Myxfitness Adjustability Is The Best

Adjustability, Adjustability, Adjustability

I’ve supplemented my road cycling with spinning classes for years. It’s possible mostly because bike adjustability is never a problem with gym bikes and it offers a quick, decent workout when you can’t get out on the road.

The pandemic, however, put a kink in my exercise plan. Once the lockdown was in place, gyms were out along with the spinning class. There were, of course, drawbacks to gym classes. The people were great but I always felt a little contaminated after a sweaty workout in a large, mostly unventilated room (petri dish). After COVID, petri dish notwithstanding, that option was no longer available.

What was I to do? The situation created a problem but it also pushed me to do what I’d been considering for quite a while: buy a stationary bike. Once that decision was made, however, I was faced with another more difficult decision: choosing the right bike.

Which Bike

The only spinning bikes I’d known were gym-grade and I wanted something close to that quality. After searching the net for possible brands, I shortlisted three that were highly rated: Myxfitness, Peloton and NordicTrack. I eventually settled on the MYX because it was as close to gym-grade as you could find and that quality was revealed best in its adjustability.

Adjustability

The MYX seat offers more range of horizontal and vertical adjustment than the other two bikes. If you’re tall, no problem. You can move the seat as far up and as far back as you need. Taller people are the ones who struggle to get the right fit. I’m only six feet but my legs are long for my body so I needed room for adjustment. Other brands are adjustable enough to fit the average person but average leaves many people out.

Wrong Setup Equals Injury

If you aren’t familiar with cycling, you might be rolling your eyes. People don’t realize how important fit is till the pain sets in. If you get the setup wrong you can wear your knees out in no time. I know because I rode with an incorrect setup before I understood the dynamics and my knees took a beating. An incorrect setup can cause injury and will cost you efficiency.

You need to get it right even on a stationary bike but that’s not possible if the range of adjustment is too limited. Unlike road or mountain bikes, stationary bikes don’t come in variable sizes so the range of adjustment if EVERYTHING.

Of the three brands, NordicTrack was the most limiting. I could raise the seat high enough but the horizontal movement was short. Try as I might, I couldn’t get the correct positioning. My knees hurt even with a short ride.

Don’t get me wrong, NordicTrack is an amazing bike. If it fits, it will serve you well and offers a lot. It has a large touch-screen monitor, an electronic fingertip control to increase or decrease resistance and you can electronically change the angle of the bike to create the sensation of an uphill ride but none of that matters if you can’t get the right position.

And really, in the end, the gadgetry only increases the price which means your stationary bike is costing more than your road/mountain bike. That doesn’t seem wise.

The Peloton, which I really liked, had enough adjustability to suit my frame but the MYX offered a greater degree of adjustability. The MYX is as close to a gym-grade bike as I’ve seen anywhere.

Screen Rotates

Two other features made the MYX a better choice. The first involves the screen. It can rotate for viewing from the side of the bike. That’s a great option if you want to do floor exercises. The NordicTrack screen can rotate also but it was eliminated for the reasons I’ve already stated.

Best Price

That brings me to the next important comparison: price. Both the NordicTrack and Peloton were two grand or more each and neither came with all the extras the MYX included. I bought the MYX Plus and the list of extras is impressive:

• A floor mat for the bike. An extra $35 for both Peloton and NordicTrack.
• A Polar heart rate monitor. An extra expense of at least $60 for both Peloton and NordicTrack.
• A second larger floor mat for workouts off the bike.
• A set of seven weights – six dumbbells and one kettlebell – for off-bike workouts.
• A foam roller.
• An exercise band.

All those items are included for the price of $1499.99 (with free delivery and setup) and the monthly membership is only $29 a month as opposed to $39 for Peloton and about $33 for NordicTrack.

If you just want the MYX without any extras, you pay only $1199.00 and that still includes the bike mat. Most importantly, it’s not a downgraded version of the bike. Same big screen and same quality bike.

Of course, shipping and setup are included with all the bikes but the best deal is the MYX.

There’s a backlog of orders for in-home exercise equipment of any brand but the wait is worth it. I’m enjoying my MYX very much and highly recommend it as a great choice. I still get out on the road as often as possible but the MYX has been a great option when I can’t.