Choosing the best recumbent exercise bike with moving arms can be a daunting task for most persons. But we’ve reviewed and selected the best of the best bikes for you in this list.
Velocity Exercise Dual Motion Recumbent Bike
Our Top Recommendation for Recumbent Exercise Bikes!
- EIGHT levels of tensions
- Rotating handlebars
- Adjustable pedal straps
- sturdy steel frame
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A Quick Glance at the top Recumbent Exercise Bikes With Moving Arms:
- Best Overall – Velocity Exercise Dual Motion Recumbent Bike
“Perfect dual motion bike for anyone rehabilitating a physical injury or trying to improve their physical fitness.”
- Best for Overweight Persons – Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike With Arm Exerciser SF-RB4631
“The SF-RB4631 recumbent bike is the best bike with an arm exerciser for persons that weigh over 300 lbs.”
- Best Alternative – Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Bike With Handles SF-RB4708
“The SF-RB4708 bike is a great alternative for anyone that does not want arm pedals but still want an arm workout.”
- Sturdiness and Great for Seniors – Stamina Elite Total Body Recumbent Bike
“A Great option for seniors and anyone wanting a sturdy recumbent bike with arms that move.”
If you are in a hurry, you can directly purchase any of those stationary bikes with moving arms with confidence that they are the best available.
However, we recommend that you continue reading as we’ll be going into details on everything you need to know before choosing.
What is a Dual Action Exercise Bike?
A dual action exercise bike is a unique exercise bike that allows you to work your arms and legs at the same time.
Unlike a traditional exercise bike that only targets the lower body, dual action exercise bikes can also let you focus on your arms only or legs only. As a result, these bikes are more versatile and allow for a better overall workout. There are many types of stationary bikes with arms to choose from online such as this Foldable Upright Bike or a Recumbent Cross Trainer and Elliptical.
However, the most popular model is the recumbent exercise bikes.
What Are The Benefits of Having a Recumbent Exercise Bike With Moving Arms?
There are numerous ways to benefit from a recumbent exercise bike with moving arms. But the most notable benefits are:
Spine Support
Recumbent bikes offer great spinal support as they come in the form of an adjustable chair that you can adjust to your preference. Therefore they are a great option if you have a back injury.
Low-Intensity Workouts & Rehabilitation
Because of your seating position on a recumbent bike, you utilize fewer muscles and typically burn calories slower. As a result, the workouts that you do on these types of bikes are perfect for persons rehabilitating from injuries.
Versatility
Recumbent bikes with arm pedals are also great because they allow you to engage your upper body at will and offer a total body workout. So if you want to target more muscles a stationary bike with an arm exerciser is the way to go. Now that you know what the benefits of a bike with moving arms are we can jump right into the list.
4 Best Recumbent Exercise Bikes With Moving Arms Reviews
IMAGE | PRODUCT | FEATURES | PRICE |
---|---|---|---|
Velocity Exercise Dual Motion Recumbent Bike | • Rotating handlebars • Adjustable pedal straps • Sturdy steel frame | ||
Sunny Health & Fitness Recumbent Bike | • Handlebars with dual position handle grips • Large seat and back cushion • Adjustable height | ||
Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike | • Magnetic resistance systems • Integrated pulse sensors • Crank up the 8 adjustable gears | ||
Stamina Elite Total Body Recumbent Bike | • Quiet magnetic resistance • Great recumbent exercise bike for seniors • Sturdy steel frame |
1. Velocity Exercise Dual Motion Recumbent Bike
The Velocity Dual Motion recumbent bike is the best overall for many reasons. It features a 5kg flywheel with eight levels of tension control to adjust the difficulty of your workout.
The bike also features a digital display that lets you keep track of your workout information such as time, speed, distance, and total calories burned.
Also, the bike includes a hand pulse reader that is a great addon.
The best feature of the velocity recumbent bike is that it allows you to set the resistance for the arms and legs separately. This feature is a big plus for persons that have certain physical conditions or persons undergoing rehabilitation.
One thing to note is that the arm pedals do not feed data to the digital monitor. But if that isn’t a significant issue for you then consider this bike a solid buy and your first choice.
If comfort is a critical factor for you, then you won’t go wrong by choosing this bike. The bike features a cushioned seat that provides adequate support and maximum comfort. The seats can be adjusted vertically and horizontally to allow users of different heights to find their most ideal riding position. Lastly, the company that supplies the Velocity Dual Action Recumbent Bike provides fantastic customer service. For warranty, this bike offers a solid warranty of five years for the frame, 90 days for the digital display and 30 days for other parts like pedals, etc. So if after you purchase there are any issues feel free to reach out to CAP-Barbell.
