To be perfectly blunt, the air bike, no matter the model or brand, is the most brutally difficult and soul-crushing piece of equipment in the personal fitness lineup.
If you don’t want to legitimately suffer in your workouts, don’t get an air bike!
…knowing that disclaimer was probably pointless (why else would you have clicked on this article?) and that you, for some strange reason, want to suffer, you may as well pick the best air bike to suffer on/with.
To reiterate, working on an air bike is always going to be hard, but some are more functional, more comfortable, and more durable than others. Also, if you have competitive CrossFit aspirations (or if you just want to be able to consistently count and track your calories burned), getting a hold of the “right” air bike is essential.
Without further ado (and without further warning), let’s get right to our analysis of…
Table of Contents
…The Best Air Bike (and the Top 7 Contenders)
🏆 Best Overall
89
Best Belt-driven
88
Best Low-maintenace
88
Best Adjustable
88
Best Budget
83
The Best Air Bike (and the 7 Top Contenders)
- Assault Fitness AirBike Classic – Best Air Bike (overall)
- Rogue Echo Bike – Best Belt-driven Air Bike
- Bells of Steel Blitz Air Bike – Best Low-maintenance Air Bike
- Fringe Sport Raptor Air Bike – Best Adjustable Air Bike
- Sunny Health & Fitness Fan Bike – Best Budget Air Bike
- XEBEX Air Bike 1000 – Contender (Chain-driven)
- Assault Fitness AirBike Elite – Contender (Premium)
- Marcy Air-Resistance Exercise Fan Bike – Contender (Budget)
Assault Fitness AirBike Classic
⭐️ Verdict: Best Air Bike (overall)
The Assault Fitness AirBike Classic (aka “The Assault Bike”) has been a beloved fan bike for years and is the long-time “best air bike” on the market.
As the fan bike of choice for numerous officially licensed CrossFit events, the Assault Bike is one of the few options that satisfy calorie and distance calculations to confidently be used in CrossFit workouts and metcons.
Common programs like 20-on, 10-off TABATA are easily accessed on the Assault Bike, although its chain-driven system can be slightly tricky to get used to for those accustomed to belt-driven systems.
Pros
Calorie counting formula in line with what’s programmed in CrossFit WODs
Roughly 55 different seat height/distance settings
Very reasonably priced
Con
Likely requires more maintenance than other options
If you do CrossFit (and depending on when and where you were when you go into it), the Assault Fitness AirBike Classic (if you don’t want to sound like a weirdo, just say “Assault Bike”; everyone will know what you mean) is probably the machine that introduced you to air bikes.
Hell, it may still be the air bike of choice in your gym, garage, or basement.
The Assault Bike seems to have slightly fallen out of favor in the CrossFit space (our next entry, the Rogue Echo Bike, has largely taken its place), but it remains an incredible cardio machine and still reigns as the best air bike.
As you can imagine, the Assault Bike’s calorie and distance counting have gotten an “official” seal of approval from CrossFit and associated competitions (where it is regularly used), although due to “slow start” of the chain-driven system, initial calories are harder to come by (you can get some “ghost calories” on the back end, though).
Roughly 55 different seat height and distance combinations ensure that the Assault Bike is comfortable for all riders and numerous common programs (ex. 20/10 Tabata) add some variety to the typical slog.
As far as fan bikes go, the Assault Bike is pretty reasonably priced (plus, the price hasn’t moved in years), although the chain-drive system will require more maintenance (or possibly the replacement of the chain) over time than most belt-drive options.
Rogue Echo Bike
⭐️ Verdict: Best Belt-driven Air Bike
The Rogue Echo Bike is the reigning “air bike of choice” for CrossFit competitions and most CrossFit training protocols. For newer CrossFit athletes, the Echo Bike may be the only fan bike they have ever used.
The Echo Bike possesses many similar features as the Assault Bike, although it’s belt-driven system requires less maintenance and initial calories are generally easier to accumulate.
