Reebok B5.7e Exercise Bike

Assembly of this product, which arrives in an enormous and very heavy box, is far from straightforward. The assembly "instructions" are tiny - almost requiring a magnifying glass - and with no written guidance at all. All you are given - either in the booklet or at the website - are a series of rather unhelpful diagrams. This would not be a job for someone without a certain amount of technical knowledge and ingenuity.

Once assembled, the product looks very handsome and is reasonably comfortable to use. However, I have so far detected two problems. (1) The heart monitor, operated through sensors in the handlebar, is rather unreliable, picking up pulse only erratically. Since a number of the workout programmes are based upon a cardiac target, this all but invalidates them. (2) Once again, the instruction booklet is very poor when it comes to the explanation of the ten or more exercise programmes offered by the B5.7e. In each case, it explains how the programme functions but gives virtually no advice on the purpose of each programme and what it might help you achieve. References are made to an "interval" programme, for example, without any guidance as to what an "interval" is or why it might be a suitable option for you as the user.

Given the high price of this item, even when discounted by Amazon, the documentation is truly dreadful. It needs to be entirely rewritten, ideally by someone for whom English is their native language.

I chose this bike because it has a heat rate sensor - both in the handles but also an inbuilt receiver so that if you wear a Polar chest strap, you get a constant pulse readout. Frankly I don't think that it is possible to embark on a structured exercise regime if you don't use a heart rate monitor - and know how to use it properly. This book - Total Heart Rate Training: Customize and Maximize Your Workout Using a Heart Rate Monitor will take you through all you need to know about heart rate monitors. A small book, you don't need to read all of it but tells you the whow to use a heart rate monitor in a way which isn't explained anywhee else.

Also, this Amazon price is about £200 less than anywhere else - even for the same machine and because it has an HRM sensor and receiver - it is a bargain.

Delivery was fine. Big box - very heavy - but that is because an exercsie bike is a heavy thing.

Instructions are very poor but assembly was pretty easy anyway with a little thought. It really is a modular system.
Tip: don't open all the packets at the same time. You'll mix up the pieces. Each pack relates to a different part of the machine. All assembly tools are supplied.

The handlebar column is a very tight fit and needs to be wriggled on. The big allen bolts which hold the column on, need to be tightened right in until they wedge against something inside the column. I'm not sure what - but the instructions don't make this clear and I removed them first. you don't need too.

The plastic lugs which are used to key the two plastic halves of the handlebar console are very fragile - and aren't up to the job, frankly. I broke one on one side - but it didn't matter. When I screwed the plastic to the column it was all fine. I used a couple of extra little washers because it seemed to me that the little screws - no.122 coiuld have been pulled through the plastic when they were tightened.

Fitting the saddle is tricky and needs a lot of strength to get it tight. I expect that I will go to a bike s shop and get an infinitely adjustable bike saddle mount and use that instead of the rather cheap thing they supplied with the bike.

Be careful when you plug wires together. Don't let the wires take the weight of the column or the computer while you are fitting them together.

You end up left with three very important-looking pieces of black plastic!! Don't worry because they are just packing material and you can thow them away - but this is not explained in the instructions and so it is a bit worrying.

The whole thing looks very good and works well and is very quiet. I bought a Reebok mat to absorb sound and vibration.

Criticism - the pedal straps are very diffcult to adjust. The computer can be set for a number of users and of course each user might want their pedal straps at a different setting. It is a real slog to set these pedal straps and I have seen other machines where you just lft a catch and pull.
These pedal straps are really basic -so Shame on you - Reebok

Secondly, as far as I can tell,(I've only just started experimenting) - there is no way to program the computer with your personal max heart rate. This means that unless your own heart rate really is (220 mius your age), all the zone programs which are included in the computer are useless. This is crazy for a machine which appears to be such a serious piece of equipment.
The workaround is to know your max heart rate (whihc you would have to do anyway) - mine is 177bpm and calculate a false age for your profile - so I input my age as 43yrs - 43+177=220. That should produce zones which are correct for me. (I'm not 43, unfortunately!!)

However - shame on you again Reebok.

Because this workaround is so easy, I'm almost prepared to overlook it for this review.
So the fixed heart rate zones, the pedal straps and the fragile plastic lugs - it loses a star

Other than that, it is an excellent machine. The BPM sensor and receiver at this price make it a very serious machine - and the Amazon price here at £399 make this a machine which you can't afford not to buy.