Pros & Cons of Velocity Exercise Dual Motion Recumbent Bike
Pros
- The price of the bike is Very Affordable.
- It has a great warranty and Customer Service
- The bike has comfy seats with adequate adjustability.
- It has a Small footprint of 51″ H x 25″ W x 50 ” D and weighs just 82 lbs.
- This bike currently has an offer for free assembly at the time of publishing this article.*
- It allows for Independent or dual pedal resistance.
- The bike comes with rollers on the base of the frame for simple movement.
Cons
- Pulse sensor placement is at the side of the bike.
- The digital display does not record the movement of the arm pedals.
2. Sunny Health & Fitness Recumbent Bike
The SF-RB4631 is another excellent bike with arm pedals that we think is well worth purchasing. This bike is well-built and sturdy enough to accommodate users weighing up to 350lbs.
Plus it has a few great features that will appeal to anyone looking for a stationary bike that allows arm workouts. With the Sunny Health & Fitness Recumbent Exercise Bike With Arm Exerciser, you get comfortable seats that are well padded.
The seats adjust horizontally to accommodate users of different heights.
Moreover, it can comfortably accommodate persons between 4′ 3″ to 6′ 6″.
One downfall of this bike is that there is no vertical seat adjustment available. To solve that problem Sunny Health & Fitness placed the seat frame on a sliding vertical, so you sit higher when the seat is back and lower when you bring it to the front. The SF-RB4631 recumbent bike features multi-grip arm pedals that are at the right height and easy to reach. It comes with a digital LCD monitor that measures distance, calories, speed, and time. Plus, a pulse reader to the side of the seats that reads to the LCD monitor.
This bike ranked second on the list because it features an independent arm pedal resistance that works even in a reverse direction. For the leg pedals, Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike With Arm Exerciser has a magnetic belt drive tension system with eight levels of resistance control. With all those features you would expect that the bike would be pricey, but it comes in at a very reasonable price. Plus, with this bike, you get a 3-year structural warranty and 180 days on other parts of the bike.
Lastly, the bike has a dimension of 53 x 24 x 54 inches and weighs just 89.5 pounds. While the bike is a little on the heavy side, you do get rollers for easy movement on the bottom of the SF-RB4631 Sunny Health & Fitness Recumbent Exercise Bike With Arm Exerciser.
Pros & Cons of Sunny Health & Fitness Recumbent Bike
Pros
- It is an excellent recumbent bike that allows upper body exercises.
- The SF-RB4631 has independent arm pedal resistance.
- It has eight levels of Magnetic Resistance and an easy to use resistance knob.
- The bike features an ergonomic step-through design with adjustable seats.
- It has a pulse monitor built into the arm grips at the side of the seat.
- The SF-RB4631 has Built-in wheels for effortless movement at the base of the bike.
- This bike is excellent for overweight persons.
Cons
- It has no horizontal seat adjustment.
3. Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike
The Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RB4708 is also a fantastic recumbent exercise bike with moving handles.
This stationary bicycle is slightly different from the other bikes on the list because instead of arm pedals you get movable handlebars.
While it is different, the workout attained from this bike with moving handlebars is considered more effective and offers a better total body workout than the others.
With the Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Bike SF-RB4708, you will engage more muscles through pedaling and with the back and forth movement of the handles. This design will result in burning more calories while still being a low impact fitness machine.
The bike features oversized cushioned seats that provide true comfort during your workouts. The seat also features the ability to be adjusted horizontally to allow you to find the best position. Also, this bike can accommodate a user weight capacity of up to 350 lbs.
To the sides of the SF-RB4708 stationary bike with moving arms, you will find a very accurate pulse monitor that reads out to the digital display. The digital monitor you get is a multifunction monitor that can keep track of distance, calories, pulse rate, speed, and total distance. Additionally, the monitor also includes a countdown that will alert you when the chosen countdown time is complete. Another bonus on this bike is the inclusion of a tablet holder that will fit just about any size tablet.
Pros & Cons of Sunny Health & Fitness Magnetic Recumbent Exercise Bike
Pros
- The Sunny SF-RB4708 recumbent bike with arm exerciser has eight tension levels.
