About Bicycles
Online > Exercise Bikes > Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike Review
Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike Review
The Upright Exercise Bike with HRC
The Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike is priced higher than most in-home models but there are a few key features that make this bike fairly unique. 
First off the Smooth V380 has a 300lb user capacity (this is not totally unique but higher than most). What is very unique for an upright exercise bike in this price range though is the Heart Rate Control (HRC) programs.
Although most exercise bikes have various ways to monitor your heart rate (contract grip and chest strap monitors), not many models have integrated HRC programs which will increase and decrease the exercise bike resistance to keep you within your target heart rate zone.
Note: As of 5/15/2012 the Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike is selling for $799 directly from Smoothfitness.com with FREE shipping options (was $899 on 1/21/2012) (shipping upgrades are also available). *
HRC and Exercise Heart Rate Training Zones
Whether you are trying to lose a few pounds or training for a le Tour de France exercising in the proper heart rate zone can be a big advantage. If your heart rate is too low, while you are exercising, you are not getting the full benefits from your workout. In contrast, if your heart rate is too high then your workout may be counter productive.
There are plenty of formulas online for calculating the various target heart rate zones but ultimately you will need to determine the heart rate zones that are best for you and for your training and/or weight loss goals.**
Smooth Exercise Bike Customer Reviews
If you are not familiar with Smooth Fitness, they have been around for years, offer high quality products and pioneered online sales of fitness equipment. Although Smooth is one of the largest fitness equipment companies on the internet, exercise bikes are a relatively new product for them. Unfortunately, this make it hard to find customer reviews on their exercise bikes.
Until there are more customer reviews available on Smooth Exercise Bikes, you can get a good idea about the quality of Smooth Fitness products (i.e. Smooth Exercise Bikes) and about their customer service by reading the Customer Reviews on Smooth Treadmills and Elliptical Trainers.
Smooth treadmills and elliptical trainers have been out on the market for many years now and there are plenty of reviews on these products. In addition, elliptical trainers have a lot in common with exercise bikes regarding the components and the overall construction.
If anything, it is harder to achieve and maintain a good reputation as an elliptical trainer manufacturer (as Smooth has) than as an exercise bike manufacturer due to the complexity of elliptical trainers compared to exercise bikes.
About-Bicycles Review:
The Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike is one of the few exercise bikes for under $1,000 that offers Heart Rate Control (HRC) programs that automatically adjusts the bikes resistance levels based on your target heart rate. The V380 is one of the most affordable upright bikes that offer this feature.
In addition to the HRC programs, the V380 also has a 300lb weight limit which, even if you weigh much less, is a good indicator if the bikes overall quality and durability. Smooth also offers an above average warranty on their exercise bikes for an additional comfort level on your purchase.
What you do not get with the Smooth V380 is a horizontally adjustable seat, an iPod/MP3 jack and speakers and the additional external workout programs and tracking features.
If you want a quality exercise bike that will last for years and that comes with Heart Rate Control (HRC) programs and a 300lb weight limit then the Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike is an excellent selection.
If you do not need these features, then I would suggest checking out the Nordic Track GX2.0 or the Schwinn 140 which have additional features that the V380 does not have and cost much less.
Customer Reviews:
There were no customer reviews of the product at the time of this review. See Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike for new customer reviews, the latest price or to purchase the Smooth Fitness V380.
Smooth V380 Upright Exercise Bike Upright Exercise Bike Features at a glance:
- Computer Display: Dual Color Back Lit LCD
- Wide Padded Seat, Vertically Adjustable
- Integrated Heart Rate Monitor
- Heart Rate Control programs (4)
- Intensity Levels: 16
- # of Programs: 16
- Pedal Type: Self Leveling w/ Adjustable Pedal Straps
- Resistance: Silent Magnetic
- Max User Weight: 300lbs
- Transport Wheels
- Unit Weight: 100lbs
- Foot Print: 43" L x 25.5" W x 55" H
Warranty:
Frame: Lifetime
Brake: Lifetime
Parts: 3 Years
Labor: 1 Year
** Please check with your doctor before you start a workout program based on heart rate.
|
