Author Archives: Rob

About Rob

Bike trail and long distance cyclist and publisher of about-bicycles.com

New Proform Tour de France, TDF Gen2 Released ~ Lower Price on Gen1

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There is some big news in the Indoor Cycle world with the Proform Tour de France Indoor Cycle. Proform has just recently released Gen2 of the TDF Indoor Cycle and they have dropped the price on the Proform TDF Gen1 model.

Proform Tour de France Indoor Cycle

Proform Tour de France, TDF

This is great news for anyone looking for a Tour de France workout and relief from the potential boredom of indoor workout routines. You now have 2 Proform TDF Bikes to choose from. You can select the new upgraded, Gen2, model which includes Handlebar Shifters, an Upgraded Console with a Power Meter and a Fully Adjustable Saddle or the original Gen1 model for $200 less than the Gen2 model and $200 less than it was selling for last month and earlier this month.

We have had the Proform Tour de France bike on our site from the beginning, when it was released last summer just prior to the Tour de France (the actual race). Our visitors have loved this bike but until now they only had the Gen1 model available and for some time now it has been $200 to $400 more expensive than it is now.

When you are ready for an exciting new workout routine, see our Proform Tour de France Review. We have links to the latest Gen1 and Gen2 models at the lowest prices, our professional review and relevant customer reviews.

LifeCORE Airbike Released – High Quality, Affordable Fan Bike

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Yes, this is the week for new Fan Bikes to hit the market. I just found out about the totally new LifeCORE Airbike LS-XT a few days ago and it has just become available on the LifeCORE Fitness website.

Lifecore Airebike LS-XT

LifeCORE Airbike LS-XT

The LifeCORE Airbike is a Dual Action Fan Bike  that is very affordable (currently selling for $499) and gives you a high quality alternative to the original Schwinn Airdyne Fan Bikes.

The Lifecore Airbike comes with an electronic console and a generous Lifetime Warranty on the frame. This fan bike gives you a good upper and lower body aerobic workout with a comfortable, smooth and stable ride.

I had just learned that Lifecore Fitness had supplied the LifeCORE Airbike to the CrossFit organization to be used with their intense workout routines. The Airbike held up just fine in this demanding environment and the people at Crossfit were very impressed.

To find out more about the LifeCORE Airbike (or the Crossfit program) see the LifeCORE Airbike LS-XT Review.

New Affordable Schwinn Airdyne (AD2) Dual Action Fan Bike

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Schwinn has finally come out with a high quality and truely affordable Airdyne Dual Action Fan Bike. The new model is the Schwinn Airdyne AD2 Fan Exercise Bike.

The Schwinn Airdyne Fan Bikes have been the industry standard, for both in-home and

Affordable Schwinn Airdyne AD2 Fan Bike

Schwinn Airdyne AD2 Dual Action Fan Bike

commercial use, for many years now but the problem has been  that they are very expensive.  Unfortunately, they were the best and the only alternatives were very cheap, low quality fan bikes. It was almost impossible to find a good quality,  affordable, mid-range  Fan Bike.

Well, we now have an alternative to the high priced Schwinn Airdyne Fan Bikes and it still comes from Schwinn ~ and still even has the same excellent warranty as the original Schwinn Airdyne Bikes ~ that is currently selling for $399.

The biggest advantage to the Fan Bikes is that you can get a cool Upper and/or Lower Body workout. You can use the pedals and handlebars for the full body workout, the pedals only for a lower body workout or rest your feet on the pegs for an upper body workout.

Fan Bikes give the impression that you are not getting as intense of a workout as on magnetic resistance exercise bikes, but you can actually get a good workout by pedaling faster (to increase the resistance) or simply by increasing your workout time.

In addition to the excellent warranty from Schwinn, this Fan Bike comes with an electronic console that measures Time, Distance, Calories, Calories per Hour, RPM, Workload, and is even telemetry enabled to measure your heart rate.

I was actually very glad to finally see a good quality, affordable Dual Action Fan Bike hit the market (and still even in time for Xmas (if you are looking for this style of exercise bike)).

