Niceday’s Indoor Recumbent Bike is a solid take on what an affordable exercise bike should be – it’s stylish, comfortable, stable, and fits nicely into most folks’ budgets.
Highlights of this recumbent include 16 levels of magnetic resistance, a 400 lb weight capacity, and a comfortable seat that can adjust to accommodate folks up to 6’3″ tall.
Users also agree its remarkably quiet and offers a smooth pedaling motion – something that certainly can’t be said for all bikes in this price range.
And the downsides for Niceday’s Recumbent are pretty common for all similarly-priced exercise bikes, including a light flywheel and a questionable warranty.
All things considered, as budget-friendly recumbent bikes go, I think Niceday’s is pretty average – but before you decide, it’s a good idea to know what you’re getting into.
And that’s where I can help.
In this review, I’ll go over everything you should know about this bike before making a decision – I’ll also try to compare it to a few other comps in its price range to see how it really stacks up.
After reading, you’ll know whether or not it makes sense to buy the Niceday Indoor Recumbent Bike.
Let’s roll.
The Niceday Indoor Recumbent Exercise Bike
I wasn’t able to find much info on the Niceday brand, but as far as I can tell, it’s a Taiwan-based company that specializes in budget fitness equipment.
They offer a few exercise bikes, a rower, an elliptical machine, and a couple of under desk exercise bikes through Amazon and it looks like all their equipment is pretty well reviewed by users.
That said, I’ve also read accounts from users who were offered gift cards for 5-star reviews…it doesn’t sound like everyone got this offer, so I’m not sure who long Niceday was doing this.
And to be fair, this doesn’t mean all their positive reviews are bogus…but still, paying for positive reviews is never a good look.
Anyway, we’re here to go over their Recumbent Bike, so we might as well get started.
Let’s start with a rundown on the performance side of things.
Pros
- Affordable
- Comfortable
- Compact
- 16 levels of magnetic resistance
- 400 lb weight limit
- Fits riders up to 6’3″
- Tablet holder
- Transport handle
- Dust cover included
Cons
- Light flywheel?
- Very simple console
- Questionable warranty
- Paying customers for positive reviews?
Resistance
Most exercise bikes operate the same way, by using a weighted flywheel and a magnetic or friction brake resistance mechanism to create the resistance you work against.
Air bikes are really the only type of bike that work differently (they use spinning fans and air to provide your resistance).
This means we can compare most exercise bikes against each other by looking at some of these specs.
Now recumbent bikes aren’t known for coming with really heavy flywheels like indoor cycles are, but having a heavier flywheel is still beneficial because it usually makes for a smoother pedaling motion.
The extra weight builds momentum as the flywheel spins, which helps keep the pedals turning throughout the full pedal stroke.
Anyway, Niceday doesn’t disclose the weight of the flywheel used on their recumbent bike, but based on the price and weight of the bike, it’s pretty safe to assume it’s likely somewhere in the 10 lb range.
This is light when compared to higher-end recumbent bikes (like Sole’s LCR which uses a 30 lb flywheel), but it’s actually average for this price range where most come with flywheels in the 8 – 13 lb range.
For example, Schwinn’s 230, which is about $150 more than the Niceday at the time of writing this, only uses a 13 lb flywheel.
So, it’s to be expected that this recumbent bike will use a light flywheel, but most users still agree it offers a smooth pedaling motion.
We do know that this recumbent bike comes with 16 levels of magnetic resistance, which is adjusted via a little dial near the front of the bike.
Having this many levels to work with is nice because it allows you to make smaller adjustments to your resistance, fine tuning the intensity throughout your workouts.
Now nicer bikes will let you control the resistance from the console, although most recumbents under $500 aren’t this sophisticated (although Sunny Health & Fitness’ SF-RB4850 does offer this feature).
But with the resistance control being separate from the console, at least you don’t have to rely on this bike being plugged in to operate.
Overall though, the Niceday Recumbent Bike is pretty average when it comes to its resistance system – the flywheel is likely quite light, but it does come with plenty of resistance levels to work with.
Frame
When it comes to this bike’s frame itself, it’s pretty small in terms of size.
This bike only takes up a footprint of roughly 50″ x 23″, which is pretty compact for a recumbent bike – this is a good foot or so shorter than the Schwinn 230 I mentioned above.
So, if your workout space is a little lacking in wiggle room, the compactness of this bike could be a blessing.
And even though it’s small, it can still handle most riders who are between 4’9″ – 6’3″ tall, which is pretty good for a bike in this price range.
