Star Trac ST Fitness 8610 AirForce Upright Exercise Bike Review

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(More customer reviews)OK, I was buying the Schwinn Airdyne I first rode 30 years ago, unchanged except for the display computer. Now the Airdyne is a class act, pretty bullet proof. Had Amazon not just sold out then RAISED ALL THE AIRDYNE PRICES SUBSTANTIALLY.... it would be in my room now. But lucky me, after waiting over a month and researching sometimes hours a day, I found out there are a ton of knock offs on this original.Most? Cheap junk. Some, maybe actually a bit better than my beloved Airdyne. Here is how I got to buy this BEAUTIFUL STAR TRAC st fitness 8610 Airforce Upright Exercise Bike.

Recovering from a recent heart attack with 2 blood clots still in my right lung, I NEED to be up & active more. Especially my legs where the clots form from inactivity. Having had 5 major surgeries in the past 3 years leading to early retirement & disability at just age 55, I had quit surfing and motorcycle riding and become a person mostly laying around or spending days in a recliner due to pain & partial paralysis and finally, had the blood clots form in my legs and move through my heart. They go back through, and I die, period...So I have a real need to be more active but in some form that doesn't cause me more pain. This machine will help to keep me moving. I can just hold on and slowly peddle, use just my arms, just my legs, OR both. Go easy to help keep "flexible", or go hard and KNOW you are gonna die cuz this thing will work you!

Great choices of exercise variety and you work every single thing you have, how HARD or easy is up to you. Now, what makes it different that the Schwinn? Here is how I decided for myself. The wife took me to the biggest fitness store in San Diego. The sell both Schwinn's, and this Star Trac. Now this is the way to compare! If a sales person recommends one over the other, I sort of assume it's really because they just need to move that model more so often discount whatever they say. But ride them all and decide? THAT really lets me get the true picture. We spent 2 hours in the store warehouse and tried them all, plus got sort of hooked of $5000.00 machines I fell in love with. Commercial units with belt drives, more recumbent elliptical machines. But after every single test, ran right back to these "FAN" bikes to compare. After 2 hours, store temp now 80 degrees, I was exhausted but it was clear what i loved. It was this Star Trac and by a wide margin. Luckily, I had well researched the company & this design since I was so suspicious of ANY Schwinn Airdyne knock off. I had discovered the man who ran Schwinn before they sold out went on to found Lamar Fitness. He then designed the Lamar Fitness Air Force Dual Action Bike (also reviewed here at Amazon). What happened to Lamar I asked? Well, some research found this:"Founder Kevin Lamar is a former NFL player with the Buffalo Bills in 1987 and at one time president of Direct Focus (now known as Nautilus). Even with years of experience in the fitness industry behind the founder, accounting malpractices has led to the downfall of the firm".

OK so NOW: "Irvine, CA - September 25, 2007 - Star Trac, an international leader in the commercial fitness industry, is pleased to announce Kevin Lamar, formerly of LAMAR Health, Fitness & Sports and Nautilus, has joined Star Trac as Vice President and General Manager of the Consumer Division".

OK, now I have dug in to find out how this bike was born, established it was NOT a piece of junk, found it's roots but again, how is it different from the original Schwinn and is it better? It turns out they were all built by the same manufacturer, period, as so often happens. Now, it turns out the same man is at the helm of each company during this products beginning. Here is how I decided on my new bike.

1-I LOVED the look of the Lamar & now Star Trac, the Schwinn looked exactly like you would expect of a 34 year old design....OLD. This Star Trac is a beauty! Modern, soft edges, swooping look. Looks like it is doing 100 MPH just sitting next to my computer...

2-I also LOVED the seat on the Star Trac, and it is infinitely adjustable unlike the Schwinn. The Schwinn moves up & down. The Star Trac also ADDS forward & backwards! And of course you can tilt the nose up or down as your comfort prefers. The backrest becomes important when you use it for legs only, you can SAFELY lean back to not get smacked around by the still moving arms.

3-Noise, this is VASTLY more quiet, and also still throws plenty of air on you but does NOT blow all your "stuff" around the room like the old Schwinn.

4-Foot Rests. The old Schwinn has tiny old "pegs". This brute has HUGE floorboards like my Harley. I mean, your feet will NEVER slip of these monsters and they are so much more comfortable. You really have to use both to experience just how significant the improvement is.

5-Smoothness. The Star Trac is a jewel by comparison to the Schwinn's (for me!) It was almost like the difference form driving my old 1948 Ford to a new Lexus. It is just such a nice, smooth & comfortable, ADJUSTABLE ride. I can easily hear the TV while using (NOT on the Schwinn!), it looks & feels wonderful & smooth by comparison to Schwinn. Understand, I put myself though a sheer nightmare to buy this since I am SO loyal to Schwinn! I just wouldn't "let go"....But after 2 hours and nearly dropping from exhaustion in testing, I didn't even wait for one from Amazon. I knew SO much that this is a better product, with a better warranty, I bought it direct from the store (who matched Amazons price by the way and it was assembled free to boot!), they also loaded it into our truck & tied it down for us.

6- The wheels to transport. This bike makes it a breeze to move around compared to the Schwinn. We rolled it about 1/8th of a mile to get it into our home without a glitch. No need to do heavy lifting and they are wheels plenty strong to truck across blacktop etc as we did.

7- The seat. Adjusts not only up & down, but forward & rearward. On top of all that, it has a BIG backrest and even it also adjusts both up & down. If you can't find comfort on this bike, it just isn't possible for you to find comfort. No need to spend even more money after purchase here for extra seats to stop the pain.

Something Amazon NEEDS to correct in their description of this Star Trac is this, Amazon description states:
"Display readouts include Speed, RPM, Elapsed Time, Calories, Distance, Heart Rate and Watts".*****NOT True! There is NO Heart Rate monitoring on this bike!*****

And:

"It accommodates a wide range of users (up to 350lbs.) and its telemetric and contact heart rate system allows for easy and convenient heart rate monitoring". *****Again, NOT true! It simply has NO heart rate info available, and the weight capacity in the OWNERS Manual stated just 300 pounds, not 350. The weight thing is insignificant I imagine as this tank can probably take 400 pounds easily but who really knows? *****

OK (whew), that's about it. But I was so tired of endlessly searching the Internet for reviews on this to only find a single review that in NO way was a real review, at least to me. If like myself, you wonder if there is a newer version of the old favorite, there is. And this one I chose and now you know why & HOW it is different. I still love the Schwinn, it has been around forever, DESERVES the respect it has EARNED! But like my beloved old Schwinn Beach Cruiser that sits in my garage, it is an old classic I won't sell, but never want to ride it since it is such a "pig" of an old bicycle. With the exercise bike, I think by comparison of my new Star Trac, it would have gone the same way. The much more modern, smoother & quieter Star Trac is just something I WANT to climb on while I watch TV& remember that good old Schwinn fondly.....

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Product Description:
The ST Fitness 8610 Upright Bike features dual-action wind resistance, a back pad and a heavy duty bottom bracket. It accommodates a wide range of users (up to 350lbs.) and its telemetric and contact heart rate system allows for easy and convenient heart rate monitoring. Other features include front transportation wheels and a battery-powered electrical system (2 AA batteries, included). This product is covered by a Light Commercial warranty.

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