The Best Indoor Exercise Bikes in Canada

To be honest, there was never a better time for you to buy a indoor cycling bike, and the stats show us that. In the United States, according to the NPD Group, trainers and rollers, which allow bikers to mount their bicycles and ride indoors, experienced a growth rate of 415% in April 2020 – which is probably a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.   

Indoor or outdoor, practicing sports is always a healthy choice. And the main advantage of doing exercises at home is that it can be more comfortable while enabling you to work on side activities, such as watching TV or listening to music. After so many months at home, most of us are starting to look for gym alternatives. Indoor bikes can be quite helpful in that sense. These bikes have over a dozen benefits for everyone, from young adults to the elderly, including burning calories, weight loss, reducing body measurements, improving breath capacity, and muscle gain.  

Read on for a list of the top-rated indoor bikes in Canada. This in-depth guide takes into consideration the different types of bikes for each body size, wallet and goal.  

 It is essential to know what kind of exercises you want and need before buying a stationary bike. If you are recovering from some surgery or your age is plus 50, 60 years, the best option is probably going to be a recumbent model. This is a more comfortable exercise bike with a larger seat and back, reclined body position, and pedals in front of the body.   

If your focus is to have a bike trainer stand, for indoor cycling and high exercise intensity, the upright or spin bike would possibly be the best option. What are the differences between them? Let’s figure out.  

Exercise bikes can be great for your health, but they can also be dangerous if you don’t choose the proper option for you. Regardless of your goal or age, it is crucial to contact your family doctor and/or do health screenings before starting to use your indoor bike or any other exercise device.  

Recumbent vs Upright Bike vs Spin Bikes: what you should know   

The important things to have in mind are calories and weight loss goals regardless of your bike choice. Each bike model will provide you will multiple possibilities based on your targets. 

 Recumbent bike – more comfortable and less impact  

• Light workouts.  
• Safer, as you can’t stand up while riding.   
• It promotes a better posture because of the back position.  
• It has less impact on the joints (especially knees and ankles), as the lower back is supported by the bucket seat.  
• More comfortable, with a larger seat.   
• A great choice for recovering. 
• It mostly requires the use of your glutes, quads, hamstrings, calves, and the tibialis anterior muscles.  

 Upright bike – similar to an outdoor bike  

• Light workouts.  
• Safer, as you can’t stand up while riding.   
• It doesn’t have a back and the seat is smaller than the recumbent option.   
• Pedals down below.  
• It enables upper-body arm workouts since you are engaging the biceps, triceps, and shoulders in the upright position.  
• Smaller bike dimensions (comparing to a recumbent one).  

 Spin Bike – ideal for spinning training activity  

• It allows a large variety: very intense, medium, or a light workout.  
• It does not have a back and the seat is smaller than the upright one.   
• More dynamic – you can choose to stand up.  
• More impact on joints, as you can stand up.   
• It simulates hill climbing.  
• It may work with Peloton (dynamic exercise), depending on the model.  
• The possibility of spinning at home with higher intensity.   
• A must-have for anyone looking for a very intense workout or training for a marathon.  

With so many options on the market of indoor exercise products, it was quite hard to find the best stationary bikes for each case, analyzing customer reviews and comparing many options, both bad and good.    

After our entire research (and more than 14 hours of work), we were able to come up with a list of more than 40 bikes. Such a process required plenty of evaluation, including the best indoor bike reviews, opinions from trusted sources, and filtering products with more than 4 stars on review platforms and marketplaces.

Initially, we could not imagine how many different models and sizes there were out there, and it was a great surprise to see that is completely viable to find the best indoor bike for each customer’s need. 

Researching and comparing more than 10 websites, we checked around 30 different indoor bikes to bring the best and most trusted options for the most frequent uses. After going through more than 200 product reviews, we only considered products with more than four-star reviews.  

Our purpose was to present you with great options based on your unique requirements, such as comfort, quality, intensity levels, simple or high tech, affordable or high-end alternatives. 

What is an indoor bike?

A home bike is a stationary bicycle that can be used anywhere anytime. They differ a lot one from another and each model can fit different consumer needs, especially when it comes to price, sizes and fitness goals. Many of them include accessories to better track workouts, including virtual spinning classes, sports apps, calories trackers, as well as distance, time and pulse monitors.  

How many calories is possible to burn on training bikes? 

It will depend on your performance. If you ride your bike at a high speed on a higher level, you will probably burn more calories. If you ride your bike at a slower pace, just enjoying a relaxing exercise time, the number of lost calories will also be lower.  

When it comes to burning calories while cycling, the average is from 350 to 600 calories for a 45-minute ride. As we said, other factors beyond time can affect these numbers, especially intensity levels.   

How much is a stationary indoor bike? 

As we mentioned above, it will depend straight on the model. Even though not every indoor bike out there has made the cut for this article, we came across multiple models and price ranges when researching for this review. We found indoor bikes from $160 to more than $3,000 depending on the brand, features and accessories.  

Should I buy an indoor bike? 

Cycling or spinning are some of the best exercises to lose weight and burn calories. You know your goals and yourself better than anyone else, so our answer is actually a question back to you: Do you see yourself using an indoor bike regularly? Or will the bike only serve as decoration for your home? (Tough words, I know!)  

Our verdict is, if you are really focusing on being healthier and practicing more sports while staying at home, then we say: go ahead. You can certainly find an option that fits your needs, be it affordable price or high performance.    

Where can I find great options? 

Most major retail stores in Canada sell indoor bikes, including Best Buy, Walmart, Amazon Canada, Sport Cheek, Treadmill Factory, Home Depot, Hudson’s Bay, as well as on the official brand websites.   

We wish you a good biking experience! After you buy yours, or if you already have an indoor bike, please leave us a comment below and let us know what you think.