Spirit’s CIC850 is a great example of what a high-end indoor cycle should be: heavy-duty, backed by a great warranty, and reasonably priced.

With a 37 lb, rear-mounted flywheel, a micro-adjustable magnetic resistance system, and a maintenance free poly-v belt drive, the CIC850 is well-equipped to handle riders of all skill levels.

And with dual-sided pedals, a fully adjustable seat/handlebars, and an impressive 350 lb weight limit, it can handle riders of all sizes as well.

The CIC850 is even backed with a commercial warranty, but luckily it’s still priced as a residential cycle.

All things considered, I think the Spirit CIC850 is a versatile back with a lot to offer, but it’s not perfect – the simple console could use some updating and I don’t think the micro-adjustable resistance is going to be for everyone.

If you’re looking for an elite home cycle, I think the CIC850 could make a great choice, but before you buy, you need to know what you’re getting into.

And that’s where I can help.

In this review, I’ll go over everything this indoor cycle has to offer, but I’ll do ya one better and I’ll also compare it to some of the other top cycles in its price range.

After reading, you’ll know whether or not the CIC850 is the right bike for you.

Let’s roll.

The Spirit CIC850 Indoor Cycle

I’m not sure if Spirit is a really well-know fitness brand or not. I’ve been aware of ’em for awhile now, but I’m researching fitness equipment on the reg – that’s kinda my thing.

My guess is that they’re moderately recognized, but I doubt they enjoy the same level of brand recognition as some of the real heavy-hitters like NordicTrack or Schwinn.

This is understandable because these other brands spend a lot more on marketing, but it’s still a shame because Spirit is a great brand.

They’re actually owned by the same parent company that owns Sole Fitness and XTERRA (both of which are great brands in their own right) and they all have a few things in common.

Most notably that their equipment is heavier-duty and backed by longer warranties than most competitors in their respective price ranges.

Spirit and Sole are very similar, all though Spirit offers more products and they also offer more commercial grade equipment.

Spirit’s warranties tend to be a little longer than Sole’s too, but they both offer really heavy-duty equipment.

Anyway, the CIC850 we’re here to go over now is one of Spirit’s highest-end cycles to date and you’ll find it in Spirit’s “commercial” lineup.

We’ll go over warranties more in a bit, but this cycle is warranted for both residential and commercial use, which is always a good sign by the way.

Let’s start things off though with a rundown on the performance side of things.

Pros

• 37 lb, rear-mounted flywheel
• Smooth magnetic resistance system
• Belt drive
• Heavy-duty frame
• 350 lb weight limit
• Bluetooth compatible
• Dual-sided pedals
• Fully adjustable seat
• Fully adjustable handlebars
• Large tablet holder
• Heart rate monitor compatible
• Dumbbell holders
• Dual water bottle holders
• Great warranty
• Reasonably priced

Cons

• Micro-adjustable resistance not for everyone
• Dated console

Resistance

The resistance system is a good place to start when checking out any new bike and what I really like to look at is the weight of the flywheel and the type of resistance the bike uses.

The flywheel weight is important because it plays a big role in how smooth the bike will feel during use.

Most home exercise bikes benefit from having heavier flywheels because the extra weight creates smoother operation (I say “most” because some cycles, like Keiser’s M3i, are designed specifically for light flywheels and they can work as smoothly as any cycle on the market).

Anyway, “heavy” is a relative term, but I consider any flywheel around 30 lb or so to be heavy – when you see a flywheel 30 lb or heavier, you can rest pretty assured that the pedaling motion should be smooth.

This rule isn’t written in stone anywhere either, but bikes with heavier flywheels are usually able to provide more overall resistance too.

Which comes in handy for more experienced riders.

With all of this in mind, the CIC850 is equipped with a 37 lb flywheel, which is well-over the 30 lb baseline just mentioned.

For the sake of comparison, most of indoor cycles in this price range come with flywheels in the 30 – 40 lb range.

