The XIC600 is Spirit’s entry-level indoor cycle, which really says more about Spirit as a brand than anything else.

And I mean that in a good way.

With a robust frame and a 48.5 lb flywheel, the XIC600 is one of the heaviest-duty cycles on the market, but it also comes with a fully adjustable seat/handlebars and a simple, yet effective wireless console.

The biggest downside I see is that this is a friction brake cycle, which means you’ll be responsible for swapping out that felt pad from time to time.

But if you’re ok with friction brakes and just looking for a straightforward cycle that can handle as intense a workout as you can throw at it, Spirit’s XIC600 could be worth investing in.

But before you decide, you should know exactly what you’re getting into – and that’s where I can help.

In this review, I’ll go over everything this cycle does and doesn’t have going for it.

I’ll also compare it to some of the other top names in its price range to see how it stacks up against the competition.

After reading, you’ll know whether or not the XIC600 is the right indoor cycle for your home.

Let’s begin.

The Spirit XIC600 Indoor Cycle

Spirit’s a great brand that offers both residential and light-commercial fitness equipment.

They’re also owned by the same parent company that owns one of my favorite brands, Sole Fitness.

Spirit is very similar to Sole and it’s always a good idea to compare their lineups, but generally speaking, Spirit tends to be just a little more expensive than Sole, although they do offer longer parts warranties on a lot of their equipment.

Spirit actually offers some of the longest home warranties around, but more on that in a bit.

Spirit primarily offers cardio machines and they’ve got a pretty extensive lineup to choose from.

As I mentioned, the XIC600 is their most affordable indoor cycle to date, but they’ve got a few other cycles to choose from, like their CIC800 and CIC850, as well as their highest-end Johnny G Bike.

Pros

• 48.5 lb flywheel
• Belt drive
• Heavy-duty frame
• 350 lb weight limit
• Fully adjustable seat
• Fully adjustable handlebars
• Compatible with strap heart rate monitors
• Dual water bottle holders
• Great warranty

Cons

• Friction brake resistance
• Simple console

Resistance

Indoor cycles are designed first and foremost, to recreate the feel of riding a road bike indoors, where you don’t have to worry about weather or road conditions.

That’s great for serious cyclists, but the rest of us probably opt for an indoor cycle because they’re compact, fairly affordable, and can provide great workouts.

Well, the ones with sophisticated resistance systems can provide great workouts anyway.

When considering an indoor cycle, I think it’s a good idea to check out both the flywheel weight and the type of resistance it uses.

There are some cycles out there that are designed to use a light flywheel and they work great, but most home cycles are designed so that having a heavy flywheel is beneficial.

Basically, the extra weight builds more momentum as it spins, which helps keep the pedals moving a little between pedal strokes, eliminating any lag between your up- and downstroke.

Resulting in a smoother overall feel.

Even cycles designed for heavy flywheels will still vary greatly in how heavy their flywheels are.

Personally, I think any flywheel weighing 30 lb or more is heavy enough to ensure a smooth pedaling motion, but these days flywheels are coming a lot heavier than that.

Anyway, the XIC600 comes with a 48.5 lb flywheel, which is easily heavy enough to be considered “heavy” by even the most discerning riders.

With a flywheel this heavy, you shouldn’t have to worry about a choppy pedal motion.

You also shouldn’t have to worry about this bike being able to challenge skilled riders because, generally speaking, bikes with heavier flywheels can usually provide a little more overall resistance.

Speaking of resistance, the XIC600 pairs that heavy flywheel with a friction brake system.

As that term implies, it creates resistance by putting a felt brake pad in physical contact with the spinning flywheel.

And you adjust your resistance by changing how much contact that pad makes with the flywheel.

I have to be honest, I’m not a big fan of friction brakes.

I realize friction brakes have been around forever, even on high-end cycles, and that they can work great, but we have magnetic systems available now and they just provide a smoother feel to me.

Plus, with friction brakes, you’ll eventually have to replace the felt pad because it’ll break down over time.

This isn’t much maintenance, but it’s still more than what’s required with a magnetic system.

One advantage with a friction brake though, is that you can make really small (micro) adjustments to your resistance, fine tuning the intensity during your workouts.

Of course, on the other hand, without set resistance levels, you have to rely completely on the feel of the resistance to replicate workout conditions.

Which could be a disadvantage for less experienced riders.

Overall, I like that the XIC600 comes with such a heavy flywheel, but I’m more of a magnetic resistance guy, so I see the friction brake system as a disadvantage.

Frame

Moving on, let’s take a look at the rest of the bike.

When comparing bikes, I like to try and get an objective measure of how heavy-duty or stable they’ll feel during use.

Well, the best way I can think to do this is to compare their assembled weights and weight capacities.

Hear me out on this.

To me, it makes sense that a heavier bike would feel more stable because the extra weight is going to make it harder to move.

This can be annoying when it comes time to transport your bike somewhere, but this is a good thing when it comes to your workouts.

