Air bikes are loved/hated by pretty much anyone who’s ever used one – loved for the fact that they can help you get serious results; hated because they can humble even the most gifted athletes out there.

With unlimited resistance and the ability to work your arms and legs at the same time, these devices can get your heart rate up and burn loads of calories in no time.

Plus, most are compact, easy to move, and fairly affordable compared to other types of fitness machines.

So, if you’re trying to take your home workouts to the next level, opting for an air bike is a great choice, but you have to know what to look for before you buy.

And that’s where I can help.

In this guide, I’ll go over everything you should be on the lookout for before deciding on an air bike – I’ll also present my top picks for the best air bikes this year has to offer.

After reading, you’ll be ready to find the best option for your home.

Well, let’s get to it already.

	Fan Size	Frame	Drive	Warranty
#1 AssaultBike Pro X	27"	125 lb assembled weight 330 lb weight limit	Belt	7 year frame 3 year parts
#2 Rogue Echo	27"	127 lb assembled weight 350 lb weight limit	Belt	2 year
#3 Schwinn Airdyne AD7	27"	113 lb assembled weight 350 lb weight limit	Belt	10 year frame 2 year parts 6 month labor
#4 Concept2 BikeErg	-	68 lb assembled weight 300 lb weight limit	Belt	5 year frame 2 year parts
#5 Titan Fan Bike	27"	111 lb assembled weight 330 lb weight limit	Chain	1 year
#6 SHF Tornado LX	27"	99 lb assembled weight 330 lb weight limit	Chain	3 year frame 180 day parts

The 6 Best Air Bikes of 2024

#1 AssaultBike Pro X

It’s not easy to pick a top bike here and honestly, a solid argument could be made that any of the top 3 bikes listed deserve the top spot.

But ultimately, I went with the Assault Bike Pro as my top pick because it has a great combination of heavy-dutiness, console features, and warranty.

And yes, this is the same Assault Fitness that offers the original AssaultBike Classic, which is still a great bike in its own right.

The Pro finds itself in a nice mid-ground place between the Classic and Assault’s more expensive Elite model.

This air bike is heavier-duty, coming with an assembled weight of 125 lb and a weight limit of 330 lb, allowing folks of most sizes the ability to safely use it.

The Pro X comes with a 27″ steel fan and a new belt drive, as well as a fully-adjustable seat making it easy for folks of all sizes to find a comfortable fit.

And like all Assault Bikes, it’s loaded with ball bearings for smooth motion at all pivots.

The Pro X also comes with a pretty sophisticated console as air bikes go – it’s bluetooth/ANT+ compatible, allowing you to connect to Assault’s app as well as heart rate monitors, and it comes with a few built-in workout programs too.

Assault’s warranty on this bike is pretty awesome too – 7 year frame, 3 year parts.

Overall, the AssaultBike Pro X is a heavy-duty air bike with top-notch specs and features at every point, but the fact that it’s backed by such a great warranty and is so fairly priced is what ultimately landed it my top spot. See full review.

 

#2 Rogue Echo

Rogue’s one of the top brands around when it comes to racks and rigs, but they also happen to provide one of the best air bikes around too.

I believe I even heard that the Echo recently usurped the AssaultBike Classic as the air bike of choice for The CrossFit Games, which says it all.

The Echo is one of the biggest, heaviest-duty air bikes on the market, so if you’re looking for a bike that can handle a lot of use and by multiple family members, this bike could make a lot of sense.

This bike comes with a 27″ fan with welded steel blades for added durability and robust, powder-coated steel tubing throughout the frame.

Speaking of the frame, this beasts weighs in at 127 lb and comes with a weight capacity of 350 lb, making it durable enough to handle users of all sizes.

The Echo is also one of the larger air bikes out there – with a footprint of roughly 59″ x 30″, it takes up more space than most, so if  every inch counts, this is something to consider.

The warranty on this bike is also surprisingly short (only 2 years), but I think the fact that CrossFit chose it for their annual games speaks to how durable this thing really is.

Other features include a fully adjustable seat, an LCD console with interval workouts, and the option to add a wind guard and/or turf tires.

Overall, the Echo is one of the heaviest-duty air bikes on the planet and easily deserves a spot on this list. See full review.

