Davina Foldable Magnetic Exercise Bike

Davina Magnetic Foldable Exercise Bike

I seem to go through phases of either doing a whole load of exercise at home or none at all. For the last year however I have been doing a lot of running and I was getting up to do a 6am run when is was still light. However as the mornings are now really dark I have not been going out running as much as I was before due to time restraints. Plus I have also been suffering from a bad spell of sciatica which I am due to see the physio about as I am unsure whether to exercise it or not seeing as there is so much conflicting information. With all this in mind I thought it about time I updated a few of my at home exercise equipment and when I saw this bike in Argos I thought it looked great and the small reviews on the site rated the product highly so I didn't hesitate to drive to my local store and pick one up.

Price and Availability

When I purchased the bike a few months back it was at £99 which was a price that I felt pretty good especially as the item was small and compact with the option of folding up smaller for storage. However since then they have reduced it by £20 and it is now £79.99p which is a little annoying on my part but for anyone thinking of buying it I would suggest doing it now as that price is really value for money.

Like I say I bought it from Argos and having had a look online just now I can't see that it is being sold anywhere else. It seems as though it is a newish product because it doesn't even look as if anyone is selling a second hand one on eBay even. Buy saying that I guess because the bike itself is so good no one would want to get rid of theirs! It is however an item that can be picked up in store and it fit well into the back seats of my car.

Setting The Bike Up

I was really surprised at how easy it was to get the bike up and running once I got home. Considering I was on my own and without man help I was still able to put it together within 15 minutes and without any stress! There is a small spanner type tool included with all the nuts and bolts and the instructions did look very complicated at first but once I got going it was a very basic thing to put together. It was a simple case of attaching the two bars that are like the feet of the bike and then the peddles onto each side. Then the handles get fixed on and this is where the computer type section of the bike is held so that needs plugging in to the loose cable already fed through the main frame of the bike. The final stage is to fix the seat in place and it is all a case of around screwing a dozen or so bolts. Very easy.

Look, Comfort and Design

The bike itself does look the business and at the same time doesn't take up too much room. I have mine set up in the front room so that every time I am sat on the sofa I feel guilty for not being on the bike and so far I have been using it far more than I would do were it positioned in the kitchen or another room of the house. The folding aspect of the bike is a good idea although to be honest I can't say I have folded it up yet as I want to keep it out with the idea that I will use it more. The folding up part is easy to do though and it takes only the pull of a metal pin out of one set of holes that then enables you to push the feet of the bike together and then you can replace the pin into another set of holes to keep it pushed together and thus taking up less floor space.

The seat of the bike is nice and large and after the first few goes my bottom has because accustomed to it and it is not in the least bit uncomfortable to sit on for a good amount of time. The cushioning of the seat is adequate enough and is covered in a water proof type material so that it is easy to wipe clean and get sweat free! This is also the case with the handles of the bike which are large and shaped so that they can be held in a variety of different positions comfortably. These are also covered in a wipe clean material which is not only soft and cushioning but easy to keep clean.

As far as the entire design of the bikes goes it is a really good one and I can find no fault with it at all. It is smallish and lightweight so that it can easily be moved around the house if you so wish but at the same time it is sturdy when in use and comfortable too.

General Use

The bike I found a real surprise to use because of the fact that it is so quiet and non-intrusive that it is something that you can be one whilst watching a film and it wouldn't put you off or annoy anyone you were in the same room as. You really can't here the mechanics of the bike at all and this is probably one of the best aspects to the bike in my view.

Of course the bike itself also has different type of resistances that you can work with. There is a large dial on the main frame of the bike that can be turned from 1 to 10 with 10 being the hardest resistance but still not impossible to do. I tend to keep it on 6 to be comfortable whilst watching a film but to get a good sweat on I will crank it up to 10 for short periods.

The computer type element of the exercise bike is okay if not a little basic. There are a few different modes that you can have the display set to or of course you can opt to “scan” all of the modes so you can get a quick flash of all the different ones. This option for me seems far too fast compared to other exercise items that I have with a similar type of computer on them so I tend to keep it mainly on the timer so I can see how long I have been doing.

The other modes that you can get are the distance mode, the calorie mode and the speed mode. I must say that the calorie mode I don't trust one bit as it seems far too overly generous. I didn't have to set my height or weight into the computer either so I really wonder how it can tell you the calorie burnt at any one time. Also the display is a little annoying as it will only go up to 99 which means that when I was on it the other night for around 2 hours the time had to reset itself once it got to the 99 which was a bit of a pain but I still kept going and wasn't too put out but of course for those wanting to train for long distances this bike may not be the one for getting the times and distances correct.

There is also a heart rate monitor on the handles of the bike which does seem to work well but for what I am using the bike for (mainly just to know I have done an hour or so on it) I don't really see the need for using this but I guess it is an added bonus having it there although it may just be another thing to go wrong!

Overall Opinion

All in all having had this exercise bike for a good number of months now and have been using it most nights if not every other night I can say that it was well worth the money I paid for it and it is a great bit of home exercise equipment. Being relatively small and compact makes it ideal for any home however big or small plus the more or less silent mechanics of the bike makes it perfect to use any time of the day or night. The bike can of course be used at different resistances so perfect for different abilities and the low impact of cycling is far better for knees and joints than running is but can be just as sweaty and exhilarating!

The main downside of the bike has got to be the on board computer which is really quite average and not one of the best I have used even on cheaper exercise equipment however for me I don't see this as too much of a downside because I feel that as long as I know how long I have been on the machine and work as hard as I feel I want to that is all I want the bike for. This said though the computer does give the distance and the time so even if I decided I wanted to do a bit of a challenge and time myself for a 10 k bike ride this would still be possible and accurate so the computer does still work the basics like this.

All in all I feel that the fact that the bike is comfortable, silent and compact overrides the fact that the computer is less than brilliant and I still think I am happy to award a top score of 5 out of 5 star rating and a very high recommendation!

I do hope that this has been of some help/interest to you

Many thanks for taking the time to read.