Examples include NordicTrack’s Commercial S22i (32 lb flywheel), the Peloton (35 lb flywheel), and ICG’s IC2 (30 lb flywheel).

So, in terms of flywheel weight, this cycle scores highly, but you’ll also notice that the flywheel is mounted in the rear of the cycle.

FYI, the same Keiser I mentioned above was the first brand to put the flywheel in the rear of the cycle, but a lot of other brands have copied them since.

Putting the flywheel in the rear doesn’t really do anything for performance, but it does protect it more from sweat damage – plus it looks pretty cool.

More importantly, the CIC850 comes with a magnetic resistance system, as opposed to a friction brake system.

I prefer magnetic systems because I find them a little smoother and I like that you don’t have to mess with replacing the brake pad as it wears down.

The CIC850 comes with a micro-adjustable magnetic system, which basically means it doesn’t have any set resistance levels.

Instead, the magnets gradually move as you turn the resistance dial, increasing or decreasing the resistance in small increments based on how much you turn the dial.

Some folks will love having a micro-adjustable system because you can really fine tune the resistance to meet your needs; others will likely miss having the resistance levels as cues.

Because without resistance “levels”, you have to depend entirely on feel to gauge your intensity during workouts – something that could be challenging for less experienced riders.

With a little practice, you’ll learn how many turns it takes to get you at different intensities, but something to consider.

This cycle also comes with a nice belt drive, as most nicer cycles are these days. A belt drive is preferred to a chain by most because it’s a little quieter and requires less maintenance.

With a belt drive and a magnetic resistance, the CIC850 will provide a very quiet cycling experience.

Overall, I think the CIC850 scores pretty highly in the resistance department.

With a 37 lb flywheel and a micro-adjustable resistance system, it can hang with any indoor cycle in its price range in this department.

Frame

Having a nice resistance system is important, but having a stable frame that isn’t going to wobble around on ya is important too.

And unfortunately, no brand is willing to admit that their bike is lightweight and flimsy, so it can be hard to figure out which bikes are stable and which aren’t.

But there are a few things we can look for to get a better idea.

Like the assembled weights and weight capacities.

I like to see a bike with high numbers in both categories because it indicates a more stable, durable bike.

A heavier bike is going to be less likely to wobble around on ya and seeing a higher weight limit is indicative of better overall build quality.

When looking at assembled weights, I want to see an indoor cycle weighing north of 100 lb; and when it comes to weight limits, I like to see at least a 300 lb limit (although my Peloton tops out at 297 lb, and it’s rock solid).

Anyway, the CIC850 comes in with an assembled weight of 127 lb, which is pretty heavy for an indoor cycle.

For the sake of comparison, the original Peloton weighs in at around 135 lb (but it has that large console adding to its weight) and the S22i weighs in at around 190 lb (the console and incline/decline machinery add to its weight).

The Keiser M3i weighs in at around 92 lb, but keep in mind its flywheel is only 8 lb.

And the IC2 mentioned earlier weighs in at around 106 lb.

So, again, I think it’s fair to call the CIC850 “heavy-duty” based on its weight alone, but it also comes with an impressive weight limit.

With a weight capacity of 350 lb, it can riders of all sizes safely.

Overall, I like how heavy this bike is, it should definitely provide a stable ride for small and larger riders alike.

Warranty

Spirit backs their CIC850 Indoor Cycle with the following residential warranty:

• Lifetime frame
• 3 year parts
• 1 year console/wear items
• 1 year labor

Overall, I think this is a great warranty, mostly because few brands out there still offer a lifetime frame guarantee.

Sole’s SB900 also comes with a lifetime frame warranty, but there aren’t many out there.

Most indoor cycles these days, even nice ones, only come with 5 years on the frame – examples include Peloton, ICG, Diamondback, Octane, etc.

NordicTrack and Schwinn do a nice job with their bike warranties, they offer 10 years on frames, which is good by comparison.

Three years on parts is also quite good, considering most brands offer 1-3 years on parts for their cycles.

