When I first started exercising, I would go before anyone else on my college campus was up because I felt so shy about being more than 80lbs overweight.
Getting fit can be intimidating.
You might walk into your local gym and see dozens of complex-looking machines you have never heard of before, take classes that leave you feeling self-conscious, or constantly be battling your schedule to find time to exercise.
But I kept going because I wanted a healthier life.
I did a ton of research, which overwhelmed me sometimes.
I don’t regret all I’ve learned, but looking back, it could have been better if I just had something like the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle to start with.
Why Get a Stationary Bike?
Beginners will often look to the treadmill as the holy grail of cardio, and it’s definitely a good choice as part of your exercise regimen.
Cardio of any kind can increase your stamina, improve your immune system, and release endorphins that boost your mood.
However, exercising on a treadmill is a high impact workout, meaning that you’re putting a lot of wear and tear on your body.
A bike on the other hand is a low impact workout. It achieves the main goal of cardo, getting your heart rate up, without as much strain on your muscles and joints.
Stationary bikes have the further advantage of being indoors, free of weather concerns. Biking burns calories while toning muscles in your legs and abdomen.
If you have a busy schedule or a highly variable one, finding time to go to the gym can turn into the biggest obstacle to your health.
Home exercise equipment is the obvious solution to this. Stationary bikes are one of the smaller machines that you can add to your home if space is a concern.
These machines are ideal for people who want to slim down and/or build lean muscle, especially in their lower bodies.
People looking for more full body workouts might do well to look at ellipticals or bikes with adjustable handles instead.
Anyone wanting to focus on their upper body will find a pull up bar or bench press machine much more suited to their goals.
Questions to Ask Before You Buy:
- Do I have space in my home for this machine?
- Will I use it enough to justify the cost?
- Is this the type of exercise I want to do?
The XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle
The XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle is part of the bike line up from XTERRA Fitness, one of two classed as “indoor cycles”, the other being the MBX2500.
The biggest standout feature of this bike is how adjustable it is.
Both the seat and the handlebars can be raised and lowered in height or adjusted forward/back so the bike is perfectly suited to the user.
The resistance level on this bike is also highly customizable with a micro-adjust dial so you can get the perfect level of resistance for your goals and fitness level.
The resistance is created by a brake pad at the top of the wheel, placed there for the increased durability the location provides.
When comparing the two indoor cycles from XTERRA, there are a few distinct differences.
While the XTERRA Fitness MB550 has a micro-adjust knob to change resistance, the XTERRA Fitness MBX2500 has a lever system that switches between eight preset resistance levels instead.
The monitor on the XTERRA Fitness MBX2500 is larger, but both share the same type of adjustable seats/handlebars and 48.5lb precision flywheel system.
Pros
- Highly Adjustable
- Micro-Adjust Resistance
- Durable Brake Pad
- Belt Drive System
Cons
- Small/Basic Monitor
- Reviewers Call the Seat Hard
- Handlebars do Not Adjust for Upper Body Workout
Features and Benefits
Precision Flywheel
The flywheel is an important part of how smooth the ride on a stationary bike is.
The flywheel on the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle is 48.5lbs, chrome plated, and precision balanced.
The chrome plating prevents corrosion. The whole design is geared toward smooth and quiet.
A smooth workout means that you’re not fighting the machine (unless you’ve really upped the resistance) to get the workout you need going at a steady pace.
And if you like to listen to music or watch shows while biking, the quiet is a big plus too, especially in busy households where the noise might disturb others.
Belt Drive
Here’s something most people don’t like to do: maintenance.
On any bike with a chain drive system, you will occasionally need to oil the chain.
Not with the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle.
A fixed gear belt drive system means that you never have to oil and works with the flywheel system for smooth and quiet operation.
LCD Monitor
A lot of exercise equipment these days comes with fancy touch screen monitors, Bluetooth hookups, and a million pre-set programs that the average person has no idea what they do or how they help their fitness plan.
And that’s fine or even ideal for some people who don’t mind taking five or more minutes to set up everything for their workout.
But if you like to just hop on and go with your workout, the LDC monitor on the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle will feel just right.
It shows the time, a stopwatch, everything you want to know about your speed, calories burned and distance biked.
If you prefer to ignore all that, the monitor is small enough to easily overlook but large enough to see your metrics at a glance.
Seat
The perfect bike seat probably hasn’t been invented yet, but there are lots of ways to make the seats we do have more comfortable.
The XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle is contoured and padded to ensure that the early saddle-soreness that comes when you start biking is kept to a minimum.
The seat of this bike also adjusts in both height and forward/back.
Especially if you have multiple users in the house, this means you can change the seat to make sure you’re in the best possible position.
Proper technique and position are some of the most important ways to prevent injury or strain with any exercise, so the adjustments you can make to the seat for however your body is built show that XTERRA wants everyone to be able to use their products.