With less seat adjustability and a higher price point, the Echo Bike isn’t quite as attractive as other options, but the thousands of satisfied reviewers don’t seem to mind these things…
Pros
The current most popular air bike for CrossFit workouts
Belt-drive requires less maintenance than chain-drive bikes
Responsive and intuitive interface
Cons
Less seat adjustability than some other options
Over the last few years, the Rogue Echo Bike has quietly, yet dominantly secured its place as the air bike of CrossFit (not “officially”, but close enough). Most major competitions, lower-level competitions, and even major CrossFit online programs exclusively use the Echo Bike as their default fan bike.
Unlike the Assault Bike (the Echo Bike’s closest and most consistent competitor), the Echo Bike uses a belt-driven (as opposed to a chain-driven) system. This is not only creates a “smoother” ride, but also is less susceptible to chain breaks or other damage that chain-driven systems are oftentimes more susceptible to.
With numerous “upgrades” available (ex. turf tires, wind guard, etc.), it isn’t difficult to create a personally customized air bike, although it would be nice if some of the less niche features came standard, especially considering its higher initial price point. However, slightly higher price aside, the Echo Bike makes a strong case for the best air bike on the market today.
Bells of Steel Blitz Air Bike
⭐️ Verdict: Best Low-maintenance Air Bike
Bells of Steel’s Blitz Air Bike is a similar, but less expensive alternative to other belt-driven air bikes like the Rogue Echo Bike. Trainees who aren’t as concerned with more “standard” calorie counting systems for dedicated CrossFit workouts may find hidden utility with this bike.
The combination of the belt-driven system and sheer size of the Blitz Air Bike contribute to its overall durability and lack of maintenance requirements, specifically relative to other air bike choices.
The Blitz Air Bike isn’t as adjustable as many other options, leaving fewer possible seat arrangement settings. There are reports of minor tweaks/issues with the bike over time, but given the cost savings experienced, these might be worth living with when/if they arise.
Pros
Extremely low-maintenance
Large, durable, with a high top-end rider weight capacity
Less expensive than other comparable belt-driven air bikes
Cons
Reports of small tweaks/minor product issues
The Bells of Steel Blitz Air Bike is the first fan bike on this list that is not regularly programmed into CrossFit workouts nor found at high-level (or, really any) CrossFit competitions. This may be an issue for those who are concerned with more “official” record keeping, but shouldn’t be an issue for others who simply want to get a good, cardio workout in.
Like the Rogue Echo Bike, the Blitz Air bike is belt-driven. This, combined with the bike’s larger overall size (to include an exceptionally large fan) create a rather low-maintenance air bike with many of its larger pieces/hardware being more resilient and less susceptible to regular wear and tear than most competitors.
At a lower price point than the likes of the Echo Bike, the Blitz Air Bike can be especially attractive for non-CrossFit riders and their workouts. Some have reported some minor tweaks and faults with smaller bike components which may be offset by its lower overall price point.
Fringe Sport Raptor Air Bike
⭐️ Verdict: Best Adjustable Air Bike
The Fringe Sport Raptor Air Bike is the most adjustable air bike on our list. With over 100 combined height and distance seat options, it is truly accessible for all riders/athletes.
With a number of easily accessed programs, the Raptor Air Bike especially lends itself to sprint workouts. The bike’s overall size/heft ensures complete stability during these more intense sessions.
At the current time, the Raptor Air Bike is only available on Amazon. It also sports a higher price point that is above even most of the “CrossFit-friendly” air bikes out there.
Pros
Numerous seat height and distance options
Numerous easy-to-access programs
Large and durable
Cons
More difficult to come by
The Fringe Sport Raptor Air Bike is a little bit harder to find than many of the other bikes on this list these days. If you really want it, you’ll need to go through Amazon (as opposed to going through the company directly) and it’s unknown how long it will be available on Amazon for…so…act quick!
Why exactly would you want the Raptor Air Bike, though…? Well, it’s a pretty decent clone of what makes the classic Assault Bike so good, but what really sets it aside is its adjustability potential. With over 100 different seat height and distance settings (literally), it’s hard to not be able to find a comfortable position on the bike.
Truth be told, you pay a premium for the extra adjustability; the Raptor Air Bike is more expensive than the Assault Bike Classic and even outpaces the pricier Rogue Echo Bike. However, if adjustability and durability are two of your main priorities, no other fan bike on our list tops it.
