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Schwinn 231 Recumbent Exercise Bike | 
| Brand: Schwinn
Category: Sports
This item is no longer available
Rating:  112 reviews
Sales Rank: 27073
Shipping Weight (lbs): 125
Dimensions (in): 66.5 x 25.3 x 12.9
MPN: 370005
Model: 231 Recumbent Bike
UPC: 708447503701
EAN: 0708447503701
ASIN: B000MXL5SQ
Release Date: January 26, 2007
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| Features:
| » | Stationary recumbent exercise bike with 16 resistance levels | | » | Easy-to-read instrument panel with 3-position angle adjustment | | » | Extra-wide comfort seat with dual-position lumbar support 10 preset programs; handlebars with integrated heart rate grips | | » | Transport wheels for easy movement; adjustable cooling fan | | » | Warranty information: frame - 10 years, mechanical and elecrical - 1 year, wear items - 6 months, labor - 90 days |
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Product Description
The Schwinn(r) 231 Recumbent Bike has a walk-through design that accommodates users with a wider range of abilities and fitness levels. A backlit LCD display shows a variety of statistics, including time, RPM, distance, watts and more, so you can get the most out of your workouts. The bike also comes complete with 10 preset and 10 profile workout programs and 16 resistance levels so you can customize your workout.
Amazon.com Product Description
Save money on monthly gym fees and get yourself in shape with the compact, comfortable Schwinn 231 recumbent exercise bike. The 231 boasts all the high-quality features of the Schwinn 213, but adds several extras, including a nicer, easier-to-read instrument panel with a three-position angle adjustment, a better cooling fan, a slightly lower pedal height that produces a more comfortable riding position, and an easy step-through frame. And that doesn't even account for all the essentials, which range from 16 resistance levels to handlebars with an integrated heart rate monitor built into the grip. The handiest feature, however, is unquestionably the anatomically designed recumbent seat, which not only offers a dual-position lumbar support for added comfort, but also a padded base that adjusts in the for/aft positions to accommodate a variety of body types and sizes. Specifications: - 16 resistance levels
- 10 preset programs and 10 profile courses
- Programs include calorie goal, time trial, fitness test, BMI measurement, recovery test, results mode, quick start, and manual mode
- Backlit LCD monitor with BioConnect feedback display
- Workout stats include time, interval time, RPM, watts, distance, pulse, speed, calories, and resistance
- Extra-wide comfort seat with dual-position lumbar support and slide bolsters
- Premium BioFit pedals
- Handlebars with integrated heart rate grips
- Onboard storage behind seat for easy access to magazines, towels, and other accessories
- Adjustable cooling fan
- Transport wheels for easy movement
About Recumbent Exercise Bikes
Despite the competition from trendy new fitness inventions, exercise bikes continue to be popular options for home exercise. They offer the same aerobic benefits of riding a bicycle at any time, in any weather, without leaving the comfort and safety of home. Exercise bikes don't take up much space, require little or no balance or coordination, and can provide an effective workout for all levels of users, from beginners to serious competitors. While the same could be said for a number of other types of home fitness equipment, the exercise bike is one of the few that allows you to watch television or read a magazine while you work out. The term recumbent literally means "lying down." Exercising in a recumbent or reclining position allows the user to have full ergonomic back support, without causing strain on the arms, neck and shoulders, all of which can be common effects of using an upright bicycle. For many people, having convenient access to quality exercise equipment is critical to sticking with a long-term exercise program.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 112
 Schwinn 231 Recumbent October 12, 2009
Donald R. Baker (Bullhead City, Az.)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is a great machine. My wife and I use it every day. The easy set-up for different programs is great.
I am 69 and my wife is 73 and it allows each of us to use the machine.
The assembly instructions are the best I have ever used. All tools are furnished and every detail is included. Anyone can assemble this machine, if the instructions are followed. The user manual is simple and very well written.
We highly recommend this machine.
 I loved it during the honeymoon, then came the flaws... October 8, 2009
Tech Dude (San Jose, CA USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Too many of the reviews of this product come from people who just purchased it and are still in the early, "honeymoon" period of its ownership. I have owned my Schwinn 231 for more than a year. I have loved this unit and believe that the health benefits and weight loss I have derived from it quite literally saved my life. Like many others who have reviewed the Schwinn 231 on this site, in the early stages of ownership I recommended it and would have given it five stars without hesitation.
So with great reluctance, and taking my entire ownership experience into account, I now can only give it three stars. After having used the unit 2-3 times per week on average for the last 15 months, it is clear that the quality of the Schwinn 231 leaves too much to be desired and it simply will not give you the years of service you would want from an exercise machine. Within about three to four months of use, the unit started to creak and squeak and required a lot of adjustments to get rid of the annoyance (e.g., loosening and tightening of different screws in no discernable pattern). The console-mounted fan stopped working after a few months, which was fine since it was largely useless anyway. Within six months of regular use, the acclaimed smoothness of the pedal motion and magnetic resistance unit, which I loved so much, was gone. Higher resistance levels created a noticeable "clunking" feeling at certain degrees of rotation, but this was something I learned to live with.
I forgave and continued to love my Schwinn 231 through all of these annoyances, because of the health benefits I was deriving from using it. But then this week, the resistance unit suddenly failed. It turned out that the belt that runs the flywheel on the resistance unit slipped off because the spring-loaded belt tension unit wasn't properly fastened when the bike was assembled at the factory (in China of course), so it was a miracle that it didn't fail much earlier than it did. This out-of-warranty repair ended up costing me nearly $200 and resulted in my unit being out of service for several days.
