Assault Bike Vs Airdyne – Gone With The Wind

by: Michael Perry

October 4, 2020

At-home total body trainers are all the rage. They help you actively hit fitness goals or stay productive while watching TV. If you’ve done the research, you’ve probably come across the Assault Bike vs Airdyne

These bikes might look alike, but they’re actually quite different. And one air bike outperforms the other. To find out which is the best at-home total body trainers, keep reading.

q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B00F74RX40&Format= SL350 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=assault bike vs airdyne 20&language=en USAssault AirBike Classic, Black

Is The Assault Bike Worth It?

The Assault AirBike Classic is made from Assault Fitness, a Southern California-based company that has been producing elite fitness equipment for more than 20 years. 

The Assault Bike looks like your standard stationary air bike except for the exposed flywheel. The classic black construction and open flywheel make the AirBike look like something out of a futuristic movie — adding to the appeal of exercising on it. 

Users get unlimited resistance on the upper and lower body. It gives you a complete Crossfit workout.

The computer has motivational programs designed to push you to your limits. You can also set calorie, distance, or time goals to keep track of your activity. 

Pros
  • Unlimited air resistance
  • Workout upper and lower body
  • Seven onboard fitness programs
  • Built-in motivational messaging 
Cons
  • Expensive
  • No place to put a water bottle  
q? encoding=UTF8&ASIN=B072Q63BDD&Format= SL350 &ID=AsinImage&MarketPlace=US&ServiceVersion=20070822&WS=1&tag=assault bike vs airdyne 20&language=en USSchwinn Airdyne Bike A7

Is The Airdyne Worth It?

The Airdyne Pro Bike comes from Schwinn. Schwinn has been a top-tier bike manufacturer since 1895. They first made pedal bikes for outdoor transportation before creating stationary bikes for indoor fitness.

The bike’s belt drive system flywheel progressively adds more air resistance. You get infinite levels, so you can theoretically use this air bike without hitting a plateau.

The Airdyne also includes interval programs, target programs, heartbeat level indicator, and other tools to help you track fitness metrics.

See your calories burned, time elapsed, distance traveled, speed, RPM, heartbeat, and other stats on the high-resolution display.

Adjust the seat to your liking. You’re in for an intense ride on the Schwinn Airdyne Bike.

Pros
  • Unlimited air resistance levels
  • Included fitness programs
  • High-resolution screen
  • Heart rate monitors
Cons
  • Seat, though adjustable, feels uncomfortable to sit on at first
  • Bolts near handlebars come loose frequently, requiring you to keep an Allen wrench on-hand to tighten them. 

The Assault Bike Vs Airdyne Pro

You’ve seen how the air bikes fare individually. Now let’s see them face off in the following categories. Each will have a clear winner, which is how we’ll determine our overall winner at the end. 

A quick note

The Airdyne Pro and the Airdyne A7 are essentially the same model with a different name.

The only difference between them is that the Pro is intended for commercial use and thus is covered with an appropriate warranty, while the A7 is for home use and is covered by home use warranty.

Which is why It's cheaper.

In this article, we're referring to the Pro version but know the same thing goes for the A7.

Flywheel

While the flywheel may look funny at first, it serves a useful purpose. The bladed fan reduces the amount of wasted energy per pedal. Other air bikes with a chain drive use two-power transfer systems. These systems require energy to pass from one chain to the next, losing power in the process. 

You don’t want to waste energy on the pedal. Efficient pedaling allows you to prolong your workout and avoid tiring yourself out needlessly. There’s an added bonus of keeping yourself cool as you exercise since it’s, well, a fan. 

The Assault AirBike employs a chain to turn the wheel, whereas the Airdyne Pro wields a belt (akin to the kind your car engine uses). Belts are more efficient (discussed in detail later in the article), informing our decision for this category. 

Winner: Schwinn Airdyne Bike

Resistance

The Assault Bike and Airdyne Pro both use air resistance. This means that the harder you pedal, the harder the wind resistance will be. 

