Even though I own an elliptical and a home gym, I still find myself sitting in my chair watching television or reading online and not exercising. As long as I'm going to engage in those activities, why not burn some calories at the same time?

I read the reviews on another model and then came across the 231. It's $100 more but it sounded like many of the issues in the other bike had been resolved. I ordered the bike through Brinks because another review mentioned better packaging.

I ordered the bike on a Saturday and received it the following Thursday! I stayed up late and put it together myself in about three hours. It took me longer than others because I was trying to attach a part wrong and it took me awhile to figure it out. It was my fault, though. I thought the directions were easy to follow and the parts were packaged in such a way that it was very easy to determine which parts were called for.

Hint: Before you put the machine together, write down the serial number which is under the rear stabilizer. It's much easier to write down BEFORE the bike is put together!

Once it was together, the right pedal made a knocking noise and vibration that I could feel in my foot. This was irritating so I called customer service and was advised to remove, clean, and retighten the pedal. It worked! A week or so later, I had some confusion about how to use the Recovery button so I called customer service again. We figured out that I was using it incorrectly -- you do it DURING a program, not once you're finished. (My elliptical does it differently.) Both times, the customer service representative was friendly and helpful and the problems were resolved.

The bike is very easy to use, from sitting down to setting the program. We haven't had to change the seat adjustment as my husband and I have the same length legs. We are also the same age but we do have to change the weight setting. Entering the info at the beginning takes just seconds. I like how the program remembers the previous settings so you don't always have to start from scratch. It even remembers the intensity level for a particular program. The fan is adjustable and I find it quite refreshing -- it blows right on my face but not so strongly that it dries out my eyes.

I removed the pedal straps -- they didn't seem necessary. The bike is very quiet -- the fan is the only part that makes noise and the occasional beeping as each interval passes. I'm just amazed at how quickly the time passes while I'm exercising. And it's a good workout, too! We both have to wipe the sweat off the seat when we're finished and we're not even working at the highest levels or going all that fast.

I'm very pleased with our purchase and strongly recommend this model! 5 stars

I noticed quite few reviewers wondering if the 231 is worth the extra $100 above the 230. My answer is yes. (With or without the current $100+$100 promotion, the 231 is no doubt the best choice.)

First, I was planning to buy a recumbent bike and I have been doing a lot of research about these two bikes. I went to every sport store to try and ride both. I searched all the details from the Schwinn site in addition to reading the labels from the actual bikes. I can claim that I spent total of more than two hours actually riding the two bikes and testing the consoles. Of course I already ordered the 231 and should receive it in 10 days.

So, what is the difference between them? You ask.

The flywheel:
In 230, it is it 20 lb flywheel.
In the 231, it is 22 lb flywheel. The two extra pounds give more realistic ride with no skipping especially for taller people or people with stronger legs.
Big + for 231. (Not true anymore .... See update below)

Heart Rate Controlled programs:
The 230 lacks this important feature. This feature can keep you in your target heart rate area which will lead to better weight loss or endurance level.
The 231 include 3 programs with this feature.
Big + for 231.

Total Programs:
12 for 230 and 23 for the 231. The 231 includes 3 Heart Rate, 2 Custom, 4 Profile, Time Trial w/pacer, Fitness Test. All this in addition to whatever is in the 230.

Seat:
231: BioFit® Comfort seat with micro adjustable lumbar support positioning. You have a knob in the back of the seat to adjust the lumbar support.
230: No adjustment.
Also, in 231, the back of the seat includes a magazine rack.

Pedals:
231: Wide Comfort Schwinn pedals. Nice and fits shoes easily.
230: Narrow ones that are useless with the straps attached.


Console viewing angle:
231: 3 position console viewing angle adjustment. This helps you to see the console much better. You can also lower it to view TV or raise it to read your emails from you laptop. It is really not that helpful other than for easier viewing of the console.
230: Fixed.

Console:
231: Blue back light. Easier to read and more futuristic look.
230: Regular black LCD on gray. Really hard to read.

Fan:
231: has a nice integrated fan
230: No fan.

Frame:
231 106 lbs. More stable. The frame is 4 inches longer than the 230 which may be annoying to an already big home bike. These four inches will allow for even taller riders on the expense of stability.
230: 101 lbs. Still pretty stable (more stable than 231 on thick carpets or thick mats).

Those are what I managed to find so far. I will update the review if I find more

So, do you still think that the $100 is un-justified???


