MARCY Foldable Upright Exercise Bike with Adjustable Resistance

Wonderful bike for the price I paid (around $130 at the time). Just because these folding bikes look like folding ironing boards doesn’t mean they aren’t mechanically sound for what they do–it’s a great design that I wish I had decades ago–lightweight and takes up little space. My bike snob friends scoff at me, but I don’t care! Chances are their heavy, over-priced stationary bikes are sitting in their basement unused, when this folding bike can be moved around (in front of the TV or in the kitchen) whenever I want. It’s no good to have an exercise bike if you never use it!

However, I’ve only had it a short while and can’t vouch for how long the parts will last–that is still to be determined. It seems well built, but not heavy-duty like a bike at the gym, so I wouldn’t stand on the pedals, which would probably put too much force on the mechanism and might upset the center of gravity. The seat post flexes slightly in use at my weight (165 lbs), but seems sound. It is extremely quiet and doesn’t even vibrate the floor when using it.

There is no pulse monitor nor recumbent seat, but I have good balance and can kind of sit upright to relax the neck if I don’t want to lean on the handlebars.

I ordered the NS-652 model since I am 5′ 10″ male with medium-length legs, and it extends high enough for full leg extension, with room to spare, so I would expect that it would provide full leg extension for someone 5′ 11″, too. Some people don’t prefer or want that much extension, so it might also work for someone 6′ or taller if they like their legs a little bent. Knees might get close to the handlebars for taller people, but my knees have a lot of space. For much shorter people, Marcy has a smaller NS-654 model that might be more suitable.

I was worried about some of the reviews mentioning that the seat is hard, but it’s just dense foam like what you might have a gym, not hard like a board, with a seam around the back that is comfortable enough for me, but stationary gel/foam bike seat covers are available and not too expensive if that is a concern, which also has the nice benefit of increasing seat height another inch or so, too. Just make sure you get one big enough to fit the dimensions of the seat.

I am a masters runner (do occasional races) and have a fitness bike for outdoor cross-training, but I’m using this stationary bike for indoor recovery of a sprained ankle, and the resistance level 8 does seem to provide about the same resistance level that I use on stationary bikes at the gym for a casual cardio workout, but I’m not a cyclist nor triathlete. Levels 1-8 do provide noticeably different resistance which is nice, since I can dial it down until my ankle heals. Sometimes I may just want to increase circulation, not necessarily get a cardio workout, and I can just hop on and off, doing 5-minute sessions throughout the day.

The frame is well built, well-painted, well-packed with good instructions, comes with wrenches, and was easy to assemble (about an hour). I had to be careful threading in the 4 bolts that mount the handlebar assembly to make sure they weren’t cross-threaded and stripped, but I took my time to hand-screw them in first to get them started and they were fine. And I had to take some time to make sure I got the correct orientation on the pedal safety straps by looking at various pictures before attaching.

The photos don’t do it justice. The one I received looks better in person than in the photo since it has a slightly darker shade of white and the seat is black only (no light patch on the back). The front part of the frame with dual bars is also thinner and looks better in person, something hard to tell in the side-view photos. It has a neat little flywheel that you can see spinning through the translucent housing. The LCD panel is spartan but seems to work well and changes between a scanning mode where it rotates through the speed, time, distance, calories, odometer, or you can press the button to stay on just one of them. It will automatically turn on and off when you pedal and stop pedaling, but you need to supply it with two AAA batteries which are not included.

It also stands upright on its own when folded, a nice feature, and you can just fold it and stand it in a corner–no need to lean it against a wall, and it looks nice. It doesn’t have wheels but is light enough for me to just lift and carry to where I want to put it, but it might be a little heavy for an old or frail person to lift, and I do have to lift my leg over knee height to get on on the seat, something to keep in mind if it’s for someone lacking mobility. Folding and unfolding it is quick as long as I look to see when the holes line up for the safety pin as I fold the frame.

I ordered this because space is at a premium in my apartment. This takes up very little room even when opened up. Very easy to put together (easily done by one person despite the warnings about using two people) with clear instructions, and all tools provided. Well-packed and it arrived very fast!
I bought this because the reviews said it was very quiet (neighbours!). It is whisper quiet – so much so that I can hardly hear it. The tension at the top is just enough for me (senior woman) and the height adjustment is great. I’m 5′ 1″ with short legs, and this fits perfectly for cycling – I have it at the lowest seat setting. It is hard to climb over the centre to mount – (short people problems) but once I’m settled it’s just fine. Very stable as well. You *can* spin, but it would be difficult – it’s really not designed for that. My legs do stretch out fully when cycling, so someone with a shorter inseam (I’m 28″) may have a problem cycling. The seat is ok – but then all bicycle seats are ok. It’s not replaceable.

All in all, I’m very pleased with this purchase. The quality is good, nicely machined parts, no difficult or stripped threads or screws, and it looks nice.

Edited to add: I’ve been using this bike for a while now, and love it more than when I first got it. So comfortable, and gives me a pretty good cardio workout, and the seat is quite comfortable now I’m used to it. Great bike!

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Impressed with excellent packaging and relatively easy assembly. The hardest thing to do was getting the rubber pedal straps on. I heated them under hot water to make them pliable enough to attach. The front piece that holds the handlebars has a slight wobble even when tightened. But, it really doesn’t affect performance or use. I could put a slim shim in it if it did.
The unit is very stable and also works quietly and smoothly.
Only issue – would like seat to be able to adjust one notch higher. Would also have liked a spot to hold phone or small tablet.
Excellent bike for the price and better than expected. I wanted affordable and portable and this works great.

Excellent bike! Quiet, sturdy, easy to assemble and fold away. Excellent value for the price!