For those of you that have one or similar or have researched them, which would you recommend for the price or which has a high quality to price ratio? I’m thinking of getting one with a small bonus I have coming.
I was able to play around with the Rogue Echo bike recently. Was surprised about how overbuilt it was (in a good way). Thing is a tank. It would actually look big in your house compared to run-of-the-mill exercise bikes. Runs $845.
Assault has always made good stuff. Theirs is about $100 cheaper. I tested out a few of their products at the CrossFit Games a few years ago. Seems like good quality.
Are you settled on a bike? Thought about a rower or an Assault manual treadmill?
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I really liked my Schwin AD6 I got second hand. Its at my Airbnb house now, but debating getting the Titan air bike next. I’ve heard good things.
Not settled on anything, really. Just considering. I even looked at Schwinn aerdyn. Might just look on facebook marketplace or craigslist
Concept 2 Rower has been great for me. No experience with an assault bike though. Thing I like about the rower is it can be as intense or as moderate as you want to make it. My impression of the assault bike is that it is always intense and you just hang on for as long as you can…but this could just be my wrong impression.
I’ll second the rogue echo. I think the price difference is marginal compared to the quality upgrade over other options. That’s what I would choose if my only concerns was getting the best value for my money, because the quality is exceedingly good.
Rogue Echo. I don’t see any way it could ever wear out in a home gym.
For home cardio equipment, it always comes down to what you will realistically use (and perhaps what your spouse doesn’t mind sitting around the house). For example, I have the Concept II erg and love it. I used it a bit when it was in our finished basement, but we didn’t like it sitting out – that’s our TV room and dog-playground so it looked, well, ugly, in the middle of a big nice den. Then it went into a spare bedroom where I used it even less, then it went into the spare room above the garage and I used it exactly once. (Dani was better about it than me though.)
It’s all about friction – if I have to walk out of the house in the winter, walk up the snowy stairs to the spare room above the garage, turn on a little heat, then use the rower, well, I’m realistically not gonna do it often.
Finally, I took the rower to the T Nation office and put in our Training Lab. Now I use it twice every week religiously because it’s convenient. Also, personality wise, I like to train in gyms. It’s the atmosphere. I don’t want to work out staring at the lawnmower in the garage or the lamps in a spare bedroom. I’ve made it work in the past, but it wasn’t the same as being in a real gym. So, know your “training personality.”
Now, the piece of home cardio equipment I used the most successfully was a simple treadmill. It was in my home office, very convenient, and I stuck a TV in front of it. A treadmill is nice because you can, say, get some NEPA on it by taking a walk. With an erg or an airbike, it’s tougher to do NEPA because those things are sort of meant for metcon/interval style work and it’s just awkward to row for 45 minutes lightly. Easy to walk though on a treadmill. But maybe that’s just my personal bias. Many have been successful with a bike in the house… but many many more just turn theirs into an expensive coat rack.
Just some things to consider.
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I’ll echo what others have said about the rogue. Very solid machine, quiet, super sturdy. I’ve used a few occasionally. I own a 1980s airdyne consistently, currently. Nowhere near the Rogue Echo but a fantastic machine. If budget was no concern, I’d buy the Rogue. Otherwise, there’s some solid machines you can find cheap.