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Item 1 of 11
Item 1 of 11
expiredSoCalJack posted May 5, 2021 10:01 PM
Schwinn Fitness IC4 Indoor Stationary Exercise Cycling Training Bike
$802
$899
10% off
+ Free Shippingat Target
Top Comments
Long answer:
We got the IC4 in May 2020 after waiting ~6 weeks or so back order from Schwinn.com. What a lifesaver this bike was during the pandemic! We love it.
High quality spin bike, works well with Peloton Digital. I use the app + IC4 + Apple Watch for HR. Wife uses the wrist heart rate monitor that comes with the IC4. Apple Watch performance with the app is spotty - it frequently loses heat rate for stretches of time in both the watch 2 and 3. The included heart rate monitor is extremely reliable.
We've done 340+ Peloton bike workouts on it over the course of a year, averaging almost a workout per day! (Overall we've done over 1200 Peloton workouts in that span, often stacking other workouts or stretches in tandem with rides)
In April last year peloton gave a free 3-month trial and that was my first exposure to the service.
About the IC4:
The unit in box is quite heavy AND is not shaped in a way 1 person can easily lift... so if you have front steps make sure you get help from the delivery folks.
Assembly is pretty straight forward. It may be a bit intimidating just getting it off the cardboard and moving it around, but stick with it and you'll be done in less than of hour of focused effort - or 2 very relaxed hours. Nothing is too difficult about it.
The flywheel is nice and heavy, seat is adjustable. I like the placement of the weights.
Benefits:
It has toe cages so you can use it with any shoes you want; it can also use cycling shoes and even comes with a pair of cleats (the screw in connectors, not whole shoes!) for you to attach to your own shoes if you own or add them later.
You can ride the bike stand-alone and track your workout with the reporting console or you can pair it with any number of apps, Peloton Digital, Zwift, pretty flexible.
What it's not:
It's not a direct replacement for a Peloton cycle. If you're used to the experience you get riding a real Peloton bike, you'll only get 95% of it. You'll have access to all of the workouts, live or recorded. You'll get badges. But you'll lose out on leaderboards and the power metric.
Peloton has chosen to limit the app. I think the main reason is that leaderboards are based on a power output metric that is some propriety combination of cadence and resistance. The issue is that while the IC4 and Peloton can go from 1-100 resistance scale, the intervals are different.
For illustration:
Ic4 25 resistance is similar to peloton 40; ic4 33 is similar to P 45 resistance, then IC4 49 is equivalent to P 50.
So when you use the Ic4, it's useful to have a conversion chart available to follow the workouts. And, since it isn't on official hardware, there's no way for the app to know that your bike is calibrated or even what resistance you're using to create the power #.
Peloton digital you pay per account, but each account only costs $13/mo. The peloton subscription if you own the peloton equipment costs $39, but you can set up individual profiles for the whole household for use on peloton equipment. (Of course this also says that 3 users are the break even point)
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123 Comments
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I'm not into the Peloton classes, and I fully recommend trying FulGaz or Rouvy if you get one (for cycling scenic routes and intense climbs). I'd rather have this bike than a Peloton because you're not locked into one service.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank emschaub
Better question, is the wife happy with it???
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank JKLionheart
Better question, is the wife happy with it???
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank Roclaw
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Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank FeistyHome903
Full disclosure: I work for the company that makes this bike. Just another app option. It's subscription based.
Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank nsj7762
People that are already fit seem to lean towards the assault bike for the very intense V02 max workout.
The stationery bike is probably better for the suboptimally fit person looking to get back in it.
I'm 6'4" and if I'm not careful my knees can hit the water bottle holders. So it's a bit short in the leg for me but 14 months in it's been fine.
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