So, this is an interesting change of pace for things here at GAMbIT, but in our quest to keep things fresh and to explore new content we are giving readers something a little different. It’s been just a little over a month since I’ve had the Stamina 1300 Magnetic Upright Exercise Bike here at the house testing it daily to see how it holds up under some serious pressure.
Being a writer that mostly works on the internet, I’m not the most in shape individual, but I do like to get out and workout a few times a week to try and keep healthy. Running has always been my method of choice to counteract all the sitting I do, but with my awkward schedule it sometimes becomes difficult to get my run on at 2 in the morning.
Because of this I always wanted to get myself a stationary bike of some kind, one that is light enough to move around my place easily, but also strong enough to give a solid workout and last. The problem with that idea is that unless you are willing to spend hundreds upon hundreds of dollars you’re pretty much out of luck. That’s when I stumbled upon Stamina and their line of bikes during my weeks of online research.
Everything they offered in the Stamina 1300 bike seemed to fit in line with what I was looking for. The bike has a small footprint that allows you to fit it in most any room and makes closet storage a breeze, and its light weight makes moving it around a near painless experience. Not only that, but the bike easily fit into the price range that I was looking for with a list price of $250, but you can snag one through Amazon for a cool #144.95 with free shipping at the time of this writing. If you do a little more digging you might be lucky enough to score one for under $130 which is a pretty unreal deal for a bike like this.
The Stamina 1300 comes with an adjustment knob to adjust the tension for your ride, and while this was more than enough to provide a real challenge early on, as the month progressed and I became a stronger rider I found even the highest setting a bit underwhelming. Then I thought to myself, “Isn’t that the point?” because it showed that I was showing progress in my workouts. This isn’t to say that it won’t provide you a good workout in later months, but you may need to sped a little longer on the bike to get the most out of it.
I have found myself still using the Stamina 1300 on a daily basis a month on, but more so now as a sprint style bike, putting in speed sessions that still really challenge me. Mixing up the type of workout can really keep you coming back and allows you to continue to push yourself and the bike. With YouTube at your finger tips the multitude of spin classes to pair with the Stamina 1300 are almost endless. I found myself having a daily routine and having people to ride with (even online) makes working out all the more fun. While Stamina (and myself) don’t recommend a stand-up heavy online spin class with this bike, I’ve done it a number of times and the 1300 holds up just fine under my weight.
At 5’7″ the bike was a perfect fit and the seat adjustment pole was easy enough to move up and down when others wanted to ride for their workouts. It does seem that if you are pushing 6′ you might run into problems, but for most people the bike should fit like a glove. The seat itself looks high quality, but chances are it’s going to be a real pain in the… Well, you get the idea. At minimum you are going to want some sort of seat cover (I tossed an old town on top) to make it a more comfortable experience, but after getting used to it now after a month, I find myself using the seat without any extra padding. Still, I would have liked to see Stamina implement a nicer seat, or offer some add-on ones online.
That’s really one of the things I would like to see addressed. The Stamina 1300 is a fantastic piece of workout equipment for the price, but it’s the little things that could have made it really stand out. I already mentioned a better seat, but the inclusion of a water bottle cradle would have saved me a world of trouble by having to have a table of chair near to keep my bottle on. The handle bars also could use a bit more padding and their spacing feels a little too narrow for me, but nothing that really puts me off from recommending it. The biggest gripe I have is actually with the console on the unit.
It has everything you need, Time, Calories, Distance, Speed, etc, and it all works splendidly, but the console is just so big for the little it does. I would love for Stamina to keep the display the same size, but slim down the housing so the handle bars could wrap in from more like a spin bike and give you and extra position to ride from. Again, these things are personal preferences and in no way impact the workout you will be getting.
Setting up the unit is really easy to follow with the included plans, but I did have a hell of a time getting the tension rod to attach to the handle frame. Everything else snapped and screwed into place really easy, but that tension rod almost had me cursing up a storm. The whole unit is also really quiet and when someone is doing an early morning ride the rest of the house won’t even know it. All in all it’s really hard to find much fault with the bike itself and offers a great workout for the price.
It might not be the best for those already really active and biking outside, but even then there are days or seasons where riding outside can be difficult, or a real hazard. For those times the Stamina 1300 is an excellent choice and an even better choice for those looking to get into shape without spending a fortune on the gym. Now if only Stamina would make a laptop tray so I can ride and get some work done!
You can snag a Stamina 1300 Magnetic Upright Exercise Bike on Amazon or head over to the Stamina website to find out more.
*A demo unit was provided by Stamina for this review
About Author
