The Schwinn IC4 is made by one of the world's best exercise bikes brands, and is a relatively affordable indoor bike that crams in features such as Peloton and Zwift compatibility, plus a huge range of resistance levels to push your workout to the next level.
The Schwinn IC4 is a good choice for weight loss and for boosting your cardio health, and all without rinsing your bank account. As such, this indoor bike can elevate your health and fitness without you ever having to leave your home. Consider using one of the best fitness trackers to monitor your workouts, including calories burned, heart rate and distance covered. You may also want to view our round-up of the best Amazon Prime Day Fitbit deals for the latest discounts.
Let's take a closer look at Schwinn's popular upright exercise bike now to see if it's a worthy contender for adding to your home gym setup...
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike review: overview
The Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike is a fully-featured spin-style home exercise bike, complete with flywheel, a fully adjustable saddle, and multi-grip handlebars. The big draw for many will be the fact that this upright bike comes with tablet support meaning it's able to run lots of different apps. That means you can join an online live spin class, or you can cycle across a virtual terrain, all from the comfort of home.
The bike also offers magnetic resistance, which adds up to a premium performance for those of you who are used to jumping on a spin bike at your local gym.
Design: Upright
Workout modes: Only limited by apps
Supported weight: 330lbs
Warranty: Up to 10 years
There are lots of other features to enjoy here too, including heart rate monitoring for zone training to help you hit your goals, especially fat burning, a lot faster. Although, if you really want to accurately track your heart rate, as well as calories burned (and other data) when working out, we'd recommend buying one of the best fitness trackers to go with your new exercise bike.
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike review: design
The Schwinn IC4 looks great, with the metallic finish and angular lines of a fitness bike you'd expect to see in a high-end fitness studio. The black and red finishes make for a minimal look, which allows this exercise bike to fit into any room its placed in.
The bike itself won't take up too much of your home (48.7 x 21.2 x 51.8 inches). This is thanks to that upright riding position. Not sure what upright means? In essence, you're held comfortably but can ride standing up using the multi-grip handlebars, just like on a road bike with aero-bars, but without the need to balance yourself quite so much.
The bike supports a maximum weight capacity of 330lbs, and the frame itself is covered for a 10 year warranty. Mechanical and electrical parts are covered for three years while labor is included for up to a year.
Elsewhere you get two water bottle holders, a mount for your tablet, and two 3lb dumbbells in holders that attach to the bike for when you're ready to work out your upper arms too. There's also an adjustable saddle, chunky multi-grip handlebars, and wheels that allow you to move this 106lb bike around more easily.
There are dual link pedals with cages, but you can swap these out to use clip-in cycling shoes for a more realistic road bike ride experience.
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike review: features
The Schwinn IC4 features a mighty 40lb perimeter weighted flywheel, which allows the magnetic resistance to offer an amazing 100 levels of variance. That adds up to a near-seamless movement of power as you increase and decrease the difficulty of your ride. Ultimately, all of this translates to a more realistic experience, like riding a real bike up and down varying levels of terrain.
The big feature has to be the level of integration with apps. Pair your tablet with the bike and dive into any type of training you want. From taking live classes in Peloton to competing with others on Zwift, and even going on virtual rides by using Explore The World. There are lots of options here – presuming you're happy to pay to subscribe to them, of course.
There is an included Bluetooth heart rate armband that enables you to track your heart rate while training, which is great for working in some zone training. There's also a basic computer screen to monitor things such as time, speed, distance, calories, RPM and heart rate, but there are no pre-programmed training plans to follow.
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike review: performance
That Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike ramps up the levels of resistance in micro-adjustments. As such, it's like an automatic car rather than a geared one – it keeps smoothly changing without you really noticing what's happening. This is ideal for training classes in Peloton, where the ride can automatically adjust without you focusing on the changes, leaving you to concentrate on your performance instead.
The 40lb flywheel also means this exercise bike is quiet in use, making it an ideal choice for people who live in busy apartment blocks. The bike feels solid, as it's made with steel, so you can give it your all leaning against those chunky handlebars and pushing into the dual link pedals with cages, without worrying that the bike will twist, fall or break. Essentially, it'll take whatever you dish out.
If you have access to the Peloton digital online fitness service, you can enjoy that on the tablet but can also ping it to compatible TVs (for example, anything with Apple TV). This creates a sense of big screen immersion, and works well for couples working out on bikes together at home.
The inclusion of three pound dumbbells and holders is a nice touch for any workout classes that include upper body exercises.
Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike: verdict
With the Schwinn IC4 Exercise Bike you get all the benefits of a smart upright indoor bike that works with Peloton, Zwift and Explore The World, without paying top-end prices. The flywheel enables 100 micro-adjustments of resistance for smooth and quiet riding, while the included Bluetooth armband enables you to track your heart rate for zone training and more.
This is ideal for those who already have a tablet to be used in the holder, and delivers a huge saving on the equivalent Peloton One bike. The dumbbells included make this a complete workout station, and all for under $1,000.
