is straight forward and in a step by step fashion.This bike is very easy to remember how to use. Since setting up a workout is a step by step process on the display, it is not hard to figure out should a period of time pass since the user last used it. The creators really did a good job on creating a very easy to use console.ReferencePreece, J., Rogers, Y., & Sharp, H. (2007). Interaction Design: Beyond Human-Computer Interaction. England: John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

This training bike is silent when used and does the job it is intended to. It is a good value for the price. The 8 resistance levels are perfectly gradated. The middle level (4) offers a good resistance for sustained training while the top one (8) provide a very good resistance for the serious trainer.The predefined programs work well but are quite basic. I rather like to manually control the resistance variations. The heart rate monitor does not provide accurate reading, and the display is hard to read in a dark room, it should be lit in some way.All in all, I am happy with this bike and I would recommend it for anybody with a small budget.

I ordered this bike knowing well what I was paying for based off of another review and this totally exceeded my expectations. Building this was a piece of cake, everything you need is included aside from a pair of scissors and using it is absolutely silent.

Great price, though like they say, you get what you pay for!The timer is pathetic, it turns off after only minutes after being on. The programs also are confusing.... As I can't get them working like they claim, or at all for that matter! The heart monitor like the rest... Non functioning!And lastly fan, no surprise disappointing!! Makes noise, though no air comes out from it.Seat not as comfortable as I expected, after reading all the positive reviews.Though other than that.... The bike is ok, very quiet.Just sharing this, as I wish I knew all this before I purchased it.

great price for what its worth hard to see the screen in dark areas but a quiet bike all the same