The AirBike and Airdyne Pro tout unlimited resistance levels. The wind resistance powering the bikes provides an effective Crossfit Total body workout. The motion feels both challenging and natural — not the clunky mechanical experience that other air bikes give you. 

There’s no clear winner in this round. The two bikes provide infinitely increasing workout levels to train your body.

Winner: Tie

Drive System

Air Bikes have two main types of drive systems: chain and belt. Both turn the fans needed for exercise. Therefore, both allow you to exercise without a problem. 

The differences between chains and belts, then, comes down to maintenance and noise. Chains require more maintenance than belt drive systems. If you’ve ever cared for a bike chain, it’s a similar experience to what you’ll be doing for your Air Bike’s chain drive system — greasing the chain to ensure no rust accumulates. 

Chains also produce a bit more noise than belt drive systems. The noise isn’t noticeable at slower speeds, but it can rev up the faster you go. The same is true for belt drive systems as energy manifests into noise for even the most top-tier air bikes. However, noise reduction is more noticeable in belt drive systems. 

Belt drive systems cost more than chain ones. Again, both will get the job done and let you exercise on your Air Bike. We’d have you choose the belt system for less maintenance, more efficient pedaling, and quieter noise. 

The Assault AirBike uses a chain system. This means more maintenance in the long run, but it lowers the cost of the bike.

The Schwinn Airdyne Pro uses a single-stage belt drive that more effectively responds to the exerciser’s pedaling. The belt drive converts pedal energy into motion more efficiently than chain systems, creating an overall powerful workout. 

Winner: Schwinn Airdyne Bike



Console

Both the Assault Bike and Airdyne Pro use an LCD screen. The AirBike has easy access buttons off to the right of the air bike to let you access the seven workout programs. 

I like the one-button approach to getting into a workout. It reduces mental friction for exercising. 

About Mental Friction

Mental friction is any resistance that stops you from performing a task. 

For example, you experience more mental friction if your running shoes are buried in the closet versus neatly prepared with socks in them by the front door.

It takes less mental energy to put on those shoes and to go for a run when the task is readily prepared for you.

If you still struggle to exercise consistently, the Assault Bike’s console has the lowest friction. You can more quickly hop on and start exercising. 

The Airdyne’s console isn’t something to scoff at, though. While it doesn’t provide one-button access to workout programs, the backlit LCD screen lets you see the screen in the dark. The big, beautiful display lets you see your calories burned, time elapsed, heartbeat, speed, distance, and other important stats at a glance. 

The consoles for both the AirBike and Airdyne cut to the point. They don’t provide unnecessary frills for padding. The Assault Bike and Airdyne both get the job done. 

But we think the Assault Bike’s console is better conducive for both highly disciplined fitness freaks and those still struggling to establish their exercise habit. It’s also nice that the AirBike includes motivational messaging on the console to push you through challenging workouts. 

Winner: Assault AirBike

Workout Programs

The Assault Bike gives you four main workout programs: Tabata, intervals, watts, and heart rate. There’s also a manual function. You can set your own workout intensity for whatever fitness goals you’re striving to achieve. 

The Airdyne has seven programs. Three are interval bursts, followed by a time target program, calories burned program, and distance traveled program. Finally, there’s an open riding program in which you can set your own fitness parameters. 

The workout programs for both the Assault Bike and Airdyne mimic Crossfit intensity. But we have to go with Airdyne Pro for this one. 

Winner: Schwinn Airdyne Bike

Heart Rate Monitor

The Assault Bike does not come with a heart rate monitor. You must buy a separate attachment connecting to your phone to track heartbeat since the Assault Bike does not provide one.

The Airdyne includes a heartbeat tracker on the handlebars, allowing you to see your pulse in real-time on the console. 

Winner: Schwinn Airdyne Bike

Handlebars

Both air bikes have high-quality rubber-wrapped handlebars that can withstand years of use. They don’t slip with sweat and keep their grip.

However, the Assault Bike only has one place to put your hands on the handlebar. The Airdyne has two handlebar positions. One of the bars contains the heartbeat monitor. 

