Life Fitness Spin Bikes Comparison And Reviews
Life Fitness Spin Bikes Overview
The Life Fitness line of bikes is built for speed, aesthetic design, and ergonomic masterpieces. Long an industry leader in the world of fitness, Life Fitness offers quality exercise equipment designed to provide innovative and full service machines that are high-quality, high-performing, and low-maintenance. A Life Fitness exercise bike’s reputation precedes it; this spin bike arrives at your door already designed to succeed. Gym owners, fitness professionals, and spin enthusiasts alike all attest to the quality and skill of the Life Fitness Indoor Cycles. The facts are clear: with a Life Fitness, you’re guaranteed quality fitness for years to come.
Each Life Fitness IC model offers a different and unique approach to spinning built on the signature ingredients of Life Fitness cycles. Every frame is sturdy and solid, built from reliable metal and steel that won’t crumble underneath you but remains surprisingly lightweight. Every flywheel is precisely balanced and mounted to ensure optimum riding capacity, smoothing out your ride experience and increasing your workout capacity. With every model, Life Fitness has added new innovations and impressive elements of spin technology to bring you the best and brightest. From beginner to expert, all spinners will come to appreciate the expert design and powerful performance of the Life Fitness line.
Best Life Fitness Spin Bikes – Comparison + Reviews
Life Fitness IC7 Magnetic Spin Bike
One of the best spin bikes on the market, The Life Fitness IC7 offers the best and most competitive of Life Fitness technology. Everything about this bike is top tier, from its stunningly aesthetic design to its stabilizing footrests and flywheel technology, is designed to deliver an incredible, high-quality workout to all levels of users. The IC7 presents multiple features designed to enhance comfort and convenience while still creating an intense workout, such as an oversized padded and molded seat, padded ergonomic handlebars, high-tech, top-grade SPD pedals, and a high-quality steel aluminum frame for durable and consistent performance. The Life Fitness IC7 Indoor Cycle is a portable yet powerful personal exercise machine that’s sleek, powerful, and aerodynamic. The sleek magnetic flywheel on the Life Fitness IC7 combines the power and strength of magnetic resistance with sheer muscular drive into one system, creating a powerful and smooth driving pedal stroke for ease on your muscles and joints. Your magnetic flywheel is rear-mounted for protection from sweat and residue in addition to providing a firmer bidirectional pedalling force, allowing even stronger pedalling strength and assistance for your rides.
You can increase your workout intensity easily by adjusting to any of the one hundred premarked levels of resistance that can be clicked through using the incremental 300 degree resistance dial, ranging from beginner level to advanced and elite athletes. Monitor your workout progress through the included full color TFT screen LED monitor, which tracks time, count, distance, calories, watts, and total count. WattRate, the included Watt tracker, is the market’s most accurate power meter that offers a direct measuring tolerance of within 1 degree. Better yet, this monitor is renewable, green-energy, and battery free, relying on your own energy to power it up for a full-throttle ride. A stepless, four-way adjustment slider pairs with post technology to make for easy height and aft adjustments for both your handlebars and your seat, and the off-set frame design accommodates a wide range of users in addition to allowing for fine-tuning and intimate frame adjustments. At $3,000, this bike is certainly pricy, but it’s the best of the best in terms of technology and innovative ride styles, making it a phenomenal choice for cyclists everywhere.
Life Fitness IC6 Indoor Cycle
The Life Fitness IC6 is another high-quality model from the Life Fitness line. Building off of previous innovation and technology, the IC6 works to combine ergonomic design with tech-focused advances in rider comfort. The powerful, evenly weighted 9-pound flywheel features rear fixed-wheel positioning for support and protection and a full protection guard to reduce maintenance and protect from further damage, while the 10:1 gear ratio supports fluid cycling motions that carry through powerful momentum as soon as you stride. Every stride is supported by dual-sided SPD and toe cage spin bike pedals that clip neatly into cycle cleats or tennis shoes for speedy switches and versatile fitness. The powerful poly-v drive train is tough, low-maintenance, and long-lasting, creating a smooth driving pedal stroke that eases strain on your muscles and joints. The ultimate relief in terms of ease of pedalling is the narrow q-factor, which powers an ergonomic and sleek drive that all can appreciate.
