Expresso HD Upright Exercise Bike - HDU

I ordered my Expresso bike here on Amazon.com and wanted to share the experience with those that are considering buying an Expresso bike here. First, I admit that this was an expensive acquisition - but I have a circa 1995 Trek E3200 exercise bike that I use almost daily and it was time for a new exercise bike. The Trek used a power-based variable resistance as you pedaled, depending upon different program selections. The display consisted of dotted/stacked red lights that showed "hills" like vertical bar graphs moving from right to left. I dutifully rode it regularly, the same exact program: "Weight Loss Mode". I usually achieved some level of uninspired sweat/exercise, never really pushing myself. I'd burn about 240-300 calories and call it a day. Yaaawwwnnn.I travel on business and had the opportunity to ride several Expresso Bikes in different hotel gyms. Here is what I noticed:1) I worked out harder.2) I worked out longer.3) Workouts went by fast.4) I had a lot of fun.I've been thinking about buying an Expresso bike for my home for a long time and finally saved up enough coin to order one here on Amazon. I justified the expense based on the fact that, at 45, I'm not getting any younger. It's getting harder to get motivated to work out. In the Northeast, I can't get outside and bike most of the year and the roads are just not safe in the congested area I live in. Indoor cycling is a fantastic workout and keeps me in great physical shape year round. Bottom line - my health is worth the expense and I think the Expresso bike will help keep me in better shape, longer.***The experience buying on Amazon: Buying from Amazon, shipping is included in the price. Also included in the price is three years of Expresso's "eLive" service, which is normally $200 per year (more on eLive below). The price also includes a surge protector and a wireless router. Finally, a three-year warranty is also included. Where I live, the purchase was tax-free. I looked at the Expresso HD bike at my local Gym Source store and they were asking more than the price here on Amazon, but they were willing to negotiate/discount to the point where pricing was nearly identical. I just liked the idea of ordering directly from Interactive Fitness Holdings (IFH) and working directly with them through Amazon. So I placed my order on Amazon and the next day I received a friendly email communication from IFH that my bike would arrive on or before a specified date via STI/North American Van lines. The email also spelled out a 7-step "what to expect for delivery", outlining their white-glove delivery service and the associated process.***The delivery experience: Three days before the delivery date that IFH's email specified, I received a call from an IFH rep letting me know my bike was on schedule and that I should soon receive a call from STI to setup a delivery time. The next day STI called and setup a delivery time and asked for some details about the number of stairs and where it would be placed. The day before delivery, IFH called me and asked what email address I wanted to use to register my bike as the bike's owner/manager.I worked from home the day of delivery and the bike was delivered within the first hour of the delivery timeframe. The two gentlemen that delivered the bike scoped out the route that the bike would need to take to get to my basement. There were a few tight corners/squeezes and a flight of stairs. They explained that they would unpack, carry in and then setup the bike - then remove all packaging materials. They said this was their first home delivery for an Expresso bike, but they had done many, many gym deliveries. As promised, the bike was placed where I wanted it, setup and all packaging removed. The bike was immaculate/perfect. They did an amazing job and were extremely professional. I was impressed how easy and smooth the operation went.***The Expresso setup process: I was told I would get a call from IFH after the bike was delivered, to set it up and get it running on the internet but I just went ahead and set it up myself. The included setup instructions were a piece of cake and my bike was placed right next to my own router so I could connect it directly to the internet (i.e. the IFH servers) via an Ethernet cable. Because of this, I did not need the IFH-included router; however, potential buyers should note that a wireless connection was an option as well. The IFH-included router is a Cisco N600 router that is preconfigured by IFH to connect wirelessly to the bike. Wireless setup would have likely been just as easy as my wired connection, using the included router.I followed the directions and registered the bike using the IFH website's bike manager. After an hour, the bike was still showing as unregistered so I rebooted it and voila, It was now showing me as the owner on the upper right corner of the display. Next, I followed the directions to access the owner/manager setup options on the bike itself. Using an access code on the bike's keypad, there are a series of options that the owner can use to configure the bike to work the way he/she wants it to operate - very nice! I've uploaded a few pictures of the setup options here on Amazon. I then left the bike on and came back about two hours later and it had downloaded four new bike tours! Very cool.***The Bike: The Expresso bike consists of the bike itself with a magnetic-based, variable resistance pedal mechanism. There is a heart rate monitor built into the handlebars - put your hands on each pad on the handlebar and your heart rate is picked up. There is a small keypad-based input device with numbers and navigations buttons in front of the handlebars. A 23-inch monitor/display is front/center and easy to see. The seat is nice, not too wide and not too narrow with a good amount of cushion. It is very easy to adjust the seat up and down and fore and aft with a solid click into place. Large numbers make it easy to return the seat to your preferred position if others ride the bike and move it.Now the important part - and the key thing that makes the Expresso Bike different: There is an on-board computer at the base/front of the bike. From what I can tell during bootup (and via a YouTube video that I found), the Expresso bike's computer is a Giada D2305, which is a very high-spec and very capable mini pc. IFH did not skimp here.Via the internet, the computer wired or wirelessly connects the bike to the IFH servers. The computer is the "man behind the curtain" and displays the selected bike route and riders, captures and displays heart rate, measures the bike's rpms and varies the pedal resistance based on the course's incline/elevation. Based on rpm and resistance, wattage, speed and other metrics are calculated and then displayed by the computer. If you subscribe to IFH's eLive service (3 years of eLive are included in the Amazon price), the computer also uploads ride data to the IFH servers and downloads new courses, software updates, other rider's ghosts (so you can compete against them). Additionally, eLive allows you to compete in monthly IFH event/challenges. The computer/network connection also enables you to compete against other Expresso bikes on your local network (I obviously have only one bike on my network, but at clubs/gyms with multiple networked Expresso bikes, you can race against others in the same gym, at the same time and see each other on-screen).The bike itself is built like a tank. IFH designed it to be ridden constantly and ridden hard - i.e. Gym-proof. Everything about it is over-engineered and solid. In addition to standard strap-based toe clips, the pedals even have SPD clips if you want to clip in with your dedicated bike shoes - nice touch. I've read that the handlebars are waterproof as well (you will likely sweat A LOT). The 23-inch monitor is beautiful and well-protected. Two water bottle holders flank the steering post and are accessible but not in the way. The bike is finished in a nice powder-coat black that looks and feels very durable and is resistant to chips/marks/scrapes.Flip the power switch and the bike boots up in just under a minute - fast. One thing I notice is the fans - just noisy enough to make me want to turn the bike off when I'm not using it but not noisy enough that I notice it while I'm riding. Remember these bikes usually sit in a gym where the fan noise will go unnoticed. In a quiet home they let you know the bike is present and on. I turn my bike off when not in use. This is not an issue but should be mentioned.