Stationary bikes come in many shapes and sizes. One way to group them is into a resistance type like magnetic. Find out the benefits of these exercise bikes.
Being a magnetic exercise bike means that pedaling makes a flywheel, a giant disk, rotate. To create resistance, there are magnets slowing down the flywheel.
Your resistance adjustment options change how far the magnets are removed from the flywheel.
Exercise bikes with magnetic resistance offer a few benefits over other options like friction and air resistance.
1. Relatively silent
This first advantage is mostly compared to air bikes but also to a smaller extent compared to friction.
Air bikes work in a way where a fan turns against the resistance from the air in the room. One downside of this type of exercise bike is that it can be a bit noisy.
If you have thin walls, ceilings, or floors, your family members, roommates, and apartment neighbors may not be too happy with this.
Additionally, the extra noise could stop you from listening to music or getting the full sound experience of your favorite movie or TV show.
Luckily, magnetic exercise bikes mostly help you avoid these issues since they are relatively silent.
If one of the situations above applies to you or you like doing some of the activities above during your workout sessions, this could be a helpful benefit of magnetic stationary bikes.
2. Does not require a lot of maintenance
Friction exercise bikes work in a way where a pad rubs against a turning flywheel to add resistance. One downside of this is that you have to replace the pad every few months since it wears down.
In magnetic exercise bikes, the magnets do not actually touch the flywheel. This reduces how much wear and tear is going on.
While replacing these friction pads is not the craziest amount of work, this aspect could convince people who really don’t like handiwork to choose an exercise bike with magnetic resistance.
3. Precise resistance levels
Stationary bikes with friction resistance may have resistance knobs that look similar to magnetic options but there is a subtle difference between the two.
Friction resistance turn knobs typically don’t have any precise resistance levels. You have to slowly adjust and feel your way toward the challenge level you want.
In a way, air bikes are even worse in this area. Even if you have damper settings, how fast the fan turns influences how hard it feels to push the pedals. The faster it goes, the harder pedaling gets.
Having more precise resistance levels like in magnetic exercise bikes offers a few benefits.
First of all, HIIT workouts where you want to be able to switch between different resistance levels fast and precisely will generally be more convenient on a magnetic exercise bike.
Secondly, having precise resistance levels makes it easier to see how much fitter you have become. A resistance level that used to feel challenging a few weeks ago may now be easy.
In turn, this could help you stay motivated to stick to your exercise bike routine.
4. You may prefer the feeling
This next point is a matter of personal preference but some people simply like the feeling of magnetic exercise bikes more than the other options.
While it is hard to convey the complete experience in words, there is something different about the breeze from air bikes and the friction pad rubbing against the flywheel.
A magnetic bike is not necessarily better or worse for everyone. However, it may be the type you like the most.
5. Sometimes compatible with auto resistance adjust
Certain exercise bike brands like ProForm and NordicTrack often come with compatibility with a workout app. These workout apps are basically video libraries with a variety of workouts.
In some cases, the exercise bikes are even made so the workout app can automatically adjust the resistance of the machine.
This can make the workout videos feel more immersive and can simply be more convenient since you don’t have to worry about adjusting the resistance anymore.
As far as I am aware, the automatic resistance adjustments are only present in exercise bikes with magnetic resistance. Not in air or friction bikes.
6. Simply still offers a great workout
The different resistance types cause subtle differences but in the end, it is important that you can use all of these equipment options, including the magnetic ones, to get some of the more general benefits of stationary bikes.
That means burning extra calories, working a variety of leg muscles, improving cardiovascular health, improving your mood, etc. All in the comfort of your own home.
