3G Cardio Elite RB X Recumbent Exercise Bike – FreeSync FTMS Bluetooth Smart App Connectivity – Compact 49″ (L) – Oversized Soft 4-Way Adj. Seat – 350 lb Cap. – Low Step-Thru…

4 reviews for 3G Cardio Elite RB X Recumbent Exercise Bike – FreeSync FTMS Bluetooth Smart App Connectivity – Compact 49″ (L) – Oversized Soft 4-Way Adj. Seat – 350 lb Cap. – Low Step-Thru…

1. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Hank – July 27, 2024

   I was going to the gym just to ride their Recumbent bikes and said let me buy one myself. I searched for months to get one with great reviews, comfort and functionality. It is soo comfortable and all the adjustments are easy to use. The bike met all my needs especially living in AZ while it is hot outside to walk I just relax and get on my bike.
   Thank you 3G for the great customer service and quality product. I am so happy!!!!!

2. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   J. Moran – September 4, 2024

   tl;dr
   —–
   Pros:
   – High quality
   – Easy assembly
   – Super smooth and quiet
   – Excellent range of resistance levels
   – Buttons to change resistance on the hand grips are a game-changer
   – Back recline and seat tilt adjustments make this incredibly comfortable if you have lower back or hip pain
   – Large pedals are great for folks with big feet or big shoes

   Cons:
   – Heart rate monitor in hand grips isn’t very accurate unless you’re really precise with your grip
   – Weight is in the back, makes lifting it to maneuver difficult if you need to put it up against a wall
   – Foot straps aren’t large enough for my custom orthotic shoes

   Other:
   – A high density mat is definitely a good idea if you’re putting it on a hard floor

   ————————————-

   Going to preface this by saying this is the most expensive piece of home fitness gear I have ever purchased. But I can tell after just one exercise session that it’s also easily the best.

   I’m 54 years old, 6′ 3″ tall, 210 lbs, and have multiple foot issues and lower back arthritis that makes using a recumbent bike the most comfortable form of exercise that I can do. Prior to buying this, I was using a cheap foldable bike my wife had bought several years prior. It was a few inches too short at max seat length, with a rigid straight back that also did me no favors. And it only had 8 resistance levels, with the transitions too extreme at the high end for effective interval sessions. While I haven’t worked out regularly in years, I used to be a long-distance road cyclist and I quickly regained a lot of my old leg strength. So not being able to use those highest resistance levels was frustrating.

   I found this bike after combing through about a dozen fitness sites, and despite its cost I decided to buy it based on the compact sizing (it needs to fit in the back half of the family room in our semi-finished basement), ability to fit people even taller than me despite that compact sizing, and the many glowing reviews from customers and the fitness sites.

   The bike was delivered yesterday. Between the included instructions and a couple of assembly videos I watched / followed along with, I was able to assemble this myself and get everything cleaned up in exactly 3 hours. The only issue I had during assembly was getting the front stem’s plastic cover on, as there was an extra bit of plastic on the inside of the left-side piece that was stopping it from mounting correctly; probably a bit of flanging left over from the mold they used. Easily popped that off without damaging anything, and then it went right into place.

   Compared to my old cheap bike, this one is great quality, solidly built and has nothing that feels like they cut costs or corners. Yes, the console is “basic” in terms of not having a video screen or speakers or any kind of service integrations besides Zwift, but that is exactly what I wanted. I use Apple’s Fitness+ service and have the bike in a room with my big screen connected to an AppleTV, so I’m watching / listening to that and not the bike’s screen (except for checking my cadence and current resistance level).

   I tried it out later in the day, after I had a chance to let my feet and lower back recover from so much standing. I did a 30-minute workout, which had a series of rapid changes from easy intensity to hard, with short all-out bursts in between. The transitions (done using the incredibly convenient and helpful hand grip controls) were super smooth and much better “spaced” than on the old, cheap recumbent I’d been using before. I was going from level 5 for easy to 10 for hard, and 12 with faster cadence for the all-outs, which is the sort of variation that should be there. And I have four levels above that still available as I continue to improve.

