Schwinn Airdyne Upgrades

giantrobot_powerlifting

Scored this vintage Airdyne today and I am interested in upgrading the computer. Wireless would be great. Bluetooth even better, but I would like to have a monitor on it that counts meters and calories. Any recommendations?

NorthCascades

Sweet find!

NewLIFEstyle4ME

I have a Schwinn Airdyne very similar to this model and you're going to LOVE it--it's an old school full body exercise bike--it's really NICE. I don't know about the computer stuff, but I have a sheep skin seat cover on mine that helps so much, because the seat was pretty hard without it.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Sheepskin-Bicycle-Seat-Cover/dp/B000N5A3RC

giantrobot_powerlifting

NewLIFEstyle4ME wrote: »

I have a Schwinn Airdyne very similar to this model and you're going to LOVE it--it's an old school full body exercise bike--it's really NICE. I don't know about the computer stuff, but I have a sheep skin seat cover on mine that helps so much, because the seat was pretty hard without it.

https://www.amazon.com/Genuine-Sheepskin-Bicycle-Seat-Cover/dp/B000N5A3RC

Pretty snazzy!

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X

Does any one have a recommendation for replacing the computer? I plan on doing quick metcons with it, and would like to count calories instead of distance for the intensity. I don’t plan on long distance work with it.

jemhh

Nice!

We bought an Airdyne last year and I like it EXCEPT the seat suddenly tilts forward quite frequently. I have to keep a wrench next to it so that I can tighten it all the time. I'm trying to figure out how to make that problem stop and haven't come up with anything yet.

giantrobot_powerlifting

jemhh wrote: »

Nice!

We bought an Airdyne last year and I like it EXCEPT the seat suddenly tilts forward quite frequently. I have to keep a wrench next to it so that I can tighten it all the time. I'm trying to figure out how to make that problem stop and haven't come up with anything yet.

I have one of the original seats I could sell you. It doesn’t have that problem.

MikePfirrman

I like the bike a lot. As far as computer goes, that would be tough. Perhaps this? Wouldn't be a monitor, per se, but if you had a Bluetooth HRM and this together, there might be Bike Aps out there that would work through your phone?

https://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=RPM+Cycling+Cadence+Sensor&vendorCode=WAHOO&major=3&minor=18&siteComingFrom=google.com_shopping&siteComingFrom=google.com_ExcelAd&gclid=Cj0KCQjw45_bBRD_ARIsAJ6wUXTKKx77UoNKFqrSKkig6Vkbew6ovrltT52StCYy64N4ThY48TbjIhsaArUoEALw_wcB

giantrobot_powerlifting

MikePfirrman wrote: »

I like the bike a lot. As far as computer goes, that would be tough. Perhaps this? Wouldn't be a monitor, per se, but if you had a Bluetooth HRM and this together, there might be Bike Aps out there that would work through your phone?

https://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=RPM+Cycling+Cadence+Sensor&vendorCode=WAHOO&major=3&minor=18&siteComingFrom=google.com_shopping&siteComingFrom=google.com_ExcelAd&gclid=Cj0KCQjw45_bBRD_ARIsAJ6wUXTKKx77UoNKFqrSKkig6Vkbew6ovrltT52StCYy64N4ThY48TbjIhsaArUoEALw_wcB

That’s badass and would be very easy to setup and I like the fact I can keep and see the data on my phone.

Thank you for the recommendation!

MikePfirrman

NP, I'd love it to work out for you. I love Schwinn Air bikes.

giantrobot_powerlifting

MikePfirrman wrote: »

NP, I'd love it to work out for you. I love Schwinn Air bikes.

I’ll report back when I make the upgrade.

NorthCascades

MikePfirrman wrote: »

I like the bike a lot. As far as computer goes, that would be tough. Perhaps this? Wouldn't be a monitor, per se, but if you had a Bluetooth HRM and this together, there might be Bike Aps out there that would work through your phone?

https://www.excelsports.com/main.asp?page=8&description=RPM+Cycling+Cadence+Sensor&vendorCode=WAHOO&major=3&minor=18&siteComingFrom=google.com_shopping&siteComingFrom=google.com_ExcelAd&gclid=Cj0KCQjw45_bBRD_ARIsAJ6wUXTKKx77UoNKFqrSKkig6Vkbew6ovrltT52StCYy64N4ThY48TbjIhsaArUoEALw_wcB

I didn't think anybody would be able to help you. No offense, it's just a very specific thing that isn't current, nobody has that kind of tribal knowledge anymore.