For more information on this new Fan Bike from Schwinn and to read our review and the positive customer reviews that are already out there, go to  Schwinn Airdyne AD2 Fan Bike Review.

Livestrong LS6.0R Recumbent is Back in Stock.

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Just a quick update for those of you who may have been looking at the Livestrong High-End Recumbent Bike (The Livestrong LS6.0R Recumbent) but were disappointed to find that it had been out of stock and back-ordered for the last few weeks.

Livestrong LS6.0R Recumbent

The Livestrong LS6.0R Recumbent

Our friends at Livestrong.com had posted that this bike was expected to be available again on 12/9/11. Well, they beat their estimate by one day and it is now available once again.

The Livestrong LS6.0R is an excellent recumbent exercise bike and has been on our “Best Buy Exercise Bikes” page since it came out this fall.

One of the key features of the LS6.0R is the Livetrack Interactive technology which allows you to track all of the details of your workout in addition to uploading your workout data to Livestrong MyPlate via the USB port. Unlike other fitness equipment websites, access to Livestrong Myplate is totally free.

Another very nice feature of the LS6.0R is the Mesh Seat Back. The seat back is made from durable, high quality material and provides plenty of ventilation to help keep you cool throughout your fitness routine.

For more information or to get the Livestrong LS6.0R at the lowest price see: Livestrong LS6.0R Recumbent Exercise Bike.

Our Free 2012 Bike Calendar in Available – PDF and Excel formats

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I just completed creating the 2012 Bike Calendar from about-bicycles.com. This calendar includes scenic bike trail photos (from Illinois and Wisconsin), cycling events (that are posted for 2012) and is designed to fit each month, with the photo on top and the calendar grid underneath, on one standard 8.5 x 11 piece of paper when printed (12 pages total).

2012 Bike Calendar

2012 Bike Calendar

You can find the PDF and Excel versions of the calendar at 2012 Bike Trail and Cycling Events Calendar.

I realize that we now have numerous calendar programs available to us online, on our personal computers and electronic devices and that at many B&M businesses also give you free calendars in different formats.

I have a couple of different calendars that I use (hard-copy and PC versions) but I like having the printed version, with a nice scenic photo and with the holidays and cycling events (as well as my own personal updates) to hang on the wall above my desk, for easy reference, so I use this one also myself (of course!).

The 2012 Bike Calendar Photos

Most of the photos have been contributed by Dale Kiffel who rides a lot of bike trails each year (some with me), has a nice DSLR and has a good eye for scenic photos. Dale has had quite a few photos featured on Brant Miller’s weather photos on our NBC station, has had 3 photos published in the Winnipeg Free Press and has a number of photos on this site. The remaining (3) calendar photos  were taken by me.

I tried to match the photos with the typical weather (Chicago area) for each month as much as possible.

The 2012 Bike Calendar Cycling Events

Since I am more familiar with and more involved in local (Chicagoland area) cycling events, the events on the 2012 Bike Calendar are mostly from the Chicagoland area although there are some cycling events from other parts of the country.

We also have a Cycling Events Page where we post information and links on cycling events.

If you have 2012 cycling events that you would like posted on the calendar or on our cycling events page, please go to the Cycling Events Page and send your information to me via the email address listed on that page.

Customizing the Calendar

The PDF version of the 2012 Bike Calendar is designed to be the easiest to view, download and/or print. You will not be able to modify your copy of this version though unless you have the Adobe software that allows you to modify PDFs (Acrobat).

If you would like to customize the calendar, then the Excel version will be the best choice although this version may be more difficult to use if you are not somewhat proficient with MS Excel. You can customize the Excel version and “Save As” a PDF for a more easy to use version.

Bike Rider Gift Ideas and Cyclist Gift Shop

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Yep, it is that time of year again and time for our annual Bike Rider Gift Ideas and Cyclist Gift updates.