   The adjustable back recline and seat tilt are fantastic. After last night’s session I had zero lower-back or hip pain. I need to tweak both settings a bit, as having them where they were left me tilting my head forward a bit uncomfortably to keep my eyes on the TV during the session. But this really is a huge improvement, and will make doing my daily cycling workouts even more enjoyable.

   One issue I’ve always had with exercise bikes is their foot straps. None of them fit the custom orthotic shoes that I’ve had to wear since my late 40s, and unfortunately the Elite RB is no exception. It came close — with the straps on the first “click”, I was able to get the larger of the two shoes onto the pedal up to about the ball of the foot. But that’s not far enough for me, due to the problems I have in my feet, so I had to get my scissors, sharpen them up, and cut off the straps. But because the bike’s pedals are nice and large, this wasn’t an issue. My feet fit on them very easily after that, and I never had a problem keeping them in place even at high cadence.

   My main complaint after that one session would be with the heart rate sensors in the hand grips. If I was holding them towards the front, so I had easy access to the resistance change buttons with my thumbs, the heart rate sensors were not at all accurate vs what my watch was showing. I had to move my hands further back on the hand grips and hold more tightly to get a pulse reading that matched my watch. Obviously, this is less of an issue for me since I’m not depending on that sensor during the workout, but for folks who want to use the bike as-is with its built-in programs, you’ll need to keep this in mind.

   The only other “issue” I had with the bike was how they chose to position the handle and roller wheels relative to where the bike is heaviest. All the bike’s weight is in the back, where they have the flywheel and most of the mechanicals. Yet that’s also where they have the lift handle mounted as part of the rear support, while the wheels are at the front. I found while moving the bike post-assembly to its final position (seen in the picture) that it started losing balance if I turned it too quickly. And getting it up against the wall ended up requiring me to set it down on its mat and then push it the rest of the way, because otherwise I’d be straining my back and shoulder trying to hold it up. Having the handle on the front with the wheels in the back would have been better for both ease of lifting and maneuvering stability. But let’s be honest, you’re most likely moving it into place once and never touching it again, so this is ultimately a small ding against it.

   And yes, I do recommend having a high-density rubber mat for this if you plan to have it sitting on a hard floor like I do. It’s mainly to make sure the bike’s feet don’t cause any damage when riding hard and fast, where it might start shimmying a bit without a mat to hold it in place. It will also help keep the bike quiet, since vibrations will be dampened.

   Going to end this saying the same thing I said when I started: This is the most expensive piece of home fitness gear I have ever purchased. But I can tell after just one exercise session that it’s also easily the best. I’m looking forward to years of use with this.

3. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   Hank – September 8, 2024

   If this exercise bike fits your budget, don’t hesitate to buy it. It’s an extremely smooth-running, easy to use machine that will give you an excellent workout and tell you just what you accomplished during it. Even more important, customer support is as good as it gets. When a minor problem arose during the 4th month of use, I was able to talk to the service manager for 3G Cardio, Keith Rose, who was extremely helpful. I even got an e-mail from the company’s owner, Bryan Dorksen, checking to see that I was satisfied. Well, I AM satisfied, and I appreciate a company that looks after its customers as this one does. In my experience, that is rare indeed. So I recommend this or any other product from this manufacture without reservation.
   Just for the record, I owned and used another exercise bike for more than 10 years, from Vision equipment. It was good—but this one is better.

4. 

   Rated 5 out of 5

   J. Moran – October 8, 2024

   I am a retired 74-year-old cardiovascular safety pharmacologist and have exercised daily for 35 years. My daily exercise typically incorporated a treadmill, road bike, and weight training. Still, with advancing years and a lower back injury, I had to change my bike routine to a recumbent model. After researching and reading countless reviews, I settled on the 3G Cardio Elite RB. I purchased the bike in October 2023 and put it into service on October 16, 2023. I perform 60-90 min of continuous cardio 5 days per week. As of this writing (January 5, 2024), I have logged 67 hours over 43 sessions on the bike. This amount of usage positions me to write a reasonably authoritative review. I am delighted to report that the 3G Elite bike has performed absolutely flawlessly. Not a single glitch or hint of any problem anywhere. As noted in the other reviews, the bike is exceptionally stable, quiet, and comfortable – rock solid in every respect. Similar to one other reviewer, I am also tall (6’4″) and heavy (~125 kg) and am entirely comfortable on the bike, with much adjustment still remaining to accommodate a larger frame than mine.