- This bike comes with large padded seats that provide adequate comfort.
- It has a multi-function countdown timer with that alerts you of the end of your workout.
- The Multi-control magnetic resistance knob is suitably placed in an easy to reach location.
- It is reasonably priced and has excellent features.
- The Sunny Health & Fitness SF-RB4708 has a user weight capacity of 350lbs.
- It has a tablet holder tray.
- This bike is better than the others for cross training and arm workouts.
Cons
- It doesn’t have independent handle resistance.
- The bike is not comfortable for users over 6′ 3 inches tall.
4. Stamina Elite Total Body Recumbent Bike
The last recumbent bike with an arm on this list is the Stamina Elite Total Body Bike. Like the first two bikes, the stamina elite features a 2 in 1 setup that allows you to use your arm or legs to pedal.
Moreover, this bike features eight levels of magnetic resistance for you to cycle through while working out.
On the Stamina Elite Total Body Recumbent Bike, you get comfortable padded seats that can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally.
Plus built-in pulse sensors at the side of the seat that sends your pulse data to the multi-function monitor.
The monitor of the bike is also very standard and does much the same as the other bikes. It records the basics such as speed, calories, distance and your overall workout time. The only negative is that unlike the previous bike, the stamina elite is more expensive and doesn’t have the countdown timer function to alert you of the end of your routine. Although the bike is a little more expensive than the others, it does offer a more premium look. But it isn’t by a large margin. Furthermore, the Stamina Elite Total Body Recumbent Bikes has a low user weight capacity of just 250 lbs.
All in all, it is a decent bike to have as an option.
Pros & Cons of Stamina Elite Total Body Recumbent Bike
Pros
- The bike has eight levels of magnetic resistance.
- This bike has a more premium look than the other bikes.
- It has eight levels of Magnetic Resistance and an easy to use resistance knob.
- It has Built-in pulse sensors.
- This Stationary Bike with Arms has a seat that can be adjusted horizontally and vertically.
- It has an easy to reach resistance dial.
Cons
- Power rod rejuvenator is not apart of the case.
- It does not allow aerobic rowing.
- Takes a while to assemble.
What to Look For on an Exercise Bike With Moving Arms?
There are many important things to consider when looking for a bike with moving arms — things such as comfort, resistance levels, weight capacity, and Seating Position.
However, before we jump into what you need to consider you need to ask yourself this vital question.
Do You Need a Recumbent Bike or an Upright Bike With Moving Arms?
Your answer here determines the things you need to look for when choosing your exercise bike with handle or arms. To help you decide which bike you need to first know the difference between the upright bike vs recumbent bike. The reality is that both types of bikes do the same thing and can help you achieve a similar level of result. However, recumbent bike and upright bike differ mostly in their design. Recumbent bikes typically have a back supporting seat that is generally bigger than the seat on an upright bike. With the recumbent bike, you sit similar to how you would on a chair. In contrast, on the upright bike, you sit in an upright position with little or no support for your back.
So if you have back issues, are a senior, have a knee injury or if you are rehabilitating a physical injury then buying a stationary recumbent bike might be better as it provides more support for your back. In contrast, an upright bike is more suitable for younger persons that are more active or persons that have basic physical fitness levels.
Comfort
The comfort of the bike you choose is one of the most critical points of consideration. Especially for persons recovering from a physical injury or seniors; having comfortable seating and arm pedal to seat distance aids in recovering and limiting physical stress caused by lousy workout postures. As such, choosing a bike that can provide adequate comfort in terms of seating with adjustable inseam height is a must. All the bikes listed above satisfy this condition.
Resistance Levels
Another critical factor is the resistance level and resistance type of bike you choose. Most bikes tend to use felt pad resistance to control the difficulty of the workout. However, having magnetic resistance on a recumbent bike is the preferred option. It is also essential for the bike to have more resistance level options and an easy to reach resistance knob.
Weight Capacity
This point is critical specifically for persons that are over a certain weight limit. Not knowing the weight limit of the bike or your weight may result in unfavorable problems. As such we recommend buying a bike that has at least a 10 – 20 lb weight capacity above your bodyweight.
Conclusion
By choosing any of the bikes listed in this article, you will be making the best choice in a recumbent bike with moving arms. The bikes selected are of the best quality, and are genuinely feature-rich exercise bikes with that offer arm exercises. But from our extensive testing, we recommend the velocity dual motion bike as the best one to pick.