Best Mats for Keiser M3i Indoor Bike to Protect Your Floor and Bike
If you are in the market for a new exercise bike like the Keiser M3i indoor bike, chances are that you might also want to invest in a few supplementary Keiser M3i accessories to ensure that your indoor exercise experience is as enjoyable as possible. One of such accessories is an indoor bike floor mat. While essentially simple, these mats are actually important accessories. Below we explain the purpose of this key indoor bike accessory and review several of the best floor mats to pair with your Keister indoor bike.
What are indoor bike floor mats for?
Indoor bike floor mats serve several important purposes:
- They protect your floors from scratches, abrasions and marring that may result from using an indoor bike on a bare floor. Indoor and exercise bikes are typically rather heavy, and even though they usually come with some sort of soft material on the contact points that meet the floor, this is often not adequate especially when the bike is used in rooms that have floor surfaces that are particularly prone to marring. Exercise bikes are also subject to movement and vibrations, especially during spirited and hard workouts. These vibrations, overtime, and the resulting excessive friction of the bike with your floor, can cause unsightly marks that may be visible when and if the bike is moved.
- They reduce noise during use. The aforementioned vibrations tend to be amplified by various floor materials to varying degrees. If you live in an apartment building, this can be particularly annoying to your downstairs or next door neighbours. A good floor mat will greatly reduce the noise produced by performing vigorous workouts on your Keiser M3i indoor bike.
- They provide additional comfort, cushioning and traction for the bike. If you have slippery floors, a stationary exercise bike can move and slide a little during use. Sure, the movement can be minimal, but annoying. Even if you’re not worried about your floors getting scratched, a good floor mat will offer that little bit of extra grip for your bike to be perfectly balanced and immobile even during the hardest workouts.
Can I just use an old carpet?
Good indoor floor mats are specifically made from materials that provide traction, cushioning and are also easy to clean, which is extremely important in something that will be seeing a fair share of sweat dripping on it! Carpets can protect floors, but they will not provide the bike with the necessary cushioning and the bike can still move about if you do hard efforts like hard out-of-saddle spins. These indoor mats are also made in a way that makes them easy to store when not being used.
What are some of the best exercise mats for the Keiser M3i Indoor Bike?
While this guide is aimed at owners of the Keiser M3i Indoor Bike, these recommendations can also be relevant to other brands of similar indoor exercise bikes on the market. Below we review some of the top picks for indoor exercise mats to suit various types of floors and the features that make them an excellent pick for your Keiser M3i indoor bike.
1-CyclingDeal indoor bike floor mat:
2 used from $30.00
This mat is sized at 30-inch x 60-inch (76.2 cm x 152.4 cm), which makes it suitable for the Keiser M31’s footprint. We would have liked a slightly larger mat, though to catch unruly drops of sweat during intense workouts. The mat is made from a soft 6mm thick PVC material with a non-slip pattern on the bottom of the map and a reinforced top layer, which makes it ideal for wood or tile floors, and very easy to roll up for storage or to move around for cleaning.
While this PVC mat worked very well on a room with HDF floor we tested it in, we found that it does not perform as well on carpeted floors. The material is too soft for use on carpets, and the bike tends to dig into and gouge the material, which can compromise longevity.
We also noticed that there was a noticeable plasticky smell when we first opened the packaging, so you might want to let it air out for a day or two before using it in a room without good air circulation.
2-Supermats Heavy Duty Equipment Mat:
The Supermats Heavy Duty Mat comes in dimensions identical to the CyclingDeal mat, 30-Inch x 60-Inch (76.2 cm x 152.4 cm). This U.S.A. made mat is made using thick PVC and the company claims it is suitable for use on both carpeted and wood floors. One problem with this Keiser M3i bike mat is that whatever coating is being used on the underside of the mat seems to come off on hard floors, leaving sticky stains. The topside of the mat seems durable and easy to clean, though.
3-MotionTex Exercise Equipment Mat:
The MotionTex mat 60in x 24in (152.4x61cm), which makes it slightly narrower than the SuperMats and CyclingDeal mats. The narrower footprint will be ideal for smaller spaces, while still adequately accommodating the Keister M3i. We found the MotionTex a little bit on the thin side, but the recycled PVC material wasn’t lacking in durability and seemed to withstand the Keiser M3i on it without issues. Cleaning with soap and water after workouts was very easy. One thing we appreciated about the MotionTex mat was the lack of a strong odour typical of PVC floor mats when we first got it out of the packaging. If space is at a premium where you use your Keiser M3i, the MotionTex mat might be an ideal choice.
