Best home gym equipment for effective workouts

• 45kg weight
• 4kg flywheel weight
• 30 resistance levels
• No screen, but a tablet holder

Reviewed by Abigail Buchanan

The Apex Smart Bike is excellent value for a web-connected exercise bike. We actually preferred it to Peloton in our review of the best exercise bikes. The cheaper price is thanks to a lack of HD touchscreen. Instead, there’s a tablet holder for you to insert your own, or your phone, where you can stream classes via an app.

The classes are of excellent quality, ranging from 15 minutes to an hour, and there are strength, mobility and beginner-friendly exercises, by British instructors from Boom Cycle studio in London. The Apex is perhaps better suited to spin and indoor cycling fans, rather than anyone looking for performance training, as there are no options for simulated outdoor rides.

Design-wise, the Apex bike is good-looking enough to (almost) blend into a living room, with a compact 4ft by 2ft footprint, and four colour options. It has a wireless phone charger, tablet holder for streaming classes, plus a water bottle holder and rack for weights (which don’t come included, but are reasonably priced at £25). Most importantly, it feels incredibly sturdy and doesn’t budge as you pedal.

Despite the fact that it’s comparatively light and has a light flywheel, there’s a great range of magnetic resistance. It’s smooth and quiet so is unlikely to cause any neighbourly disputes, making it suitable for flats. Best of all, Apex bikes are delivered fully assembled.

The Apex Smart Bike is currently out of stock, but we’ll keep an eye on it and update this article if anything changes.