Sunny Health & Fitness Fan Bike
⭐️ Verdict: Best Budget Air bike
The Sunny Health & Fitness Fan Bike Trainer is one of the most, if not the most affordable air bike on the market. Opting for the “Zephyr” version, the bike can be had for less than $200.
In addition to being a relatively inexpensive air bike, the Zephyr is one of the more compact fan bike options. All of its components, to include the fan wheel, are significantly smaller and have more space-saving capabilities than just about anything else.
The Zephyr doesn’t have much adjustability and program options are rather limited, but for those who want a more “bare bones” fan bike training experience, it might be the best option.
Pros
Incredibly compact relative to other popular air bikes
Unique belt and chain-driving features
Very affordable
Cons
Limited seat adjustability
The Sunny Health & Fitness Fan Bike “Zephyr” variant (hereafter simply referred to as the “Zephyr”) is the best air bike on the market for budget-minded shoppers. In an industry where “elite” fan bikes can easily run over $1000, there is certainly a place for bikes 1/5 of that price that have the capability of providing a high-quality training experience.
The Zephyr’s combined belt-driven (for the tiny fan wheel) and chain-driven (attaching to the pedals) is a unique, albeit slightly more problematic (more moving parts that could break down) take on air bike design. The adjustable nature of the arms makes up for the less-than-stellar seat adjustment variability.
Much smaller than most “standard-sized” fan bikes, the Zephyr ticks the “I want a compact bike that doesn’t take up much space” boxes while also falling into the “less bulky, less durable” camp. However, with a little TLC and by keeping your overly aggressive training partner away from it, it’ll likely punch above its rather tiny price tag.
XEBEX Air Bike 1000
⭐️ Verdict: Contender (Chain-driven)
The XEBEX Air Bike 1000 possess many qualities of the more popular Assault AirBike Classic. Those looking for a less expensive, chain-driven alternative may find this XEBEX offering to be an attractive option.
With similar size specs as well as a familiar console and associated interface, the XEBEX Air Bike 1000 is (usually) a less expensive chain-driven air bike option. While not usually “CrossFit-approved”, trainees can get a solid workout in on this bike, regardless.
Seat adjustability isn’t quite as good as many competitors and XEBEX products are only available from a more limited number of retailers.
Pros
Similar specs to more “familiar” best air bike options
(Usually” less expensive than comparable chain-driven options
Customizable program creation
Cons
Calorie tracking not “CrossFit-approved”
The XEBEX Air Bike 1000 looks and feels very similar to the classic Assault Air Bike with similar height and weight specifications as well as a similar-looking console. To this point, the XEBEX air bike is oftentimes significantly discounted, making it ~8 percent less expensive than the Assault Bike Classic,
Seems like a no-brainer, right?
Unfortunately, if CrossFit is your activity of choice, XEBEX isn’t the most “brand-friendly” company out there; athletes who used XEBEX rowers for a previous CrossFit Open workout were heavily penalized due to calorie counting irregularities. The same has not been done for air bike users, but it’s pretty safe to assume that this isn’t the best CrossFit bike.
The good news is, if you don’t need a dedicated CrossFit bike or care about its calorie counting system, you can get an Assault Bike clone at a discount (with a slightly less extensive seat adjustment system); does it really matter if you pedal/work just as hard, but the monitor reads something slightly different?
Assault Fitness AirBike Elite
⭐️ Verdict: Contender (Premium)
The Assault Fitness AirBike Elite is the “big brother” to the Assault Fitness AirBike Classic (as well as to the Assault Fitness AirBike Pro). “Big” is the operative word as it is significantly larger, heavier, and more durable than the company’s other air bike offerings.
The AirBike Elite’s larger frame is further enhanced by higher-quality materials as well as numerous technological console upgrades (ex. Bluetooth connectivity, dedicated app connectivity) making it more attractive for more “connected” riders.
A longer and more comprehensive warranty are present along with one of the highest air bike price tags on the market today.
