I’m going to skip all the intros and small talk and get right to the point on this one – I think Spirit’s XBR95 is one of the best moderately priced home recumbent bikes on the market.

There, I did it.

Wow, that felt pretty good.

I know the above statement is pretty bold, but with a 30 lb flywheel, 40 levels of resistance, a self-generating power system, and one of the longest warranties on the market, I’m comfortable standing by what I said.

But we should probably slow down a bit here.

If you’re thinking about investing in the XBR95, I’m here to help.

In this review, I’ll go over all the specs and features this recumbent bike has to offer – I’ll also discuss the areas where I think it has room for improvement.

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

Let’s begin.

The Spirit XBR95 Recumbent Bike

I wouldn’t be that surprised if you aren’t very familiar with the Spirit brand.

I mean, I they certainly don’t have the type of brand recognition as a Bowflex or NordicTrack and I really don’t ever see any real marketing campaigns from them.

But they’re easily one of the best home fitness brands around.

Spirit’s owned by the same parent company that owns Sole and XTERRA (as well as a few others), which also happen to be some of the best brands in their respective price ranges.

Spirit’s a lot like Sole, one of my other favorite brands.

Like Sole, Spirit products tend to be heavy duty and pretty easy to use, as well as backed by great warranties.

The XBR95 we’re here to go over now is one of the brand’s highest-end recumbents to date – they actually warrant it for light-commercial use too, but more on that later.

Let’s start with a rundown on how this bike performs.

Pros

• 30 lb flywheel
• 40 resistance levels
• Heavy-duty frame
• 350 lb weight limit
• Belt drive
• Self-generating power source
• Adjustable back rest
• Chest strap heart rate monitor included
• Handlebar resistance controls
• 12 workout programs
• Amazing warranty

Cons

• No bluetooth speakers

Resistance

When it comes to how a recumbent bike performs, they’re really no different than any of the other exercise bikes – it really just boils down to the type of resistance they use and the weight of the flywheel.

All recumbent bikes, especially in this price range, are going to use magnetic resistance systems, so you shouldn’t have to worry about friction brakes or anything like that here.

And even though you might not hear much talk about flywheel weights when discussing recumbent bikes, they’re still important to consider.

Like indoor cycles or upright bikes, recumbent bikes can also benefit from having a heavier flywheel.

And for the same reasons too – heavier flywheels usually provide a smoother feel (as well as the potential to provide more overall resistance).

Flywheel weights with recumbent bikes will vary, but you won’t see massive, 40 – 50 lb flywheels on recumbent bikes like you will with indoor cycles.

With all that in mind, the XBR95 comes with a 30 lb flywheel, which is as heavy a flywheel as I’ve ever seen on a recumbent bike.

There are other recumbents out there that match it (like Sole’s LCR), but I’m not aware of any bikes packing more muscle under the hood.

Spirit pairs that heavy flywheel with 40 levels of magnetic resistance, giving you a lot of control over the intensity of your workouts.

You have to keep in mind that having more resistance levels doesn’t necessarily mean more available resistance, but it certainly means you can make smaller changes to that resistance between each level.

Which I think is a good thing in itself because it allows you to really fine tune your workouts.

And like most quality home bikes these days, the XBR95 uses a belt drive, which makes for a quiet workout.

But unlike most other exercise bikes, especially in this price range, the XBR95 uses a self-generating power source, meaning you don’t have to plug it in to power the console.

You create all the power the bike needs as you pedal.

This is awesome because you can put this recumbent anywhere without having to worry about it being near an outlet, but it also makes the XBR95 very eco-friendly.

Overall, when it comes to performance, there’s really nothing to complain about here – this recumbent comes with a heavy flywheel, tons of resistance levels, and a quiet belt drive.

Frame

This bike comes with a pretty heavy-duty frame too.

And yes, I know every fitness blogger on the planet basically says every bike is “heavy-duty”, so much to the point where the term has pretty much lost all meaning…

But when I say it, I try to be as literal as possible.

When comparing bikes of any style, I always like to look at the assembled weight spec because I think it gives you a good idea as to how stable (aka “heavy duty”) the bike is gonna feel.

And seeing higher numbers is always a good thing if you ask me, because heavier bikes are going to be less likely to wobble or move during workouts.

Anyway, the XBR95 comes with an assembled weight of roughly 147 lb, which is impressive for a home model.

For the sake of comparison, one of the most popular home recumbents, the Schwinn 270, comes in with an assembled weight of about 87 lb.

Now to be fair, the 270 costs a lot less, but I’m just trying to show how much heavier the XBR95 is than most bikes.

