Don't Think About Buying This Piece of Junk
by - Written: Feb 07 '03 (Updated Apr 12 '03)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Cheap
Cons: The digital gauges lie, It wants to fall apart. NOT RELIABLE AT ALL.
The Bottom Line: DO NOT, under any circumstances buy this problem-laden, poor excuse for an exercise bike.
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| hyundai_fan's Full Review: Stamina Products 890 Dual-Action Air-Resistance Bi... |
Over 60% of Americans suffer from overweight. After learning this fact, you'd expect that those 60% would need some kind of equipment in order to lose those extra pounds.
Most people would buy an exercise bike.
This is why I wanted to write about the Stamina 890. There are too many problems with the bike. Here's the story on how I got it:
I used to have an exercise bike that was used very much. I ran it for nearly 400 miles and it never wanted to quit working. I lost 18 pounds that summer. A year later it was thrown away due to taking up too much space.
After wanting to get another bike for the amount of fun I had, I decided to go to a nearby Wal-Mart thanks to their low prices. There were many bikes shown and they all were too big for what I needed. All I wanted was something small that would last a long time. I finally found the Stamina. It had the basics that I wanted. A wheel tightener to help you work harder when riding, even though it is very loud with a very annoying clicking sound when turned, as it is a dial. It had a speedometer, a timer, and a comfortable seat.
At a bargain price, $89.99, second cheapest of all the bikes sold there, I decided to get it. Boy was I in one heck of a surprise.
One rule to think about is when you do buy a piece of excercise equipment, make sure the instructions are easy to understand. The bike, when brought to my house, was in nearly 40 different pieces if you include screws, nuts, bolts etc. When reading the instruction booklet, all you see is very confusing pictures with the original "Put object A in object B" approach. They were so confusing, in fact, that I didn't fully put the bike together until a day later with a bunch of experimenting.
The Stamina is very cheap made. Everything but the handlebars are plastic (very thin in fact to where it bends very easily). The gauges consist of one small digital display that shows speed, distance, trip odometer and calories burned. One major complaint is that these gauges lie. I can ride five miles on an original bicycle in 50 minutes (going about ten miles per hour). This exrcise bike lets me go that same amount of distance in five, YES FIVE, minutes, or equivilant to nearly 60 miles per hour with little straining, thus lying about calories burned and distance rode. It is kept together in two small parts, one holds the screen and batteries, the other is the base, and is kept together to the force of gravity. That's right. It does not have any locking pieces, so when you skim your knee on the gauges when riding really fast, the gauges will fly off the base.
Now here's where the real bad, but somewhat humerous part begins...
The next day, after owning the bike for three days, one of the pedals come flying off, followed by the other one. After putting them back together, the bolts would keep unscrewing and kept getting the pedals to come off, which is very dangerous. I called the company saying that we needed new pedals. No big deal. It didn't cost anything as the 90 day warranty was still active. The pedals were expected to arrive to my house at around 12 weeks.
Twelve weeks later, the pedals still didn't arrive. I made another phone call to the company, saying that I'd better get those pedals as soon as possible so I could start riding the bike again. The company explained that the pedals were in Hong Kong and the shipping was delayed as they weren't ready for shipping. I was told to wait another six weeks.
Two months later, they still didn't come. Finally, after being awfully desperate, my mother sent an e-mail saying that I had a handicap where I could not walk and needed the pedals to continue on with my physical therapy.
Note that this was a big fat lie (no pun intended) and I assumed that they would be shipped to my house ASAP making them believe I really needed them or else. Well, they were finally shipped and I got them a week later. Why I waited nearly six months for pedals that were supposed to arrive in three months got me mad. That is one reason why I don't like this bike at all.
Other than the pedals, The handlebars feel as if they too will fall off, as they don't feel "in place" like as if they were very loosely put on. When you see the picture of the bike, you'll notice that they go back and forth to strengthen the arms. The pedals still feel as if they will fall off as well. The speedometer I've given up hope for, and The only good thing about the bike is that it is somewhat comfortable, but only for sitting on, not exercising
Don't get the bike. $90 is worth more than this bike.
-Happy Exercising! :)
HYUNDAIFAN
Recommended:
No
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