DKN EB-2400i Exercise Bike Review

As a brand with a reputation for producing quality exercise bikes at sensible prices, we’re always keen to get our hands on any bike from DKN.  A natural successor to the original (and quite excellent) EB-2100i, the new DKN EB-2400i had quite a bit to live up to if it was going to make it into our good books, so with expectations running high, we took a close-up look to see exactly what’s on offer here. Here’s what we found…

First, as always, the assembly bit. Once out of the box, the assembly process is straightforward. The manual has clear easy-to-follow written instructions and good diagrams to guide you through, making the whole process easy. It’s true, we’ve built lots of bikes, but they don’t really get any easier than this one to build. While the manual says you need two people for certain parts of the build (and yes it’s definitely easier if there are two people), it took just one member of the team around 30 minutes in total to get it up and running on their own. If you’ve not built an exercise bike before, expect the build to take around 40 – 45 minutes. There’s definitely no need for a professional installation here and even the least handy owner should have no trouble in getting this bike put together with the minimum of difficulty.

How does it look in the flesh? It’s obvious from the first look that the EB-2400i is a more heavy-duty model than a typical upright bike for home use. With its big stabilisers, thick seat post,  extra large heavily padded saddle, thick front post, oversized handlebars and a large computer unit, this bike is clearly aspiring to be more commercial than domestic in its nature. It looks more than capable of handling seriously heavy workloads! If you saw one of these in a commercial gym, it certainly wouldn’t look out of place.

Achieving a comfy position on any exercise bike is critical. With the EB-2400i, this is possible for more or less anyone and everyone. The seat is adjustable for both height, and reach as well as tilt angle, and a nice feature is that the console also tilts so that riders of different heights can alwas see the display with perfect clarity. It works too, and from the shortest to the tallest, all members of the team were able to easily get a great riding position. The saddle is as comfortable as it looks and given the size and thickness of the padding, even those riders that have been out of a saddle for a long time aren’t likely to suffer from any saddle soreness. Like a lot of bikes in commercial gyms, the handlebars have a fixed position but thanks to the adjustments elsewhere this isn’t an issue, and in fact, adds to the overall sturdiness, which is considerable.  The handlebars being fixed also means that they’re sturdy enough to support weight when used in a racing position for intensive training.

With its substantial frame, the EB-2400i  doesn’t shake or wobble at all. The pedalling action is smooth and uniform, and thanks to a combination of a very hefty 14kg flywheel and heavy-duty crank and other components this model is much more like a commercial bike than a domestic one. It looks it and it feels it and credit has to go to DKN for producing a bike like that and then placing it at the price point it has.

The console has a dual-colour, LCD display at its centre, which displays key workout stats in dedicated windows. When being used in manual control mode, resistance can be changed simply by using the up and down buttons in the middle of the console. It was when changing resistance that the mystery of the difference between the new EB-2400i and the original EB-2100i becomes clear: Resistance changes are not only silent, but extremely very fast compared to most other domestic exercise bikes. This is thanks to DKN opting to fit an electromagnetic resistance mechanism,  rather than the standard servo-assisted magnetic resistance set up that’s found in most home-use bikes. In the lower-cost, servo-based mechanism, a little motor physically moves a strip of magnets closer or further away from the flywheel to vary the resistance of the bike. In an electromagnetic setup, there are no magnets at all. Instead, there’s a coil that’s positioned at a fixed distance from the flywheel and the level of its magnetic properties is controlled by varying the amount of current going through it. This has a number of advantages: Changes in resistance take very little time (very little), making the EB-2400i an ideal option if you’re planning of performing HIIT workouts. Plus, with no moving parts involved in the resistance mechanism, the calibration of the resistance doesn’t drift over time and finally, again because of the lack of moving parts in the system, the bike itself will be more reliable long term.

There are plenty of pre-set programmes available and their profile is printed right on the console itself. The fact the pre-set programmes are scalable really does add to the appeal of this console unit as effectively it means there’s pretty much no chance of ever outgrowing the bike, no matter how fit you get. In addition to the manual and a target Watt mode, there are heart rate control programs available on the console. We’re pleased to see that the console has a Bluetooth-based heart rate receiver as these are more reliable than the traditional, analogue-based receivers that can be found everywhere in older machines.

In addition to having Bluetooth for heart rate, the EB-2400i’s console has Bluetooth receiver that is compatible with some third-party apps such as Kinomap. This allows the third-party app to control the resistance of the machine and makes for very entertaining workouts to take away the boredom that can often set when doing long training sessions.

The warranty on the EB-2400i is DKN’s standard 2-year warranty. Realistically, we can’t see too many people needing to use this as it’s a very solid machine and the EMS resistance mechanism pretty much eliminates the most common faults that occur on exercise bikes after a long period of usage!

Best Price

The DKN EB-2400i is not currently available from any retailers we're aware of in the UK.
It may be worth looking for a used machine on ebay

Review Summary - In Brief

At the current offer price, the EB-2400i is a huge amount of bike. This offering from DKN gives the very best heavy-duty home use and light commercial exercise bikes from other brands a bit of a pasting in terms of value for money making this an easy product for us to recommend.

DKN EB-2400i Specifications

    • 14kg (30.8lbs) flywheel
    • 32 levels of computer controlled frictionless resistance
    • Watt-Controlled Guidance: 10-450 Watts
    • EMS Brake System
    • Multifunctional colour LCD display
    • Feedback: time, speed, distance, RPM, calories, Watt, heart rate
    • 15 programmes including 1 manual, 12 pre-set, target HR mode and Watt mode
    • 4 user profiles (each with age, gender, height and weight)
    • Compatible with Kinomap, Vescape
    • Heart Rate Measurement via hand pulse sensors + Bluetooth™ wireless receiver (chest belt optional)
    • Extras: water bottle holder, tablet holder, transportation wheels
    • Padded, micro-adjustable seat with horizontal and vertical adjustment
    • High-endurance handlebar
    • Comfortable pedals with adjustable straps
    • Product weight: 68kg (150lbs)
    • Max. user weight: 150kg (330.7lbs)
    • Dimensions (L x W x H): 112cm (44.1”) x 57cm (22.4”) x 138cm (54.3”)
    • CE/EN 957 Class SA certificate
    • Warranty: 2 years

DKN EB-2400i Exercise Bike - Console / Display Unit

DKN EB-2400i Exercise Bike - User Reviews

The Pros

  • Very Stable Frame
  • Comfortable Seat
  • Fast Resistance Changes
  • Tablet Integration

The Cons

  • Not a small bike
DKN EB-2400i Exercise Bike Reviewer Ratings

 

Appearance - 9
Smoothness - 9.5
Comfort - 9.5
Programmes - 9
Ease Of Use - 9
Warranty - 8.5
Value for Money - 9
Best Price

The DKN EB-2400i is not currently available from any retailers we're aware of in the UK.
It may be worth looking for a used machine on ebay

Also see our Exercise Bike Comparison Table

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 above review. We recommend you contact the retailer if you have a question regarding technical data. Please read our Legal Disclaimer

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