***The Expresso Bike Experience: After getting the bike setup, I had the option to create an account on the bike itself. I used the account I had been previously using at various gyms and it remembered me! A 6-digit account number and a numeric password are all it takes to log in once you've setup an account. Theoretically, when I travel, I can ride any Expresso bike and my ride will be captured/stored on my account.The bike has 4 types of tour categories: Basic, Moderate, Challenging and Extreme. As you move from category to category, course length and course profile (hills) get progressively longer and more difficult. Within each category is a list of tours that you can select and ride. Each tour has a theme and is a different/unique riding experience. There are currently 43 different tours to pick from. The scenery differs from tour to tour. Country, city, sky track and much more. Each is visually interesting and there are some fun things to see and discover as you ride - you can tell the developers had a little fun with each tour. There is a 5th category called "Chase" - a game where you pedal around collecting points by gathering specific objects. It's a fun change of pace and a great workout. As of this writing, IFH just announced they are adding a whole new series of games to the bike late in the first half of 2014 - It's great to see the bike experience constantly improved.After you select your tour, you start behind a pacer - a yellow jersey rider that sets a pace depending on the course category. I found the default speed pacer to be easy to beat on most tours except the "Extreme" category, where I have to work to hold him off - but, you can change the pacer's speed characteristics with the in-tour settings.. With eLive, if you have ridden the course before, you will also see a "ghost" of yourself riding a past ride on that tour. You can set that ghost to be your personal best ride on that tour, your seasonal best ride on that tour, or the ghost of another rider from the leader board for that tour. This is fantastic - you can essentially race against yourself or anyone's past ride as a way to push yourself.As you pedal, the scenery passes by and you steer the bike to follow the selected tour's course. Other computer-generated bikers appear ahead of you and you can gage progress against them. The bike has 30-speed on-handlebar shifters. The right shifter makes the resistance increase along with your speed and the left shifter decreases resistance and speed. When you arrive at a hill, you feel resistance as though you were on a hill. You can use the bike's shifters to make it easier to pedal up the hill - just like a real bike. But, you go slower - just like a real bike. The experience is involving and immersive.On-screen, you receive an enormous amount of feedback: Incline percentage, speed (RPMs and MPH), watts, miles traveled, miles to go, elapsed time, heart rate and calories burned. This is an amazing amount of information and you begin to learn how shifting gears vs pedaling harder (watts) vs pedaling faster (cadence/rpm) affect your results. And yes, I mean results. Because, riding the Expresso bike drives you to be competitive. You will track and measure and challenge yourself to do better. It's addictive!When you complete your ride, you get a host of on-screen tabbed analytics - all graphed to show how you did. Average speed, heart rate, watts - with course-based profiles of each statistic. You also see how you compared to other riders for that tour during that season. If the bike is in a club/gym, you see how you performed against other riders in that club/gym. If you're like me, you will push hard to try to get higher on the leaderboards!Over time, you accumulate goal-based trophies/awards. Nice milestones and reminders of what you have accomplished on an Expresso bike.***The Expresso Online Experience: The Expresso website offers two different areas that you will be able to log into. The first is the "Bike Manager" area (owners) and the second is "My Expresso" for bike riders/users. The owner's area of the site is really targeted toward gym/club owners. It provides support in setting up competitions, marketing the use of the bike to your gym members, etc. As a home user, this stuff doesn't apply. However, at the end of each month, you can monitor the overall bike usage statistics and analytics. This is actually an interesting way to get an overview of how you are using the bike over time and is worth checking out. You can also manage your account and add more years of eLive subscription.The "My Expresso" area of the site is fantastic. After working out in the morning, I'll usually log in from work and look at how I did on the leaderboard compared to other riders - you can filter results by age. You have access to the top 100 for the current Expresso Bike challenge (IFH runs fun challenges every month - across all bikes). You can access the leaderboards for each tour and see how other riders compare, check out their times, watts, cadence, etc. You can even select their ghost to ride against the next time you ride a given tour. There are also stats for each of your past rides. There is a page for trophies/badges that you've earned and a page that lists your ride history along with stats and details. It's an enormous amount of information and is very cool to review and compare your rides against others. You can also link your Twitter, Facebook and MyFitnessPal accounts to your Expresso account if you want to share your rides with your social network. There are settings for each to allow this to happen automatically or manually.***Final thoughts: I think that covers everything. I've owned the bike for a few weeks and have used it regularly. I'm riding way harder and way longer than I used to and I'm burning more calories in less time. I look forward to working out. I can feel the difference in my conditioning already and I'm really just getting started. IFH has a good thing going in these bikes and I'd love to see them do more with rowers, elliptical machines, treadmills, etc. For now, us bikers are the lucky ones I guess.The areas that I would suggest for improvement all have to do with the home owner: 1) For home owners, rather than have an owner log into their account each time, it would be great to have a list of home riders and just select one. Or, if there is only one rider for a home bike (my case), stay logged in. 2) Allow home riders/owners to form teams to ride against the gyms in team competitions. 3) Let home owners disable the marketing banners/info that rotate on screen - we're sold! No need to market to us further.I can't think of anything else I'd change - the bike is that good!

