FlexiSpot V9 Desk Bike Review – Expensive But I Like the Quality!
A lot of people are sitting at their desk these days. Whether it is because they are working from home due to COVID-19 or they simply spend a lot of time at home on the computer regardless, a lot of people spend a lot of time sitting at a desk.
Despite this, there still might be a way to get these people (you, the reader included) a bit of fitness while they sit at the desk. This method comes in the form of the FlexiSpot V9 desk bike. This bike acts as a way to keep the feet moving while you sit at a desk and get work done.
We’re going to look at what this FlexiSpot V9 stationary bike has to offer, comparing its value to the price on offer. Once we check out all the features it has, we’re going to give our final verdict on this interesting bike.
But with all of that out of the way, let’s hop right into our review of the FlexiSpot V9 home desk bike and the comparisons of the two FlexiSpot desk bikes on the market.
FlexiSpot V9 vs FlexiSpot Sit2Go – Full comparison
| Name | FlexiSpot V9 | FlexiSpot Sit2Go |
|---|---|---|
| Desk | Yes, comes with a desk | No, comes without a desk |
| Horizontal saddle adjustment | No | Yes |
| Saddle size | 12-inch L x 11-inch W | 13-inch L x 12-inch W |
| Saddle backrest | None | Large mesh backrest |
| Saddle comfort | Good | Exceptional |
| Bottle holder | Yes | No |
| Flywheel | 5.5 Lbs | 4 Lbs |
| Resistance | 8-Level magnetic | 8-Level magnetic |
| Recommended desk height | Not Applicable (desk is included) | Your desk should be taller than 33-inch |
| Recommended user height | 5’1″ to 6’2″ |
FlexiSpot has two workstation exercise bikes with US-patented designs. So, some of the things that you find on these two desk exercise bikes are not available on other brands even if they look the same at the first glance.
The two FlexiSpot desk bikes are the V9 and Sit2Go. They are different products and can be used in different scenarios. The V9 desk bike has a desk so you don’t need another desk to put your tablet or laptop to work.
On the other hand, the Sit2Go is more of a chair bike so you need to use your own desk. It’s great if you want to use your own work desk or if you want to put the Sit2Go chair desk in front of a TV to pedal and watch at the same time without an obstacle.
Aside from the fact that the FlexiSpot Sit2Go doesn’t have a desk, it also doesn’t have a coffee or bottle holder so you would need to use your table to keep those things.
One thing that I like about the FlexiSpot Sit2Go is the forward and backward saddle adjustment. Like my Steelcase chair, I can use it to get into a comfortable working position.
The FlexiSpot V9 does have vertical adjustment but there is no horizontal adjustment and it also doesn’t have a backrest so you can’t lean backward. As for the actual seat, I find the Sti2Go seat more comfortable than the seat on the FlexiSpot V9 bike.
It’s also an inch wider in width. But to be honest neither of the bikes has the most comfortable seats. If you get saddle sore while using the FlexiSpot desk bikes, I suggest you buy the Daway saddle covers. The C9 should fit the FlexiSpot Sit2Go and the C6 should fit the FlexiSpot V9.
In terms of resistance, they are both manually adjustable magnetic with 8 levels which is not too intense but enough to make you push and get your heart rate up. Of course, you don’t want to do intense workouts or sweat when working behind a desk.
Lastly, the color. Both FlexiSpot desk exercise bikes are available in two colors, white and black. Normally, the FlexiSpot V9B is referred to as the “Black” color and the FlexiSpot V9W is the “White” color. The same for the FlexiSpot Sit2Go chair bikes.
What I Think of FlexiSpot V9 Desk Bike Price
Considering the price is one of the aspects that people look at most when checking out pieces of fitness equipment, it seems to only make sense that we start with that first. The FlexiSpot V9 desk bike costs right around $300, but it has been spotted at $50 higher.
This is a relatively cheap price compared to a lot of regular upright bikes. However, this is not an upright bike and this should be kept in mind throughout the review.