Pros
Large, heavy, and durable
Extensive technological capabilities and connectivity
10-year frame; 3-year parts warranty
Cons
One of the most expensive fan bikes on the market
The Assault Fitness AirBike Elite is technically an “Assault Bike”, but it’s higher price point, larger body, enhanced tech capabilities, and much less common “sightings in the wild” have ensured that its full name is the one that is pretty much exclusively used. If you pick this bike up, you’re not getting any old Assault Air Bike…you’re getting an Elite one.
The “Elite” is by every metric simply bigger than its “little brother”: 4 inches longer, 3 inches wider, 5 inches taller, and over 40 pounds heavier, to be precise. For those seeking a more compact machine, this is not the bike to purchase. However, for those seeking a tougher, more durable air bike, the Elite’s “enhanced commercial” materials combined with its overall girth make it tough to beat.
Enhanced LED features make the console easier to read while Bluetooth and dedicated app connectivity create a more engaged experience. The “Competition Mode” provides additional programming options to standard options and, as you might expect, the Elite counts and tracks to the CrossFit bike “standard”. You pay a bit more for these premiums, but the ROI ain’t too shabby.
Marcy Air-Resistance Exercise Fan Bike
⭐️ Verdict: Contender (Budget)
The Marcy Air-resistance Exercise Fan Bike is another budget air bike option. With “affordable” and a “really affordable” options, the bike makes fan bike training accessible to all trainees.
Unlike many other air bike options, the Air-resistance Exercise Fan Bike’s resistance is not completely controlled by the rider. The “resistance knob” allows trainees to manually pre-set the bike’s resistance level.
Marcy’s air bike offering isn’t overly adjustable with only a few seat height adjustment settings. However, for those who are okay with limited variability and a modest price point, it is a solid option.
Pros
Resistance knob allows for pre-set resistance levels
Display panel is simple, but uncomplicated
One of the most affordable air bike options
Cons
Limited seat adjustment settings
The Marcy Air-Resistance Exercise Fan Bike is another affordable fan bike option, although it is slightly too expensive, while also being a bit too non-adjustable, to dethrone the Sunny Health & Fitness Fan Bike as the best air bike for budget-minded riders/trainees.
A key element common among many air bikes is that the amount of resistance is almost entirely dependent on how hard the rider is working. The harder/faster they push, the faster the fan moves and the more wind resistance is created. In the case of the Marcy bike, there is the additional step of adjusting resistance with the turn of the knob, allowing users to better pre-set their workout’s overall difficulty level.
Although there is less room for seat adjustability than with most other air bikes, there is more optionality with the bike itself with the heavier “AIR-1” boasting a higher top-end user weight and being more durable in general. It runs almost twice as much as the smaller “NS-100” (these names…are these air bikes or terminators?), but it is still solidly in the “budget” price range.
What to Look For in Air Bikes
If you’ve clicked around a bit, you’ve probably noticed that there is a bit of variance in the price range between the machines on our best air bikes list. Despite this, your air bike investment is always going to be more than what you’d pay for training shoes (well, hopefully), hand grips, or even (most) barbells.
Due to decent-to-significant outlay you’re looking at, you need to know what you’re looking for in a fan bike. Let’s go over our key metrics as well as some other important criteria:
Functionality
You’re going to be able to get up and ride just about any air bike and for most of the bikes on our list, you are in control of exactly how difficult your workout is.
You don’t need extra weight plates or heavier dumbbells; air bikes’ resistance is dictated by how hard you push that fan/how much resistance you create as the fan spins faster.
However, some bikes, particularly those with larger fans, are going to be able to provide greater levels of resistance. Additionally, larger, heavier bikes will be less likely to literally break during periods where you’re really pushing things. If you’re planning on any type of air bike sprint training (and you should as the benefits of this are extensive) more durable bikes are much more functional.
Most of the time, you’re likely going to more or less “grip and rip”; you start pedalling and don’t stop until you’re somewhere between “a little tired” and “no longer breathing”. In other cases, you may want to challenge yourself with a pre-programmed workout.
Something like 20 seconds on, 10 seconds off for 8 rounds (classic TABATA) is one of the most popular air bike programs, but depending on the one you select, you could have a few other basic pre-programmed workouts (ex. 5K ride) or a lot of options to choose from (Tabata et al., 1996).