Winner: Schwinn Airdyne Bike

Seat

Both the Assault Bike and Airdyne Pro bikes have a heavy-duty bicycle seat. However, more customers have said they needed to buy extra seat padding for the Airdyne than the Assault Bike. 

No air bike seat is ever really comfortable, but we think the Assault Bike has a slightly better seat. 

Winner: Assault AirBike

Pedals

The pedals on each exercise bike resemble standard stationary bike pedals. They’re nothing fancy. Customers often elect to switch them out for pedals with clips. 

Winner: Tie

Assembly and Portability

Neither of the Assault Bike or Airdyne Pro is portable. They don’t fold up into a more compact shape. What you see is what you get — and what you’ll have to store if you don’t plan on using it. 

Assembly, however, is quite easy for each exercise bike. The Assault AirBike comes with a user manual. You can find plenty of online tutorials depicting how to construct the bike. 

The Assault Bike comes with twenty sealed ball bearings and ball bearings throughout the frame. The exercise bike has a smooth and heavy-duty feel once constructed. 

The Airdyne also comes with a helpful user manual. If you get stuck, you can refer to one of the many online tutorials instructing viewers on how to build the exercise bike. 

Assembly won’t be an issue for either the Assault Bike or Airdyne Pro. The problem lies with portability. The strong and muscled among us may find these air bikes portable. The rest of us will have to use these bikes where we build them. There is no clear winner in this category.

Winner: Tie

Footprint, Build, and Sturdiness

The Assault AirBike is 59.95 inches long, 23.34 inches wide, and 50 inches high. The Airdyne Pro is 53 inches long, 26.5 inches wide, and 53 inches high. 

Their build and sturdiness are comparable once properly constructed. Therefore, it’s yet another tie in this department. 

Winner: Tie

Weight, Height, and User Weight Limit

Both air bikes weigh around 100 lbs. The Assault AirBike is 99 lbs while the Airdyne is 96. 

The Airdyne Pro is three inches taller than the Assault AirBike. The maximum weight capacity for both bikes is 350 lbs. 

Since the weight and the height for the bikes cancel each other out, it’s another tie here. 

Winner: Tie

Stand Out Features — Assault Bike vs Airdyne

We’ve seen how each air bike compares to the other. Here’s how the Schwinn Airdyne Pro compares vs Assault and vice versa. 

Assault AirBike

  • Motivational messaging. The integrated messaging inspires users to complete their workout — a nice touch adding to the modern feel of the bike. The Assault AirBike isn’t cheap, so consider it an investment in your at-home gym routine. 
  • One-button access to workout programs. Hop on the bike, push a button, and start exercising. The one-button approach reduces mental friction toward exercising and lets you begin exercising faster. 

Airdyne Pro

  • Belt drive system. Belt drive systems require less maintenance, provide more efficient pedaling power, and have lower noise than chain drive systems (which the Assault Bike has).
  • Heart rate monitor. The Airdyne includes a heartbeat monitor — an important fitness statistic that the Assault Bike doesn’t have. 

So Which Air Bike is Best For Me?

There’s a lot to compare the Assault Bike vs the Schwinn Airdyne Pro. They’re both sizable investments in your fitness journey that provide excellent cardio and total body workouts. You shouldn’t take purchasing the Airdyne vs Assault Bike lightly.

Get the Assault Bike if you…

  • Are on a budget
  • Need a console that lets you jump straight into workouts
  • Want a more comfortable air bike seat

Get the Airdyne if you…

  • Want to invest in a more expensive air bike
  • Want to monitor your pulse and heart rate zones
  • Don’t want to perform frequent maintenance on your bike’s chain drive system

You can check it on Amazon or on Schwinn.


About the author

Growing up as the fat kid is what motivated him to take matters to his hands at fifteen, and he has never looked back again since!

When he's not pumping iron at the gym, you'll probably find him hooked to his record player listening to rock classics.

If only he could carry it with him to the gym. Sigh.

On this site, he'll do his best to help you accomplish the same results for yourself.

(We're talking about getting in shape, not trying to carry a record player to your local gym)

Michael Perry