MagneTrainer MagneTrainer-ER Mini Exercise Bike Arm and Leg Exerciser
$107.99
$249
57% off
Reference Price
Condition: New
Color: Black
Top positive review
7 people found this helpful
Well worth the purchase price
By SB on Reviewed in the United States on April 20, 2012
My daughter has a type of dysautonomia (dysfunction of the automatic nervous system) called POTS (Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome) and part of the treatment for this is exercise, preferably recumbent exercise for safety reasons and effectiveness. We live in an apartment which is fairly small and have little to no room for a full size recumbent bike so I had originally purchased a similar mini exercise bike, one of the cheap $20 ones. Well, after a fairly short period of time, less than 6 months, it had become very wobbly, squeeky, and had very little to no resistance so had essentially become a waste of space. The search began and I read tons of reviews on several models of mini exercise bikes when I came across this one. Both my daughter and I have been making regular, daily, use of this mini bike for the month that we've owned it so far and it's fantastic, just about equal to the big full size machine my mother-in-law has in her home in resistance level without the bulk or space taken up. It's whisper quiet, emitting a low hum as you use it, nothing like the loud squeek emitted from our original mini bike. The resistance is very good, with the lowest being much higher than the highest in that other bike, not to mention that, unlike the other, this one has lost none of its resistance since we began using it. I would imagine that if it was sitting on a throw rug or even on hard wood you may have to make use of the velcro straps that are included in order to anchor it to the chair where you're using it to keep it from moving around. For us though it was placed in front of the chair that my daughter typically sits in, on carpet, and have had no problems with it slipping in any way, even when going at a moderate rate of speed to bring up the heart rate a bit. We've both been getting a very nice little work out with this baby and, in my daughters case, it's showing in a positive way. I'm very happy with this purchase and if we end up wearing it out, I would, so far, not hesitate in spending the money again. If you're looking for a great quality exerciser and have little space, or even if you have lots of space but don't want it taken up by a big bulky recumbent, this little MagnaTrainer is well worth the money.
Top critical review
17 people found this helpful
Get the DeskCycle 2 unless you really need arm exerciser
By Lee on Reviewed in the United States on July 19, 2022
I recently purchased a DeskCycle 2 for under my desk and I could not be more pleased. It just works and is so easy to put up miles when you are just working and reading. I wanted a similar pedal exerciser for my home gym, for warm ups. The DeskCycle 2 worked well in my gym in my tests, but the pedal length and resulting stride are a bit confining. It is perfect for under a desk and for versatility, but if you know you will have some space and its NOT going under a desk, you can afford a larger stride. That's why I chose the MagneTrainer with it's 5" pedal length instead of getting another DeskCycle, that has just 3.5". The MagneTrainer is much less stable however, even on my rubber non skid horse mats I have in the gym. It wobbles and, with any resistance, begins skidding around. Since I plan it for warm-ups I don't care too much about using resistance and I have sand bags in the gym I can use to steady it ... BUT the DeskCycle 2 was far more stable in the same environment. I got the optional feet extension for the MagneTrainer but that did not stabilize it a whole lot more. To be clear it is plenty usable, just not the level of ergonomic perfection of the DeskCycle 2. That brings me back to the resistance. While it is sort of "continuous", giving you much more option in setting than other 5 or 8 setting magnetic bikes, you have to turn it several 360's to go from min to max resistance. Worse it has maybe 20-30 micro-settings on the wheel that you click through while turning. The clicking is loud and requires lots and lots of turning and clicking to get where you want it. It's near silent biking, but you'll wake the whole house setting the resistance to where you want it. I don't plan on using it for arms so I also got some cheap replacement pedals just for feet. It appears whatever company makes the DeskCycle and MagneTrainer are not making replacement pedals anymore, in fact their website has many 404 errors on pages so the company may not even be in business. It uses standard 9/16 spindle pedals. You can find exercise bike replacement pedals on Amazon in the $20 range. I'm still happy with my purchase, I wanted a longer stride pedal exercise for my gym warm-ups and I got it. As far as I can tell after looking through many competing products, MagneTrainer has the longest stride in it's class of desk pedal exercisers. This might be a good unit if you have a need like mine, want a little more stride and have the room for it, or you are interested in using it as an arm exerciser. The DeskCycle 2 can be used for arms in a pinch but it isn't really made for that. But for most other cases and especially if you have slippery floors, it may be best to avoid this product unless you are willing to deal with its shortcomings.
Sort by:
Filter by:
By -
Verified Amazon Purchase
Vine Customer Review of Free Product
Sorry, no reviews match your current selections.
Try clearing or changing some filters.Show all reviews
Show more reviews