The Premium Smart Magnetic Recumbent Bike is Sunny Health & Fitness’ highest-end recumbent bike to date and even though the name’s a real mouthful, the bike itself has got some solid features.
Highlights include 24 built-in workout programs, 16 magnetic resistance levels, and bluetooth compatibility with Sunny’s own free SunnyFit app.
It’s also renowned by users for how comfortable it is, which is crucial for a recumbent bike.
But this bike’s got its fair share of issues too – like only a 6.6 lb flywheel and a really short warranty.
Long-story-short, I like Sunny as a budget brand, but I think there are better recumbent bikes in this price range.
If you’re interested in the longer story, keep reading.
In this review, I’ll go over everything the Premium Smart Magnetic Recumbent Bike has to offer and I’ll also compare it to some of the other top contenders in its price range to see how it stacks up.
After reading, you’ll know whether or not this bike is a good fit for your home.
The Sunny Health & Fitness Premium Smart Magnetic Recumbent Bike (SF-RB4850SMART)
Sunny Health & Fitness (SHF) is a solid budget brand who specializes in really affordable fitness equipment that works better than most in their respective price ranges.
But their model names suck.
For real, most of their cardio machines have names like the one above, making it pretty impossible to keep ’em all straight.
Plus, they have a HUGE lineup, which makes it even harder to keep to tell ’em apart – you really have to look at the model numbers themselves to see which bike you’re talking about.
But in all seriousness, they’re a pretty good brand.
That said, I’m gonna have to come up with something to call this recumbent we’re here to discuss now because my fingers aren’t gonna be able to handle typing that full name out each time.
So, for my sake, from now on I’ll be referring to this recumbent simply as the “RB4850”.
Let’s start things off with a rundown on the performance specs, then we’ll transition to the features and other stuff this recumbent has to offer.
Pros
- 24 built-in workout programs
- 16 magnetic resistance levels
- Stable frame
- 300 lb weight limit
- Bluetooth compatible with Sunny’s fitness app
- Tablet holder
- Water bottle holder
Cons
- Light weight flywheel
- Short warranty
- A lot of competition in this price range
Resistance
When it comes to performance and exercise bikes, we’re really talking about flywheel weights and the type of resistance mechanism it uses.
It’s worth considering whether a bike uses a belt or chain drive too, but these days, most have switched over to belts, so this isn’t usually an issue.
And pretty much all recumbent bikes use magnetic resistance systems, so that’s usually not an issue you need to worry about either.
Which leaves flywheel weights.
All exercise bikes use a flywheel of one size or another and when it comes to affordable exercise bikes, having a heavier flywheel is almost always a good thing.
Mostly because the extra weight creates more momentum as it spins, which helps keep that flywheel spinning between pedal strokes.
The result is a smoother feel and better overall workout experience.
Indoor cycles are known for having really heavy flywheels, but recumbent bikes aren’t so much.
Even so, flywheel weights will vary greatly on recumbents too, with the top models packing 20 – 30 lb under the hood and more budget-friendly bikes usually coming with flywheels in the 10 – 15 lb range.
With this in mind, the RB4850 only comes with a 6.6 lb flywheel.
This is very light, even for an affordable recumbent.
For the sake of comparison, Schwinn’s similarly priced 230 comes with a 13 lb flywheel, as does Nautilus’ R616.
Both of these cycles have flywheels that are double the weight of the RB4850’s, which doesn’t look great for the RB4850.
When it comes to resistance, this recumbent has 16 levels, which is pretty good, giving folks plenty of control over the intensity.
The 230 also comes with 16 levels, while the R616 comes with 25.
Having more resistance levels doesn’t necessarily give you more resistance (although a heavier flywheel tends to), but it does allow you to make smaller changes between levels.
Which I think is an advantage in itself.
Most users agree the RB4850 offers a quiet and smooth ride, but with such a light flywheel, folks looking for a more substantial workout might want to consider a different model.
Overall, when it comes to the resistance system, there isn’t anything here to write home about.
Frame
But exercise bikes are more than just flywheels and magnets, so let’s take a look at the rest of what’s going on here.
Most recumbent bikes take up a footprint of roughly 60″ x 28″, give or take a handful of inches, and this one’s no different.
All come with built-in transport wheels too, so moving these bikes around shouldn’t be an issue either.
Instead, I like to compare assembled weights and weight capacities because I feel these specs give us a good idea as to how stable we can expect the bike to be during workouts.
And by stable, I’m really talking about a bike that won’t wiggle around too much during use.
And heavier bikes, with higher assembled weights, should be less likely to move during workouts – you know, heavier things are harder to move and whatnot.
