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Schwinn Airdyne vs Assault Airbike – The Ultimate Comparison (With Reviews and FAQ)

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man on an ellipctical

Air bikes, also known as fan bikes, are a relatively recent addition to the market of exercise machines. That, however, didn’t keep them from becoming extremely popular both with professional athletes and fitness fans. Nowadays you can see them in almost every commercial gym. But if you aren’t keen on visiting gyms regularly and just want to train at home, many specialized brands will offer models for residential use.

Air bikes are a popular choice for several reasons. First, it’s their versatility. You can use an air bike for full-body training, to tone up your legs and lower body muscles, or just your arms, shoulders, and chest. Second – most fan bikes are relatively lightweight and small. Third, they can provide quite a challenging low-impact workout with infinite resistance.

Now, let’s dig into the two air bike giants, and settle this Schwinn Airdyne vs Assault Airbike debate. We got reviews ready, as well as the FAQ. Let’s begin!

Table of Contents

Air Bike Advantages

  1. Fan bikes allow training both upper body and lower body muscles. Users can evenly distribute the load.
  2. Thanks to the way the pedals are connected to the fan flywheel, you can easily spin the pedals in a reverse direction. This allows training the leg muscles that don’t get involved during training on regular exercise bikes.
  3. It’s possible to use air bikes in a standing position, without sitting down.
  4. The air bike’s progressive difficulty is proven to be a great way to do cardio. Regular air bike workouts help with skeletal muscle development.
  5. Exercise machines of this type are extremely effective when it comes to burning calories and extra fat.
  6. All air bikes provide low-impact training experience, which means it’s virtually impossible to injure your muscles or joints even during high-intensity workouts.
  7. These exercise bikes are great for injury rehabilitation.
  8. Air bikes are very sturdy, reliable exercise machines. The principle of using large multi-blade fans for air resistance is quite simple but provides extra durability. You can work out for hours daily and they won’t let you down.
Schwinn Airdyne AD6
Schwinn AD6 Airdyne Exercise Bike
  • Affordable
  • Features a bottle holder and comes with a plastic water bottle
  • Quiet
  • Pedals with foot straps
Assault AirBike Classic
Assault AirBike Classic
  • Higher weight capacity
  • Heavy-duty professional-grade machine
  • Features a fully adjustable seat for any height and body type
  • The larger fan offers higher air resistance
  • Functional LCD console

Schwinn Airdyne vs Assault Airbike: General Information

There is simply no air bike as well-known as Assault Airbike. Assault introduced air resistance bikes to the market back in the 90s. The concept was innovative then and now Assault Airbike is a household name.

For years, these heavy-duty workout machines praised by professional CrossFit athletes were unparalleled, even though other brands tried to compete with them. However, things have changed and some serious competitors emerged to take Assault Airbike’s place under the sun (or rather share it).

Schwinn Airdyne series is one of them. As soon as the Airdyne line popped up on the market it became clear that these bikes are capable of challenging the veteran. Just like the Assault fan bikes, they offer professional-grade performance, unwavering reliability, and versatility.

Overall Look and Design

With both machines being marketed as professional-grade air bikes for CrossFit enthusiasts and professionals, it’s not surprising they look kind of similar. They both have that nice and sleek, “the stuff but not the fluff” look that can fit bot home and regular gyms.

Assault Airbike is mostly made of metal while Schwinn’s Airdyne AD6 features quite a lot of plastic components. Naturally, they are made of heavy-duty plastic designed to endure high-intensity training day after day.

The Assault machine has a visibly larger fan (25 inches in diameter) with steel blades, while Airdyne features a smaller fan with multiple plastic blades. Although metal is generally considered more durable than plastic, it wouldn’t be fair to call this a disadvantage.

The thing is metal blades make much more noise, so the Airdyne machine is a quieter one of the two.

Both with Assault Airbike and Airdyne, you can use the arms without touching the pedals, but the Assault machine takes the cake in this respect thanks to the pegs attached to the flywheel.

Resting your feet on them while doing an upper body workout is extremely comfortable. While Airdyne has some kind of footrests too, they don’t provide that much comfort.

One of the main differences between these bikes is the drive type. Assault Airbike offers chain drive and the Airdyne machine features a belt drive. This is something to consider because belt drives are known as being more reliable and low-maintenance.

Besides, metal chain drive also adds to the amount of noise the bike makes.

A lady enjoying an intense workout on a an air bike

Console

Both machines feature fairly large LCDs with all the basic metrics (like heart rate, calories burnt, distance, etc.) visible at distance. There are no pre-programmed workout options featured in either of the bikes but the Assault Airbike machine offers several time settings for different types of workouts.

All in all, the console on the Assault Airbike looks more functional than the one offered by its Schwinn Airdyne counterpart. The display looks larger and controls easier to access.

Other Features

Both bikes feature adjustable seats that are quite similar. However, in the case of the Assault Airbike, there seems to be more room for adjustments as this machine’s seat can be moved both horizontally and vertically. Airdyne allows for vertical adjustment only. Both seats can be replaced, though it seems like the replacement option is easier with the Assault Aibike machine.

Schwinn Airdyne vs Assault Airbike – FAQ:

1. How exactly does the Airdyne AD6 monitor heart rate?

The Airdyne AD6 air bike features a telemetric heart rate monitoring system. It works via a chest strap, but you will have to purchase it separately as it doesn’t come with the package.

2. Can I replace the original Airdyne AD6 seat with another one?

The seat is replaceable but the marketing company doesn’t recommend it because other seats may have different specifications and therefore won’t guarantee stability and safety.

3. The Assault Airbike doesn’t look dramatically different from the Airdyne AD6 bike but costs a lot more. Why is that?

Assault Airbikes are marketed as professional-grade machines for experienced CrossFit athletes and commercial gyms. It’s a well-known brand that has been the market leader for quite a while now. Overall, it’s safe to say that it’s more durable and reliable than any other machine.

4. How loud is the Assault Airbike?

Since it’s mostly made of metal, with a metal chain drive and metal fan blades, it can get quite noisy. The faster you go, the louder it gets.

A strong woman exercising on an air bike

Other Considerations

If you’re interested in exercising at home, there are many different ways to upgrade your home gym. Here’s a list of relevant topics we covered, including different types of exercise equipment and budget ranges. Also, we covered some important topics when it comes to home gym machines, so feel free to read on:

Lastly, in case you want to stay within the Schwinn brand, we recommend that you start here:

Conclusion

Assault Airbike exercise machines have been dominating the workout machine market for decades for a good reason. They are exactly what they are marketed as: highly durable, trustworthy professional machines capable of withstanding even the most intense workouts. For this purpose, they feature a mostly metal profile, functionality, and no unnecessary extras.

When you compare Assault Airbike to Schwinn’s Airdyne AD6, it might seem like it’s clear who is the winner in this competition. While Airdyne is, by all means, a high-quality exercise machine, it still takes a back seat by several parameters. This being said, it’s important to remember that Assault Airbike machines are sold for more than double the price Airdyne offers.

So if you don’t want to settle for less and want to get top quality and performance along with the most recognizable brand, Assault Airbike is something you might want to go for. And if you just need a reliable fan bike for your home gym, Airdyne is a nice choice for you. There lies the whole Schwinn Airdyne vs Assault Airbike debate – both air bikes are good, but the differences are there.

At The Home Dweller, we research all sorts of homestead topics, all to deliver you valuable buying guidelines. If you found this article helpful, feel free to share it on social media and help out someone who’s looking for a new air bike.

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