Schwinn A20 Recumbent Exercise Bike Review

Last Updated on March 5, 2018 by Jeff

Overview:

The Schwinn A20 Recumbent Bike is an excellent offering from a world-class exercise company. As you drop into this recumbent bike price range, you have to start to take a closer look at the quality of the machine. Fortunately, with Schwinn you don’t need do too much legwork. Schwinn is well known for their commitment to quality, especially when it comes to cycling equipment. The Schwinn A20 Recumbent Exercise Bike delivers on quality and a ergonomic, comfortable, and challenging recumbent bike workout experience.

Schwinn offers high-end conveniences in the A20 such as the heart-rate monitoring grips, built-in fan, water bottle holder and transport wheels for easy mobility. That said, the six programmed workouts on the Schwinn A20 Recumbent Bike’s console top out the list. You’re not likely to find programmed workouts on another bike at this price.

Note, the A20 is no longer available, but the Universal R20 Recumbent Bike is a very similar model.

Click here to see the price of the Universal R20 Recumbent Bike on Amazon.

Technical info:

Dimensions:

• Height: 40.5 inches
• Width: 16.5 inches
• Length: 61 inches
• Weight: 60.1 lbs

Features:

• Ergonomic seat design with secure adjustments and 2-position lumbar support
• 8 levels of Eddy Current Brake (ECB) resistance for a wide range or workout intensity
• 6 workouts programs
• Perimeter weighted flywheel for a smooth, consistent workout
• Heart rate monitoring on handlebar grips
• Built-in fan to keep you cool throughout your exercises
• Water bottle holder to ensure the user stays hydrated while exercising
• Transport wheels for easy mobility
• Maximum User Weight: 275 lbs

Computer Features:

• LCD display
• 6 profile programs including 2 fun rides, 2 mountain rides and 2 challenges.
• Quick start capability
• Workout data includes:
  • Time
  • Revolutions Per Minute
  • Distance
  • Pulse
  • Speed
  • Calories
  • Resistance
  • Course Profile

Warranties:

• Two (2) year warranty on the frame
• Six (6) month parts and electrical warranties
• 30-day wear parts warranty.

Shipping and Assembly:

Shipping cost for the Schwinn A20 Recumbent Exercise Bike will vary in price depending on where you purchase from and what type of delivery you prefer. However, if you purchase through Amazon.com, shipping is free for this machine.

Assembling the  Schwinn A20 Recumbent Bike is easy because Schwinn provides a full illustrated, step-by-step assembly manual to help the process along. In all, you’ll need about an hour and a half to get this bike together.

Background on Schwinn:

Schwinn® was founded in 1895 and since then has been icon in the bicycle, recreation product, and home and commercial fitness worlds. The company was founded in Chicago by Ignaz Schwinn and his partner Adolph Arnold. Schwinn® led innovation in the bicycle industry with several firsts including the bicycle balloon tire in 1933; Cyclelock®, a bicycle theft solution in 1935; and in 1938 the fore-wheel brake, cantilever frame and the spring fork, which are the predecessor of today’s off-road bicycles. In 1965, Schwinn® introduced their first in-home workout machines and today they have whole lines of upright bikes, recumbent bikes, steppers, treadmills, elliptical and home gyms.

What We Love About the Schwinn A20 Recumbent Bike:

What we love best about this Schwinn recumbent bike is that, even at this very reasonable price, Schwinn is still providing a quality exercise bike with nice features. This bike has some excellent ergonomic features that provide a comfortable ride. It also provides a few programmed workouts to create an enjoyable workout experience.

Console and Programmed Workouts

The Schwinn A20 Recumbent Bike has a great console for a mid-range bike. It has 6 programmed workouts. The programmed workouts provide an enjoyable exercise experience and allow you to choose your intensity from fun workouts, like rolling hills or a ride in the park, to more strenuous mountain rides, like Pike’s Peak or pyramids. The workouts we like best, however, are the challenging uphill finish and cross-training challenge workouts. This is probably the cheapest bike that you will find that offers programmed workouts on the console. Even more expensive bikes will not offer this feature.

Dependable Quality

Again, in our opinion, there are only a few companies that you can base a buying decision strictly on the name; Schwinn is one of those. With Schwinn you get over 100 years of cycling experience that goes into the design and function of the A20 Recumbent Bike. You get some great comfort features like the ergonomically designed seat with lumbar support. The perimeter weighted flywheel also balances the bike well and provides a smooth, quiet cycling motion.

What Isn’t So Great:

One of the only drawbacks of the Schwinn A20 Recumbent Bike is that it only provides eight (8) levels of resistance. Generally, you would want a bike with about twice the number of resistance levels to ensure that you can customize your intensity to your fitness level. Competitors in this price range, like Exerpeutic, also offer the same number of resistance levels. It’s about what you should expect. If you want to upgrade to a something like 20 levels, you’ll have to look at the Schwinn 230 for about another $100.

Final Word on the Schwinn A20 Recumbent Exercise Bike:

At this price range, the Schwinn A20 is a solid buy. Below this price, you start losing some of the modern conveniences that most quality bikes offer.  With the Schwinn A20, you’re getting great quality, nice warranties, six (6) pre-programmed routines plus all the data you will need on an attractive LCD display, and an overall comfortable, challenging workout.  At this price, you’re not going to get app connectivity, mobile device connection, or niceties like a media shelf.  But none of those things are remotely necessary.    If you want to level-up, you’ll need to get into the mid $300s where you get all those other conveniences as well as doubling your programmed workouts and resistance levels.  In the Schwinn A20 Recumbent Exercise Bike, you get a well-designed and strong piece of exercise equipment that is exactly where it should be price-wise.

Note, as we mentioned, the A20 is no longer available but the Universal R20 Recumbent Bike is very similar of the A20. Click below for the lowest price on the R20.