The mighty Airdyne

(charlie3) #1

I’m posting this here because I believe the vintage airdyne is the best stationary machine yet devised and I decided to show how to get one. It can be transported in a sedan if necessary. No need for a truck or SUV.

I’ve owned a Schwinn Airdyne for 30 years. Used it for 10 years back in the day. Now it’s back in service for the past 18 months. I wanted one for the farm where I’m spending more time so started watching Craigs list for a used one.

Normal asking price is $200. This is a great deal. I was ready and willing to pay that price but I picked up this one from a yard sale for $60. The only blem is a missing button battery door which was cured with a bit of plastic cut from an expired credit card. (The battery is used for a countdown timer. A kitchen timer would do the same.)

To break down the machine I used a pair of pliers to pull cotter pins between the handle bars and connecting rods, and a Phillips screwdriver and 3/8" wrench for the speedometer bracket. I used tape to hold everything in place. Lock the flywheel where the pedals are level with each other and remove the seat post. It fits on the back seat of a Toyota Camry. It wouldn’t go in the trunk.

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Below is a user manual for the bike. Page 3 has a table of calories used for different resistance levels. The Airdyne in the photos above has an optional wind cover which may increase resistance and make the calorie estimate inaccurate. I may remove it.

[30 new photos · Album by c cparc] Schwinn Airdyne user manuel
(Susan) #2

Congrats on the great deal that you got, I hope you enjoy using it for a long time, that is awesome =).

#3

So cool, my grandpa-in-law rode his daily for decades, kept it on the back porch and all the grandkids and great grandkids would give it a go when we’d visit them :slight_smile:

(Ken) #4

That reminds me, I should dig out my vintage Nordic Track since it looks like we’re going to have a crappy, long Winter.

(charlie3) #5

I was comfortable buying an Airdyne used since I’d owned one. It came just in time, blizzard yesterday, everything is too slippery for brisk walking. No plow trucks since the storm started. Now I’m tempted to look for something to exercise hill climbing. Where I live is flat there’s very little natural terrain for doing that.

It’s frustrating to me that research on diet and research on exercise seem to be treated like 2 unrelated subjects. Seems to me there’s not much to be learned about one without considering the other. I’m hoping that in the next few years we may have inexpensive wearable tech that can track diet and activity and more biomarkers with the most minimal involvement by the user. Then we might be able to find more of the food/activity relationships.

(Scott) #6

Airdyne and Nordic Track, every home I go into has about thirty pounds of clothes on them I think.

(charlie3) #7

I’m all in on the diet and exercise thing, 18 months and counting. My focus is to get my 4 surviving siblings addressing the same issues. I’m the oldest at 70. I don’t want to outlive them all. In the mean time I haven’t had regular access to an Airdyne in 5 months, extra walking (2 hours) instead. I’m way weaker on the Airdyne so upped the time to two 45 minute rides daily, going moderate, and waiting for the chops to come back.

My own experience tells me there’s not a heath care crisis it’s a health crisis and nobody wants to bring it up. I just finished shoveling out 200’ of driveway with 8" of wet snow. Took a while, no problem. Next up, second 45 min ride on the Airdyne. I’m getting concerned about finding a doc who accepts my approach, who’s not giving himself permission to run my life. I do guided tours of a rural local history museum. We have an 1880’s general store where lately I point out, no center isles in this place.

(charlie3) #8

So I’ve had access to the Airdyne for several weeks and it changed things. I spent the summer walking 2 hours a day plus 2 hours lifting per week. Lately I’m riding the airdyne 2 45 min session plus an hour of walking. That burns a lot more calories yet it’s less perceived fatigue than 2 hours of walking. If I tweak meal timing a little I’m finding I can’t eat maintenance calories at the new higher level. I go to bed full with a 300 calorie deficit. So I’ll just let it be that way and see if it takes off a pound or two of fat without stealing muscle mass. Calories burned from activities has gone from 30% to 40% with no more fatigue.