With a built-in seat and 4 castor wheels, the Sole Under Desk Bike is surely a step-up from the cheaper, lightweight pedalers we see marketed as under desk bikes.
The Solo also comes with a magnetic resistance system, a 400 lb weight limit, and a surprisingly generous warranty, all of which is great stuff.
But before we get too excited, it’s got plenty of shortcomings too.
Most notably, this under desk bike’s resistance isn’t adjustable and it doesn’t come with a console, so it can’t track any workout stats.
And even though it does come with a backrest, it’s small and likely to be uncomfortable for extended periods of sitting.
All things considered, the Solo isn’t a bad option for folks looking to keep their legs moving throughout the workday, but there’s plenty of room for improvements here.
The real question is whether or not this bike is really worth investing in – and that’s exactly what I’m here to help you figure out.
In this review, I”ll be going over all the specs and features this under desk bike has to offer, but I’ll do ya one better and also compare it to the other options in its price range.
That way you can see how it really stacks up to the competition.
After reading, you’ll know whether or not the Solo Under Desk Bike is the right choice for your home/office.
The LifeSpan Solo Under Desk Bike
LifeSpan’s a pretty solid home fitness brand, especially if you aren’t looking for a bunch of fancy console features.
Their lineup isn’t that large, but the cardio products they do carry tend to come with impressive performance specs and reasonable prices.
And unlike most brands, they offer a nice lineup of office fitness equipment too – think under desk treadmills, standing desks, and under desk bikes.
The Solo we’re here to go over now is one of 2 under desk bikes in their lineup, with the other being the more expensive C3-GlowUp.
But back to the Solo – let’s start things off with a rundown on how this under desk bike performs.
Pros
- Magnetic resistance system
- Smooth, quiet pedaling motion
- Sturdy feel
- 400 lb weight limit
- 4 transport wheels, easy to move
- Forward/backward pedaling
- Small backrest
- Great warranty
Cons
- Resistance isn’t adjustable
- No console
- Could become uncomfortable with prolonged sitting
Resistance
Under desk bikes were designed to give people a way to get more exercise in during working hours, but that doesn’t mean these bikes are necessary good options as your primary workout equipment.
Most under desk bikes aren’t really equipped to offer more challenging workouts and let’s be real – most of us couldn’t get much work done if we were pedaling our hearts out.
That said, some under desk bikes are certainly better equipped than others when it comes to the resistance department.
When it comes to under desk bikes, we usually don’t see flywheel weights and stuff like that listed, so it’s harder to compare systems between different models.
But we can still look at the info we’re given.
For example, the Solo uses a magnetic resistance system (as opposed to a friction brake system), so we should expect a smooth, quiet pedaling motion.
And most users would agree with this.
What’s surprising though, is that the resistance on the Solo isn’t adjustable.
There are no adjustable levels, so you’re stuck with one consistent resistance the whole time you’re using this bike.
And most users agree that the resistance it comes with is pretty light to begin with.
This means the Solo is better suited for just getting your legs moving a little while you’re sitting, but that it isn’t really going to be able to provide much of a challenge.
If you’re simply looking for an under desk bike that can offer a light, smooth feel for keeping ya moving, this might not be a dealbreaker.
But if you like the idea of having a bike that can actually get the heart rate up a bit, this probably isn’t the best option.
For the sake of comparison, FlexiSpot’s Sit2Go F1 comes with 8 levels of adjustable resistance that can provide a max output of around 145 watts (which is a nice moderate level of resistance).
So, there are under desk bikes out there that can provide more of a challenge when needed.
And personally, I don’t like the idea of not being able to control my resistance, not really my thing.
Frame
Not having an adjustable resistance system is a bummer, but what about the rest of the bike?
Well, the Solo is designed similarly to a desk chair, in that it comes with 4 castor wheels built-in for easy moving around.
And with an assembled weight of only 42.5 lb, it’s pretty light, so moving the Solo around should be really easy.
It comes with a weight limit of 400 lb, which is pretty incredible considering how light it is, but it does mean larger folks should be able to use it as well.
It also sounds really impressive when we consider that the Sit2Go I just mentioned above only has a weight limit of 220 lb (and it even weighs about 7 lb more than the Solo).
When talking about traditional exercise bikes, I usually like to see higher assembled weights because the extra weight will make the bike feel more stable during workouts.
But with under desk bikes, the extra weight probably isn’t as important as being able to move it around easily.
Overall, I’m impressed with the Solo’s really high weight limit, especially considering it’s so lightweight.
Warranty
LifeSpan’s Solo Under Desk Bike comes with the following home warranty:
- 10 year frame
- 2 year parts
- 1 year labor
This is a great warranty for any bike in this price range, but especially an under desk bike.
10 years on the frame is legit for most full-size exercise bikes costing 2-3x as much as the Solo and 2 years is 2x as long as the 1 year warranty offered on most affordable under desk bikes.
A year on labor is pretty standard stuff, but most comps don’t even offer that.
For the sake of comparison, the DeskCycle, the Cubii Jr., and the Sit2Go all come with a 1 year warranty.
Overall, LifeSpan doesn’t mess around when it comes to the warranty on this bike.
Features
LifeSpan’s Solo Under Desk Bike comes with the following features:
Height adjustable seat- the Solo’s seat is pretty large, cushioned, and height adjustable. It comes with 11 adjustment points and, according to LifeSpan, should be able to comfortably fit most folks between 4’8″ and 6’6″ (although 6’6″ might be a stretch).
Backrest- the seat also comes with a small backrest that can provide a little more support to your lumbar spine, but it’s very small and doesn’t provide any support to the rest of your back.
Transport wheels- and finally, as I mentioned earlier, there are 4 castor wheels similar to what you’d fine on a regular office chair, so moving the Solo around shouldn’t be an issue..
Yup, that’s about it when it comes to features – the Sole doesn’t have a console, isn’t bluetooth compatible, and doesn’t really have any other options.
This is a pretty bare-bones under desk bike, but on the plus side, it also doesn’t need to be plugged in or require any batteries.
Price
As I’m writing this, LifeSpan has their Solo Under Desk Bike listed for $499.
Honestly, there aren’t a lot of under desk bikes to look at in this price range – there are a ton of more affordable pedalers and cycles in the $200 range and lower, but not many in this $500 range.
The FlexiSpot Sit2Go I’ve mentioned a few times already is likely Solo’s biggest competitor and it’s priced at around $469 at the time of writing this.
The Sit2Go comes with 8 levels of adjustable resistance, a much larger backrest, and a small built-in console that can track your basic workout stats.
But again, its weight limit is only 220 lb and it’s only backed by a 1 year guarantee.
There’s also LifeSpan’s own C3-GlowUp, which comes with 16 resistance levels (300 watt max), a 400 lb weight limit, a console, and the same great warranty.
But the C3 doesn’t come with a backrest and is quite a bit more expensive (~$1k).
Final Thoughts
That’s about all I got for the Solo… I feel like that didn’t take very long.
Well, this is a very simple under desk bike with basically no features, so I guess there just isn’t that much to say.
I like how durable the Solo is and that warranty is amazing, but the fact that the resistance isn’t adjustable is a pretty big concern.
In terms of cost, this bike feels a little expensive to me for what you get, but its main competitor is priced almost identically, so who knows.
If you’re cool with pedaling against light resistance just to keep your feet moving while you work, the Solo could be a good buy (and again, that warranty is very generous).
But personally, I like FlexiSpot’s Sit2Go better.
