<b>Do you get as much exercise from a comfort bike as a “fitness” bike?
I’m upgrading from a lousy little Huffy to a “real bike.” (shopping in the $400 range) The original goal was to find a bike that let me sit more upright, and I’ve found a comfort bike that is, in fact, really comfortable and upright. However, several salespeople have told me that you don’t get as much of a workout on a comfort bike as you do on other bikes because not as many muscles are utilized. (one salesperson disagreed)
I’m not planning on racing, but I am trying for a cardio workout, muscle toning, and calorie burning. Is the comfort bike a bad fit for me? I bike 30 to 90 minutes at a time at least 3 days a week, if that matters.
Yes, these sales people were in actual bike shops.
I have seen bikes categorized as “fitness” in several stores. In my limited understanding, they seem to fit on the road bike side of hybrid bikes.
It depends on your rate of speed. Lots of bicycle riders who have comfort bikes coast alot. That is bad for exerisize. Try to keep those legs moving at a high rate then recover then speed up again. Going up hill also is good for fitness. I have a comfort bike and I ride around 2hours once a week. I always lose at least two pounds. listen to some good music and pump those legs to the speed of the beat. Also standup pedal when going up hills that will really tire you out. When you buy a bike just test drive a bunch and get the one you want you can always buy another one next year and trade in the one you got. Thats what I do.