 

#3 Schwinn Airdyne AD7

We have Schwinn to thank/blame for creating the first torture devices that are air bikes and the brand is still cranking out some of the top models today.

Their Airdyne lineup has gone through a lot of changes since it was first debuted in the late ’70s and now Schwinn only offers a couple of models to choose from.

The AD7 is their highest-end Airdyne to date and it’s got the specs and features to hold its own against any bike on this list.

The AD7 comes with a 27″ fan that’s paired with a belt drive, resulting in a smooth pedaling motion that can provide as much resistance as you can handle.

It’s also got an impressive weight capacity (350 lb) and assembled weight (113 lb), indicating superior frame integrity.

But it’s also packing a few features you won’t find on the air bikes mentioned above.

Like multi-grip handles and a large console that can display different heart rate zones during workouts.

Additional features include a fully-adjustable seat, an included air diverter, and a built-in water bottle holder.

Oh, and Schwinn also backs their AD7 with a great warranty: 10 year frame, 2 year parts, 6 month labor.

The only bummer here is the price – at around $1100, the AD7 is one of the more expensive air bikes on the market.

But if you’re looking for an air bike with a ton of features, the AD7 could be worth the investment. See full review.

 

#4 Concept2 BikeErg

So far, all the bikes on this list have been traditional air bikes in the sense that you can use your arms and legs at the same time to power the fan.

Well, Concept2’s BikeErg puts a different spin on the whole air bike experience.

And yes, this is the same Concept2 who made a name for themselves with their world class rowers.

They actually use the same fan system on their BikeErg that made their RowErg so famous…

Anyway, the BikeErg doesn’t have handles for your arms, instead it only comes with pedals, like a traditional exercise bike, but it still has the other advantages of a fan system.

Meaning the harder you pedal, the more resistance you meet.

And the BikeErg comes with an adjustable damper, allowing you to increase or decrease the flow of air to the fan, essentially allowing you to change the “gear” of your exercise bike.

The BikeErg is a lot lighter than the bikes above, weighing in at just 68 lb, but it still comes with a 300 lb weight limit, allowing most folks the ability to safely use it.

Concept2 also put their famous PM5 console on the BikeErg, giving you access to several different workout modes as well as the ability to track all kinds of workout data.

Surprisingly, this bike doesn’t come with a fully adjustable seat, but most folks should still be able to find a comfortable riding position.

Concept2 also backs this bike with a decent warranty: 5 year frame, 2 year parts.

Overall, if you like the idea of a more traditional indoor cycle, but still want to take advantage of air resistance, Concept2’s BikeErg is a fabulous choice. See full review.

 

#5 Titan Fan Bike

If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly air bike, Titan’s Fan Bike should be at the top of your list.

Titan is a more affordable fitness brand, specializing primarily in racks and lifting equipment, but their Fan Bike is pretty impressive (especially considering it only costs around $600).

And it comes with a few features you don’t see on most, like included turf tires (which make it easier to take this thing outside), a water bottle holder, a phone holder, and a removable wind guard.

It also comes with an LCD console with built-in programs, although some users do find it a little hard to use (small buttons).

In terms of performance, the Fan Bike comes with a 27″ fan and a chain drive, so it’ll likely be a little louder than bikes with a belt drive.

But it’s surprisingly heavy-duty for a budget bike, coming with an assembled weight of 111 lb and a weight capacity of 330 lb.

The biggest bummer for this bike is the warranty – Titan only guarantees it for 1 year.

But if you’re looking for a solid air bike that’s very reasonably priced, Titan’s Fan Bike is worth checking out. See full review.

 

#6 Sunny Health & Fitness Tornado LX 

Finishing up my list is another affordable air bike by Sunny Health & Fitness (SHF), one of the top budget fitness brands around.

SHF offer a ton of cardio machines, most of which are quite affordable, giving folks a lot of options to choose from – but personally, I think it’s their exercise bikes that stand out most.

The Tornado LX (great name by the way) is their highest-end air bike and it comes with some legit specs.

Highlights include a 27″ fan, a fully adjustable seat, an LCD monitor, and even a built-in transportation handle to make moving it around a little more convenient.

The LX is another chain drive bike, so it’ll create a little more noise and require occasional lubrication, but not generally a big deal for most.

The LX also comes with a 330 lb weight limit and an assembled weight of 98.6 lb – not bad for a budget bike.

