The Spinner Aero and Edge are both from Spinner’s performance range. This range is styled on their commercial bike range but made for the home. They have the same oval tube construction for stability and sturdiness.
These are 2 similar bikes with many of the same features but they do have a difference in price. They have similar weighted flywheel, manual resistance and dual sided pedals. They have a chain and flywheel guards to protect them from sweat and other material dropping on them causing damage. There is a major difference between the bikes that explains this difference in price.
To complete my comparison of the bikes I’ve researched them in depth by looking at their specifications, read the manuals, checked into the product specifications. Then I’ve compared them line by line to be able to see how they match up to each other line by line.
First up is a quick overview of each of the bikes:
Spinner Aero
This is the most fully featured bike in the Performance range. It is fully adjustable to fit people between the heights of 4 ft 10 ins and 6 ft 8 ins. These adjustments can be done quickly making it possible for multiple people to be able to use the bike for their workouts.
It is has the steel oval tube construction to provide the rigidity and stability for safe intense workouts. The flywheel is perimeter weighted to pull the pedals through to give the same feel as when a road bike is rolling along the road. The drive is a chain drive also the same as a road bike.
To vary the toughness of the workout it uses friction resistance that you control with a knob at the front of the frame. There is a brake pad that sits on the flywheel that is pushed on to it harder to increase the resistance and vice versa.
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Spinner Edge
This spin bike is also designed to be used by people between the heights of 4 ft 10 ins and 6 ft 8 ins. You make adjustments to the positioning to the seat and handlebars to fit the bike properly to each individual so it fits them properly for an efficient workout that doesn’t put any unnecessary strain on them.
It comes with a heavy perimeter weighted flywheel that pull the pedals through to promote a proper 360 degree pedal stroke giving a fluid natural feeling without any choppiness that can add impact of a more up and down motion of the legs that happens with light flywheels.
The resistance for hill work is applied with a resistance pad on the flywheel. You increase and decrease it using the tension knob on the frame. The resistance changes incrementally and constant making easy to find the setting you want for your hill climbs.
Read the full review here
For the completeness of the comparison I’ve included all the important feature with an explanation, although many of these features are the same.
If you just want the numbers our overall comparison with the just the numbers of these 2 spin bikes and all the others reviewed to date has these.
However, the major difference between the bikes is in the amount of adjustability that is possible with the bikes which isn’t shown in the comparison.
Sturdiness
Both bikes are well constructed from steel tube that provide a strong and stable base to workout as hard as you want. There is no rocking no matter whether you are in or out of the saddle or jumping.
The seat and handlebars are held in tight and don’t shake or wobble as your exercise.
The heavy flywheel is perimeter weighted and weighs a total of 43 lbs. This gives the wheel the inertia to pull the pedals through the whole stroke giving you a 360 degree pedal stroke that is more natural feeling as there is no stop/start to the motion.
The guards over the moving parts and the paint protect the bike from the effects of sweat to keep looking good and performing well for many years of tough workouts.
Adjustability
The amount of adjustability is where the difference is. Although both bikes can be adjusted to fit the same range of people heights you can get a better fit with the Aero.
The Spinner Edge allows you to adjust the seat horizontally and vertically and the handlebars can be adjusted vertically only. With the Spinner Aero you can adjust both the seat and handlebars backwards/forwards and up/down.
The additional adjustment on the handlebars enables you to get the bike to fit your upper body more comfortably and get the bike set up more like your outdoor bike for indoor training.
Sometimes when you can’t adjust the handlebars you can find you are stretching or cramped up – This is what makes the Spinner Aero a better bike overall the ability to get the bike to fit more comfortably and just how you want it.
Resistance
Both bikes use a brake pad to provide resistance. It sits on the flywheel and you turn the tension knob at the top of the frame to adjust the amount of resistance is applied. It is incremental and constant making it a simple job to get to the amount of resistance you want. As is standard with these bikes there are no resistance levels marked.