A year on warranty is pretty standard stuff, so nothing too special going on there.

Spirit’s residential warranty is generous, but they also offer light-commercial and commercial guarantees for this bike too – the only difference is in the frame guarantee (15 years light-commercial, 10 years commercial).

Overall, I think Spirit does a great job when it comes to this warranty and the fact that they back it with a commercial guarantee too speaks volumes to how well-built it is.

Features

The Spirit CIC850 comes with the following features:

LCD console- the console on this cycle is pretty simple and quite dated looking. It displays all your workout metrics and is easy enough to read, but there aren’t any built-in workouts or anything like that. It does display watt output though, which is nice. It’s battery operated, so you don’t have to worry about plugging it in either.

Bluetooth- oh, the console is also bluetooth compatible, allowing you to connect to fitness apps like Zwift, which gives you a lot of different workout options.

Tablet holder- and with a large, convenient to use tablet holder, you could easily follow other fitness apps (like Peloton, iFit, or any other one you choose) or watch Netflix as you ride.

Dual-sided pedals- the pedals on the CIC850 are SPD compatible on one side and have a toe cage on the other. This means you can wear cleats or sneakers, as you prefer.

Fully adjustable seat- you can adjust the height and fore/aft position of the seat, making it easy to find a comfortable riding position.

Fully adjustable handlebars- you can adjust the height and fore/aft position of the handlebars too, for even more customization.

Heart rate monitoring- I forgot to mention this earlier, but the console is compatible with strap heart rate monitors too (one not included with purchase).

Dumbbell holders- there’s a rack in the rear of the bike where you can place two small dumbbells for easy access while riding.

Dual water bottle holders- there’s also room to hold two water bottles, so you won’t have to worry about running dry on those longer rides.

Price

Alright, before I finish things off here, I want to talk a little more about price.

At the time of writing this, Spirit doesn’t list a sales price for their CIC850, but you can find it on Fitness Factory for $1,799 and they usually have as low a price as anyone.

At roughly $1800, this cycle is priced competitively for a high-end indoor cycle, especially considering plenty of high-end cycles cost $2-4k.

But at this price, the CIC850 has a lot of competition.

I’ve mentioned the Peloton and NordicTrack’s Commercial S22i already because they are both right around the same price, but they’re both streaming cycles and the CIC850 isn’t.

So, if you want a huge HD console, the CIC850 obviously isn’t the right option, so I don’t want to spend any more time comparing this cycle to those streaming bikes.

Instead, I want to look at other non-streaming cycles in this price range.

The first obvious competitor is Keiser’s M3i, which at the time of writing this costs around $2,400.

This is quite a bit more, but the M3i utilizes a fast-spinning, lightweight flywheel and is generally considered one of the top indoor cycles in the world.

Although when you look at the specs, the CIC850 is pretty comparable (except for the flywheel weight)- both have micro-adjustable magnetic resistances, fairly simple consoles, dual-compatible pedals, adjustable seats/handlebars.

There’s also ICG’s IC2, which is priced very similarly at $1859 (with console).

The IC2 comes from a great brand and has a heavy flywheel, but it uses a friction brake resistance, isn’t as heavy-duty, and its warranty is shorter.

All things considered, I think the CIC850 holds its own quite well with any other high-end cycle in this price range.

Final Thoughts

Ok, I think that’ll do it for the CIC850.

I really don’t have much to complain about here, I think this cycle has a lot going for it.

The fact that it’s a Spirit product is an immediate plus for me because I like the brand, but this bike’s specs are legit.

I like the heavy, rear-mounted flywheel, the heavy-weight frame, and dual-compatible pedals.

And that warranty speaks for itself.

The only downsides I see is that I think some folks will be put off by the micro-adjustable resistance system and that console is really dated.

Otherwise, I think the CIC850 would make a great choice for experienced riders looking for a quality, non-streaming cycle that won’t break the bank.

And if you like this bike, but are working with a smaller budget, you might want to check out Diamondback’s 1260sc.