Exercise bikes are still very popular pieces of equipment in the home fitness field. Although treadmills has taken over the number one sales spot, exercise bikes still get plenty of attention. No doubt, many people are drawn to them because of the familiarity of design. What can be simpler than the design of a bicycle? And riding a bicycle has very good health benefits as we all know.

But which exercise bike is best for you? Actually, the first question to ask is which exercise bike type best for you? You need to answer that question because there are two main types or styles of exercise bikes available for sale. One is the upright bike and the other is the recumbent bike. The upright style looks most like a normal bicycle with a seat and handlebars, and pedals underneath. The recumbent style of exercise bike can look completely different, with a seat that you actually lay in while you work the pedals out in front of you. Either type of exercise bike seems to perform well when it comes to giving you a good thorough cardio workout. So the choice is actually a matter of preference rather then effectiveness.

But which models seem to be rated the best overall? There have been several independent reviews made of exercise bikes over the years, and lots of consumer reviews are available online as well. By going through them, you can get a good feel for both the models that you want to buy, and those that you should stay away from. We have made a search of these available exercise bike reviews and ratings, and here are some recommendations that we can make based on our findings.

1. The Life Fitness C3-5 upright and the Life Fitness R3-5 recumbent bikes are extremely well reviewed and rated highly by almost everyone. In general, Life Fitness exercise bikes seem to get good ratings anyway. But these models enjoy particularly good ratings. They are both packed with features like 20 levels of resistance, an integrated heart rate monitor, and 10 pre-programmed workouts that you can choose from. Another great feature is that they are very solid and sturdy, supporting up to 400 lbs., meaning that even some of the largest consumers will be able to safely use them. And Life Fitness also stands behind their products with a very solid warranty.Expect to pay about $1800 for each.

2. Another manufacturer that gets very high marks in many exercise bike reviews is Schwinn. Of course, Schwinn has been in the bike business for years now, and is no stranger to the exercise bike field. Perhaps one of the best features about Schwinn exercise bikes is how much you get for the money. They don't tend to come loaded up with all the bells and whistles, so if you want all of that you probably need to look elsewhere. But what they do give you is a solid machine for a very good price. For instance the Schwinn 113 upright and Schwinn 213 recumbent models only cost around $600, but they still have a 300 lbs. weight capacity, 16 resistance levels, and 10 programs to choose from, making it a great value in the exercise bike genre. Expect to pay about $600 for these models.

There are other exercise bike manufacturers and models that have received positive ratings and reviews. For instance,Tunturi exercise bikes have also been rated highly many times in the past by both product reviewers and consumers alike. But the two models we listed above seem to rise to the top of most exercise bike ratings and reviews on a consistent basis, and we feel that they would be a good choice for almost anyone.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including fitness. You can find exercise bike ratings and the best exercise bike by visiting our Home Fitness website.