The final “Functionality” component we take into consideration is how “compatible” the bike is with CrossFit workouts and programming. If a fan bike has been used in official competitions, is regularly referenced in popular CrossFit training programs, (ex. Sentinel Training, HWPO, etc.) and/or if multiple calorie conversion charts are readily available, it ticks this box.
If you don’t do CrossFit, this probably doesn’t matter to you and even if you do, you may not care that much. However, I can assure you that some bikes count calories really “easily” while others count them really…not easily.
Air Bikes haven’t shown up in the CrossFit Open yet so no worries there, but your fan bike reference points may be drastically off if you opt for one of the bikes not marked with an asterisk (*) in our reviews.
Adjustability
A few weeks before writing this, I had an air bike workout that looked a little something like this:
Yeah, it sucked…but those first 80 cals actually sucked a bit worse than they should have for one specific reason:
My seat was way lower than it should have been, leading me to using way more of my quads (and prematurely wearing them out) than I normally would. My wife had previously used the bike and I had forgotten to adjust the seat settings back to my preferred height.
Could I still use the bike? Absolutely.
Was I biking efficiently at the beginning of that slog? Absolutely not.
Why am I harping on about this? Well…seat adjustability is way more important than you may realize; finding and actually applying the setting for your specific body/proportions will have major impacts on your ride (Bini et al., 2011). As such, air bikes that allow for a greater variety of seat adjustability settings (both higher/lower and front/back) are preferred since they allow for more specific accuracy in this area.
Of course, you can always get lucky and the “standard” setting for a bike with, like, 5 collective settings happens to be your setting. However, it’s much harder to miss when you have, in the case of something like the Fringe Sports Raptor Air Bike… over 100 combinations to choose from.
I can assure you that when you’re “comfortable” (well, as comfortable as you can be on air bike) on your air bike, you’re much more likely to actually use your bike.
Price
Sometimes when we’re looking at different categories of equipment, the price differentials between the most and least expensive items are actually quite low (either in a relative sense for larger pieces and/or in an absolute sense for smaller items).
Unfortunately (or “fortunately”, depending on how you look at it), this isn’t really the case for air bikes; on our list, we have a few legit sub-$400 bikes and those that extend well over $1000.
Now, to be fair, most options are going to fall in the “sweet spot” of being between ~$500 and $900 so if you’ve got your eye on a bike and it’s somewhere around there, rest assured that what you’re looking at is well within the realm of…I don’t know…”normalcy”(?)
A final note here: we don’t try to get into the whole “value” discussion with most products since this is a much more subjective term. However, in our experience, if you’re going to much lower than that “sweet spot” range, you’re generally falling into “you get what you pay for” territory with air bikes. Take that however you would like!
Customer Reviews
We’re pretty much never gonna say something dumb like “you should totally trust us on all things everything because it’s us and so trust us yeah”
Never
To be fair, we do put a lot of research, both in regard to our personal use of and experience with different products and we’d like to think we have at least a little more collective gear insight than the average person. However, we are more than happy to supplement our experiences with those of the thousands of people who have weighed in on their experiences with these bikes.
With so many additional perspectives from users, it’s easier to come to confident conclusions that are supported with large amounts of first-hand experiences. With all of this user information in tow, you can listen to what we say…
Shopping tips for Air Bikes
When you go shopping, I can’t imagine that every portion of the decision-making process involves completely measurable and, for lack of a better term, “tangible” factors. If this is the case, you’ll be happy to note that we also look at additional things that aren’t necessarily directly included with our monetary/statistical factors to come to our conclusions.
Who knows…maybe some of the items in this section are the most important considerations that will ultimately guide your decision.
CrossFit “Compatibility”
We briefly talked about this as a component of each air bike’s “Functionality” score. We’re talking about it again because it’s one of those things that may not be that important (or, to be honest, at all important) to many (most?) readers, but is something that is extremely important to the rest.
At this point in time, the Assault and Rogue options are the only ones that are “compatible” in this area.
