We Tested the Aviron Fit Bike S: The Gaming Bike That Actually Gets You Off the Couch

Over the last few years I have done a lot more cycling. Inside, outside, doesn’t matter. Getting miles in with my feet in the pedals has done wonders for my running. And now with the Aviron Fit Bike S, I don’t even have to leave home.

With so many spin bike options on the market now, its interesting to see what sets each apart. Aviron designed their bike with its gamified platform and attention to fit details like a slightly wider foot placement.

I have been having an absolute blast testing out all the content Aviron has to offer. All without disturbing anyone in the house. The S in the model name truly stands for silent.

As you can see I am already an Aviron fan. Adding this bike to the Aviron Victory treadmill is fantastic for the home “gym”. Fortunately these are nice and sleek looking and the bike has a relatively small foot print so they fit in a previously mostly unused yet visible space in our house.

Aviron Fit Bike S Overview

Aviron changed the cardio equipment game (literally) in 2018 with the release of the first gamified rower. Since then they added two bikes and a treadmill.

What makes Aviron stand out is its immersive, tech-driven design.

The 22-inch high-definition touchscreen serves as a full entertainment hub, giving you access to streaming platforms like Netflix, Hulu, as well as Aviron’s unique library of gamified workouts, coached classes, and virtual routes.

The interactive system allows users to play fitness-based games, compete in live challenges, or run through scenic courses—all of which are tied directly to the bikes resistance control. There are now even more competition with monthly teams where each workout earns your team points.

One of the features of the bike that stand out from others is the wider placement of the pedals, or Q factor. This is to help your body maintain a more natural position making it easier on your joints.

Because I have been riding a lot more over the last few years, and I am a data nerd, I wanted to test this out on the other bikes I have been riding lately. I checked out my Salsa gravel bike, the Kaiser spin bike at my gym, and the Peloton at my office gym.

By measuring the distance between pedals on these four bikes, the Fit Bike is 2 inches wider than my gravel bike or the Kaiser spin bike. Peloton fell in between.

This wider stance is noticeable after riding for a bit, but in my opinion its a benefit for runners. I felt it more on the sides of my glutes which I’m always trying to keep strong.

As noted above the Fit Bike S is incredibly quiet. One of my first rides my husband came from around the corner and jumped because he had no idea I was even on the bike! This is going to be great for early morning rides.

There are ten points of adjustment on the bike to customize it to what is most comfortable to you. The seat can be raised, lowered, moved forward and back. The handle bar also can be adjusted up, down, forward and back, as well as tilted.

I set it up to closely mimic the set up of my gravel bike to train for some longer outdoor rides.

The Fit Bike S also has a flywheel. So unlike traditional spin bikes, and like outdoor bikes, once you stop pedaling the pedals stop and the flywheel runs down essentially “coasting” eliminating any need for an emergency break.

Quick Take

Touchscreen Display & Programs

The high definition screen is crisp, bright, and very responsive. It is very easy and intuitive to navigate by swiping side to side to find what type of workout you want to do. And there are a LOT of options.

There are games, challenges, coach led workouts, virtual nature scenes, guided workouts and Les Mills included in the membership. They are also always adding content so there is something for everyone.

The games all involve changes in speed and/or resistance to achieve goals and earn points. Generally there are three levels to choose from with the games so you can still complete games and challenges at whatever intensity you are feeling at the time.

Similar to the complaint I had on the Victory treadmill I have here there is no way to delete a workout from your history. With so many options, you may decide you don’t like the game or program you picked or just wanted to see what something looked like and back out.

The display on the bike tilts and rotates so you can still watch coached content while off the bike.

Manual Mode

Manual mode was pretty easy to find, just hit the Quick Start icon on the screen. A lot of information is displayed for you including your output, distance, watts, calories burned, cadence, and speed.

Along the bottom is the resistance level from 10-160 in increments of 10. The numbering feels a little odd to me, but its pretty easy math to figure out percentages.

I was a little overwhelmed at first and unfortunately you cannot pick and choose what is displayed.

It is important to note, if you choose to not use the membership, you will still have access to this programming. And my first few days this is all I used. My iPad fit nicely along the bars and I was able to use Apple Fitness+ combined with the manual mode. So if you have coached classes you prefer, like Apple of Peloton you can still use those.

Ride Feel

Once you have decided on what type of ride you want, hop on for a super smooth workout.

The Fit Bike comes standard with flat pedals with toe cages. You can upgrade to SPD pedals that also have a flat side with toe cages. I like having the option to clip in or to wear regular shoes to ride. Both clips and cages are comfortable and well sized.

The standard seat is very similar to what you will find on other spin bikes and is comfortable. Though if you are riding long I definitely recommend bike shorts with padding. Or you can purchase Aviron’s cloud seat which is wider and has more cushion.

Up front, the handlebars are sturdy and have a nice grippy coating to keep you from slipping once you start to sweat. It also has multiple hand position points.

You probably notice one thing missing. We touched on the resistance above being shown along the bottom of the screen. There is no resistance knob, it is all controlled from the screen or a remote that can be mounted on top of the handlebars.

I have really enjoyed having the remote so close to my hands for smaller steps up and down in resistance or if you want big changes, just tap the screen and the resistance quickly changes.

My only complaint about the ride feel is being out of the saddle. Not sure if it is me or the bike, I am four months post knee replacement.

But standing and riding, even with the resistance at about a 60-70% it feels really clunky and uncomfortable. My husband felt the same but also admitted he doesn’t like being out of the saddle on a spin bike to begin with.

App & Community

There is a companion app for the Aviron Fit Bike S that you can load on to your phone.

It includes all of the workouts with descriptions so when you are sitting at work dreaming about going home and jumping on you can plan what program you are going to use. You can also access your workout history, leaderboards and more.

If you need an extra kick of a social aspect, there is a community of over 15,000 people on Facebook. People challenge each other, cheer on each other, ask questions and are so supportive. There are even Aviron staff in the group and invite feature requests for their equipment.

Customer Service

This is not usually something we address much in our reviews but I feel it is important to note.

Aviron’s customer service is top notch. When my bike first arrived I was super excited and jumped on right away once the delivery guys left (shout out to the white glove delivery team who also set up the treadmill and will be helping us move these pieces in a couple months to a new house).

Well, the bike didn’t work. Turned on but said something was broken. I contacted customer service right away and after walking me through basic troubleshooting the determined it needed a tech. There was someone here a few days later.

The mystery issue with the bike confused everyone, including those at Aviron. They had never seen the issue before. So they wanted the bike back so they could figure it out. So a new bike headed my way.

Communication with them in this process was always timely and professional.

Is the Aviron Fit Bike S Worth the Price?

There are a lot of options out there for spin bikes, at so many price points. Having tried other spin bikes, the Aviron Fit Bike S really holds it own against them. Same premium feel, with a few more thoughtful features to make it stand out, assuming those features are ones you’ll use.

There are a lot of cheaper brands, so the worth it factor is going to come down to what you really want in a spin bike.

• We like the quality
• We love the screen size
• The gaming aspect is unique and engaging for many
• Durability appears to be high from our researching and testing

When the bike is not on sale, we’d likely push you to either level up with the Nordictrack X24 for incline to really mimic outdoor riding or consider the Yesoul GM1 for a lower price point and still very good bike.

What to read next:

• Nordictcrack X24 Bike Review – For those wanting incline and decline
• Best Cross Training Cardio for Runners
• See all of our at home gym equipment reviews

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