Handlebars
Versatile is the name of the game when it comes to the handlebars on the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle.
Like the seat, they adjust in height and forward/back to ensure that you can find the right position for all riders. They’re also ergonomic for more comfort.
There are many ways you can grip these handlebars, and that is on purpose.
Whether you like to be fully upright as you pedal or lean over and grip your hands closer together, you’ll find your grip style supported.
Brake pad
The brake pad on the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle is what provides the resistance for your workout.
Clearly, this makes it an important part of the bike.
It’s a simple felt brake, but the important part is the location.
Placing the brake at the top of the flywheel enhances durability to keep you riding longer without having to fix or replace anything.
Adjustable Resistance
As your body adjusts to working out, it’s important to up the intensity so you keep getting the benefits you want from exercising.
One tried and true way of raising the intensity is to add more resistance, making it so you have to work harder to accomplish the same task.
It’s easy to add or lower resistance to the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle – there’s a dial right on the bike within easy reach.
And since it’s a dial, you can find the exact amount of resistance where you feel the burn but not the pain.
The location of the dial means you can change resistance mid-workout if needed, too.
Transport Wheels
Not everyone can have a home gym like in the commercials, or even have a whole room for a home gym in the first place.
Your home gym might be your living room, bedroom, or office, which means having a bike out in the middle of everything all day is not going to work.
So, wheels like the ones on the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle are important.
Wheel the bike in front of the TV to watch the news while you pedal in the morning and put it away just as easily thanks to the wheels placed on the front of the bike.
The placement is high enough that you won’t slip while riding but can easily tip the bike to move it when necessary.
Warranty and Customer Service
XTERRA stands behind their products. The frame of their XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle is heavy duty steel and has a lifetime warranty.
Parts for the bike and in-home labor are both covered for a year under the warranty, and reviewers constantly praise the customer service from the company.
What Buyers Are Saying
One of the best ways to tell if something is right for you is to hear what people are saying about it, so we’ve gathered up some reviews of this bike so you can see what other people think of the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle.
Review #1
Remember that excellent customer service we mentioned? Not only does this reviewer love the bike, he loves the customer service he got when there was an issue.
Review #2
This customer has found the XTERRA MB550 to be a great purchase as someone new to indoor cycling!
Review #3
And finally, this reviewer loved everything about this bike from the easy assembly to the actual ride and the company itself!
Other Indoor Cycle Alternatives
Sunny Health & Fitness Exercise Cycling Bike
This Sunny Health & Fitness Exercise Cycling Bike is even simpler than the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle in some ways.
For instance, it has no electronic display at all for people who like low tech options. This bike has a slightly higher max user weight, 275lbs vs. 250lbs.
While the seat adjusts in the same way as the XTERRA MB550, the handlebars on the bike from Sunny Health & Fitness only go up or down in height.
This bike is available with either a belt or chain-drive system.
Sunny Health & Fitness Exercise Cycling Bike Highlights
- Chain-Drive Option
- Multi-Grip Handlebars
- No Monitor
- Also has Micro-Adjust Resistance
VIGBODY Exercise Bike Indoor Cycling Bike
Here we were talking about how the last bike had a higher weight capacity and then the VIGBODY Exercise Bike Indoor Cycling Bike goes and blows it out of the water with a 330lbs capacity.
The handlebars only adjust in height, however, and have fewer options on how to hold them available.
While it beats the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle in weight capacity, the weight of the flywheel on this bike is only about half the weight- 24.2lbs, though it is explicitly stated to be bidirectional if backwards cycling is something you want to do.
The monitor on this bike displays the same workout data as the XTERRA MB550, though it does not have a clock.
VIGBODY Exercise Bike Indoor Cycling Bike Highlights
- High Weight Capacity
- Smaller, Bidirectional Flywheel
- Fewer Grip Options
- Monitor Shows Same Workout Data as XTERRA MB550
MaxKare Stationary Bike Belt Drive Indoor Cycling Bike
The standout feature on the MaxKare Stationary Bike Belt Drive Indoor Cycling Bike is, surprisingly, not its bright yellow color.
Instead, this bike has the distinction of being the only machine on this list with a built-in pulse sensor, making it easy to monitor your heart rate as you ride.
This bike also comes with an iPad mount that fits over the LCD monitor.
The seat is equipped with high-density padding for more comfort. Like the other bikes in this section, the seat adjusts four ways but the handlebars only adjust up and down.
MaxKare Stationary Bike Belt Drive Indoor Cycling Bike Highlights
- Heart Rate Monitor
- Mobile Device Holder
- High-Density Padded Seat
- Micro-Adjust Dial
Final Thoughts
Indoor cycles are great for people focused on their abdomen and lower body when exercising, people who want a low impact cardio workout, and any number of other workout needs.
If you want a simple, durable option for indoor cycling in your home, then the XTERRA Fitness MB550 Indoor Cycle could be exactly what you need.