The unit is now working again, and despite the problems I have had with my Schwinn 231, the unit still holds a warm place in my heart because of how much better I feel since I started using it. But I am truly bothered by the way it is steadily deteriorating under nothing more than regular use. The helpful people at Schwinn Fitness (who ultimately referred me to the outside repair service) revealed that there are several common long-term mechanical failures with this unit, including failure of the electric motor, that I have not yet experienced but are probably headed my way. The way in which my unit has deteriorated indicates that my unit was no lemon, but rather, a product that just wasn't really built to be extensively used.
In my opinion, if you're really serious about getting into shape and plan to use a stationary bike regularly and over a period of years, you should just bite the bullet, spend a few hundred more and buy something durable and of higher quality than the Schwinn 231 (like a Vision Fitness semi-recumbent or entry level Life Fitness, for example). The difference in price is insignificant over the long term. When you consider the cost of eventual repairs on the 231, and the loss of progress in your routine you'll experience while waiting for replacement parts from Schwinn (which will be harder to come by since this unit was very recently discontinued), your better option is to buy something else.
A couple of words about the shipping and assembly experience are warranted, also. I purchased two units, one for myself and one for my father. My unit came intact and worked, but my father's unit came damaged and required Schwinn to send out a lot of replacement parts over a period of weeks before it was working. There are a lot of reports, both on this site and elsewhere, of these units arriving with shipping damage. You've probably got a 30% chance of a unit arriving with significant shipping damage. This needs to be addressed.
I love this bike September 30, 2009
Patrick Fitzsimons (redondo beach, ca. USA)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
After doing many hours of research, I went with this bike, and I am very glad I did. It arrived in great shape from Amazon, and I had it unpacked and put together in less than two hours. It would have been faster, had I not skipped a page in the assembly manual. Any way I have been riding this machine for a week, and love the comfort of the seat, and easy to follow onboard computer, along with its three heart rate programs. I am pleasently surprized at how well thought out the overall design of this bike is. Thank you Schwinn/Nautilus/Amazon.
P.S. I would like to thank all the reviewers for their input. It made my decision, to buy this machine so much easier. Happy Riding Everyone!
Great, while it lasted. September 24, 2009
D. Brust (Minnesota USA)
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I loved this bike, I really did. I really enjoyed working out on it. It was very easy to just sit down on it, instead of the couch, and watch some TV while pedaling away. It really worked up a sweat, too. It had enough programs to keep things interesting, and enough resistance options to avoid any issues with it getting to be too easy to peddle (after a few workouts).
Here's the problem...it broke. It broke 22 days after I purchased it. Schwinn was very helpful, at least to the best of their ability. I had multiple contacts with them, and they sent me multiple parts. All of the parts they sent me, they sent without delay. We were never able to get the machine to work, though, as the part I needed was no longer available. That's right, they no longer made the part that had broken. Basically, it was a small pulley arm that held the belt on to the bike. This arm was bent, so the belt would keep slipping off. They tried to send me a replacement part, but they kept sending a part for another bike, which was shaped completely differently than the one that needed replacement.
Finally, after being tired of dealing with it for 3 months (that's right, I spent 3 months getting parts, trying them, etc., only to have it come down to needing a part that didn't exist), I gave up on it. Amazon, much to its credit, actually accepted a return. I told them about the difficulties I had, and they paid to have a delivery company come out, take the fully assembled bike out of my home, and ship it back to Amazon (who gave me a full refund).
So, I loved the bike, and I would consider purchasing another as I really liked all of the features and the feel of it. I would probably get a newer model, though, with the hope that a newer model would have better part availability. I was dissatisfied with Schwinn's ability to provide replacement parts, though they tried, thus the 3-star rating. Just the fact that it broke after 22 days is pretty sad. I was REALLY pleased with Amazon and their willingness to provide a refund.
 Very dissatisfied September 23, 2009
A. Ades
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I bought this exervcise bike about one year ago. Quite hard to put together and wound up hiring someone to do it. It took him 4 hours in all. Used it 7-8 times, and worked quite well.
For about 6 months, had a few medical problems and did not use it.
Once again felt well enough to start my exercise program. Plugged the bike in, and now makes a horrible cyclical(ironic) grinding noise that comes and goes. When the noise is occuring, the pedal becomes almost impossible to move.
Called Schwinn customer service. The gentleman I got on the phone wanted me to take the flywheel apart and to examine the gearing, and then take the pedals and the gearing from the pedals to the flywheel as well. I have trouble putting in a light switch, and told him that I had no tools to do this, nor did I really have the time.
At that point, the Dr. Jeckel came out. "how do you expect me to help you if you won't do what I tell you to do?" He refused to send someone out to repair the bike, even after I told him that I would reimburse Schwinn the cost of the repair.
Now I wish I had bought this at Costco, where I simply could have returned it to a store.
I have called in an installer from one of the local exercise equipment stores to repair a device that was used eight times. I will write a followup once repairs have been completed.
Things break, but there is no excuse for this horrible customer service. I would stongly suggest that if anyone wants to buy this model, that they purchase it from a store where long term returns are allowed, because Schwinn has been worthless. The same company makes bowflex and nautilis, and the same warning applies.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 112
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