You can increase your workout intensity easily on the Life Fitness IC6 indoor spin bike by instantly clicking through one of the hundred premarked levels of resistance programmed into the machine. Instantly adjust to your preferred comfort level using the incremental 300 degree resistance dial that caters to all kinds of ability levels. Better yet, you can also simultaneously track and monitor your workout progress through the included digital display, a full color TFT screen LED monitor that tracks time, count, distance, calories, watts, and total count. The signature Life Fitness WattRate technology featured on this bike is one of the industry’s most accurate power meters, offering a direct measure of your cadence and power spinning within one degree of accuracy. A sliding, four-way adjustment lever is equipped on both your seat and handlebars to make for easy height and aft adjustments that acclimate perfectly to your height and user range. The multi-position handlebars offer a variety of grip positions that fit with multiple riding styles, including standing, sitting, or leaning. The thick beam, steel off-set frame design is durable, stable, and powerful while still lightweight and delicate, providing for fine-tuning and intimate adjustments to height and frame. At $2,300, this bike is not an affordable purchase by any means, but it continues to provide high-quality rides to all of its users.
Life Fitness IC5 Indoor Exercise Bike
Sleek, streamlined, and built to maximize energy and speed, the Life Fitness IC5 is another strong contender from the Life Fitness line. Everything about this bike screams speed and resistance, from its aerodynamic, slim built design to its ergonomic handlebars and flywheel shape. The flywheel technology incorporated on the Life Fitness IC5 promises efficient and body-friendly exercise thanks to its light weight yet evenly balanced inertia and protective guard. You’ll still find all the resistance you need here, but in a way that won’t strain your body. The IC5 presents multiple features designed to enhance comfort, convenience, and ease on your body while still creating an intense workout, such as a supportive bike seat, padded and ergonomic shaped handlebars that feature multiple grips for ease of use no matter what type of exercise you’re taking on, and more. Another great feature that relieves stress and strain on your body includes the high-tech, top-grade SPD pedals. These clip into regular tennis shoes and cycle cleats for a versatile approach to fitness, and their narrow q-factor keeps your pedal drive ergonomic and pain-free no matter how hard you work.
Crank up your workout reward by turning to any of the one hundred premarked levels of resistance that can be clicked through using the incremental levelled degree resistance dial that offers plenty of options for your training needs. You can keep track of your levels through the digital monitor, which clearly displays the level of resistance you’re on and gives you guidance as to how to further adjust. Track additional workout progress through the included LCD screen monitor, which tracks time, count, distance, calories, watts, and total count. Your screen also features Bluetooth pairing, ANT+ data streaming, advanced magnetic resistance, and intuitive technology that features data exchange and Coach By Color intensity guide for maximum support. Four-way adjustments create easy height and aft adjustments for both your handlebars and your seat accentuating the sturdy frame design to support a wide range of users. The Life Fitness IC5 is priced at $1,999, a price that’s well above other spin bikes in its class, but its tech-savvy additions and handy ergonomic features make it a valuable tool if you can afford it.
Life Fitness IC4 Stationary Bike
The Life Fitness IC4 is a compact yet powerful addition to the Life Fitness line considered one of the best commercial indoor cycles. Smaller and slimmer than some of its older siblings, the IC4 fits neatly into most spaces thanks to its slim build and inconspicuous flywheel. Light, portable, and taking up a small footprint, the Life Fitness IC4 Exercise Bike is a great fit for small apartments, compact gyms, or any space that needs quiet and space-saving exercise. The IC4 continues the tradition of virtually silent fitness bikes from the Life Fitness line. The rear mounted fixed flywheel is constructed of aluminum and evenly weighted for maximum inertia and spin distribution, helping to balance out any noise associated with the movement of the flywheel. A poly-v belt with 1:10 drivetrain gear ratio smooths out any additional jerkiness or tension, helping to dispel disturbances in your ride and create a quiet workout routine you can practice at all hours of the day without worrying that you’ll wake a soul.
