Sunny Health & Fitness Zephyr Air Bike Review
Sunny Health & Fitness (SH&F) is one of those brands that fans of the exercise equipment world are likely to have an opinion of. They produce a lot of equipment in a lot of different fields. The quality of this equipment is sometimes questionable, but for the majority of the time, they are at least decent. One of the areas that we’ve looked at and compared before is that of the air bike. Sunny Health & Fitness have a selection of air bikes to choose from, but we’re going to be looking at one specific version today. The Zephyr Air Bike (or the SF-B2715 if robot speak is your preference), is one of the middle options in the SH&F lineup. It is still technically on the lower end, but the Zephyr does try to stand out from the others. Whether or not it succeeds, we’ll have to see. So with all of that out of the way, let’s hop right into our review of the Sunny Health & Fitness Zephyr Air Bike!
First things first, we’re going to look at the price and warranties that come with the Zephyr air bike. It is near the middle of the pack of SH&F’s air bike selection, but it does still fall in the bottom half. This is also true in terms of the pricing. It might not cost the absurdly cheap price of the Hybrid Fan Bike, but it should still only range around $200. This is still pretty dang cheap for one of these bikes. Part of this reason is because of the less than stellar warranty that comes with all Sunny Health & Fitness products. You will get a 3 year guarantee on the frame, 90 days on the belt and 90 days on the parts. You will not get any sort of warranty on the labour with these bikes. Truth be told, while this warranty sucks for those bikes that cost more, the low price of this bike actually makes the warranty look better (but not by much). According to the official SH&F website, shipping should take around a week, although it will not ship outside of the continental United States. This is unfortunate, but obviously, if you are ordering from some other place, that policy doesn’t necessarily have to apply. The assembly process for the Zephyr is a relatively easy one, as it comes partially assembled already. You get the rest of the tools with the package and a fairly straightforward assembly follows.
Monitors have become an important part of the modern experience for exercise equipment. Many of them nowadays have advanced features that instantly raise the value (and the price) of the air bike. If you are looking for a similar case, don’t get your hopes up. The monitor is one of the most basic that you can find, perhaps only surpassed by that of the Hybrid Fan Bike. The Zephyr monitor can display statistics like time, speed, distance, total distance and calories burned. That’s it. It can’t do anything else. There are no preset workout programs that come with the Zephyr monitor, no pulse readings from the handlebars, no compatibility with chest straps and no sort of Bluetooth connections. You do get a scan function to at least scroll through the various statistics. But you can’t even switch the units to metric, which is a real shame. It’s a very basic monitor, but it will do the job for anyone who just wants to know their workout numbers.
But how much challenge does the Sunny Health & Fitness Zephyr Air Bike provide the user? We noted that the Hybrid Fan Bike had some issues making the most of the air resistance it had, but thankfully you will not find the same sort of issues here. The Zephyr Air Bike uses solely dynamic air resistance in order to provide the challenge for the user. It has an 18 inch fan that will increase the resistance the harder and faster that you pedal. It has a combination of a belt and chain drivetrain, which is interesting. It leads to an experience that is louder than if it were just a belt, but still fairly smooth. The crank is a bit of an issue, as it is only a 1-piece crank system. This is generally regarded as the worst type on account of the crank arms on each side being welded together. We don’t have any sort of information on the Q-Factor available, which is unfortunate. For those who are unaware, the Q-Factor is the distance between the pedals. If it is too wide, this could lead to discomfort, while too narrow a distance could lead to the same or even injury.
For those with smaller homes, you might want to check how much space the Zephyr takes up. But you also won’t have to go searching for that information because we’re about to tell you. The Zephyr actually has a fairly small footprint, which is good for mobility purposes. It measures to be 44 in (112 cm) long, 24 inches (61 cm) wide and 45 inches (114 cm) tall. It weighs 60 lbs (27 kg) and can hold a maximum weight of 240 lbs (109 kg). There are no feet levellers available, so you won’t be able to make use of those. However, the front rail on the bottom of the Zephyr also doubles as wheels to increase that mobility even more. You’ll find that the Zephyr has a steel frame that should generally hold up under most situations.
Finally, we’re going to look at some of the other physical elements of the Zephyr air bike. First up are the handlebars. They are slightly adjustable, although only vertically. They are also only single-grip, so you don’t have that many options of where to put your hands. However, they are dual action and move with the pedals. This allows you to use the foot rests near the fan to put up your feet and just get an upper body workout in, which is super nice. The saddle of the Zephyr air bike can only be adjusted vertically (with a variety of 12 inches), which isn’t great. You would hope to see more variety given to be able to fit more people of different shapes and sizes. The saddle itself uses a vinyl cover and thin foam padding. It isn’t particularly comfortable and you might do well to look into some other type of padding or cover for the seat. The tube that actually holds up the saddle is also fairly narrow, which you don’t particularly want to see. It’s normally better if that tube is thicker so that it can be more stabilized, even during the most intense workouts. Then there are the pedals. Again, you shouldn’t expect too much in terms of the quality. They are described as “non-slip” with straps. That description sums them up pretty well, as they are pedals that your feet don’t easily slip off of and they have a strap that will keep your foot in place. Otherwise they don’t do anything spectacular or special. Although you also wouldn’t really expect them to with this cheap of a bike. Finally, as a nice little addition to the Zephyr air bike, you get a media tray that sits right above the monitor. That way if you want some entertainment or another (more technologically advanced) system during your workout, you have that option.
Sunny Health and Fitness Zephyr Air Bike Pros:
- Dynamic air resistance that provides good resistance for beginners
- Light and mobile build allows for easy transportation
- The Assembly process is easy thanks to the partially assembled package
- Adjustable handlebars are a rarity on these bikes
- Spot for a tablet or phone to entertain you while exercising
- Footrests and dual-action handlebars offer both lower and upper body workouts
- Warranty is OK for the price (although it’s not great)
- Quite a cheap bike overall, which is good for beginners
Sunny Health and Fitness Zephyr Air Bike Cons:
- The monitor is not backlit, so it is hard to see in darker rooms
- Extremely basic monitor that displays no more than basic statistics
- Only a vertically adjustable seat limits amount of customization
- No sort of Bluetooth connections with any fitness apps
- The seat is quite uncomfortable and may require some extra gel padding
- Chain element of the belt/chain drive can make a decent amount of noise
- 1-piece crank is the worst choice they could have gone with
- Narrow/round base bars can lead to more rocking
Conclusion
The Sunny Health & Fitness Zephyr Air Bike is actually a decent choice if you are looking for an extremely cheap bike that has many of the typical features of a regular air bike. It most certainly is not perfect, and there are better choices out there (like the Sunny Health & Fitness Motion Air Bike). But if you are determined to get a light and inexpensive air bike that will let you know how you are doing and deliver plenty of challenges while you are onboard, the Zephyr should be a good enough pick for you.
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. If you have any questions or suggestion, you can contact me at sayed@yourexercisebike.com.
