Stationary Bike Stand Buying Tips and Reviews
There are some truly great stationary bike trainers out there – we personally love the Kurt Kinetic Road Machine and Saris (CycleOps) Fluid 2 models – but for beginners and the more price-conscious shopper, we know there are a few of you out there looking for a great value bike stand.
Let’s face it, as the economy bites many of us in the ***, saving some money is always a good thing (and hey, indoor trainers have also been known to ramp up your sex life!). So, after getting a few questions from readers asking us about some cheaper options, we decided to put this article together.
SEE ALSO: The FIVE best indoor trainers to buy in 2024!
There are a whole load of bike stands dropping in under the $80 mark, and you can find many online at stores like Amazon, as well as other high-street bricks and mortar outlets (though it has to be said, we’ve struggled to find the variety you can find on the Internet).
Below are the best THREE stationary bike stands we know of and have seen, and that are also ranked well on Amazon by satisfied customers.
One thing we should point out: the bike trainers in this range are constantly changing, with models renamed, and cheap Chinese versions almost everywhere. We’ve tried to create the most updated list out there, but it may change by the time you try reading about the models listed below!
Don’t forget to check out our comparison table for an ever-expanding list of bike stands and our unique summary of each and every one’s features.
NOTE: The bike stands below are suitable for 26″, 27″ or 700C wheels.
Cheap & excellent value: the Sportneer Bike Trainer
This excellently priced bike trainer comes in at just under the $80 mark, but offers some tremendous value, most notably its 6 resistance settings!
Coupled with a wide base and low stance, not a given for this type of price range, you have one heck of a stable trainer (it also comes with 5 adjustable antislip rubber feet).
The bar-mounted resistance settings mean you have easy access to getting the best resistance for any training session (there are 6 levels to choose from, offering some very decent road-like conditions). There’s also no need to worry about the noise, as this baby has a well designed resistance wheel.
The Sportneer trainer is easy to setup (see this if you need any assistance), and is perfect for any bike with a 26-28″ or 700c wheel. The trainer is also compatible with any rear axle between 4.92″- 6.57″. Best of all it also comes with a riser block (to place your front wheel on), this in itself is worth $15-$20.
Excellent value!
See the latest deals for the Sportneer Bike Trainer on AmazonThe Magnet Bicycle Indoor Exercise Trainer
This has to be the very best value stationary bike stand we’ve seen out there. Quite how these guys built this bike stand and sell it for typically under $50 we don’t know, but there are hundreds of happy customers who’ve snapped up this Magnet Bike Stand.
What makes it such a winner? Well, first of all, it’s cheap, and therefore perfect for beginners and the very price-conscious. It also has FIVE internal resistance settings (changeable from your handlebar, and which provides progressive magnetic resistance, meaning the resistance increases as the speed increases), is seen to be heavy duty (it weighs in at a solid 20 pounds) and is considered to be quiet too.
The instructions that come with the stand are notoriously bad, but if you follow the images you should be up and running in minutes (see our full review here).
See the latest deals for the Magnet Indoor Trainer on Amazon (CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE – we recommend trying the Sportneer trainer above or the BalanceFrom trainer below)The superb value BalanceFrom bike trainer!
This superb value bike stand is not a big brand name (in fact, it seems to be very similar to the Magnet trainer above). But the fact there are numerous happy reviews on Amazon sends a clear message that a big brand name isn’t always everything.
Why is this stationary bike stand a hit? Well, this stand is also considered heavy duty (also weighing in at 19 pounds with NO cheapo plastic bits, it’s entirely made from metal) and also stable, while also being fold-able – great for storing away! The stand comes with EIGHT resistance levels, which can be changed via the handle mount. Another good selling point – it also comes with its own Riser Block (you’d typically have to spend another $10-20 on one of these).
The only drawback we can see with this stand is that it seems slightly noisier than, let’s say, the Magnet Exercise Trainer we describe above (so use a trainer tire to reduce noise), but overall, is excellent value.
See the latest deals for this BalanceFrom Trainer on Amazon**************************
All in all, the three stationary bike trainers above are ALL excellent value and each is an excellent option. You really can’t go wrong with any of them, and your training sessions are about to get started on the right foot (or pedal…)!
More trainers that just missed out on making this list because they’re a few dollars above the $80 limit is the great value Graber Mag trainer, well worth checking out, the superb Bike Lane Pro trainer, the Minoura B60D trainer, and the Akonza Magnet Steel trainer, another excellent option that just hovers around the $80 zone…!