The Life Fitness IC4 exercise bike is full of dynamic energy that will push your workout to new limits. Adjust your resistance to push your workout intensity through a resistance lever that’s easily accessible from all riding positions. The resistance lever provides tactile feedback that immediately tweaks your magnetic resistance to your desired level of resistance. However, the major issue with this IC4 is its total lack of a digital monitor. There’s no tracking or connection available, which is a bit of a shock considering the hefty price tag, $1,700. For such a high price tag, you’d think you’d get the characteristic technological additions of the other Life Fitness cycles, but that is not the case here. However, the rest of the bike lives up to the Life Fitness brand standard. Adjustable multi grip handlebars offer two water bottle holders and a tablet holder for access to entertainment mid ride. A comfortable and adjustable seat meets different height and inseam length requirements as well, making it an easy and comfortable piece of fitness equipment. The IC4 is a solidly performing bike, but it’s a bit overpriced given its lack of technology inclusions as well, so it’s probably only good for people who don’t care about the price tag and prefer a simpler ride.
Life Fitness IC3 Indoor Cycling Bike
The Life Fitness IC3 is another dynamic beginner-friendly model from the Life Fitness line. The IC3 is one of the beginning versions of the Life Fitness IC bikes, and it offers a strong starting point for beginning and intermediate spinners looking to advance their skills through high-quality equipment. Many parts of the IC3 are powerful and functional enough in their own right, including the durable high inertia forty-pound front-mounted fixed flywheel. This evenly weighted and guarded flywheel produces consistent drag and smooth weight distribution, while the gear ratio and poly-v belt support fluid cycling motions that assist but don’t overwhelm your natural pedalling motion. Every stride is supported by SPD-enabled pedals complete with toe cages for additional security, allowing you to clip neatly into your pedals with either spin bike shoes for men or indoor cycling shoes for women as well as regular tennis or fitness shoes. Your pedalling motion is smoother than ever thanks to the low-maintenance and smooth drive train as well as the narrow q-factor, both of which work in tandem to ease pressure on your muscles while you ride.
Workouts customize fairly easily thanks to a responsive and intuitive resistance lever that pulls magnets closer to your flywheel to increase pressure and torque on your bike. Premium protective plates with molded form-fit mats at various touch points along the IC3 frame shield your bike from wear and tear no matter how many times you put it through its paces, and stabilizer toobs and stretch plates add additional support as you choose different riding positions or stances. You can also rely on the multi grip handlebars to support a wide array of riding stances. The ergo formed handlebars feature dual water bottle holders for double hydration in addition to a compact digital monitor that tracks speed, distance, and more. Overall, the design of the I3 is thinner and more portable than the other IC models, making it a handy addition for tighter spaces. At $1,500, this bike is one of the more affordable Life Fitness models and still offers a competitive range of features, but is still priced well above other midrange spin bike models in its class.
Life Fitness IC2 Indoor Cycle
Sturdy, stable, and built to last, the Life Fitness IC2 is an early and strong addition to the Life Fitness cycle family. This is definitely a cycle that was built for durability and consistency, as everything from its thick, rounded, and grounded design to its ergonomic and padded handlebars and powerhouse flywheel shape would indicate. The perimeter weighted flywheel technology utilized in the design of the Life Fitness IC3 offers reliable and dynamic, yet ergonomic and low impact exercise thanks to its evenly balanced inertia weight. There’s still plenty of power and resistance to be found on the IC2, but it’s packaged in a way that doesn’t strain your muscles or your budget (too much). The IC2 presents multiple other ergonomic and comfortable yet powerful features on its design, such as a widely padded seat mounted on supportive aluminum posts, padded and ergonomically formed multiple grip handlebars that provide multiple ways to exercise no matter what type of stance or position you prefer, and more. You can also turn to the top of the line SPD pedals for additional ergonomic support. These are designed to clip into cycle cleats and also support flat soled fitness shoes that provide a versatile approach to fitness, and the signature narrow Life Fitness q-factor keeps your pedal drive ergonomic and pain free no matter how hard you work.
