Assault Classic Air Bike Review
There are plenty of air bikes that have flooded the market in recent years that let customers down. They are built too lightly and thinly, leading to collapse or early maintenance problems, or they are so advanced that they cost an absolute fortune to acquire. Fortunately, there are those that are located in the middle. The Assault AirBike Classic is one such bike. We’re going to examine it today in order to see just how it holds up compared to its more advanced “Assault Elite” counterpart.
First up are the prices, warranties, shipping and assembly. At the regular retail price, the Assault AirBike Classic costs right around $1,000. This is actually a pretty good price, as it isn’t too high for what it offers and even just generally for an exercise bike. The warranties are also pretty fair for the cost, although some of them are shorter than those that are attached to the Elite version of the bike. Both Assault air bikes have 5 years of backup on the frame and 1 year on the labour. However, while the Elite bike has 3 years on both the belt and parts, the Classic only has 2 years on each. While this is lower, it still is a pretty decent guarantee, especially compared to other warranties on other bikes. The shipping process is less certain. It should take 1-2 weeks to get to your location, although the pandemic and basic human errors might slow the process somewhat. One disadvantage that the bike has is that the shipping can cost more, depending on your location. As for the assembly once it arrives, you have 2 options: you can get a team to pre-assemble it, or you can try it yourself. While the manual is clear enough, if you are not very good at building such machines, it probably won’t be as easy as you would hope.
The monitor is another important part of these air bikes that you’ll want to cover. With the Assault AirBike Classic, you won’t find too many fancy features that are available on other brands. What you will find is a monitor that will get the job done. There are 7 programs that will help you get fit. You’ve got interval programs and all sorts of different goals. These programs should be excellent for those who are looking for high intensity interval training (HIIT). This type of training has become highly popular in recent years, and it is good to see Assault acknowledging that and including it in their machines. There are target time goals, calories goals, heart rate goals and distance goals all available to give you objectives to work towards. The monitor will track statistics like your heart rate, speed, time, calories and RPM. Finally, you get nice little Bluetooth and ANT+ connections with the monitor, allowing for some tracking of your workouts with third party devices. The monitor of the Assault AirBike Classic doesn’t do anything fancy, but it performs well enough to justify its inclusion. Up on the console, there is an additional media holder (and by that we mean a small platform to hold a phone or tablet). If you use this holder, you won’t be able to see the console, but you can at least connect to the mobile device with the Bluetooth capability.
If one of the air bikes isn’t providing you with enough resistance to actually challenge you, is it really an exercise machine? Cheesy philosophical questions aside, the resistance really is important for one of these bikes being successful. Fortunately, the Assault AirBike Classic does quite well in this regard, just like its Elite sibling. Neither fan is larger than the other, as they both measure out to be 25 inches. This is a fairly sizable fan that will provide plenty of resistance to whoever is onboard. This resistance is also dynamic, which means the harder and quicker you pedal, the more resistance you will meet. Of course, this is also no real surprise, as many air bikes use dynamic resistance as their main means of resistance. However, since it is a fan system, you do need to be aware that it will make some louder noise than a magnetic one. The drivetrain of the Classic air bike is just a regular 3-piece crank, which is the best type. While it might not be the fancy “ISIS crank” that the Elite air bike has, it still does a good job of making the bike run smoothly and without any sort of problems. What is not publicly available, frustratingly enough, is the Q-Factor of both the Elite and Classic Assault air bikes. For those who are unaware, the Q-Factor of the bike is the distance in between the pedals. If it is too wide, you can become quite uncomfortable. If it is too narrow, the same can happen or even some injuries.
One of the elements that you should be aware of with any air bike is how much space it takes up. After all, if the bike is bigger than the room you intended on putting it in, that would likely cause an issue in the home. Fortunately, the Classic actually takes up less space than the Elite version of the Assault air bike. It measures out to be 51 inches (129.5 cm) long, 23 inches (58.4 cm) wide and 50 inches (127 cm) tall. The Classic is also more than 40 lbs lighter than the Elite, weighing 95.6 (43 kg). That doesn’t stop it from being able to hold 300 lbs (136 kg), which is still a pretty good amount. One of the best parts about both Assault air bikes is that they can fit users who are between 4’10” and 6’4” in height. It’s especially nice, as many bikes don’t accommodate those that are below 5’.
We’re going to keep with the physical elements that you’ll be interacting with onboard the Assault Classic air bike. The handlebars are not adjustable, but move with the pedals to allow for some upper body workouts alongside the lower body. This is a fairly standard design that you would find on many other air bikes, so we can’t say that there’s anything too fantastic or unique about them. They are padded and comfortable enough, although they certainly aren’t anything special. It is a similar case with the Elite air bike, so there isn’t even any improvement there. You get the slightest of disadvantages when it comes to the seat on the Classic compared to the Elite. They are both ergonomic and padded, although the Elite version is slightly larger. It probably isn’t enough to make a difference to the vast majority of people, but it is at least noticeable. On both bikes, you also get to adjust the seat vertically through 6 different levels. It would be nice to see it adjusted horizontally too, but this is a fairly minor complaint in the grand scheme of things. When it comes to the pedals of the Classic air bike, you won’t find anything that is special. They don’t have any clips or toe cages that will keep your feet in place unless you use SPD cleats. If you do, then you will enjoy the SPD-compatibility that these pedals offer. Otherwise, they are distinctly average and do nothing to distinguish themselves. Though this isn’t necessarily bad, as not every element about the bike has to stand out and be special. Sometimes they just have to do the job. Finally, there are foot rests on either side of the fan that will allow you to take intermittent breaks from your workouts. If you need a break or are doing some sort of custom workout that requires your feet to get off of the pedals without dismounting the bike, these foot rests are significantly useful.
Assault Classic Air Bike Pros:
- Strong commercial build that will withstand most elements
- Upper body workouts available with the arms and footrest combo
- Solid warranties
- Dynamic and challenging resistance
- Extremely fair price
- Can hold a wide variety of users
Assault Classic Air Bike Cons:
- Saddle could be more comfortable and adjustable
- Takes up a fairly large space compared to more compact options
- Shipping can cost more depending on your location
- Makes a decent amount of noise thanks to the fan
Conclusion
The Assault AirBike Classic is an excellent choice for just about anyone out there. It doesn’t cost a whole lot, yet offers a professional build that even veteran cyclists would enjoy. It does make a pretty fair amount of noise, but that is the same with most air resistance bikes. In return for this small sacrifice, you get a monitor that gives you plenty of stats to track and workout programs to use. You should be aware that it isn’t the most advanced console you’ve ever seen, so if you are looking for one of those, you won’t find it here. While it does take up a fair amount of space, it doesn’t take up the same amount (nor weigh anywhere close) to the Elite air bike. In general, if you are looking for the better value for money package, the Assault AirBike Classic is the place that you’ll want to look for it.
