The Schwinn Airdyne bike has been made and sold since the 1970's. But is it still competitive compared to all the recumbent exercise bikes today with computerized workout routines built in and magnetic drives? Is there a reason why Schwinn can still sell this exercise bike?

The Schwinn Air-Dyne bikes introduced the fan resistance exercise. The concept is simple. You pedal the bike and the pedaling turns a large fan. The faster you pedal, the faster the fan turns and the harder it is to turn. So the resistance increases as you pedal faster.

Also the handle bars are linked to the pedals so the handlebars move as you pedal. You can "pedal" just with your arms or just with your legs or with your arms and your legs together. So someone with a injury can work just the legs or just the arms.

If you push the handlebars and the pedals, you really get a total body workout. The handlebars work your entire upper body in a vigorous workout. You don't just work your arms, this thing works your arms, your shoulders, your back, really your entire upper body. Your lower body is worked on by the foot pedals. So it's a great machine for a muscle workout plus a heart and lungs routine too.

This machine is built like a tank! Every part of the Schwinn Airdyne is nearly indestructible. Every piece is heavy duty. That's why you can find a used one if you look for awhile. You literally cannot wear the thing out. You may get tired of it, but you won't wear it out. Of course you'll need batteries in the electronics and you might wear out a pedal or some minor piece, but this thing is made to last. Even the seat is super heavy weight and durable.

Mine was purchased used and now has 7,000 plus miles on it and except for a little rust from dripping perspiration and one worn pedal, it rides like new. Schwinn doesn't sell two of these to very many people. You can't wear it out.

What are the downsides? The bike is hard to move since it is so heavy. It does have wheels for rolling it around, but it's still hard to move. Secondly, it's noisy. The fan stirs up a lot of air and is loud, too noisy to listen to anything much while you pedal. That's about it on the downside.