Kettler Golf P Eco
Our score - 
The very first thing that you notice with this Kettler is the striking look
with a polished black and white casing that promises quality even before
going near the machine itself. Having tested several bikes from this top
German brand, our expectations were high and we certainly weren't
disappointed!
There are so many things to mention about this
exercise bike that it's a little difficult knowing where to start! Let's
begin with with its name: The "Eco" in the name is a reference to the bike
being self generating. This means that it doesn't need to be plugged into
the mains and that both the console and the resistance system are powered by
the electricity generated by and stored from the pedalling action. Kettler
claim that this helps to lower your carbon footprint! Whilst this may be
very true, a more practical benefit is that this machine can be used
anywhere in the home and there won't be any unsightly mains leads looking
untidy or being an accident waiting to happen.
As you'd expect from a
mid-priced exercise bike, there is a decent sized flywheel (9 KG) and the
bike itself feels very smooth indeed. The seat is both comfortable and
adjustable in numerous ways ensuring that you'll be able to find the perfect
position. The pedals are of a good size and have adjustable straps. In
addition to the seat position being adjustable, the handlebars are also
adjustable and finally the console itself can have can be tilted to ensure
the optimum contrast on the 2 displays. The design of the console has more
resemblence to an expensive sports car than a traditional piece of fitness
equipment!
The Kettler Golf P Eco exercise bike has 8 built-in
programmes including 2 heart rate controlled ones. An impressive feature of
the machine is that the background colour of the console display changes to
indicate whether you are not working hard enough (blue backdrop), are within
the target zone (green) or overstretching (red). The console displaye all
key information on its screens throughout each session, but we found the
colour changing feature a novel and valuable one. Certainly, you'd never
wish to see the red background colour as we found out the hard way! In
addition, the Golf P Eco has a recovery test function and also provides the
option of displaying metrics in imperial units or metric units (ie. miles
rather than kilometers).
With the Kettler Golf P Eco, there are a number of different ways to
monitor heart rate. The first is using the hand grip sensors (least
accurate), the second is using an ear clip that comes with the machine as
standard (medium accuracy) and finally there is an option extra cardio pulse
set with a Polar receiver and chest belt (most accurate). Whilst few people
in the fitness industry are big fans of the ear clip route of heart rate
measurement, we actually quite liked it. The simple reason is that it's
quick and convenient: There is no need to to take your shirt off to put on a
chest strap. You simply attach the piece to your ear lobe and plug the other
end of the lead into the console. Then you're ready to use the heart rate
controlled programmes - something that you can normally only do using a
chest belt.
The maximum user weight is a hefty 150 kgs (over 23.5 stones) and there
is a full 3 year parts and labour warranty in the unlikely event of a
problem. Finally, it's worth mentioning that there are transport wheels on
the front of the machine, making it relatively easy to move it around once
assembled and there are 4 independent leg levellers to guarantee that the
machine will be stable on uneven floors.
In Summary, the Kettler Golf P Eco is an excellent exercise bike and is
easy to recommend. German built, it should last for years and is feature
rich enough to provide a challenging workout as any user's fitness levels
improve.
Best Deal: Available for £499 from
Sweatband.com - for an additional 10% discount on this price, use the
code "GolfPEco-10" on the Sweatband.com basket page!
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Also see our Exercise Bike Comparison Table.
To check all the bikes we've tried please see Exercise Bike Reviews
Whilst every effort is made to give you accurate information we cannot guarantee the technical specification. Models change on a regular basis and may differ slightly from the tables above. We recommend you contact the retailer if you have a question regarding technical data. Please read our Legal Disclaimer
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