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Monday, March 3, 2008

RC30 Recumbent Bike Review

Horizon Fitness RC30 Recumbent BikeHello Readers,

I’m back to posting after a difficult visit to my chiropractor. My neck is in quite a bit of pain right now and I've decided to shrug off just about everything and have a movie marathon weekend in the comfort of my bed. (Have you seen Pulp Ficion?! It's awesome!) I'm going to write this review then resume my extended weekend.

Horizon RC-30 Recumbent Bike Review
Horizon RC-30 Recumbent Bike Rating: 2.5 stars out of 5 for being outclassed by the Schwinn 230 Recumbent Bike
Price: $399.99
Buy The Horizon Fitness RC-30 Recumbent Bike
Read Horizon RC30 User Reviews

If I had to limit my review of the RC-30 Recumbent Bike to a single word it would be terrible. I considered mediocre for a short time, but calling the RC-30 mediocre would be giving way too much credit. Pedaling the RC-30 is smooth; you won’t hear the scrapes and squeaks that are associated with poorly designed loads of crap from shady fitness equipment manufacturers. The RC-30 is not likely to break down, provided the owner takes care of the equipment.

My problem is features. The Horizon Fitness EC-30 leaves much to be desired. Horizon Fitness has included a pathetic 8 levels of resistance. I’m used to seeing Horizon Fitness hit home runs with their fitness equipment. There are 8 fitness programs; that’s a little better, but I would still like to see 10 fitness programs in a $400 recumbent bike. It’s not like fitness programs are that expensive or difficult to produce. I can’t think of anything cheaper that could add a tremendous amount of value and deliver a richer user experience than including a wider range of fitness programs.

The icing on this terrible Horizon Fitness cake is warranty. Granted, fitness equipment manufacturers across the board have decided recumbent and upright exercise bikes don’t warrant a warranty, but there’s usually some sort of token parts and labor backing. Horizon Fitness has only seen fit to cover the frame for a short time and that leaves a bad taste in my mouth. I can’t strongly recommend any brand new treadmill, elliptical, or exercise bike without a decent warranty.

There is a recumbent bike I do strongly recommend. It’s the Schwinn 230 Recumbent Bike and it comes with 10 fitness programs and twice the resistance levels of the Horizon Fitness RC-30 Recumbent Exercise Bike. The Schwinn 230 is backed by a decent warranty and I strongly recommend you check it out before purchasing a Horizon Recumbent Bike. You can Read Schwinn 231 User Reviews here.


The choice is yours, just do your research and choose wisely.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I stumbled on this review for the RC30, and I have to say I couldn't disagree more. I own the bike and it is excellent (although I do agree with you on the lack of resistance choices). Plus, you have the warranty on it wrong. It actually came with a lifetime frame, 20 year brake, and 1 year parts and labor warranty. Take a look at Horizon's RC30 page:
http://www.horizonfitness.com/products/exercise_bike/rc-30.aspx

Anonymous said...

Treadmill Review Master, you don't seem to respond to comments posted on your reviews?