Further empower your workout challenge by turning the infinitely variable resistance dial that offers plenty of options for your training needs. Twist the knob to any level you desire and feel the results immediately, or brake in an emergency by pressing down on the knob to stop your flywheel motion. You can keep track of your workout progress through the included digital monitor, which through LED lighting and backlighting clearly displays the heart rate, RPM, average cycles, distance, and other training goals. Four-way adjustments create easy height and aft adjustments for both your handlebars and your seat, further supporting Life Fitness’s promise of designing bikes that cater to everyone. The Life Fitness IC2 is priced at around $1,000, a pretty substantial price tag, but for people who don’t mind spending that cash on a middle end bike you might still be delighted by the simple ease of the IC2.
Life Fitness IC1 Indoor Exercise Bike
The final member of the Life Fitness IC line, the IC1 is truly the bike that started it all. The original Life Fitness exercise bike demonstrates proven engineering techniques and the foundations of all the other innovations that would come to define Life Fitness exercise equipment. The perimeter weighted flywheel technology utilized in the design of all Life Fitness IC bikes makes an appearance here, featured as a guarded and front fixed flywheel that’s evenly balanced and provides powerful driving inertia. The strength of this flywheel is its ergonomic design; it’s made to not strain your body or muscles too harshly. Like the IC2, the IC1 offers plenty of other ergonomic and comfortable yet powerful features in its design, such as a padded seat mounted on sturdy and stable aluminum posts and padded multiple grip handlebars that provide multiple ways to hold onto the handlebars no matter what type of cycling stance or position you prefer. The bike also features standard thread pedals that you can choose to install additional SPD pedals onto for additional ergonomic support, though you will need to purchase them separately.
Take your workout to the next level by cranking up the infinitely variable resistance dial that offers plenty of options for your training needs in order to change your resistance. You can twist the knob to increase your intensity to any level that your workout desires or brake in an emergency by pressing down on the knob to stop your flywheel mid spin. Track your workout progress through the included digital monitor, which offers bright LED lighting and backlighting clearly displays the heart rate, RPM, average cycles, distance, and other training goals. You can also benefit from four-way adjustments that create easy height and aft adjustments for both your handlebars and your seat, another signature mark of the Life Fitness bikes. The Life Fitness IC1 is priced at around $900, a pretty substantial price tag for their lowest level bike, and may not be worth the price despite its solid overall performance.
The Final Verdict
Life Fitness offers a wide range of functional bikes with some major benefits and a few important drawbacks. Overall the brand is a great fitness powerhouse, producing high-performing equipment and machinery that you can trust to perform at a high level time and time again. Every one of the Life Fitness IC bikes features components of the foundations of Life Fitness innovation, including thick sturdy frames and four way adjustable frame positions. Unfortunately, they all also share in a similar high price tag, with every bike sitting at or above $1,000. These are certainly not an affordable purchase, but for some the cost might be worth it.
Though every bike offers some positive benefits, the IC5 is definitely the top tier bike and the standout among the Life Fitness line. The bike features the superior integration of technology and innovative mechanisms that’s characteristic of the Life Fitness line. Featuring a completely tricked out digital monitor that has ANT+ and Bluetooth connectivity, responsive and immediate resistance adjustments, and thorough versatility in terms of SPD pedals, handlebar and seat adjustments, and a powerful resistance system that builds easily for strong resistance and drag that builds muscle and works your cardiovascular system. At $2,000, this bike is definitely an expensive investment, but over time we’re confident it will prove itself worthy.
Life Fitness continues to offer quality products across their line of IC bikes. Though their offerings are frequently pricey and can be overpriced, they feature a thorough battery of impressive technical accomplishments that prove themselves worthy additions to your fitness routine. From resistance to monitor, flywheel to handlebars, Life Fitness IC bikes offer quality products and quality performances. Your IC bike will last you years, helping you transform your fitness goals into reality one cycle ride at a time.
