Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

There isn't a lot to say about this bike that hasn't already been said. The monitor for it is rudimentary but sufficient, though everything resets at a point so when I cycle for longer than 99:59 the timer resets to zero. Not a problem. The settings are not really varied. It says 8 different levels, but it really only feels like about 3 or 4. It's stable and fairly comfortable to use, and assembly was a breeze. The problem is that after about 2 months of use something happened, I don't know what, but I cannot pedal even a little bit without hearing a horrendously loud clacking sound. In a single full rotation of the pedal now I will hear it clack several times, regardless of tension settings or the speed at which I pedal. I'd been using it heavily (setting 6, average speed of 20mph, 90-120 minute sessions) about 4 times a week since I am serious about fat loss, and I am very disappointed to say that this thing, despite it's price, is not worth the money or time. If the clacking were quieter I could at least use this without disturbing my neighbor, but the thing is too noisy so it's just a large dust collector now. What a shame, I'd only just gotten started using the thing. *UPDATE 11/29/2011* So on July 11, 2011 I called their customer service, and after a little waiting they offered to replace the noisy flywheel. I was pretty grateful. Today, it is November 29, 2011, and nothing has arrived yet. I'd called them last week on the 23rd and the woman I'd spoken with seemed surprised the order hadn't gone out. She said she'd call the warehouse and find out why, asking if she could call me back in a few hours. I said yes, and I she never called me back. I waited until today, November 29, 2011, to finally try contacting them again, and I was told the order finally went through last week when I had called (imagine that), and I should see a new flywheel arrive in a couple of weeks. I can chalk this up to a clerical error, but it still annoys me that it'll be nearly 6 months just to get this defective product 'possibly' working again. Once the flywheel arrives (if indeed it does) I'll update this. I just hope that it doesn't become a noisemaker like the last one. *UPDATE 01/05/2012* Just as before, nothing has arrived despite repeatedly attempting to resolve the issue of the noisy flywheel with customer service. They told me before to expect it in approximately 18 working days, and that was 27 working days ago (25 since the last two Mondays were government holidays). I was told there was a back-order on these, which unfortunately suggests the issue is not uncommon. Customer service was very polite, and they seem genuinely interested in assisting me in resolving the matter, but the waiting game continues. The lady I spoke with said she would look into the matter and call me back today, but that didn't happen the last time she'd said this. Still I remain hopeful. I will update this review again. *UPDATE 01/06/2012* Eureka! I just got a call back from Impex and a message was left confirming the replacement flywheel is on it's way via UPS. Half a year later and I can finally try fixing this thing and using it again. As I'd said before, I hope this really resolves the noise problem. I'll update later to let you know how it turns out. *UPDATE 03/04/2012* The new flywheel arrived on 01/12/2012 via UPS delivery. It arrived in a small cardboard box, the flywheel itself wrapped in a sheet of this protective foam material that was taped to it like some kind of badly wrapped Christmas gift. I was pleased to see that all of the necessary nuts and washers were with it, but was somewhat put off by how rusty the flywheel itself was. It looked worn, like a refurbished part might. Once I replaced the flywheel and tried things out the loud clacking was gone! I am pleased to report that the problems has so far been resolved. In keeping with the spirit of my previous statements, however, I still do not view this as a piece of serious fitness equipment. I am leery of it's reliability and after waiting as long as I had before finally seeing a replacement part I feel that I cannot depend on Impex to assist me in a timely manner should I experience a recurrence with the flywheel issue (which I believe will happen again if used as heavily as before). My apologies for taking as long as I have to update this, but due to my diminished faith in this product and therefore my diminished use of this product I'd hoped to spend more time with it prior to a final update, however this doesn't seem likely to happen in the foreseeable future for the aforementioned reasons. I still recommend against using this product for any sort of serious training, and if you decide to buy one, be prepared for a lot of noise, and a lot of hassle. *UPDATE 06/20/2012* THIS WILL BE MY FINAL ADDENDUM. I'd mentioned previously that my use of this product was diminished, and I wasn't kidding, but I felt that leaving things like that was unfair, so I decided to give it another genuine try. I stand by what I'd said earlier, all of it, but most especially that this is not something I would recommend for serious use. That said, for moderate to mild use it seems adequate, and considering the pricing I suppose that's about as good as it will get. I'm still very dissatisfied with the amount of time it took to finally get a new flywheel, but all that aside the replacement flywheel has yet to turn into a clacking annoyance like before, however unlike before I have only been using the bike now, 2-3 times a week for about 24 minutes at setting 7. It's better than nothing, though you could do better.