Drive Type
Both bikes have a chain drive and a fixed gear to give a riding experience close to that of an outdoor bike. The chain drive works the same way as an outdoor bike.
The fixed gear helps the weighted flywheel to get the motion of the wheel rolling along the road but it does mean that you can’t freewheel. The pedals continue to turn while the flywheel turns. To stop the pedals you need to gently push back on the pedals or use the brake function of the resistance pads by pushing down hard on the tension knob.
Pedals
Both bikes have dual pedals. One side has a SPD cleat for specialist shoes to clip into and the other side has straps and a toe cage for sliding in your athletic shoes.
These bikes share one of the best Q Factor at 155 mm. This bring them close to an outdoor bike and bring your ankles, hips and knees into better alignment feeling more natural and not putting as much stress on them.
Comfort
With much of the same functionality (other than the adjustability) their comfort considerations are the same.
They have the same seat which is the same as a standard bike seat in that some people will find it comfortable and others won’t.
The handlebars have the standard Spinner design with the small loop in the center for many different hand grip positions. The handlebars are coated to provide a better grip and prevent hands slipping when they get wet.
There is some noise from the chain drive and resistance pad on the flywheel. It isn’t loud and shouldn’t disturb others in the house.
There won’t be a lot of dirt and dust from the bike but you do need to keep it clean to keep it looking good and performing well for a longer time. When training you may sweat and this will fall on the bike and floor and to protect the floor from damage you may want a rubber exercise mat.
Storage
There are transport wheels on the front of both bikes that you tip them up on to for moving around. They work well on hard surfaces but struggle on soft surfaces or carpets with a deep pile.
The bikes require an area of 55 by 20 inches for storage making them compact and able to be stored out of the way when not in use for most homes.
Assembly
There are no differences with assembly. For both bikes the frame and flywheel are attached when you receive it. You are required to attach the stabilizer bars pedals, adjustments poles, handlebars, seat and water bottle. They can be fully assembled within an hour. The most difficult part of the assembly process is handling the weight of the bike and the packaging – so you may find it better to have 2 of you assembling the bike.
Console
Neither bike comes with a console and is in my opinion one of the big negatives with many spin bikes as you can’t monitor and track progress. However, the idea is that you follow along to a workout DVD or music to keep you on track.
Dimensions
Both bikes have the same dimensions of 55ins (L) by 20 ins. (W) by 48 ins (H). Their weight is the same at 121 lbs. The flywheel weight is the same at 43 lbs. The max user weight for both is 350 lbs.
Accessories
The bikes comes with a dual water bottle holders that sit in between the handlebars putting the bottle in easy reach when you need to take on water. They are oversized so should fit most water bottles no matter how big they are.
A good feature of both, especially for beginners, is the inclusion of 4 workout DVDs and a user guide. These explain how to look after the bike, how to set up the bike correctly and 4 different workouts. The workout DVDs don’t have the best music to accompany them and some people find the music annoying.
That is it for accessories with nowhere to put a book or tablet or MP3 player.
Consumer Ratings
Both bikes don’t have the best ratings for some reason, partly to do with their not being that there isn’t many of them. But the major concern has been to do with delivery rather than the bike itself with many of them being “beat up” when delivered and looking like they fell off the delivery truck. Those that haven’t experienced this like the gym quality feel of both bikes and are enjoying putting them and the bike through their “paces”.
Price
The Aero is the more expensive of the 2 bikes. It is described as being the top of the range in the Performance series. For the extra you pay over the Edge price is for the ability to move the handlebars backwards and forwards.
This added adjustability makes it much easier to set the bike up properly for your body size to get a more effective and comfortable workout.
Summary
Both the Aero and Edge give you a very good low impact workout. They are well constructed with a heavy flywheel.
They can be used by those who want to take their training and workouts seriously, by beginners and those who want a more moderate cardio exercise that enjoy the outdoor bike feel of them.
With the Aero you can get a more comfortable fit, than the Edge, due to additional adjustability of the bike, that aside they are much the same bikes.