4-BalanceFrom GoFit High Density Mat:
The BalanceFrom GoFit mat comes in two sizes, the first being 60inx30in (152.4x61cm) which, being identical to the MotionTex mat, is ideal for spaces where a larger mat can be too cumbersome. The second size is larger at 78inx36in (198cm x 91.5cm) which would offer a larger coverage especially on floors where you want to make sure you can comfortably step on and off the mat with your cycling shoes, which may have pedal cleats that could scratch the uncovered floors.
The BalanceFrom mat seemed at home on both hardwood floors and carpet, and the high-density PVC seemed to be both durable and well-cushioned. Like the Supermats mat reviewed above, the type of coating that the BalanceFrom mat uses seems to stain some floors. We tried washing the mat with some mild detergent and water and this seemed to reduce the staining.
5-Sunny Health & Fitness Exercise Mat:
7 used from $13.72
The Sunny Health & Fitness comes in three different sizes to suit various indoor spin bikes. We found the medium size which is 78inx36in (198×91.5cm) to be ideal for the Keiser M3i, but if you have the space to accommodate the largest size, it can be great for additional coverage and protection for your floors. This high-density PVC mat had enough cushioning to dampen vibrations and provide balance and support for the Keister M3i during hard efforts.
After some use the Sunny Health & Fitness mat seems to display some signs of wear faster than we would have liked to see, though. We believe this mat would benefit from a little bit more thickness in the interest of enhance durability. This is one of the most affordable and best floor mats for Keiser Bikes in this review, and we would have no hesitation to recommend it only if your needs are met by w light-duty mat for your Keiser M3i.
6-Velotas Pro Series High-Density mat:
The Velotas Pro mat is the smallest mat in this review at 48inx24in and only 2mm thick. It rolls up very easy and the material sits flush on the floor without kinks or curls that thicker mats sometimes suffer from. We were skeptical of the durability of this Keiser Bike floor mat, but after some time on it on both hardwood and carpeted floors, we were impressed with how well it held up. It also seemed to form to the irregularities present on a concrete floor better than thicker mats did.
The only thing that is less than ideal is the size of this mat, which makes it suitable for spaces where you’d want a mat just enough for your Keiser M3i bike. If you use shoes with pedal cleats watch where you step, though, as it is easy to forget that this is a small mat and step off of it in your shoes on floors that could be damaged with metal pedal cleats.
7-Pogamat Exercise Mat:
The Pogamat is the mat with both the largest number of size options and the highest price compared to other M3i indoor bike mats featured in this review. You have a total of six different sizes to choose from, starting from the smallest 6ftx4ft and topping out at a behemoth of a floor mat measuring 6ftx12ft. This mat for Keiser M3i bike uses thick memory foam, which offers amazing cushioning, and there is little to no odour to it when first removed from packaging.
The Pogamat would be ideal if you have a dedicated gym space, and for exercise sessions where you need to combine spin workouts on your Keiser M3i with high intensity or body weight exercises on the floor. The amount of coverage provided by the larger mats is more than enough, provided that you have the space to accommodate it, to allow you to comfortable use your Keiser M3i spin bike as well as do your other exercises without fear of damaging your floor. The memory foam felt great while we did our sit-ups and plans, and was also fantastic as a play surface for our little ones. If you have enough space for such a large mat and don’t mind spending the extra cash, the Pogamat would be a no brainer!
Things to consider before buying a floor mat for your Keiser M3i spin bike:
Space: How much real estate do you have where the bike will be used? While in most cases the “bigger is better” mantra is true, you may simply not have enough room for a bigger mat.
Floor types: Are you going to be using the mat on top of wood, tile, carpeted or concrete floor? In general, a rubber mat like the Velotas will suit most surfaces including carpet, while a PVC or memory foam mat will be best suited to smoother surfaces like hardwood flooring. Thick foam or PVC mats don’t do well on carpeted floors.
Just for the bike or gym/yoga as well? If you want a multi-use mat, not just a floor mat for your spin bike, then maybe a bigger mat with a softer material would be idea.
Odor: Some materials have a strong industrial smell out of the box, which often persists even after airing out the mat. If you want to avoid that, then mats with a more premium material like the Pogamat should be at the top of your shortlist.