Personally, as a 200 lb man, I like to see an assembled weight of at least 100 lb to be confident that the bike will feel secure while I’m on it, but that isn’t always doable in this price range.
With that said, the RB4850 comes with an assembled weight of 86 lb.
To be fair, affordable recumbents tend to be lighter-weight because, well, they’re affordable.
Anyway, with an assembled weight of 86 lb, this recumbent is pretty average compared to the top comps.
Nautilus’ R616 weighs in at around 92 lb, Schwinn’s 230 weighs in at only 80 lb, and XTERRA’s SB250 weighs around 88 lb – so, the RB4850 assembled weight is in the expected range based on these other models.
It also comes with a respectable 300 lb weight limit, allowing most folks to safely ride (the above recumbents all come with the same 300 lb weight limit too).
The seat is also cushioned and comes with a vented backrest, which most users agree is quite comfortable.
All things considered, the RB4850 actually scores pretty well in the frame department.
Warranty
Sunny Health & Fitness backs their RB4850 with the following home warranty:
- 3 year frame
- 180 day parts
This is the same warranty Sunny offers on most their equipment and it works better on some machines than others (meaning it works ok on the really affordable stuff).
But in this case, I think it’s a bit short for a recumbent in this price range.
For the sake of comparison, all the top brands in this price range (Schwinn, Nautilus, XTERRA) offer 5-10 years on their frames.
And when it comes to the parts guarantee, 6 months is quite a bit shorter than the 1 year many brands offer (and way short of the 3 years Nautilus offers).
Plus, there’s no labor warranty to speak of.
Overall, I think Sunny could do a lot better when it comes to their warranties.
Features
The SHF Premium Smart Magnetic Recumbent Bike comes with the following included features:
LCD console- the console is pretty simple, nothing too fancy going on here, but it’s large enough to see all your stats clearly during workouts.
24 built-in workouts- what is impressive though, is that this recumbent bike comes with a lot of built-in workout profiles to choose from. So, if you enjoy doing pre-loaded workouts, here ya go.
Bluetooth- this bike is bluetooth compatible with Sunny’s SunnyFit App, a free streaming fitness app where you can access workouts and track metrics. It’s refreshing to see a free app these days.
Height adjustable seat- the seat is height adjustable along the horizontal track and should be able to comfortably fit most folks with an inseam between 23.6″ and 33.1″.
Device holder- there’s a little device holder built-in above the console, so you can access streaming apps without having to block your view of the console.
Water bottle holder- there’s even a place to put your water bottle during workouts.
Price
I’ve mentioned price ranges and thrown out a few comps already, but I want to get a little more specific now.
As I’m writing this, the RB4850 is selling for a full price of $599, although you might be able to find it a little cheaper on Amazon.
This is still pretty affordable as home recumbent bikes go, but there also happens to be a lot of competition at this price point.
So, let’s take a closer look at the competition.
Schwinn’s 230 is priced almost identically and it comes with a 13 lb flywheel, 16 resistance levels, 13 workout programs, a bluetooth compatible console, and a much longer warranty (10 year frame, 2 year parts, 90 day labor).
There’s also XTERRA’s SB250, which is priced around $550 at the time of writing this, and it comes with a 13.5 lb flywheel, 24 resistance levels, 12 workout programs, and a backlit console.
It isn’t bluetooth friendly, but it does come with a 5 year frame/1 year parts warranty.
And finally, there’s Nautilus’ R616, my favorite of the bunch.
The R616 is priced at $599 and comes with a 13 lb flywheel, 25 resistance levels, 29 workout programs, a bluetooth compatible console, a built-in fan, USB charging, and speakers in the console.
It’s also backed by a great warranty – 10 year frame, 3 year parts, 1 year labor.
Final Thoughts
You know, I don’t have have anything against the RB4850 – it’s a solid little recumbent bike with a decent console and some nice features.
And I like Sunny Health & Fitness as a brand.
It’s just that there’s so many other good recumbent bikes in this price range.
And honestly, I think all of the recumbents mentioned above are better buys than the RB4850.
If you’re specifically looking for an affordable recumbent with bluetooth compatibility, I think you’d be better off with a Schwinn or Nautilus model because they both offer heavier flywheels and much longer warranties.
And XTERRA’s SB250 isn’t bluetooth compatible, but it’s still packing plenty of nice performance features.
If you like Sunny and aren’t worried about bluetooth, you might want to consider the Classic Version of this recumbent – it costs $200 less and the only real difference is that it isn’t bluetooth compatible.
And I think this recumbent would make a lot more sense at $399.
