u/BRCnative

One of the rides at a carnival near Chilva Market in Sam Kong, Phuket.

Spinning to "Burn Down the Mission" by Elton John. As most of you did, I grew up with this song, but it wasn't until I spun to on a bike it that I realized how hard it goes at the end.

I've been riding the same bike for several years now and I bought it used. But, even though it worked well, it was time for a change. It was inexpensive, friction resistance, chain drive and has some rusty spots. Thailand is really hard on mechanical things.

There is a chain of sporting goods stores here in Thailand called Decathlon. They are France as well as several other SEA countries, but not in the U.S. I gotta say, I love this place. It's like Ikea, but for sporting goods.

They sell this model, the Domyos Training Bike 900, for $560 USD. Not cheap, but not as much for even a used studio-grade bike. I decided to order one from Decathlon the next day. I wanted to hedge my bets and check out Facebook Marketplace one last time. Someone was selling the same bike, in basically new condition (used once) for $190!

If you want to know more about the bike, I wrote a review on it where I go into the detail, the likes and the not-so-crazy-abouts in the IndoorCycling sub.

I've been riding the same bike for several years now and I bought it used. But, even though it worked well, it was time for a change. It was inexpensive, friction resistance, chain drive and has some rusty spots. Thailand is really hard on mechanical things.

At the gym, they have LifeFitness bikes. They are great, but they're not in my budget, so I started researching for alternatives.

There is a chain of sporting goods stores here in Thailand called Decathlon. They are France as well as several SEA countries, but not in the U.S. I gotta say, I love this place. It's like Ikea, but for sporting goods.

They sell the model above, the Domyos Training Bike 900 for $560 USD. Not cheap, but not as much for even a used studio-grade bike. I decided to order one from Decathlon the next day. I wanted to hedge my bets and check out Facebook Marketplace one last time. Someone was selling the same bike, in basically new condition (used once) for $190! I got the bike.

Here are my first impressions after a short spin. By the way, I'm not sponsored or in any way connected with Decathlon.

What I like

It's rock solid. It feels as sturdy as a high-end gym bike. Very quiet. It feels like a much more expensive bike. It's heavier than my old bike, but with the wheels, it's still pretty easy to move around. I really like the fact that the metal parts of the frame are all enclosed and protected from sweat. I like the general design ethic as well.

The mechanism is smooth and quiet and uses magnetic resistance. There are 34 (weird) resistance levels and is operated by an electrical motor. If it's very quiet, you can hear the motor when it changes resistance.

There is no screen, which I actually like. However, there is a console which, in the lower half, shows speed, distance, duration, calories, RPM, watts and BPM on a white on black LED display. The top part has a shelf for a phone or tablet with a handy hook that keeps it in place. There is also a pad below the console that will charge your phone.

The bike requires being plugged in, which is a bit of a bummer, but it uses a tricky magnetic connector (like MagSafe on a MacBook) and there are connection points on the front and the rear of the bike. Neat.

I don't use these apps, but Kinomap is supported with resistance control. Zwift / Rouvy / Bkool / Fulgaz are supported without resistance control (change resistance manually).

It has Bluetooth and it recognized my Polar chest heart rate monitor, so the console display of my HR is the same on my phone.

There are two bottle holders and they are big enough to hold my extra wide bottles.

What I'm not crazy about

Frankly (and thankfully, since I can't return it), there are not deal-breakers for me from this bike. But there are a couple things that are going to take some getting used to.

There is no fore and aft adjustment of the handlebars. Honestly, that's usually the case with most bikes at this and below price point. Even with the seat moved all the way forward, I'm still a bit farther from the handlebars that I'm used to. I think that I can get used to it, though.

The handlebars are slightly narrower than on my old bike or the gym bikes. They are slightly angled up and aren't as long as my old ones. But again, I think that I can adjust to them. It's not a huge difference.

The one thing that I haven't figured out yet is the resistance knob. The knobs turns with very little effort. A couple of times, my thigh brushed against the knob and changed the resistance during a a standing climb. Oof! Whether I can adjust to that remains to be seen.

Over all, though, I think it was a good choice. We'll see.

I'm a homespun kinda guy.

I took this pic in 2011. I was my favorite bike. I did three California AIDS rides (San Francisco to Los Angeles in seven days) on it. I hope that someone is still enjoying it.

With Charles Martin Smith.