Nordictrack Bike vs Treadmill – Which is Best for You?
Trying to decide between a Nordictrack Bike vs Treadmill?
Wondering which is best for you?
You came to the right place!
This post will give you some points to consider when comparing Nordictrack exercise bikes vs treadmills.
Everyone is different and based on your needs, budget and exercise preferences – what’s best for you might not be what’s best for someone else.
So it’s important for you to consider the following points – so you can find your best exercise machine.
Let’s start with some basics:
Exercise Bikes vs Treadmills
This is a hot debate these days. Both exercise bikes and treadmills are popular types of fitness equipment on the market. Which is better?
I’m assuming that for this article, you’re familiar with the basics of what treadmills and bikes do and how they work.
The bottom line is that exercise bikes are mainly made to simulate outdoor road bike riding and treadmills are mainly made to simulate outdoor road running or walking.
There are a number of different styles of exercise bikes – from recumbent bikes to cycling “studio” bikes and even the more traditional upright bikes.
The most popular style of exercise bike today is the studio, cycling or spin bike as these bikes have evolved to more accurately simulate road riding. They offer you screens, more realistic, comfortable bike seats and even incline or decline.
Recumbent bikes are the second most popular bike as they have the recumbent bucket seat where you angle your legs out in front of you instead of below you to reach the pedals. This setup can be more comfortable especially if you have knee problems or are dealing with an injury.
Upright bikes are more traditional exercise bikes without the bells and whistles of the studio bikes. They offer wider (and sometimes more uncomfortable) seats, several built-in workouts and different resistance levels to challenge you.
The main benefit to these upright bikes is that generally they’re more affordable than the other two bike styles. And they’re great if you just want a simple bike for occasional use.
Nordictrack offers all 3 types of bikes – studio, recumbent and upright bikes. However it’s fair to note that their most popular and best-selling models are the studio bikes. This is mainly because they offer all of the fun bells and whistles that people love. This includes massive screens to watch the trail scenery in HD as you cycle, incline and decline.
Click to Compare All Nordictrack Exercise Bikes
Like exercise bikes, Nordictrack treadmills also offer a few different styles.
You have the traditional treadmill where you can walk or run, incline up to 10 or 12% and even watch workout programs or streaming videos on your console.
Nordictrack also offers a unique type of treadmill – the incline trainer. These are similar to a traditional treadmill in that you can walk or run on it.
But you can also get inclines of up to 40% – and even decline as well. This is fantastic for crosstraining.
It’s also ideal if you want to burn calories ultra-fast.
You can burn up to 5 times more calories on these treadmills vs a standard treadmill. The downside is that these machines aren’t great for those on a budget as they start around $2000+.
Click to Compare All Nordictrack Treadmills
So in general – how do bikes compare with treadmills?
Well, according to an article on USNews, treadmills can help you burn slightly more calories than bikes. You can still burn calories on a bike and get an effective workout – but it might take a bit longer.
Why?
Mainly because you’re standing up and bearing your own body weight on a treadmill – vs a bike where you sit.
However obviously the amount of calories you burn depends more on your gender, age, activity level, etc.
According to the American Council on Exercise, when it comes to running – a 130-pound person can burn about 240 calories in 30 minutes of running at a moderate pace (5.5 mph). A 155-pound person can burn about 298 calories in the same amount of time, and a 185-pound person can burn about 355 calories.
According to the American Council on Exercise, when it comes to cycling, a 130-pound person can burn about 222 calories in 30 minutes of cycling at a moderate pace (12-14 mph). A 155-pound person can burn about 278 calories in the same amount of time, and a 185-pound person can burn about 335 calories.
So as you can see – there is a slight benefit to calorie burning with a treadmill vs a bike – but it’s not huge.
At the end of the day, I think the best machine for calorie burning comes down to which machine you’ll actually use. If you enjoy that type of exercise, then you’ll use it more and stay on it for longer periods of time – burning more calories.
What About Other Benefits of Bikes vs Treadmills?
Bikes can sometimes be more affordable than treadmills (depending on the models you’re considering). They can also be easier to move around – as they tend to be lighter than treadmills.
And of course, if you prefer cycling vs walking or running – then a bike is a better option.
Bikes – especially recumbent models – can also be easier on the knees and lower impact on the body.
What About Treadmill Benefits?
Treadmills have some benefits over bikes as well. There’s the calorie burning benefit above.
And treadmills can be bit more versatile. For example, you can walk, jog or full-out sprint. If you’re not feeling very energetic you can still do a light walk on your treadmill (which doesn’t require a lot of energy and almost everyone can do it).
If you’re super-energetic you can sprint and go all out. Or you can slow it down and increase the incline for more of a hiking feel.
Treadmills also tend to be a bit more durable and last longer than exercise bikes.
What about Nordictrack Bikes vs Treadmills?
This really comes down to what type of machine you want. Nordic track has both bikes and treadmills that offer you a more immersive training experience than other brands (using their iFit streaming program).
This involves large, full-color touch screens on their bikes and treadmills where you can stream iFit workout classes or world trail runs.
For example, the most popular Nordictrack bike – the Nordictrack S27i (seen above) gives you a massive 27-inch, HD, full color touch-screen.
Enjoy the scenery as you ride famous trails all over the world. The bike also inclines and declines based on the actual terrain for some virtual reality fun.
Nordictrack also offers recumbent bikes and standard upright bikes which have full-color screens and iFit streaming as well.
The screens aren’t as large on these bikes – and there’s no incline/decline options. But you do have the online training and streaming options still with iFit.
Nordictrack has a few more treadmill options vs bikes. These include the affordable EXP series, the higher-end Commercial Grade series and the premium, high-calorie-burning Incline trainer series.
They all work with iFit and offer HD, full-color touch screens to give you a more immersive experience. However there are subtle differences.
For example, the EXP series are more affordable without all of the bells and whistles of the two other series. However, they do have little things like media shelves, cooling fans and the ability to fold up and save space.
The Commercial series is more streamlined with separate screen/console designs. This is easier on the neck and more like what you’d see in health club treadmills. These treadmills also have larger screens – for a more enjoyable training experience.
Finally the Incline Trainers have the largest screens available.
And you also get the benefit of super-high inclines and even declines. So if you want the ultimate training treadmill, this is the one for you.
Is there a real difference in terms of quality between Nordictrack bikes vs treadmills?
Not really. It mainly comes down to the models you’re comparing. Their bikes are generally a little more affordable than their treadmills – similar to what you find in the general fitness market.
Nordictrack updates both their bikes and treadmills with the latest toys each year.
At the end of the day, it comes down to which exercise you prefer and which type of machine you prefer (bike vs treadmill).
Once you know that, you can decide which type of model you want. For example, if you want a bike, do you need a recumbent design or a studio design? What size of screen do you prefer? etc.
Or if you want a treadmill, do you need one that is good for running (like the Commercial series or Incline Trainer series)? Or do you need a simple, more affordable treadmill for general walking (like the EXP series)?
Once you know these things you’re ready to decide on the best choice for you!
Want to learn more?
Check out the links below to keep researching your favorite fitness machines directly from Nordictrack:
Nordictrack Commercial Treadmills
Nordictrack Incline Trainer Treadmills