Sole’s LCR is also really heavy, weighing in at around 145 lb, making it very comparable to the XBR95 (these 2 bikes are comparable in pretty much every category actually).

But with such a heavy assembled weight, you won’t have to worry about the XBR95 feeling wobbly or insecure.

This bike comes with a max weight limit of 350 lb too, which is also pretty impressive.

In terms of dimensions, this recumbent is pretty standard, taking up a footprint of just under 5′ x 2.5′.

Overall, I like how heavy this recumbent bike is because it’s going to make for a more secure, commercial-like feel. And with such a high weight limit, folks of all sizes will be able to use it safely.

Warranty

Spirit backs their XBR95 Recumbent Bike with the following home warranty:

• Lifetime frame
• Lifetime brake
• 10 year parts
• 1 year labor

Ok, so a lifetime frame/brake warranty is awesome, especially since so many other brands top out at 10 years, but it’s the 10 year parts warranty that impresses me the most.

10 years is a really long time for an exercise bike in any price range, but it’s especially long for one that can be found for under $2k.

For the sake of comparison, most home brands stop at 2-3 years.

Sole also offers some of the best warranties around they only offer 5 year parts warranties.

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

But overall, easily one of the best residential warranties around.

Oh, Spirit also offers a Light Commercial warranty on the XBR95:

• Lifetime frame
• 5 year brake
• 3 year parts
• 1 year labor

A “light” commercial warranty usually means non-due paying facilities, like apartment fitness rooms and stuff like that and usually refers to 8 hrs of use a day or less.

Again, it’s impressive when a bike in this price range comes with any commercial guarantees.

Features

The Spirit XBR95 Recumbent Bike comes with the following included features:

7.5″ console- the console on this bike isn’t particularly hi-tech or anything, but it’s large enough to see easily during workouts and it’s blue backlit for good visibility in all settings. You’re able to see all your workout stats at the same time too, which is nice.

12 workout programs- this recumbent comes with all the basic workout profiles you’d expect, including hill, fat burn, cardio, and strength. There’s also 2 customer user workouts and 2 heart rate guided workouts and a manual mode of course. All together, you get 12 workouts to choose from, which isn’t a ton, but it’s enough to get the job done.

Adjustable seat- you can adjust the height position of this seat easily, but what’s more notable is that you can adjust the angle of the backrest too, a feature most bikes don’t offer.

Heart rate monitoring- like all exercise bikes, the XBR95 comes with built-in grip monitors in the handlebars, but it also comes with an included chest strap monitor for more accurate readings.

Handlebar controls- you can conveniently control the resistance from the handlebars.

Cooling fan- there’s a built-in fan to help keep ya comfortable during those strenuous workouts.

Audio jack- you can plug your mp3 player (do people still use them?) into the console and listen to music through the bike’s built-in speakers.

Water bottle holders- finally, there’s a place on each side of the seat to store a water bottle for easy hydration during workouts.

Price

At the time of writing this, the XBR95 is going for around $2199 when purchased directly through Spirit Fitness.

I don’t think this is a bad price, given what this bike has to offer, but at the time of writing this, Amazon and Fitness Factory both have this bike on sale for $1899.

Which is obviously a much better price.

Now prices can change over time, so I apologize if these numbers aren’t accurate by the time you read this, but the price for this bike has been pretty stable, so I doubt it’ll change too much.

At this price range, Sole’s LCR is one of the XBR95’s biggest competitors and it’s very similar in pretty much every area.

The LCR also comes with a 30 lb flywheel and 40 resistance levels and its assembled weight is almost identical.

The LCR’s warranty isn’t quite as generous, as the parts warranty is only 5 years, and the backrest isn’t adjustable, but the LCR does come with bluetooth capabilities.

There’s also NordicTrack’s Commercial R35, which is a few hundred bucks cheaper, but it comes with a 14″ HD console with access to iFit workouts.

It also comes with a 25 lb flywheel, but the warranty isn’t nearly as generous.

Overall, I think the XBR95 is priced fairly and easily one of the best recumbent bikes in the $2k range.

Final Thoughts

Well, that about does it.

I think the XBR95 has a lot to offer, especially when it comes to the performance side of things.

I like that it comes with such a heavy flywheel and that it comes with so many resistance levels to work with. I also appreciate the heavy-duty frame and generous warranty.

The adjustable back rest is also a pretty big deal, especially for folks dealing with achy backs.

The only real downside I see is that the console is lacking bluetooth speakers, which I think should pretty much be a given these days.

But that’s a small offense at best.

All things considered, like I blurted out at the beginning, I think Spirit’s XBR95 is one of the best home recumbent bikes around. Highly recommended.