   The bike arrives very well-packed, and I strongly encourage any buyer to carefully follow the excellent video instructions for unpacking and assembly available on the distributors’ website. The distributor website also has additional videos to guide hardware adjustment of the startup resistance.

   As others have noted and as documented in the 3G manual, the bike controls allow custom-tailored exercise sessions by varying preset calories, time, watts, heart rate, and distance goals as desired. As these controls are clearly described in the 3G manual and other reviews, I will not repeat them here but use this space to discuss features not presented elsewhere.
   In an otherwise well-written manual, 3G only briefly and casually mentions the Bluetooth compatibility of the Elite RB. To me, this is a serious omission. In fact, I found the Elite RB to be fully compatible with every Bluetooth device (heart rate monitor) and program I had to use. Most importantly (to me), the Elite RB fully and seamlessly implements every aspect of Zwift®. This online cycling training platform enables users to design custom programs and ride, train, and compete in a virtual world. The features of Zwift® bring the cycling experience to an entirely different level, adding virtually unlimited variation to daily cycling routines. Zwift® is best known for replicating the elevation grades and difficulties of real-world cycling courses. It can also implement an ergometer (ERG) mode, which implements a user-defined series of intervals of varying resistance, regardless of the terrain. Zwift® is primarily designed for road bikes, allowing riders to change gears while navigating hilly terrain. By design, a recumbent bike only has 1 gear, so realistically, navigating a hilly course is not feasible. However, in ERG (ergometer) mode, where the resistance varies over user-designed time intervals, Zwift® creates an ideal environment for the recumbent bike. An ERG program also allows us to look very carefully at the actual performance of the Elite RB.

   Picture 1 depicts a typical Zwift® ERG program that I created (upper panel), which includes a ramped warmup, 60 minutes of varying resistance, and a ramped cooldown. The lower panel in Picture 1 presents the actual results recorded during one of my daily exercise sessions under the control of the Zwift® ERG program.

   Without going into too much detail, my results clearly show that the Elite RB precisely followed the ERG program instructions. Most impressive (to me) were the instantaneous transitions in preprogrammed resistance levels, which demonstrated the seamless and precise control of the Elite RB by the Zwift® program. The control evident during the ramped warmup and cooldown further highlights the accurate responses of the Elite RB, where the resistance level changed every few seconds. These results also show that the resistance of the Elite RB remained absolutely constant during each fixed interval, demonstrating very stable performance for the Elite RB over time. Impressive!
   While the design of the Elite recumbent bike is well thought out, I found that there was inadequate storage for multiple bottles (required for long rides) and an eye-level platform for an iPad or similar display for a control program. This issue is readily addressed by adding a RAD Cycle Products Adjustable Bike Trainer Fitness Desk available through Amazon. This desk is also well-built and very stable. It has adequate height adjustment to readily be positioned over the 3G Elite control panel. The combined equipment arrangement is shown in Picture 2.

   Incorporating Zwift® or some other companion control program (Rouvy®, etc.) will significantly enhance your experience with the Elite RB or any stationary bike. However, while the 3G Elite fully implements the Zwift® controls, it is not 3G’s responsibility to provide operational support for the use of Zwift® or any 3rd party program. The user will always be responsible for gaining expertise in add-on programs. However, extensive online communities support these very popular companion products.

   After several months of intense use, the Elite RB has proven to be a durable, professional-grade piece of equipment. Typically, we get what we pay for, but in the case of the Elite RB, I feel that the actual value far exceeds the price. The Elite RB is a genuine bargain when you factor in very responsive customer support and exceptional build quality.

   Regardless of the price, I don’t think you will find better (or comparable) performance in a recumbent bike.