The biggest downside is probably the warranty – SHF only backs the Tornado LX with a 3 year and 180 day parts warranty.

But if you’re looking for a solid air bike that won’t break your budget, the Tornado LX is a good option to consider. See full review.

 

How To Choose An Air Bike

Air bikes are pretty unique because they’re the only kind of exercise bike that doesn’t utilize a weighted flywheel and external resistance mechanism (magnetic or friction brake) to create their resistance.

Instead, these bikes use fan blades cutting through the air to create their resistance, hence the name.

Their design is quite simple, but don’t let that fool ya – air bikes can provide the most challenging workouts out there.

The magic is in how simple they are to operate.

With air bikes, you don’t have to mess with resistance levels – instead, the resistance you feel is based solely on how fast/hard you pedal.

Pedal faster and the resistance increases; slower and it decreases.

Plus, most of these air bikes come with moving handles that allow you to use your arms too, which means you can get your whole body involved.

These bikes are pretty straightforward when compared to other exercise bike styles, but that doesn’t mean they’re all created equal.

No, there are still a few key specs you should consider when comparing, including:

Fan Size

Ok, so technically, any air bike is going operate by the same principle that the harder you pedal, the more resistance you’re going to feel.

This means that theoretically, the only thing limiting how much resistance an air bike can provide is you – again, there are no resistance levels, so you could say that all air bikes provide “unlimited” resistance.

But in reality, bikes with larger fans are going to be able to provide more overall resistance than ones with smaller fans.

And that’s because a larger fan makes contact with more air, which means more resistance for you.

And you’ll see fans of different sizes on air bikes, especially more affordable ones.

It’s not always easy to find the dimensions of the fans (especially on bikes with small ones), but you can get an idea based on images.

The biggest fans available to date are 27″ and you’ll see that most of the best air bikes come with a fan of this size (give or take an inch here or there).

If you’re interested in doing higher intensity workouts or are a stronger individual, it’s a good idea to go with an air bike with a larger fan.

Assembled Weight/Weight Capacity

I like to compare assembled weights because this spec gives us an idea as to how robust or “heavy-duty” we can expect the bike to feel.

The idea being that the heavier a bike is, the more stable it should feel (because heavier bikes are harder to move, so they should move less during use).

More affordable bikes tend to be lighter-duty and more likely to wiggle or move more during workouts.

Personally, I like to see an assembled weight of at least 100 lb for any exercise bike, but that rule isn’t written in stone and there are some great, stable bikes out there that weigh less.

That said, when in doubt, I say go with the heavier bike.

Weight capacities are worth comparing too and for the same reason.

Seeing higher weight limits can be another indicator of overall build quality and heavy-dutiness, but most importantly, you have to make sure your bike can safely handle ya.

Most quality bikes will come with at least a 300 lb limit, with some going upwards of 350 lb.

Warranty

This one’s a no-brainer, but it’s important so I figure it’s worth mentioning.

You should always compare warranties between air bikes and seeing a longer warranty is always a good thing.

Better bikes tend to come with longer warranties, although that isn’t always the case, there are some great bikes with shorter guarantees for some reason.

Most quality air bikes will come with at least a 5 year frame warranty and 1-3 years on parts.

A year on labor is pretty standard.

Belt vs Chain Drive

Ok, I put this one last because I don’t think it’s that big of a deal, but it’s still a good idea to compare drive trains when deciding on an air bike.

A lot of exercise bikes are using belt drives now because they tend to be a little smoother and a bit quieter, but there are still some air bikes using chains.

Personally, I don’t think it makes a huge difference for air bikes because these bikes are louder anyway (from the air), but technically speaking, a belt drive is an upgrade over a chain drive.

Just something to consider.

Final Thoughts

Well, that about does it – I think the above options represent the best air bikes 2024 has to offer.

When looking for a new air bike, I think it makes sense to compare stuff like fan size, weight limits, and assembled weights to ensure you find the most well-built option your budget will allow.

You may also want to consider chain vs belt drives, although this one isn’t a deal breaker for me either way.

Speaking of budget, most air bikes are pretty affordable as home fitness equipment goes – you can get a great bike for under $1k.

Anyway, I hope you found this guide helpful and as always, if you have any questions or know of an air bike that deserves a spot on this list, just leave your comments below and I’ll get right back to ya.