Review by Leanne for Phoenix 98623 Revolution Cycle Pro II Exercise Bike
Rating:
This is really nice, quiet bike that has a smooth ride, and I highly recommend it!

It came in one large box, and my husband put it together in less than 30 minutes since the wheel and main components were already attached; all he had to do was put on the handle, seat, and pedals. We did not have the problem with the broken knob that the two other reviewers mentioned.

The wheel does make some noise when riding it, but it’s not any louder than the higher-end spin bikes you’d find at the gym. I was actually surprised at how quiet and smooth it is. It does wobble a bit when you stand and do hill climbs, but I think that is because we currently have it on carpet. We’re looking into putting this on a different surface to see if that makes it more stable, and I will try to remember to update my review once we do this.

The adjustments on this are also great, both in terms of the tension knob and the physical bike itself. I was worried that you’d have to turn the tension knob a thousand times to crank it up and down, but about 2-3 turns in either direction takes you up or down to the next gear, making it very easy to quickly change your level. Also, the bike is a comfortable fit for both me (about 5’4″) and my husband (about 6’0″) since you can move the seat up/down and also front/back.

The only small negatives about this bike are in regards to the handlebars. The handlebar doesn’t have the ability to move front and back for a better fit — although I knew it didn’t have this feature before buying it, and most mid-range spin bikes also don’t have this feature. (If you’re on the shorter side, this might be a challenge; at just under 5’4″, I would be happier having the handlebar a bit closer to me.) Additionally, the post that the handlebar is on sticks, making it very difficult for me to move it up and down; we used some lubricant on it, but my husband still has to move it back to my position after he’s done using it since I have a hard time adjusting it myself.

Two tips: invest in a gel seat (and/or padded bike shorts) and some SPD clips and shoes to get a better ride out of your spin bike. We’ve been using a standard-sized gel seat that fits nicely on this seat and that cost under $15. I also picked up a pair of Shimano SPD pedals that were on sale at my local bike shop for $45 so that we could use our spin shoes and SPD cleats on this bike. (Be sure that you have a pedal wrench if you decide to do this; you may need to pick one of them up, too.)

Overall, this is a great bike! Also, keep an eye on the price, since it does tend to drop down to about $480, with free shipping.

Edited on 4/19/09: If I could change it, I would downgrade my original five-star review to four stars. We are still very happy with this purchase, but the resistance knob has been very sticky and hard to turn when there is any kind of humidity in the air. It’s still a solid bike (and the wobbling is minor; we ended up leaving it as is), but some days it’s very challenging to change that resistance knob to a higher setting. Just beware of this if you live in a humid climate.

Review by N. Nelson for Phoenix 98623 Revolution Cycle Pro II Exercise Bike
Rating:
This bike is great gym quality for half the price of spinner NTX and schwinn. I used the NTX at the gym and other than the fact that te NTX is cooler looking, it preforms the same. If you compare the spinner pro/elite or the schwinn models to this one, they have basically the same frame, plus the braking/resistance pads on the pheonix is the same as the schwinn only with a couple inprovements.

The ntx resistance pad is a single direct pressure on the outside of the flywheel—which is esentially the same as a drum brake. A single pad with less surface area leads to increased wear and needing to replace the pad sooner. whereas the pheonix and the schwinn use 2 pads compressing the flywheel—like a disc brake.—increased resistance surface and better resistance, decreased wear on pads.

It is as sturdy and well build as the NTX.-even has the same handlebars–minus the bottle holders. It is heavy—130 lbs but has wheels for moving.

Only thing to consider is that the bike seems to be build for larger individuals. I’m 5’6″ and anm only 1 notch away from being the lowest seat post adjustment and the seat is 1 notch from being farthest foward. So I’m thinking 5’4″ should be the height requirement for this ride.

Seat that comes with bike is cheap-so take your seat off your normal bike and put it on this and note that the pedals are just medal with straps–not clip-on compatible but for the cost of a new seat and pedals-your still looking at 3/4 the cost of a scwhinn-NTX.

and note the all black frame is fun put your favorite stickers on.

Happy cycling.

Review by M. Schell for Phoenix 98623 Revolution Cycle Pro II Exercise Bike
Rating:
I bought this bike a month ago and the price was right around $589 w/free shipping. It has now since dropped to $499, so make sure you wait until it gets below $500 to save some cash. I thought the set up was very easy. It took me maybe 15 minutes and the tools are included. No parts were broken. Others are right that this machine does not have all the adjustment features of a very high end, gym bike, but you get what you pay for. I find the ride to be very comfortable even when I’m on it for 1.5-2 hours at a time. Bike shorts are a must in my opinion though.

So far so good with everything.