We received our fitness bike this week and it is exactly what we are looking for. Having used the Expresso Bike in the past at our fitness center, we knew this was the bike we wanted to purchase for our at home use. It was delivered just as described and works perfectly. I would definitely recommend this bike as well as this seller for any purchase you may need.

Please note that I did not purchase this bike from amazon but used in my fitness center in a vacation development. I had request this club to purchase a Pelaton which I had used numerous times and love for many reasons. They gave some reasonable explanations why they could not buy Pelaton (primarily no commercial support for multi users) though had definitely considered. But they were excited to tell me they bought an Expresso bike. Never heard of it but excited to try and looked good. I got on, signed on to a recoded class. Noticed the bike in the video class was NOT an Expresso. When it came time to stand up I could not pedal. It gave way. There is no resistance when you stand..it is like missing he last step on a staircase. HORRIBLE. I figured I must be doing something wrong and talked to director. “ no you can’t stand. It isn’t a spin bike”. WTH?. You paid THOUSANDS of dollars for a bike that you can’t stand on ( while the live class they promote tells/shows you to do so) and that instructor is using a different bike brand? I cannot fathom why anyone would ever buy this bike. Furthermore, there was no way to adjust handlebar height. I am tall and even seems high to me but no way to change height of handlebars. I am at a loss as to how this bike has been on the market for years. Unless you know and love this brand, keep your money in your wallet. Horrible experience.

i bought this bike as i liked it when I used one on a cruise ship. It stopped working and I notice people on the web had a similar problem with the bike monitor going to sleep. Contacted customer service by phone and by email over a weeks period. No response no help! buy with caution it is an expensive bike and if you have a problem such as not working you are out of luck!

Not worth the price. Buy a cheaper bike and play a you tube video on your ipad of a nice bike ride through one of a zillion real life locations on you tube instead of riding through a cartoon environment. Then spend the $5000 you've saved on a few beautiful biking vacations.

Our bike arrived in excellent condition, though I did have to clean it. There was a problem with the CPU but Josh took care of us and quickly sent a new one at no cost. The bike looks new and works great. No issues! Just be aware that while the Expresso bike does work without an eLive subscription, its functionality is greatly reduced. You get just a few courses of each level and no workout tracking or online service. If I could choose something to improve, it would be a mode on the bike for home users. It's clearly intended for gyms, with a gaudy splash screen you can't disable, auto-logout, and no easy way to get to settings. The bike did not come with instructions but I was able to find what I needed online. All in all, I would definitely recommend it. The courses are well done, fun, and often entertaining; the games make it easy to forget you're working out. My 5-year-old can't reach the pedals yet, but other than that, the whole family enjoys going for a ride! And if you're looking for other fitness equipment, this seller is top-notch. 5/5, recommended.

Not perfect but it's used. Had some problems with the computer/software initially but the seller fixed it. Still a little glitchy sometimes but everything works.