Do you want to begin your cycling workout program? Are you looking for the best one to buy? But get stuck in deciding between a spin bike and an exercise bike. Which one should you buy, and which one will be better for your overall progress?
Well, then you have come to the right place. In this article, we are going to discuss spin bike vs. exercise bike and hope this will help you to understand which one will be the best option for you to buy.
Spin Bike VS Exercise Bike: What’re The Differences?
Both spin bikes and exercise bikes are almost designed with the same features. But still, there are some differences, and based on them, we are going to differentiate the two types of bike below:
Primary Use
Exercise bikes are generally used for general health and fitness programs. This type of bike is suitable for anyone who wants to lose weight and improve their fitness level.
On the other hand, spin bikes are typically used for spinning group fitness classes. This type of bike is more likely to be used by people who are participating in cycling.
Ease of Use
Both exercise bikes and spin bikes are normally quite easy to use, and all you have to do is hop on into the bike and start riding.
The exercise bike may feel a bit different than a spin bike. But if you know how to cycle and have been a regular rider of a cycle, then you will face no trouble with the change.
Injury Risk
The exercise bike causes lower injury risk than the spin bike as the flywheel is much more comfortable in an exercise bike and has less impact on the joints. Spin bikes usually spin faster, and this quicker range of movement increases the level of injury risk.
As you are being hunched over more on the spin bike, it can make you suffer from severe back pain. However, the level of injury risk will be less than before if you use the spin bike for sitting and spinning.
Progression Model
The progression model of spin bike and exercise bike is kind of similar as both bikes give you the option to increase and decrease the resistance level and also allow you to go fast or slow on your choice on either machine.
But the difference you will notice is that the spin bike will allow you to stand and cycle whereas the exercise bike will not give you this choice. It will be very awkward to do so with the exercise bike. So if you are someone who gets easily bored throughout workout sessions, being able to stand will open the doors for different types of exercise. So before buying one, you must have this consideration.
Muscles Worked
The result of muscles worked is kind of similar on both the bikes. But if you stand up on a spin bike, then the result will be different than the exercise bike. When you do regular biking, you work with the lower body muscles like quads, hamstrings, and calves and strengthen these parts to a small degree.
But by standing, you put more pressure on those parts and strengthen these parts to a larger degree. Standing helps to do a complete full-body workout. So if you are not doing any other exercise, then a spin bike will be a great choice for you.
Calorie Burn
The calorie burn is an important fact to take into consideration. You can burn more calories on a spin bike than an exercise bike.
The flywheel of a spin bike is heavier than an exercise bike, which gives the option to burn more calories. If calorie burn is the main purpose of someone, then they should go for the spin bike.
Console Benefit
An exercise bike usually comes with a console, whereas spin bikes generally don’t come with a console. A console is a counting device that will provide you the statistics of your workout, for example, how many calories you have burned, how much time you have spent on the bike, etc. It also comes with programmable options.
So if you are someone who loves to keep his or her workout statistics, then exercise bikes are the best choice for you.
What Is a Spin Bike?
A spin bike is an indoor cycling bike that lets you do high-intensity cycling workouts. It is a bike with a heavy and weighted flywheel that is connected with the pedals. It provides you a full-body workout and helps you to strengthen your body muscles like abs, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, and calves to a larger degree.
In this bike, you have to move your legs continuously and have to pressurize them to slow down, and it is mostly used in the gym and training center.
Benefits Of Spin Bike
When it comes to the benefits of a spin bike, then the list goes on and on. It is hugely popular for its quick result. Here are some of the major benefits:
- Improve Metabolism: Spin bikes let you do a high-intensity workout, which delivers a bigger and longer rise in your metabolic rate and thus improve your metabolism and boost energy level.
- Full-body Workout: It provides you a full-body workout and helps you to strengthen your body muscles like abs, shoulders, quads, hamstrings, and calves to a higher degree.
- Working Major Muscles: Spin bikes give you the option of working on your major muscles like arms, legs, biceps, thighs, chest, shoulders, and arms.
- Improve Cardio: A healthy heart needs healthy cardio. Spin bike exercises help to improve your cardio for a healthy heart.
What Is An Exercise Bike?
An exercise bike is a special-purpose exercise machine that looks similar to a bicycle, but it has no wheels. This exercise equipment includes a saddle, a handlebar, and pedals. It puts less stress on your joints during the workout but still provides an excellent result.
It is a popular piece of workout equipment because of its ease of use and convenience. It strengthens your heart, lungs, and muscles by burning calories and body fat efficiently and effectively.
Benefits Of Exercise Bike
Doing exercise on an exercise bike strengthens your heart, lungs, and muscles by burning calories and body fat efficiently and effectively. There are so many benefits of an exercise bike workout. Here are some of the significant benefits:
- Help to Lose Weight: The exercise bike can burn 500 calories in an hour, depending on the intensity of the workout. So it is an excellent workout option for losing weight quickly as it burns more calories and helps to lose weight.
- Burns Body Fat: Exercise bikes are generally used for burning body fat quickly. If you do your exercise on an exercise bike, then you will be able to burn your body fat quickly than other exercises.
- Low-impact Workout: An exercise bike workout puts less stress on your joints during the workout. It is a good workout option for people who can’t put much pressure on their joints.
- Strengthen Leg and Lower Body Muscles: If you do your exercise on an exercise bike, it will help you to build strength in your legs and your lower body muscles by using a higher resistance.
Which Bike Is More Perfect For Your Body?
The decision of choosing the perfect bike for exercise is not an easy task. The thing which mainly differentiates the exercise bike and spin bike is the operation of the flywheel mechanism.
However, if you are someone who is looking for something easy to use and operate and want fast results, then go for the spin bike. On the other hand, if you are looking for an exercise machine to work out with less stress on your joints during the workout and want a programmable console, then you should go for an exercise bike.
Frequently Asked Questions
You may still have some questions. So we are going to answer the most frequently asked questions of people.
Is a spin bike a good way to lose weight?
Is a spin bike good for bad knees?
Can you lose belly fat on an exercise bike?
How long should I use an exercise bike for?
Final Thought
From the above discussion, we can say that both the spin bike and exercise bike are best to exercise with. So it is advisable that you need to consider the features and know which will fit your needs before buying any.
Hopefully, this article about spin bike vs. exercise bike will be helpful to you, and you can buy the right one for you.