About a month ago, I got the urge to add another piece of exercise equipment to the equipment I already own (but rarely, if ever, use). I decided that a stationary exercise bike would be fun, productive in a necessary exercise sort of way, and, because it would fit neatly in a corner of the living room, I could pedal while watching TV. A friend gave me an exercise bike several years ago but the last time I tried using it something came apart in the flywheel, and I never could get the computer to work. Deciding to get another exercise bike was the easy part. Deciding on the right exercise bike took a lot more time.

Maybe it’s the look of a spinning bike, or the euphoric look on the faces of people using them in the spinning commercials, but I decided I had to have a spinner and searched online to find the best one for the money. I finally settled on the Star Trac Spinner Pro which was very pricy but oh, so, sexy! I could just envision myself spending hours gloriously spinning my way to a perfectly toned and slimmer body.

Once I found the “perfect” spinner, I searched for the best price. Rarely is the first price the only price particularly when shopping online. As happens more times than not, I didn’t find lower prices, I found reviews that were less than enthusiastic about the spinning “lifestyle.” The reviewers, no doubt couch potatoes like me, said the bike seats were torturous for the long term and the necessary position on the bike was counterproductive to actually wanting to use the spinner at all.

Okay, maybe a spinner wasn’t the best idea. But, looking at the pictures I just couldn’t shake the “wow, what a sexy machine!” thoughts out of my head. Finally logic took over when I looked at the other ”neat and fun” equipment that sits idle in our guest bedroom/storage/exercise room: the Freestyle Gazelle, the Mini Rebounder Trampoline, the Dual Action Mini Stepper, and the Mini Stepper. Because I enjoy the Gazelle the best, I moved it into a corner of the living room a few months ago and for the first week I spent 5 or 10 minutes a day on it while watching television. Unfortunately, the boredom factor kicked in fairly quickly.

The negative reviews about spinners caused me to rethink just what it was I really wanted in an exercise bike. Then I read some reviews of the Schwinn 213 Recumbent Exercise Bike. I found several good reviews on different sites and while the bike was a little more expensive than I originally intended to pay (although less than any of the spinners I was considering) the quality seemed first rate. After more searching, I found the best price, along with free shipping, at Amazon.com. I couldn’t find a better deal anywhere so I placed my order.

Because I had read through several reviews at Amazon.com before placing an order, I knew the shipment would be bulky, heavy, and delivered by a shipping company. I was prepared to take the carton apart at my front door and bring the pieces in one or two at a time. And I was prepared to spend as much time as it would take to assemble the bike. Essentially, I knew what I was getting and what I was letting myself in for, before placing the order.

About a week later the trucking company left the carton at my front door. Now this was not a small or insignificant carton. Packaged weight was between 170 and 200 pounds which meant I couldn’t even drag it inside, which was only a minor inconvenience. I opened the carton outside and carried the pieces inside one or two at a time and lay them out on the living room carpet.

Assembling this exercise bike does not take a rocket scientist. It takes following directions and being intuitive about some steps since there are a few things left out of the instructions such as which way the front piece should be attached. The front piece has built-in wheels for moving the bike. If it’s put on the wrong way, the wheels don’t work. I know, because I didn’t pay attention and had to take it off and turn it around. One of the reviewers on the Amazon site had a couple other assembly comments which I printed out and referred to when I got to specific parts of the bike.

Bottom line is that I was able to assemble this bike myself, without getting majorly stressed, and when I got on it to take my first ride, everything worked! Even the computer which required hook-ups at various points during assembly.

I’ve been using my recumbent exercise bike almost every day for the past couple of weeks and, while I’m reluctant to call any form of exercise “fun,” it’s not hard to put in 30 or more minutes worth of pedal time during the day. Right now I pedal a mile in five or six minutes. That’s pretty leisurely but considering that I’m primarily sitting in front of a computer all day, that’s not bad. Now, when I want to take a television break to watch one of my favorite reality shows during the day, I get on the bike and start pedaling.

The really nice thing about the Schwinn 213 Recumbent Exercise Bike is that it has a computer controlled drive system with 11 workout programs and 16 levels of resistance; a backlit LCD display that shows speed, distance, pulse rate, etc.; and an extremely comfortable (and wide) seat with an adjustable back rest.

One more thing. While the term “recumbent” means “lying down,” you’re in a comfortable sitting position on this bike, not hunched over, perched on a tiny, hard bike seat.