In our experience, most other fan bikes count calories much easier/faster than these two, giving an unrealistic take on work accomplished, although some others have the opposite effect (it is harder to score calories). I would say that you can just find tables comparing your bike to the “standard”, but you’re more likely to just get yelled at:
Ultimately, if you ever want to be able to write your score on your program’s online leaderboard or even accurately compare your air bike workouts to other CrossFitters, just bite the bullet and pick up one of the 3 “approved” options on our list.
Belt vs. Chain-driven
Like literally any other kind of bike (traditional bicycle, motorcycle, other types of exercise bikes, etc.) air bikes can be either belt-driven or chain-driven where the belt or chain involved links the pedals to the wheel(s).
Also like literally any other kind of bike, belt-driven models tend to be superior in all measurable ways…other than in price.
Belt-driven air bikes move smoother and quieter than their chain-driven counterparts and their belts are more resilient and require less overall maintenance than the chains on chain-driven air bikes (Fleming, 2024).
The superior…everything of belt-driven air bikes comes at a price, though and these bikes, everything else being equal, or usually 20-30 percent more expensive than chain-driven bikes. The price difference between the Assault Bike Classic and the Rogue Echo Bike is a good example of this price difference on otherwise pretty similar bikes.
For what it’s worth, we’ve owned both types of bikes before and have only had to do minimal (as in some light cleaning every few months) maintenance on the chain-driven bikes. As such, we’d advise not being spooked into thinking that belt-driven options are the only safe options.
Resistance
Just about all of the air bikes on our list operate on systems that almost totally, if not totally, involve “user-supplied” resistance. Simply put, the faster the rider pedals, the faster the fan spin, creating a more powerful “air shield”, further and further increasing the resistance the rider experiences.
In many ways, this system is excellent because it is completely controlled by the user and does not rely on machine-related/machine-controlled resistance that can, and often is, more susceptible to problems, especially over time (ex. the Concept2 damper becoming damaged, overly dirty, and otherwise incapable of providing proper or “consistent” baseline resistance).
Some of the lower-end bikes on the list do have controls allowing users to manually set “resistance levels” prior to use, but these generally only work to limit top-end resistance i.e. you won’t get as much of a “benefit” from pedalling harder or faster at lower resistance levels.
However, if you like the idea of having some control over your air bike’s top-end resistance, one of these bikes might be your preferred option (pretty much all of the mid-to-higher end bikes do not have this type of feature).
Warranty
This is actually something that you should take into consideration when contemplating any kind of gear or equipment purchase. When it comes to cardio machines, though, it’s even more important.
With so many moving parts, pieces of hardware, chains, belts, etc. there are a lot of air bike components that can get dinged up. Considering how much abuse these bikes take, especially during sprinting intervals and similar workouts, it should come as no surprise that maintenance is a necessity and that even with proper care, things just break.
Of course, nobody wants to have to call in on their bike’s warranty, but in some cases, it’s simply unavoidable. Also, as you can imagine, some policies are better than others with the quality of certain brands’ policies being directly correlated with the price you pay for the bike:
This really shouldn’t be all that surprising although, generally speaking, these higher-quality bikes are going to be less likely to prematurely break down than others. Still, it’s nice to know that the premium price paid leads to a premium warranty policy plan.
The Best Air Bike…
References
- Bini, R. R., Hume, P. A., & Croft, J. L. (2011). Effects of bicycle saddle height on knee injury risk and cycling performance. Sports Medicine, 41(6): 463–476 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21615188/.
- Tabata, I., Nishimura, K., Kouzaki, M., Hirai, Y., Ogita, F., Miyachi, M., & Yamamoto, K. (1996). Effects of moderate-intensity endurance and high-intensity intermittent training on anaerobic capacity and VO₂max. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 28(10): 1327–1330 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8897392/.
- Fleming, J. (2024, May 13). Belt-drive bicycles: Pros and cons explained. BikeRadar. https://www.bikeradar.com/advice/buyers-guides/belt-drive-bicycles/.
…The Best Air Bike (and the Top 7 Contenders)
🏆 Best Overall
89
Best Belt-driven
88
Best Low-maintenace
88
Best Adjustable
88
Best Budget
83