A heavier bike is going to wiggle and wobble less during use.

And weight capacities are just another measure of how well-built or stable a bike is and seeing higher limits, to me, indicates a stronger frame.

Well, with this in mind, the XIC600 comes with an assembled weight of 141 lb, which is very heavy for a home cycle.

For the sake of comparison, Schwinn’s popular IC4 weighs 106 lb and Peloton weighs in at around 135 lb (and that’s counting the weight of the huge touchscreen).

Sole’s SB700 also weighs in at 141 lb – and these 2 bikes have a lot more in common, but more on that in a bit.

My point is, the XIC600 is really heavy-duty.

This is also evident when we consider that this bike has a 350 lb weight limit, which is great because it allows folks of all sizes to safely ride this cycle.

And like pretty much all indoor cycles, the XIC600 is very compact, taking up a footprint of only 42″ x 21″.

Overall, the XIC600 is about as heavy-duty as any indoor cycle in this price range and it comes with an impressive weight limit to match.

Warranty

Spirit Fitness offers the following home warranty on their XIC600 Indoor Cycle:

• Lifetime frame
• 3 year parts
• 1 year labor

Ok, pretty awesome warranty here, especially for an indoor cycle.

There aren’t that many brands that’ll offer a lifetime frame warranty, especially in this price range, so that’s always good to see.

Three years on parts is also at the top of the expected range, considering most brands offer 1-3 years on parts.

And of course a year on labor is pretty standard operating procedure across all brands and price ranges.

Again, great warranty here, but I have to say, I’m a little disappointed… I mean, this is the same Spirit Fitness that offers 10 year parts warranties on some of their other equipment…

Anyway, this is a good warranty compared to what other brands are offering.

Sole’s SB700 comes with the same residential warranty, but they also offer a light-commercial warranty on their cycle.

Schwinn matches their 3 year parts warranty, but only offers 10 years on their frames, as does NordicTrack.

Features

The Spirit XIC600 Indoor Cycle comes with the following features:

LCD console- the console on this cycle is small and quite simple, but if you’re only looking to track some metrics during workouts, you may not mind. There aren’t any built-in workout programs and the screen isn’t backlit either, so you’ll want to ride in well-lit rooms for optimal visibility. But the console does display cadence, something not all basic consoles do (this is accomplished with a battery powered speed censor).

Heart rate monitoring- the console is compatible with strap heart rate monitors, although one isn’t included. There aren’t any grip heart rate monitors, so if you want to measure your heart rate during workouts, you’ll have to get yourself a strap.

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

Fully adjustable handlebars- you can also adjust the height and fore/aft position of the handlebars

Toe cage pedals- this bike comes with standard, toe cage pedals (aka “toe clips”), meaning they’re designed to be used with sneakers. This is nice for the folks who don’t want to mess with riding cleats, but if you already have some or are interested in getting some, you could easily swap these pedals out.

Dual water bottle holders- finally, there’s room to store 2 water bottles for easy hydration during workouts.

Price

At the time of writing this, the XIC600 is on sale for $1299 through Spirit directly, but Fitness Factory has it for $999.

And I apologize if these prices aren’t accurate by the time you read this, but keep in mind these prices can change.

But let’s look at a few comps in this price range.

The most obvious is one I’ve already mentioned a few times, Sole’s SB700.

The SB700 is pretty identical to the XIC600 in many ways – it too comes with a 48 lb flywheel, a friction brake resistance system, and has the same assembled weight.

The SB700 has a slightly lower weight limit at 300 lb, but it has the same great home warranty (as well as a light commercial warranty).

And the SB700 is a bit cheaper at $799.

There’s also Sole’s SB900, which is priced at $999 and comes with the same 48 lb flywheel, but it has a magnetic resistance system, dual-compatible pedals, a tablet holder, and an even heavier-duty frame.

I’d also like to mention Bowflex’s C7, which Amazon has priced at $699 at the time of writing this.

The C7 comes with a 40 lb flywheel, 100 levels of magnetic resistance, a 7″ touchscreen display, an included pair of dumbbells, and dual-sided pedals.

The warranty isn’t nearly as long, only a 3 year frame warranty, but for that price it’s still a hell of a deal.

Regardless, my point is that there’s a ton of competition in this price range.

With so many impressive, similarly-priced bikes, does it make sense to go with Spirit’s XIC600?

Final Thoughts

Honestly, probably not.

I love Spirit as a brand, and this is a fine indoor cycle, but I just don’t see it making a lot of sense at its current price.

Yes, the XIC600 is heavy-duty, it’s packing a massive flywheel, and it’s backed by a great warranty, but at this price range there are plenty of awesome magnetic resistance bikes to choose from with similar specs.

And, even if you’re specifically looking for a friction brake bike, I see no reason to opt for the XIC600 over the Sole SB700.

The SB700 is damn near identical to the XIC600 and it’s about $200 cheaper.

So, as much as I hate to say it, I think there are better buys in this price range (but I still love you Spirit!).