After using a Life Cycle an hour per day for 15 years it wore out and I decided to replace it with a Nautilus bike because it was less expensive. Unfortunately, I could not find a store where I could try it out first. But I bought it anyway. This recombinant bike is a major disappointment. To begin, the seat back cannot be adjusted. You can slide the seat forward and backwards to accommodate the length of your legs, but you cannot adjust the back. As a result, you are leaning backwards while riding a bike whether you want to or not. This puts a strain on your neck and upper back if you are reading or watching television. In addition, there is no low resistance level. If you are recovering from knee surgery, for example, you cannot use this bike because you have to apply to much pressure to get the petals going. Even on the lowest level, it is difficult to get it started with an injured knee. I am not a weak person. I walk 3 miles a day and lift weights twice a week. So my difficulty in dealing with the resistance level is frustrating. To make matters worse, I had to pay a lot of money to have it assembled. I therefore cannot return it. I'm stuck with it. I regret that I did not spend the extra money to buy another Life Cycle.

Received bike via UPS is good shape within a few days of ordering: instructions for assembly were excellent and I put the bike together in approx 1hr. Works fine and am looking forward to using it on a regular basis. The display module is not backlit so you need good lighting in the room or a small desk light to illuminate the reading display if you are in a basement setting like I am. I have ordered a small LCD clip on with a USB plug so I don't see any problems ahead. Great product and would recommend it!

Compact, good quality. Use it all the time and exceeds our expectations given the relatively low price. Easy to assemble and runs quiet. Comfy seat. Compares well to the high end ones at the health club.

Great bike. Really comfy seat, I sometimes just sit on it and watch tv. My husband wanted tuis item and we put it together with little issue. It is excellent quality and ebcourages exercise with roomy, well shaped seat and large monitor for watching stats.

I have used an EPIC Ar 17 Recumbent bike for about 4 years and absolutely love it. Unfortunately, I tried to do a little home maintenance, and messed up my crank shaft that connect to the pedal. Apparently, the EPIC brand has been purchased by another company, and I read a number of poor reviews on the quality, and those swayed me to try something new, which was not a good idea. I ordered the Nautilus R614, and I have Prime, so I received the bike in two days. Other reviewers have mentioned shipping issues, specifically that the box had been beaten up and they were concerned about the contents. I did not have any of these issues. My box had normal wear and tear for shipment of a 106 pound item. The bike is surprisingly light, and it was easy to remove it from the box, along with the parts. The nuts, bolds, washers, and screws all come on a horrific flat piece of cardboard that has vacuum sucked plastic over it. This is the worst idea anyone could possibly have thought of. Simple bags for each would be more useful and easy to access, as the cardboard design is atrocious and makes it difficult to retrieve the contents.

Putting the bike together was not that difficult, but I did it by myself, so it took about an hour and a half. I was flying through assembly until it came time to connect the electronics on the front of the bike that connect to the console. The electronic male to female connection did not want to go, and the last thing I wanted to do was force it in and break it, especially since it was near the end of assembly. I finally just risked it all and forced the pieces together, and it works. Also, this is the only bike I have seen where the fly wheel assembly comes exposed at the top, and you cannnot cover it until you make this console connection. This proved frustrating as I dropped my allen wrench into the open flywheel, and the screw, washer, and nut followed. I had to get my 11 year old to stick his skinny hand inside to fetch them. Not the end of the world, but frustrating nonetheless. As I mentioned, with this bike being so light, it can be assembled with one person.

This morning was my first ride. I was hesitant to do a review after only one use, but I hope you will find this valuable. I have ridden a recumbent bike for about 15 years, so I have a solid understanding of what to expect and what I want. I do not use the myriad of courses that are provided. I prefer to set the tension myself and control it throughout the ride. This proved to be interesting. My Epic goes to a tension of 22, and I would ride it for 45 minutes at a tension of 13-14, and that was a challenging, near peak level at about 50-60 revolutions a minute. With the Nautilus, I rode it this morning on a tension of 22, which I find confusing because it says there are only 20 levels of tension in the instructions. In any event, I am already at the max on tension, which concerns me greatly. The 22 tension was challenging, but I will eventually need to increase that, and I have no room for growth.

I have saved the WORST for last. The seat on this bike was devised by some type of sadistic torture expert who definitely does not ride a bike with this plastic jabbing him or her in the back. The plastic back is the worst designed piece of equipment ever conceived. It feels like someone is hitting the bones on your lower back that protrude slightly, over and over, and then grading the skin from your back. After my ride, my wife was startled when she saw the two raw patches on my back where the seat wore off the skin. It is absurd that a $320 bike has plastic seats. The bottom seat being plastic means that you slide constantly as you are pedaling and have to adjust your rear end backwards on the seat. Pair that with the pain of the plastic back, and this bike should really be a 2 star rating, but I'm trying to take everything into consideration.

I doubt I will keep this bike. I was excited to get it and try it out, but the lack of tension and the torturous seats are hard to overcome.