When you are looking for gifts for bike riders you can simply go to Amazon or any other large internet website and browse their cycling products – or – you can get ideas from those of us who have spent countless hours riding, have ridden thousands of miles and have used and researched numerous cycling products.

Some of the most popular gifts for cyclists are often Bike Electronic items such as Bike Computers (magnet transmitter or GPS based),  Heart Rate monitors, Helmet Cams and Bike Lights.

The big news for 2011 is that GPS Based Bike Computers have come WAY down in price from where they were last year or even at the beginning of the summer. Last year, the high-end Garmin units (like the Edge 705) were selling for $700 to $800. This year you can get these units for $400 to $450 and you can get the more basic units for even less.

I was going to post the other cyclist gift ideas in this blog entry (as I did last year) but since there are so many gift ideas and online resources, I have decided to post a separate web page for Cycling Gifts and Resources this year.

For more excellent gift ideas and resources see our new Bike Rider, Cyclist Gift Ideas page.

Small Business Saturday for Exercise Bikes, Bikes and Bike Accessories

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We  have all been seeing these commercials for Small Business Saturday recently and I was thinking that this is actually a really good idea but the commercial ads seem to be all about Brick and Mortar Small Businesses.

Although support for the B&M businesses is  totally legit and it makes a lot of sense to support them, it may not be real obvious that there are a lot of Small Businesses Online (like about-bicycles.com ), that provide a great service through our research and product reviews, that may be overlooked as being small businesses.

So when you are looking  to support Small Businesses Online, keep in mind that we here at about-bicycles.com are a small business that can only survive through your support.

Our passion is Bikes, Bike Products and Accessories and Fitness Bikes and Fitness Equipment. We spend a great deal of time and effort researching and reviewing Bikes, Bike Accessories, Exercise Bikes, Trainers and Indoor Cycles.

When you purchase items through the online merchants that we recommend they help to support our web site.

So please browse our site for the Bikes, Bike Accessories, Kids Bikes, and Exercise Bikes and Indoor Cycles and if you find helpful cycling information and/or reviews please keep in mind that when you click through to our recommended merchants (usually large businesses) and purchase an item, you are still supporting a small online business.

Thanks for your support.

Rob – www.about-bicycles.com

Black Friday, Cyber Monday Deals on Exercise Bikes and Bike Accessories

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As you would expect, there are  a ton of Black Friday (and Cyber Monday) Sales going on  right now both online and in the stores.

I’ve found bigger sales on Exercise Bikes and Spin Bikes (Indoor Cycles) than I have on outdoor (adult) bikes although there are some good sales on kid’s bikes and bike products going on now and through Monday too.

For the Fitness Bike sales, I have put together a separate page with pointers to the best online sales that I have found. See Black Friday and Cyber Monday Exercise Bike Specials for more on these deals.

The best sales that I have found on Bikes (limited) and on Bike Products is going on at Performance Bike. They are offering 20% off Everything. At least that is what the large banner on all the Performance Bike pages say. The small print says that there are exclusions.

I looked into the exclusions and what I found is that many (but not all) of their Bikes are excluded from the sale, but almost everything else is really 20% off including Bike Riding Cloths and accessories, Bike Trainers, Bike Electronics (including bike computers and GPS units) and Kids Bikes.

I am having a hard time keeping up on the latest prices with all of these Black Friday and Cyber Monday deals going on but I am updating the pages that I can as quickly as possible. The links above will get you to our Bikes and Bike product pages but you’ll need to click through to Performance Bike (from our pages) for the 20% off deals.

The 20% items at Performance are clearly marked in red when you take the links from our site to the Performance site.

Many of the cycling products at Amazon are also reduced in price but it is hard to find which exact items have been reduced unless you know what the price was before the sales. One of the easiest way to get to all of our recommended online resources for these sales is to go to our Online Bike Stores page.

Note: This is a great deal going on at Performance Bike and their website is running very SLOW due to the volume of visitors and sales so please allow a little extra time for the pages to load. (I guess you have to deal with the larger crowds at the B&M stores and, in some cases, the longer response times online).

