If you’ve been looking for a way to get a cardio workout at home, an exercise bike can be a great option. Not everyone will be comfortable on an exercise bike if they don’t already bike regularly, but a recumbent bike like the Merach S19 provides a more forgiving seat for pedaling — with a bike like this in your living room, it’s easy to sit back comfortably and still get a workout in.
Merach has a list price of $499 for the S19, but you’ll likely never have to pay that. The regular price listed on Amazon is $329, and it’s been on sale at Walmart and AliExpress with discounts. Merach’s site also often has huge discounts listed — to wit, it was $349 at the time of writing. Between its fairly low price and comfortable, relaxed way to get a workout in, the Merach S19 is a fairly promising exercise bike.
Merach S19 Recumbent Exercise Bike
Pros
- Comfortable way to get a workout.
- Quiet magnetic resistance.
- Supports Bluetooth pairing with popular bike apps.
- Competitive price.
Cons
- Seatback isn’t adjustable.
- Ungainly looks.
- Basic display and middling app.
- Assembly is a bit tedious.
Specifications
- Product dimensions: 48.03 inches deep x 23.62 inches wide x 46.46 inches high.
- Resistance levels: 8.
- Product Weight: 97 pounds.
- Rider leg length: 28.35 – 35.43 inches.
- Maximum weight capacity: 330 pounds.
- Price: $499 (but often discounted).
Setup
The Merach S19 takes a bit of work to put together. It took me six minutes just to get it all out of the box it came in, which is a heavy and sizable package most folks won’t want to try bringing into their home on their own. It took an additional five minutes to remove all of the remaining packaging on each component of the bike. With the help of my wife and an electric screwdriver, I got the bike fully assembled after 43 minutes. It requires fairly extensive assembly, if nothing too complex — there are just a lot of bolts to thread and tighten down, and some of them are in tight spots.
Design
The Merach S19 combines three core parts: the seat, which includes a backrest, handles with heart rate sensors, and a sliding base; the headset, which offers additional handgrips, a phone holder, and a monochrome display to show some key metrics; and the actual pedaling section. These are all connected with a metal base that sits on sturdy legs.
Merach thoughtfully included wheels at one end of the base, making it easy enough to flip the whole unit nearly vertical and roll it around. Because the bike is about as tall (46 inches) as it is long (48 inches), though, it limits the ease with which you can store the bike away when not in use. That height is coming from the headset, which extends out a bit awkwardly on a gooseneck metal arm.
The Merach S19 isn’t very aesthetically pleasing, but it’s functional enough. The seat has a sculpted base and mesh backrest for breathability. It’s easy to quickly slide the seat back or forward to adjust for different rider heights. At 6’3”, I’m just at the edge of what I’d consider a fit. Riders as short at 5’0” should still be comfortable with the bike at its shorter positions.
Merach has gone with flip-up armrests on the sides of the seat. These can take your pulse while you’re working out, though they prove a bit slow to register. The cable that connects the sensors and head unit also awkwardly dangles from the arm rests, rather than being entirely routed through the bike — a downside of the assemble-at-home nature of the product.
The design of the S19 integrates the crank arms into a flat disc on either side of the machine, so there aren’t actual separate arms — the pedals simply screw into the sides of the disc, reducing the risk of getting something caught between the rotation pedals and the bike. Merach has also built a weight into one side to keep the pedals upright, making it easier to slip into them when the straps are attached. The pedals have a textured plastic surface that’s comfortable to use whether you want to ride with shoes on, or just socks.
The bike supports adjustable resistance with a simple lever that sits between the rider’s knees while pedaling, making it easy to access and shift.
Use
Getting up and running on the S19 bike is easy: You just plop into the seat, lift the lever on the right side to slide the seat to your desired position, shift the resistance lever to your desired level, and start pedaling. The display will begin to show various metrics like speed, time, distance, and calories in a cycle. You can flip down a pair of handgrips at the side of the seat which also read your pulse.
I found the riding experience largely satisfying. The seat cushion offers decent support, while staying out of the way of my legs while I pedal. The backrest is highly breathable, so it doesn’t lead to any particular hotspots on my back while I’m working out, and I don’t feel too bad about sweating into it.
I’m a regular cyclist, preferring to get to most places by bike rather than car, and I found the max resistance level satisfying for a demanding workout and some lower levels good for a faster cadence. Some of the lowest resistance levels are very light, which should offer beginners or people rehabbing their legs a good starting point. Although the bike uses a flywheel, it’s not one that carries a ton of momentum and keeps the pedals turning, so it’s easy to stop pedaling whenever you want without the need for a brake. It makes it safer, as well.
Having the option to occasionally reach up and grab onto the front handgrips is nice. It gives me the option to change my posture now and then, which can help during longer workouts. The seat cushion was also helpful in this regard, as it offered enough padding to avoid getting a sore butt, even on long rides.
Though I was generally happy with the backrest, I did find its position and lack of adjustability a little disappointing. There’s a small gap between it and the seat that can feel somewhat awkward, and the rest itself proved fairly low for me. I ended up feeling much more comfortable leaning over the back and resting my head on a wall behind me. Situating the backrest on a vertical slider might have let me find a comfortable riding position with the backrest alone.
Comfort is a big aspect of the Merach S19, and it does a solid job. I found it quite nice to be able to lean back and relax at the same time I was getting a solid workout in. The Merach S19 provides some other conveniences, as well: For one thing, the use of magnetic resistance makes it a quiet workout machine, producing hardly any more noise than the heavy breathing of its riders. This makes it easy to sit back and watch TV while riding. It has a small phone or tablet holder as well, though the handgrips on either side can get in the way of even 10-inch tablets sitting neatly in the holder. There’s also a water bottle cage on one side of the bike, but this is a bit too far forward to easily grab.
Some aspects of the bike are not so great. The display is very simple and a bit confusing to control. You can pair the bike with Merach’s app over Bluetooth for a better experience: It provides a clear readout of all the bike’s metrics on one screen, and it offers some guided workouts. Still, the app hasn’t impressed me much, failing to display the bike’s resistance level and switching languages in workout descriptions out of the blue. If you really want to track workout data, you can at least pair the bike with more popular apps like Kinomap or Zwift.
Merach S19 Recumbent Exercise Bike
Verdict
The Merach S19 isn’t a hardcore exercise machine for athletes looking to train at a high level, but it’s still a good bike. Its recumbent design and contoured seat and seatback make it a comfy place to sit and get anything from a casual spin to a sweaty workout in. With quiet magnetic resistance, it’s a machine you can readily plunk down in any room without being a bother, making it a great fit for some light exercise while watching TV. It fits a wide range of riders and comes at a fairly low price for an exercise bike. There’s definitely room for improvement, but if you’re just after a simple platform to burn a few calories or strengthen your legs without the discomfort of a standard exercise bike, this is a great option.
Also consider:
Merach S08
I’ve also ridden the Merach S08 recumbent bike. It’s a very similar platform but a little more affordable. Ultimately, the comfort of the S19 is significantly improved as the S08 has a flat seat and seatback, but if you’re not concerned about that, it’s a viable option at a lower price — often about $200.
Disclosure: A review sample was provided by the manufacturer or a public relations partner for the purpose of review.