UPDATE UPDATE UPDATE 3/15/08

Well, I received my bike two weeks ago. Assembly was relatively easy and straight forward. The bike looks much bigger in my living room than when I saw it in display rooms at local sports stores. It still looks fabulous though.

First impression is great. I will not talk about how great this bike is as most other reports already said so.

I will just let you know what to expect on the other side.

1- First thing I noticed is that the fan is not working. I connected it directly to the power adapter and it worked fine hence the problem is in the console. I called customer service and they were the best. They first refused to send me a new console till I try a new fan that I got within two days from my phone call. Of course it didn't work and I am waiting now for a new console which is in backorder for the next 3 weeks. No big deal as I don't really need the fan in Massachusetts's winter anyway.

2- I noticed that that bike was wobbly. I know the reason, it is the thick mat that I have over the thick carpel in my room. I simply placed a nice 2x5 foot piece of solid pine wood under the bike and over the black mat. That was the best think I did as the bike got really stable while the carpet is still protected with the thick mat. It also reduced the black color from the mat and lightened the room a lot. I got the wood from Lowe's store.

3- This is got me REALLY UPSIT. As one commenter on this review pointed out that he ordered the bike and found a sticker saying the flywheel is only 20LBs instead of the 22LBs I mentioned on my review above. I found that the sticker on my bike says the same. I felt tricked. I called Schwinn customer services to see what is going on... Again they were super nice and professional. They started to search for the problem and contacted their bike experts. Few days later, they got back to me and said that the 22LBs in Schwinn's home page is only a TYPOgraphical error. They claim that all Shwinn's products use 20 Lbs. flywheels. They didn't explain the bike I saw at Sears with sticker of 22LBs. I went back to Sears to get a picture of the bike but the bike was gone. I assume they should fix their home page soon.


I really love this bike and would give it five starts if I can again. The flywheel incident did upset me a bit but now I got used to it. I don't think it is a big deal anyway. The Heart beat controlled programs, adjustable ergo seat with shelf, bigger paddles and blue backlit console still makes it much better than the 230. I personally benifited from the longer body as I needed to move the seat extra two more inches than the 230 can give.


MORE COMMENTS and replies for other reviews:


- Paddles are wide and easy to adjust. Adjustment is to be done from the inner side of the paddle. It is easy to remove the strap from the inside for adjustments. If you try it from outside, then you will see all troubles other reviewers are seeing.

- If seat is squeaky then tighten screws underneath it.You also may want to add a drop of lubricant or oil between the metal vertical rod (that carries the Chrome bar) and the black plastic shell. This will eleminate noises from under the seat.

- If you cleaned the chrome bar that holds the seat, you may need to add a drop of silicon lubricant on the top of it. This will make it move easier and eliminate any minor noises.

- Remember to write the serial number on a piece of paper before you assemble the rear stabilizer rod. It will really help you as reading this number is really tough once the bike is assembled. Thanks for other reviewer who mentioned this as it really helped me :-)
5 stars

I'm a 64 year old fit male thanks to riding a four year old NAUTILUS NR3000 twice a week (community gym) to supplement weekend outdoor rides. I wanted one for home but couldn't afford it so I bought this SCHWINN 231 Recumbent Exercise Bike from AMAZON. This lighter weight SCHWINN 231 is also made by NAUTILUS and has similar features and functions.

PRE-PURCHASE: SCHWINN (NAUTILUS) Customer Service was exceptionally good answering all questions and helping me understand differences until I was comfortable.

ORDER: Easy and seamless like every order from AMAZON - they're the very best, most reliable source for anything they carry and sell. I chose free shipping and they shipped it the same day I placed my order.

DELIVERY: Easy and as promised - Eagle USA called me a couple days ahead to arrange a time convenient to me to deliver. They delivered on schedule and offered to place the bulky box it in the room/place of my choice.

PACKAGING: Exceptionally well packaged -- enough to protect all parts on its long trip from China to Illinois to Ohio and finally to California.

PARTS: Well organized and marked, easy to find and use. They include one-time use tools; IF you have your own, you'll prefer yours.

ASSEMBLY MANUAL: Well organized, clear, 99% easy to follow -- follow them exactly for best results with minimum frustration.

ASSEMBLY: I went slowly, step-by-step, carefully and methodically to avoid problems. It took an easy 2.5 hours and it started up perfectly the very first time -- thirty days and 15+ rides later, still working great.

USER (OPS) MANUAL: Very well organized and written - easy to understand and thoroughly explains features and proper operation. It also has basic fitness and other supplementary information.

