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Life Fitness R1 Recumbent Exercise Bike Review
The Life Fitness R1 Recumbent LifeCycle is the most affordable Recumbent exercise bike offered by Life Fitness (keep in mind that Life Fitness exercise bikes are high end commercial grade exercise bikes).
Life Fitness got its start with exercise bikes and has grown into the second largest fitness company in the world. Although Life Fitness, LifeCycle exercise bikes are sold primarily in commercial markets, you can also purchase Life Fitness equipment for in-home use online (see the links below). 
Aside from the commercial durability of the Life Fitness R1 Recumbent with Advanced Console, a few of the key features of this bike are the upper and lower handlebars, grip contact and wireless heart rate monitor (with Polar® wireless chest strap included), multiple Heart Rate Control (HRC) programs, Dual User Profiles, AC Power supply, comfortable recumbent seat and ergonomic design.
The Life Fitness R1 Recumbent is very comfortable and provides good lower back support and an excellent low impact, aerobic exercise. You can easily watch TV, listen to music and with the chest strap heart rate monitor, your hands are free for reading magazines or books, etc.
Note: The Life Fitness R1 is currently out of stock (was selling at Amazon for $1,659 new, with free shipping options).
See Life Fitness Exercise Bikes for the latest selection of exercise bikes from Life Fitness.
Life Fitness R1 LifeCycle Basic Workouts vs. Advanced Workouts
Keep in mind that Life Fitness sells the R1 LifeCycle Recumbent Exercise Bike with the Basic Workouts Console and the Advanced Workouts Console. Below is a summary of the differences.
BOTH Consoles |
Advanced Console only |
Classic Workouts: Manual, Hill, Random, EZ Incline/Resistance
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HeartSync™ Workouts: Fat Burn, Cardio, Heart Rate Hill™, Heart Rate Interval™, Extreme Heart Rate™
Special Workouts: Goal Workouts, Custom Workouts (2) |
Other Features: Quick Start, Cool Down Mode
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Other Features: Race Mode, Warm Up Mode, |
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User Profiles (2) |
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Heart Rate Monitoring: Polar® wireless chest strap included Provides accurate, hands-free heart rate monitoring. |
Readouts: Calories , Calories per hour, Display Type: LCD with blue background and white characters , Distance, Distance Climbed, Distance Remaining, Elapsed Time, Heart Rate , Level , Pace , Speed (mph/ km/h), Target Heart Rate, Time, Time in Zone, Time of Day, Time Remaining, Workout Profile™ Display: 9 x 24 segments
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Readouts: Workout Feedback Display: 16-character message center, Watts, METs, RPM |
Although you can get this bike with the Basic Workouts Console for about $300 less, I think that it is well worth it to get the Advanced Workouts Console (this review is for the Advanced Workouts Console version).
About-Bicycles Review
There is no doubt that Life Fitness makes high quality exercise bikes and the Life Fitness R1 Recumbent Exercise Bike is no exception.
The best features of this bike are overall quality and comfort, good ergonomic design, the wireless heart rate monitor with chest strap and the built in Heart Rate control HRC programs (Advanced Console model). This exercise bike is very durable and is backed up by excellent residential warranty.
My only criticisms are that the bike has a 300lb user weight capacity (which is great for in-home models but a little low for high end commercial models).
Customer Reviews
At the time of this review there were 2 reviews at Amazon with an overall rating of  (4.5 of 5 stars) and one review at Lifefitness.com with a rating of  (5 of 5 stars). Life Fitness owners consistently rate these exercise bikes very high.
Aerobic exercise improves cardiovascular health and circulation and exercise bikes provide a safe, low impact aerobic exercise that has been used for fitness, health and physical therapy for years.
Life Fitness R1 Recumbent Lifecycle Features at a Glance:
- Heavy duty commercial frame
- Contact heart rate hand sensors and Wireless heart rate monitoring system (included with Advanced Console)
- Standard recumbent seat and back pad
- Front and side-mounted handlebars
- Front mounted water bottle holder
- Built-in reading rack
- Maximum User Weight 300lbs
- User Profiles: 2
- Resistance Levels 20
- Workout Programs 10
- Unit Length 57", Unit Width 26", Unit Height 54"
- Unit Weight 130 lbs
- Power Requirements: Plug-in, All major voltage configurations
- Pedals Standard self-balancing pedals
- Resistance System Eddy-current
Warranty:
Lifetime on frame,
3-year on parts,
1-year on labor (warranties outside the U.S. may vary)
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