Fitness Club, Personal Trainer and Exercise Bikes

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I am in the process of checking out some of the Fitness Clubs in our area to get into better shape, check out what exercise bikes (and other equipment) that they have and even to check out the Spin Classes that they offer.

I think that Fitness Clubs are pretty big business so I have been expecting a pretty hard sell at the places that I plan to visit. I checked out the first fitness club on my list yesterday and sure enough they were trying to get me to sign the papers right then and there! Well, I was not ready to sign-up, of course, so I made it past that hurdle.

I did have quite an experience which is definitely worth mentioning. Bally Fitness Logo

My first stop was Bally Total Fitness and I met with the club manager first. Step one in their process was to find out all about my fitness goals so I mentioned that I do a lot of cycling and want to stay in shape or improve and to lose some weight too, of course.

Next they took a Body Fat reading with an Omron hand held body fat measurement tool. This was actually very disappointing for me (I need to get in shape!) but it lead me to research these devices along with other body fat measurement techniques online after I got home. It turns out that these devices are not completely accurate but they are somewhat accurate (when used correctly) and they are very convenient.  I may purchase one of these soon.

Next, they showed me around the club a little and the manager set me up with a Personal Trainer to get me warmed up and inspired to get into shape I guess.

Wow, this was an experience! I had never worked with a personal trainer before and it was very enlightening. All we really did was various calisthenics with very little equipment. we used a 15 pound ball and some dumbbells for a few of the exercises, but that was it. I can’t believe what a major workout you can get just from calisthenics! We did a 20 minute workout and was was exhausted and am very sore today.

Since I mentioned cycling we did a lot of exercises for the lower body and legs and I can feel that today. I jotted down the exercises that we did when I got back for future reference.

So after my Personal Trainer workout, I was exhausted but I still had not completed my mission so I proceeded to the Exercise Bikes to check out what they had and to try them out (and in this case wind down a little).

They had some Star Trac Uprights and Recumbents plus quite a few  Life Fitness bikes (Upright and Recumbents). Once again I preferred the Life Fitness bikes (models 9500HR) over the Star Trac bikes (I did not see the model number on them). The Star Trac upright bike did have a nice feature that allowed you to adjust the handlebars (horizontally so they were closer or further away).

The heart rate monitors on the Star Trac recumbent were on the upper bars only which is not as comfortable as having them on the lower bars (by your side) like the Life Fitness bikes.

Riding the exercise bikes seemed like a break compared to the personal trainer workout that I just did. Of course, I took a pretty easy pace and I believe that I am in much better shape for riding than for other exercises.

My last stop was to check out the Spin Bikes. They had a room full of Star Trac Spinner Pro Spin Bikes setup for their Spin Classes. I did ride on one of these just a little and it was fully adjustable and worked well but I did not do a major workout on it.

What I am really hoping for is to be able to go there next week for one of their Spin Classes. I have a free 7 day trail pass but I am not sure if it covers the Spin Classes. I will find out about that and if I am able to do it I will definitely keep you posted.

Livestrong Exercise Bike Deals

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I was just checking the latest prices on Livestrong Bikes and discovered that Livestrong is offering the same deal that I wrote about below (in the Horizon post)  on all of their exercise bikes. This makes sense since Livestrong and Horizon exercise bikes are produced by the same company (Johnson Fitness in Cottage Grove, Wi.). Livestrong Incentives

What Livestrong is offering is Free Shipping,  a Free 1 Year Extended Warranty (worth $90) and a Free Mat (worth $36) on all of their exercise bikes until 11/17/2011.

In addition to the current incentives from Livestrong, your online purchase also ensures a contribution to the LIVESTRONG® Foundation and the fight against cancer.

The original Indoor Cycle that Livestrong produced was the Livestrong LS9.9IC Indoor Cycle. Livestrong now offers a good selection of Indoor Cycle / Spin Bikes plus a full line of high quality Exercise Bikes.

See Livestrong Exercise Bike Review for reviews on all current Livestrong exercise bikes and indoor cycles and easy links to where you can purchase them