What this /\ will do is measure your cadence or RPMs. Which is a good thing to know. (Many people find that about 90 RPMs is best for their knees.). But it won't know anything about resistance so you can't use this to know distance. Because you go farther when you push harder. But distance on an indoor bike is kind of a red herring anyway.

The same company makes chest strap heart rate monitors that also talk to your phone. That would be a good complement to a cadence sensor. Not just for a shot in the dark about calories, but you can leave the bike at a set resistance level and use your phone to graph your cadence against your heart rate and see how they interact with each other. Heart rate is a good way to pace your effort.

MikePfirrman

NorthCascades is exactly right. You would need a HRM too (at additional cost) and I'm not sure if that model has a resistance or not (mine doesn't, it's only how fast you go that determines effort). So you'd just be tracking cadence and HR, which is essentially all that my computer on my AirDyne Pro does (along with Watts). My "computer" on my AD Pro has Watts, RPM (cadence) and Calories (and the capability to track HR via Bluetooth). This set up (if we're right) would give you three of four. It would not give you MPH, which as NorthCascades mentions, isn't really relevant anyway. I never look at mine quite frankly. All that matters to me is Watts (effort) and RPM. Both tell relatively the same story on an AirBike. The higher the RPM, the harder the effort. I can see a knob at the top. If that's a resistance knob, you'd have to find something comfortable and not vary it to make the cadence/HR meaningful or know what you're capable of HR wise for different settings.

At least that's what I was thinking. But (as I think NC is alluding to but I don't want to speak for him), this is completely bypassing your onboard computer now and rendering it useless.

giantrobot_powerlifting

I don’t care about my cadence, rpm, heart rate, etc. I just want the additional metric of calories. I don’t care if the calorie burn is accurate (it won’t be). If I need to purchase an HRM, then that’s not the unit for me. I suppose Watts could work. I just need an affordable unit to get the job done.(Distance in meters. Cals or Watts.) I’m a powerlifter so this Airdyne will supply the little extra conditioning I need. (I’d rather have a C2 rower...)

All the other stuff is germane to someone serious into biking, but I’m not.

MikePfirrman

I understand where you're coming from. I'm a competitive rower and power along with cardio/speed are my two concerns and I do HIIT workouts using the C2 and the AD Pro all the time. Unfortunately, Watts would be the hardest to do through Bluetooth. There's no way to do it. However, your monitor should (I'm not familiar with that old of a monitor) track Watts. You just won't have it as a metrics stored automatically (what I assume you're wanting). There is nothing cheap that tracks Watts unfortunately. But Watts can be guesstimated by looking at your HR/Cadence if your resistance is set the same. I'm not a biker either, but knowing Watts is very important to me also. I'm working on sustaining 200 Watts for an hour as my long term fitness goal. Understanding where your HR is relative to the Watts you're producing should give you that. And if you add in Cadence (with a set power assuming you keep your bike maintained), it adds in one more metric. I can look at RPM/cadence (same thing) and get a good idea of my Watts within single digits. A HRM would be necessary to add in the tie in or approximation with your Watts on the bike. Usually, if you're generating a certain Wattage, your HR will spike. After 8 to 10 reps (if sustained long enough), you'll tend to get patterns.

A HRM would also better estimate calories than any dashboard on any machine because it's uniquely tied to you, not a general user. With what you've shared, I'd skip the Cadence sensor and just consider a HRM strap -- nothing fancy (around $40 to $50 for one that's tied to your phone) and just manually or mentally note what Watts you achieved at what HR. Your HR monitor will give you the calories burned. The Watts/HR will give you an idea of what percentage of HRR (heart rate reserve) you're hitting at any given time. A 20 minute hard ride on the AirBike would give you an approximation of HR Max (add in around 5 to the last few minutes average) and your Resting HR would be when you wake up before you move around. For the type of training you're wanting to do, HR training is much more important than calories. You mentioned "metcons" early on, which is in my understanding, max effort HIIT intervals. You can't really know what max effort is until you understand HR, if that makes sense.

Azdak

giantrobot_powerlifting wrote: »

I don’t care about my cadence, rpm, heart rate, etc. I just want the additional metric of calories. I don’t care if the calorie burn is accurate (it won’t be). If I need to purchase an HRM, then that’s not the unit for me. I suppose Watts could work. I just need an affordable unit to get the job done.(Distance in meters. Cals or Watts.) I’m a powerlifter so this Airdyne will supply the little extra conditioning I need. (I’d rather have a C2 rower...)

