My New Recumbent Stationary Bike

Inside the shipping box

My exercise bike arrived. Another tactic for helping my senior citizen cardio system stay healthy and maintain my muscle mass. And its low-impact puts a limited strain on my joints. That's why I now own a recumbent stationary bike. 

I chose a recumbent bike because they are safer to use than the upright format. And it places even less stress on my lower body's joints. 

To move a big bike through my house, I ordered it online. Once the box was in the door, I separated the parts and took them downstairs individually to the room where I'd use them later. 

All the bike parts and my two assistants

 

The box came with easy directions and the tools for assembling. It wasn't difficult, although it took several hours. 

Up to this point, I had no problem. 

Supports and joining collar

The challenge came when I single-handedly joined the upper support to the lower one. The alignment had to be perfect both horizontally and vertically. And then I had to raise the connecting collar to line up with holes accepting the screws. 

After working with it, I realized the collar wasn't broad enough. It seemed to be just the size of the two "tubes" and no bigger.

I wanted my bike now. I needed it to help bring down my blood pressure. So I made a choice to sacrifice the warranty and enlarge the collar myself. Using a large sturdy screwdriver, I forced the collar open on both sides. And it worked.

I now have a comfortable eight-tension exercise bike that tells me all I need to know about my workouts. The electronics show the time I've spent, the calories I've burned, and my pulse. It also gives me a few details I don't need, along with a place to rest my tablet if I want to watch a video or listen to a book. 

There are fancier bikes you could purchase, but for my use, this bike works well. All my doctor wants is for me to use it in an easy setting for 15 minutes every day. That only burns 50 calories. My plan is to increase the time each week, so it helps me lose a few pounds.

I am happy with my new bike. The only reason I haven't given you the make and model is because of the misfitting collar, I suspect a mismatched part. If I wanted to wait, I could contact the maker to get the proper part. That would take another week. Not in my plan.