Niceday doesn’t include the assembled weight for this recumbent either, but according to Amazon, its package weight is around 100 lb.
So, if we subtract a little for the weight of the packaging and whatnot, I’d estimate this bike weighs somewhere in the 80 – 90 lb range.
Which again, is pretty average for recumbents in this price range – the same Sunny bike I mentioned above weighs around 86 lb and the Schwinn’s 230 weighs around 80 lb.
What isn’t average is this bike’s 400 lb weight capacity.
This is quite a bit higher than the 300 lb limit a lot of bikes at this price point come with, so this could be a great quality for the larger users out there looking for an affordable recumbent bike.
Overall, the Niceday Recumbent is a compact bike of average weight, but it can safely handle riders of all sizes.
Warranty
Ok, you have to read the fine print carefully when it comes to the warranty because Niceday tries to pull a fast one on ya here.
According to their info on Amazon, Niceday “promises to provide lifetime quality assurance service” for every recumbent bike they sell.
This is not the same as a lifetime warranty!
A lifetime warranty means whatever covered under that warranty would be repaired or replaced without cost – what Niceday is basically saying is that they will offer customer service for as long as you own the bike.
This should be a given for any brand and any exercise bike, so the only reason I can see for Niceday to state this in this manner is to try and give the illusion that they back this recumbent with a lifetime warranty.
Tricky, tricky.
To be real though, there’s no way a bike in this price range is going to come with a lifetime warranty, so this should immediately sound alarms.
In reality, Niceday doesn’t offer any warranty info that I can find.
My guess is they offer a limited 12 month guarantee, as do most budget brands from other countries.
I’ve also read from some users that they were asked to fill out a survey to enact their warranty.
Overall, if you decide to purchase this bike, don’t expect much of anything from their warranty department.
Features
The Niceday Recumbent Bike comes with the following included features:
Digital display- this bike comes with a simple digital console that can track all your basic workout data, but nothing more. It isn’t backlit either, so you’ll wanna use it in a well-lit area for best viewing.
Grip heart rate monitors- there are built-in grip heart rate monitors in the handles by the seat, allowing you to get a rough idea what your heart rate is during workouts.
Tablet holder- there’s a large tablet holder above the console, giving you a god place to put your tablet or phone during workouts.
Comfortable seat- the seat cushion is fairly large and foam, while the back is vented and has a little lumbar support built-into it. You can adjust the seat to 8 different positions, making it easy for most folks to find a comfortable riding position.
Transport handle- like most, this bike comes with built-in transport wheels, but it also comes with a handy handle built-into the frame, giving you a convenient place to grab it while rolling it around.
Cover- Niceday also throws in a dust cover to help you keep your bike clean in between rides.
Water bottle holder- oh, and we can’t forget the water bottle holder.
Price
At the time of writing this review, the Niceday Recumbent Bike is selling for about $450 on Amazon.
This price may change, so I apologize if this isn’t accurate by the time you read this.
At just under $500, this bike is priced as a budget option, but it’s still more expensive than the really affordable bikes that are in the $300 range and less.
Personally, I think this recumbent is a bit over-priced for what you’re getting.
I say that because for just a 100 bucks or so more, you can get a significant upgrade by going with something like Schwinn’s 230, which comes with a much nicer console and a much better warranty (10 year frame, 2 year parts, 90 day labor).
And for about 100 bucks less, you can get something like SHF’s SF-RB4850 (classic version), which comes with 24 workout programs and a better warranty (3 year frame, 6 month parts).
Now to be fair, the SHF bike only comes with a 300 lb weight limit, but this wouldn’t be an issue for smaller users.
Either way, I think the Niceday Recumbent is kinda stuck in an awkward price point.
Final Thoughts
Alright, I’m about done here.
The Niceday Recumbent Bike is very average every way you look at it – from the performance specs to the features, there’s isn’t much that really stands out about this bike.
Well, I take that back – the 400 lb weight limit is pretty good compared to what a lot of other similarly priced recumbents are offering, so I could see a larger rider maybe opting for this bike for this reason.
But otherwise, I think it makes sense to spend a little more and get a nicer bike or a little less and still get a nicer bike.
And I’m sorry, but that whole warranty thing is shady… not to mention the fact that it sounds like at some point they were paying folks for 5-star reviews.
So yea, there isn’t anything particularly wrong with this recumbent bike, but I think there are definitely better options at this price point.