The warranty that comes with FlexiSpot V9 desk bikes is a 1-year limited one. You get a 30-day free return, which is a nice touch. But that is it in terms of warranties and guarantees.
This is pretty poor, even for a cheaper bike. If something does start to go wrong 366 days after you have bought it, then you have $300 down the drain after a relatively short amount of time. It is certainly not ideal.
The shipping process will be free to 48 of the 50 states in the USA, while shipping processes to other countries will be different. Once it arrives, you will have to assemble the bike. Some users have claimed that it is a harder process than they would like, but the instructions are fairly clear.
Considering there aren’t a lot of aspects to the FlexiSpot V9 desk bike compared to normal upright bikes, you wouldn’t think it would be that tough.
FlexiSpot V9 Workstation Bike Console
One of the most important aspects to many modern desk exercise bikes are the monitors that come with them. These can absolutely revolutionize the experience someone might have onboard one of these bikes.
However, since the FlexiSpot V9 is a desk bike instead of a regular upright bike, you shouldn’t expect anything of the sort. In fact, there is absolutely no monitor available at all.
The closest you can get is the desk that comes with the V9. You can stick a laptop, tablet or regular phone on top of this desk and use a separate app in order to try and track your performance on the bike. But that is about as close to a traditional monitor as you can get with the FlexiSpot V9 desk bike.
FlexiSpot V9B Desk Stand-Up Bike Resistance
Then there is the resistance of the FlexiSpot V9 home exercise bike. Considering that exercise and this movement is the reason to buy such a piece of equipment, you generally want to make sure that it works well.
Again, the FlexiSpot V9 is a desk bike and not a regular upright bike. Therefore, you can’t work out on it as long as you might otherwise. They even recommend that those desk bikes “are not rated to be used as professional exercise bikes.
Anything more than 2-3 hours of light-intensity cycling per day is not recommended.” So you shouldn’t be training for the Tour de France with one of these. However, for those hours of light cycling, you can choose from 8 different levels of resistance.
None of them provide that much of a challenge, but you can at least tell a difference between the lowest and highest levels. There are a couple of other elements that we typically cover that we don’t know about here.
The Q-Factor is one. This is the distance between pedals. If it is too wide, you can get seriously uncomfortable while cycling. If it is too narrow, the same can happen and you even risk injury. The drivetrain is another element that isn’t listed.
FlexiSpot Desk Chair Bike Size
What are the dimensions of the FlexiSpot V9 desk bike? You would think that it would be fairly small and mobile to move around the home. And you wouldn’t be wrong.
It measures out to be 37.6 inches (95.5 cm) long, 22.8 inches (58 cm) wide and between 29.6 inches (75 cm) and 37.2 inches (94.5 cm) tall.
Meanwhile, it weighs 51 lbs (23 kg) and can reportedly hold a maximum weight of 300 lbs (136 kg). The entire desk bike is on 4 wheels, so you won’t have any issues with the whole mobility aspect.
However, this does mean that it lacks some solid stabilizers. You can’t really get super intense workouts in, otherwise, you’ll be shuffling all over the place.
FlexiSpot Workstation Bike Seat
We now typically examine the rest of the physical elements of these bikes, starting with the handlebars. But since there are no handlebars, we’ll move right into the seat of the FlexiSpot V9 desk bike.
The seat is adjustable about 6 inches vertically, which generally allows for people between the heights of 5’1” (155 cm) and 6’2” (188 cm).
However, any taller and it looks like the bike becomes extremely uncomfortable. Even the upper limit of 6’2” seems to stretch the comfortability of the bike, according to some reviews. Both the seat and the desk are easily adjustable, which is quite nice.
The desk is large enough to comfortably fit a 17” laptop with plenty of room to spare. Alternatively, you could just not put the desk on and roll the FlexiSpot V9 desk bike underneath another desk that it will fit under.
The pedals are not really special at all. They are fairly small and don’t have any sort of straps on them. However, if you want to pedal with your bare feet, the rubber pedal covers will work well enough to keep them protected.