SEAT: The seat on this bike (one of the most important features on any bike) is very comfortable, even on rides well over an hour -- more than can be said of most bikes -- one of its best features. BE SURE to adjust seat height/distance from pedals properly according to the manual for best results.

PEDALS: Great once the (over the foot) top strap is correctly adjusted for your feet; try to get it right the first time you set them as redoing them is no fun.

CONSOLE: After reading the manual once, all operations and functions are simple and intuitive - easy to read and use, visible in daylight.

HEART RATE MONITOR: Excellent once stabilized and checked against two independent, dedicated HR Monitors - bike's monitor was within +/- 1 BPM. Recommend you keep hands on the HR grip sensors - IF you take them off and HR readout goes blank, it will restart at the bottom and increment up slowly to actual HR taking up to 10 - 60 seconds to stabilize at the correct reading. Operated correctly with patience and common sense it's great.

FAN: Adequate air movement for cooler ambient temps. In warmer ambient temps, it may not move as much air as you'd like. Cerainly not a "go, no-go" issue for any serious user.

RIDE: The SCHWINN 231 is lighter than the NAUTILUS NR3000 and therefore slightly less stable; it wobbles a tiny bit during hard rides though it's good as is. It's a very quiet ride. Changing resistance or workload is smooth with minimal delay. It's worth noting again that the seat is very comfortable for rides well over an hour. The backrest's lumbar support feature is a nice, added bonus.

PROGRAM & READOUTS: I've been riding real and stationary bikes for years. This bike gives riders through advanced any level of workout they want or need once features and capabilities are fully learned and used. It reports lower "results" than other bikes - that is, for the same ride as other recumbents, the SCHWINN 231 gives lower speeds, watts expended and fewer calories burned than others. While reported results are lower, they're probably much closer to actual and a real outdoor cycle ride than others that over state results and make you feel better.

SUMMARY: I HIGHLY RECOMMEND THE SCHWINN 231 RECUMBENT EXERCISE BIKE for attaining and maintaining your desired level of fitness, especially given the fine support can expect from SCHWINN FITNESS/NAUTILUS Customer Service if/when needed.

ONE LAST THOUGHT: IF you're serious about fitness, I strongly recommend two books with your SCHWINN 231 -- both available from AMAZON. Read and apply the principals as valid for stationary bikes as for real ones:

a. "The Heart Rate Monitor Book for Cyclists" by Sally Edwards and Sally Reed (full benefit from built-in heart rate monitor for best workouts)

b. "Cycling Past 50" by Joe Friel (great cycling physiology all ages)

Whatever you decide, I wish you better health through cycling.
5 stars

This bike is very well made and very high tech. The instructions for assembly is not for beginners, you must have good mechanical and techinal skills. The operations for using this bike is very high tech and very difficult for beginners. The foot straps are extremely difficult to adjust and relatively useless (better to remove them). The surface area of the peddles that your foot makes contact with is too small. The fan is useless, it does not circulate noticeable air. I suggest saving a hundred bucks and purchase the Schwinn 230 model instead. 3 stars

I purchased this bike a couple of weeks ago and have been using it for a little over a week. The shipping was quick, and the box was sent from Bring's who reinforced the box, which was great (shipping damage is a common complaint for purchases like these).

Bike was not difficult to assemble and took me (by myself) about 2 hours at a very leisurely pace. There were a couple of small undocumented issues, such as a cable needing to be routed that was considered "pre-routed" in the instructions.

Functionally, the bike is great. It is not perfectly stable, as at a fast pace the top part (display/etc) does wobble a bit, but the base of the unit is stable which is plenty good enough for me. The seating is extremely comfortable, the computer is very good and has more functionality than I will ever use. And yes, the pedal mechanism itself is dead quiet.

The only reason I give this bike 4 stars is because of the following issues:

- For the life of me I cannot figure out how to get the pedal straps on. One side of the strap fits fine but the other side absolutely will not. I may be missing something but it seems like a manufacturing defect to me. If i'm the only one that mentions this it is probably an issue on my end :). I haven't needed the straps so it has not been an issue for me.

- As stated, there were a couple of minor issues with the instructions.

- The fan is not terribly useful, and as stated the bike does wobble a bit at high speeds.

None of the above issues detract from my use of the product but they may for some. All in all, I would recommend this bike in a heartbeat to someone else, and it is a great bike for the value. It is really convenient to have a bike at home to exercise on, and was well worth the money for me.

Also, as this is the "new" model for Schwinn, there are no reviews at the time of this writing, you can check out the reviews of the older models for general impressions of the Schwinn bikes; they are relatively accurate to my experiences with this one. 4 stars