Sunny Health & Fitness Hybrid Fan Bike Review
Exercise equipment that you can get for a bargain price and provides excellent value for your body can feel like a unicorn these days. You could be searching through the vast swathes of options that litter the internet, just hoping to find that one bike that would work well for you at home. Sunny Health & Fitness (SH&F) have sought to provide this unicorn through one of their air bike machines, although one that differs from the other air bikes you might be familiar with. The SF-B2618 has a much more reasonable name, which we are going to use for the rest of the review: the Hybrid Fan Bike. We’re going to look at this bike and see how it holds up compared to its price. While some bikes turn out to be a great deal with their cheap price and high amount of features, we’ll have to see if the Hybrid Fan Bike can join that group. So with all of that out of the way, let’s hop right into our Sunny Health & Fitness Hybrid Fan Bike review!
Up first, we’ll take a look at the money that it would cost you to purchase the Hybrid Fan Bike and the sort of warranties that you can get with that purchase. For those who are looking at the absolute cheapest bikes available, the Hybrid might be right up your alley. You can acquire this bike for right around $165, which is ridiculously cheap. Considering many of the cheapest air bikes from other brands can cost double this amount, you will not be spending a lot here. The warranties that come with the Hybrid Fan Bike are the same ones that come with all Sunny Health & Fitness air bikes: you get 3 years on the frame, 90 days on belt and 90 days on the parts. There is no warranty on the labour. Honestly, the warranty isn’t that bad compared to the price, although as that price rises, it becomes worse and worse. But here it actually works well. The shipping process should take around 6-7 days according to the official SH&F website. However, shipments outside of the continental United States do not qualify for the free economy shipping on orders over $99. The assembly process of the Hybrid Fan Bike is not necessarily a long one, as it is not the most complex machine. In fact, it is actually rather easy to put together, even for those who are not very experienced or handy. This is always nice to see and should be praised.
Now we’re going to cover the monitor that the SH&F Hybrid Fan Bike comes with. Spoiler: it will not be a very long section. Because the Hybrid bike is so cheap, much of this cost comes from the lack of advanced technology that is here. The monitor itself is extremely small, sitting down on the flywheel where you can barely make out what it says. Then again, there isn’t really anywhere else to put it, as it isn’t like there is a console at eye level to see it. It can display 2 of the 4 available statistics at a time, but it can scroll through them with the scan function. If you are a fan of the metric system of measurement, prepare to be disappointed. If you were also hoping to find some preset programs onboard the Hybrid Fan Bike, don’t get your hopes up. Neither of these features are here. If you want some more advanced statistics tracking or workouts, you’ll need a 3rd party app or workout program to get it from, because you won’t get it from the bike itself. For a modern air bike, even an extremely cheap one, this is a decent disappointment.
The Sunny Health & Fitness Hybrid Fan Bike is an interesting piece of equipment in that it takes a different approach to air resistance than many others out there. You normally won’t find any sort of controls onboard one of these bikes because of the dynamic nature of air bikes. Normally, the harder you pedal, the harder the resistance becomes. With the Hybrid Fan Bike, it seeks to combine friction and air resistance. You get a knob at the front that will allow a strap to change the base resistance of the bike. The tighter you make the strap, the more resistance you get. This honestly makes it feel more like a friction bike than an air one. You still get the air from the 19 inch fan and noise from the chain drivetrain, but the resistance is nowhere near as smooth as the other purely air resistance bikes from Sunny Health & Fitness. The Q-Factor of the Hybrid Fan Bike also is not given, which is irritating. For those who don’t know, the Q-Factor is the distance between the pedals. If it is too narrow, it becomes uncomfortable and can even lead to injury. If it is too wide, it can just lead to discomfort. In general, the experiment of mixing friction resistance with air resistance seems not to have worked with this bike.
You might want to know how much space the SH&F Hybrid Fan Bike actually takes up, as that might make a difference based on what size home you live in. Fortunately, it is an extremely light and small bike that can be easily stored away and rolled back out thanks to its transportation wheels. It specifically measures out to be 42.5 inches (108 cm) long, 25.5 inches (65 cm) wide and 47.5 inches (121 cm). It weighs an extremely light 46.9 lbs (21.2 kg). However, this does mean that it can only hold 220 lbs (100 kg). However, there is an issue about the steel frame that the Hybrid Fan Bike has and you should consider. A common complaint is about the longevity of the bike. It seems that there have been issues of the bike being broken upon arrival and quickly wearing out after daily or extensive use. This may indicate that it is meant for those who are looking to use it for occasional exercise rather than someone who will actively use it to get fit. Even if that is the case, you generally want it to hold in one piece for a long time.
We shall finish with the rest of the physical elements of the Hybrid Fan Bike. You’ll be holding onto a pair of dual action handlebars that are not adjustable. They are dual action because they move with the pedals regardless of whether or not you are holding onto them. This actually makes them fairly useful, as you can put your feet up on the foot rests that sit right next to the monitor and just use the handlebars to get an upper body workout in. The saddle of the Hybrid Fan Bike can be adjusted both vertically and horizontally, which helps the amount of customization that it offers. It changes about 9 inches. The seat uses a vinyl cover and thin foam padding for the material that supports you. Unfortunately, this isn’t a particularly comfortable combination and might require some other padding or a cover. This is especially true if you plan on going for longer rides of the Hybrid, as that would leave you feeling rather sore at the end (or the next day). We’ve already mentioned what we think about the Q-Factor of the pedals, but how do the pedals themselves hold up? Well, they do exactly what you would expect them to and absolutely nothing else. They are reported as non-slip and have a strap that will hold your foot down. Otherwise they do absolutely nothing out of the ordinary, which is fine. Especially for such a cheap bike, you wouldn’t really expect much more.
Sunny Health and Fitness Hybrid Air Bike Pros:
- Light and mobile build with Easy to assembly
- Extraordinarily cheap compared to many others out there
- Decent warranty for that cheap price
- 4-Way adjustable seat is a big plus for this price
Sunny Health and Fitness Hybrid Air Bike Cons:
- Common complaints of quick deterioration and broken arrivals
- It is a cheaply made air bike for a cheap price
- Hybrid air/belt (friction) resistance system really doesn’t work well
- The seat can quickly become uncomfortable
- The monitor is extremely basic and borders on useless
- There is no intervals or target programs
- No media rack and Narrow base without levelers
- 1-Piece crank system is not durable for standing on the bike
- Handlebars are single grip (it’s common for the price tag)
Conclusion
The Sunny Health & Fitness Hybrid Fan Bike might be one of the least expensive bikes you can find, but it has a certain level of quality to match. The common complaints of the bike quickly breaking is certainly a concern, especially when combined with the relatively short warranties. The hybrid resistance system that they’ve designed is an interesting idea, but just doesn’t deliver the same sort of smooth experience that you would get with just a regular air resistance system. With an uncomfortable seat and basic monitor, you get almost all of the core features of a modern air bike lacking in some way. Despite the low price, Sunny Health & Fitness Hybrid Fan Bike just doesn’t deliver the sort of value that you might be looking for.
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.