You obviously also won’t have any bonus features onboard the FlexiSpot V9 stationary bike that you might find on regular workout bikes. There aren’t any fans, water bottle holders, speakers or the like. All the entertainment you get is from the device you put on the desk.
FlexiSpot V9 Desk Bike Pros:
- Small footprint is extremely mobile thanks to the many wheels
- The desk is wide enough to support fairly large pieces of equipment
- Good source of movement from those who sit for long hours of the day
- Can act as a good recovery machine for those who are recovering from knee injuries
- Pedal covers are safe for bare feet
FlexiSpot V9 Desk Bike Cons:
- Despite claims of quietness, the bike is actually fairly loud
- Resistance is not meant for more intense workouts
- 1-year limited warranty is not particularly appealing
- No real additions or bonus elements besides the desk
- Fairly expensive for what is on offer
- Pedals are extremely basic and don’t offer any straps to keep your feet in place
FlexiSpot V9 Alternatives:
FlexiSpot V9 desk bike is a great exercise bike with a desk to work but it is a little overpriced, to be honest, and some people may not be able to afford it.
And I think there are two pretty awesome alternative exercise bikes with office desks that you can consider if you can’t afford the FlexiSpot V9.
FlexiSpot Alternative: Exerpeutic 2000i Desk Bike
My first alternative suggestion is the Exerpeutic Exerwork 2000i folding exercise desk bike. I honestly think it’s actually a better bike with more features than the FlexiSpot V9 stationary bike.
The Exerpeutic 2000i costs around $380 which is $100 less expensive than the FlexiSpot and it has Bluetooth connectivity to sync your stats with the free my fitness cloud application.
Using the QZ application, you can even connect it to Zwift and many other applications. The desk bike doesn’t provide cadence but it does give your speed, distance, time, resistance level, and calories.
Aside from Bluetooth technology, one of the major superior features of Exerpeutic 2000i compared to FlexiSpot V9 is the electronic magnetic resistance.
It has 24 levels of resistance while FlexiSpot only has 8 levels. Plus, the resistance on Exerpeutic Exerwork 2000i desk bike is electronically adjustable via buttons/controls on the display.
So, you don’t need to turn a knob manually to change resistance levels. Unfortunately on the FlexiSpot, you have to change resistance manually by turning a knob because it’s not electronic.
There are four additional superior features that you get with the Exerpeutic Exerwork 2000i home office desk bike that you don’t get with the FlexiSpot.
It has an adjustable backrest, an angle adjustable desk (not just forward and backward), a drawer under the desk for accessories, and a foldable frame to take up less space when not being used.
From my perspective, you can understand why I think the Exerpeutic Exerwork 2000i desk bike is a better choice than the FlexiSpot bike.
FlexiSpot Alternative: Right Fit Desk Bike
The second alternative is the Fit Right desk bike. I know it’s not exactly the same quality but it does have several of the same features. Plus, it costs half the price of the FlexiSpot V9 so you would be saving more than $200.
Just like the FlexiSpot V9, the Fit Right exercise bike desk has 8-level magnetic resistance, a desk with a cup holder, a vertically adjustable saddle, and a 4-way adjustable office desk workstation.
There is also a small and very basic monitor on the bike that provides you with the time, calories, speed, and distance.
Unfortunately, just like the FlexiSpot V9 home bike, it doesn’t have Bluetooth or ANT/+ connectivity so you can’t save your daily workouts on indoor cycling applications.
To see your heart rate you would need to use your own heart rate monitor watch or armband and connect it to your phone or laptop.
Sayed Hosseiny
Hi there, I'm Sayed Hamed Hosseiny, the founder and one of the authors at yourexercisebike.com (YEB). I am a former indoor cycling instructor and personal trainer with nearly 20 years of experience. With a passion for indoor cycling, I have spent years designing cycling parts, repairing, and importing exercise bikes. All the articles, tips, guides, reviews, and comparisons on YourExerciseBike.com (YEB) reflect my personal opinion and expertise in the field. I'm excited to share my knowledge with fellow exercise bike enthusiasts and help people find reliable indoor cycling information and the best exercise bike for their needs.