All the other stuff is germane to someone serious into biking, but I’m not.

The issue is that, due to the unique characteristics of the airfan resistance design, any device that measures performance (like what you are asking for) would have to be calibrated to the specific bike model. It’s not like an old ergometer bike that used a measured weight as resistance. Repairing the cable and current display is probably the only realistic option. I waited to respond because it has been a couple of decades since I have worked with that particular model (and, yes, I’m old enough to remember when it was “new”), and wasn’t sure if anyone had figured out a way to retrofit newer monitors/displays on the old bikes. From the answers, it would appear the answer is “no”, which is what I suspected—again, given the unique design of the resistance.

giantrobot_powerlifting

MikePfirrman wrote: »

I understand where you're coming from. I'm a competitive rower and power along with cardio/speed are my two concerns and I do HIIT workouts using the C2 and the AD Pro all the time. Unfortunately, Watts would be the hardest to do through Bluetooth. There's no way to do it. However, your monitor should (I'm not familiar with that old of a monitor) track Watts. You just won't have it as a metrics stored automatically (what I assume you're wanting). There is nothing cheap that tracks Watts unfortunately. But Watts can be guesstimated by looking at your HR/Cadence if your resistance is set the same. I'm not a biker either, but knowing Watts is very important to me also. I'm working on sustaining 200 Watts for an hour as my long term fitness goal. Understanding where your HR is relative to the Watts you're producing should give you that. And if you add in Cadence (with a set power assuming you keep your bike maintained), it adds in one more metric. I can look at RPM/cadence (same thing) and get a good idea of my Watts within single digits. A HRM would be necessary to add in the tie in or approximation with your Watts on the bike. Usually, if you're generating a certain Wattage, your HR will spike. After 8 to 10 reps (if sustained long enough), you'll tend to get patterns.

A HRM would also better estimate calories than any dashboard on any machine because it's uniquely tied to you, not a general user. With what you've shared, I'd skip the Cadence sensor and just consider a HRM strap -- nothing fancy (around $40 to $50 for one that's tied to your phone) and just manually or mentally note what Watts you achieved at what HR. Your HR monitor will give you the calories burned. The Watts/HR will give you an idea of what percentage of HRR (heart rate reserve) you're hitting at any given time. A 20 minute hard ride on the AirBike would give you an approximation of HR Max (add in around 5 to the last few minutes average) and your Resting HR would be when you wake up before you move around. For the type of training you're wanting to do, HR training is much more important than calories. You mentioned "metcons" early on, which is in my understanding, max effort HIIT intervals. You can't really know what max effort is until you understand HR, if that makes sense.

This is great information. Thanks! I appreciate it!

giantrobot_powerlifting

Azdak wrote: »

giantrobot_powerlifting wrote: »

I don’t care about my cadence, rpm, heart rate, etc. I just want the additional metric of calories. I don’t care if the calorie burn is accurate (it won’t be). If I need to purchase an HRM, then that’s not the unit for me. I suppose Watts could work. I just need an affordable unit to get the job done.(Distance in meters. Cals or Watts.) I’m a powerlifter so this Airdyne will supply the little extra conditioning I need. (I’d rather have a C2 rower...)

All the other stuff is germane to someone serious into biking, but I’m not.

The issue is that, due to the unique characteristics of the airfan resistance design, any device that measures performance (like what you are asking for) would have to be calibrated to the specific bike model. It’s not like an old ergometer bike that used a measured weight as resistance. Repairing the cable and current display is probably the only realistic option. I waited to respond because it has been a couple of decades since I have worked with that particular model (and, yes, I’m old enough to remember when it was “new”), and wasn’t sure if anyone had figured out a way to retrofit newer monitors/displays on the old bikes. From the answers, it would appear the answer is “no”, which is what I suspected—again, given the unique design of the resistance.

Arg, and I’m damn fool enough to want to attempt a retrofit which probably can’t be done.

NorthCascades

You would probably need basic electrical engineering skills to do a retrofit.

Because pushing harder (applying more torque) on the pedal is going to make a bike "go farther" you can't measure distance. You would have to measure torque vector to get distance.

Measuring watts probably isn't possible on that bike. If it is, it will cost many hundreds of dollars. Probably not worth it for you.

Maybe you're better off just assuming a per hour calorie rate.