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Nautilus R614 Recumbent Exercise Bike may be in the mid-range category of recumbent bikes, but its close rivals fall more on the high-end side.
Besides the good design, the bike boasts a whole lot of programs, features, and resistance levels that might leave you thinking Nautilus screwed the pooch while pricing the machine. But they didn’t; it’s just them trying to stay ahead of the competition.
Stacked against its several-dollars-more-expensive, BIG brother, the Nautilus R616, the bike doesn’t seem to miss much—only seven less programmed workouts and five resistance levels. It also doesn’t offer its users the ability to use a heart rate chest strap. Strip the three out of its high-end elder brother, and there’d be nothing of concern to set a distinction between the two.
Other than that, the machine arrives with a great deal of extra features that connects you to the outside world, thus making your workout even more enjoyable and fun that you wouldn’t want to let a single day slide without getting on the bike and doing something. All things considered, Nautilus R614 is an excellent pick, and it’s for this reason that we plan to dive in deeper in our recumbent bike review and bring you a detailed coverage.
Design Features
The bike comes with a low frame profile and an easy-access design that’s ideally suited for anyone looking for low impact workouts with high intensity.
It has a well-contoured back that provides an excellent lumbar support and a cozier seat position than a good chunk of upright and indoor cycles.
Core to this is the high-speed, high-inertia drive system arriving with a perimeter weighted flywheel that makes the cycling even smoother. Not to mention the Eddy Current Braking resistance system that ensures your workout is softer and soundless like you’d want it to be.
Stability and Transport
As with quite a good number of recumbent bikes at different price ranges, Nautilus 614 spots several leveling feet fitted on the underside of its base stabilizer and crossbeam.
This is a common feature among many recumbent bikes, and one that makes it possible to compensate for any uneven flooring, thus creating a stable base on which you can perform your workouts without the distracting tilting of your machine.
Also worth mentioning are the transport wheels that come attached with the front stabilizer and tied together with the back-end carry handle. This special feature makes the bike easy to move around.
Other Essential Features
The bike has a dual-track LCD display, comprising of two LCDs that display up to thirteen work out details.
Needless to say, it spots a USB charging port that you can use to export data to myfitnesspal.com and nautilusconnect.com to keep track of your workouts. These sites have a powerful dashboard that you can use to analyze your workout metrics and share them around with your family, friends and watch buddies.
It flaunts 22 workout programs and 20 different levels of resistance.
Two user profiles.
3-speed cooling fan that you can adjust.
A heart rate monitor spotting touch sensors placed on the handlebar grips.
A water bottle holder
Acoustic chambered speakers
ECB magnetic resistance.
A maximum weight of 300-lbs.
In-console speakers with an MP3 player and an iPod.
Transport wheal that makes it easy to move around.
A media shelf that should make your workout even more enjoyable.
Assembly
Not everyone thinks R614 Recumbent Bike is a snap to install. But follow the installing procedure in the user manual correctly, and the whole process should take you not more than an hour to put it together.
Pros
A softer and soundless cycling motion. You can even do it while watching or listening to music.
Contoured back support and seat which makes your workout smooth and comfortable.
It allows you to transfer your workout data to fitness analysis sites such as MyFitnessPal to keep track of your progress.
It has a sturdy frame design.
Its low impact nature of exercising makes it an ideal choice of machine for those recovering from injuries or those with mobility issues.
It has a broad range of seat settings that suits almost every user, no matter their height—including those above 6-ft tall.
It also features multiple user profiles that makes it an ideal choice of recumbent bike for family workouts.
It’s well packaged, which protects it from damages during delivery.
It’s both easy and quick to assemble.
Cons
Its cooling fan is not as powerful and effective as some people could have wished it to be.
The machine could have been a lot better if the company had thought of making the cushioning a bit thicker as with bikes such as the Sole R92.
Its floating seat rail spots a maximum setting that can accommodate anyone below 6.4-ft tall. Anyone taller than that should consider getting a commercial style bike.
Customer Reviews
Majority of reviews rank this bike atop as one of the best mid-range recumbent bikes in the price range.
If your budget can’t stretch well enough to match its high-end match, the R614 model makes the perfect alternative, boasting an almost similar number of resistance levels and workout programs.
To cap it all, the R614 is one of the best recumbent bike within the price range. Different reviewers may have varied opinions on a whole lot of other factors, but at least most of them agree on this one essential fact.
The Wrap Up
Overall, the R614 is an excellent choice of recumbent bike, flaunting a good number of first-rate features. If you won’t love it for the pedaling, you’ll certainly love it for the comfort, and the fact that it’s one the best bikes in the category.
Taking all these features together with its reasonable pricing into consideration, there’s NO reason anyone should walk past this bike for any other choice, unless they’re going for an upgrade on the high-end flank of the aisle.
