The best exercise bikes, tried and tested

• Weight: 45kg
• Flywheel weight: 4kg
• Resistance levels: 30
• Screen: No, but a tablet holder

It’s been dubbed as the UK’s answer to Peloton, but the Apex Smart Bike is in a category of its own. It’s a (slightly) less expensive connected exercise bike, but the build quality is similar to that of Peloton.

The cost is kept down by the lack of a touchscreen – instead, you use your own tablet (or phone, at a push) to stream classes via an app. The classes are of excellent quality, with experienced instructors and high-spec production.

I particularly enjoyed the themed music rides, but there are plenty of others to choose from ranging from 15 minutes to an hour. There are also strength, mobility and beginner-friendly classes available. You don’t quite get the range of Peloton, which has a bank of thousands to choose from, but as Apex is new to the market, this will improve with time.

It’s also worth noting that the trainers are British spin instructors, which may be more palatable to those who find Peloton’s earnest instructors and affirmations a bit cheesy. However, Apex would be more suited to class cyclists and spin fanatics than to those looking for indoor performance training. There are no options for simulated outdoor rides (yet), nor is there much scope for free-riding.

Onto design: this is one exercise bike I wouldn’t mind having on display in my living room. It’s smart, stylish, has a compact four foot by two foot footprint, comes in four colours and dual-sided Shimano pedals. 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. I do have one minor gripe, which is that the resistance knob isn’t the best; it feels nice but is overly sensitive and goes up four or five levels with one turn. It’s a bit fiddly when you’re trying to change gears quickly in time with an instructor on-screen.

This would still be the bike I would wholeheartedly recommend for at-home spinning, if you need a slightly cheaper Peloton alternative.

The Apex Smart Bike is currently out of stock, however we’ll keep an eye and update this article when it returns.