Spinning bikes, also known as racers, are the lastest development in exercise bikes – see reviews of bikes below. Spinning classes are becoming increasingly popular at gyms. It involves riding a specially designed bike using different positions and resistance levels on the pedals for about 40 minutes. It’s high intensity training that will quickly get you fit and burn up those calories.

If that sounds a little too daunting don’t panic. There is now a good choice of spinning bikes for the home market so you could ease yourself into this exciting workout routine in the comfort of your livng room.

The idea of the spinning bike is to bring the feel and benefits of cycling on the open road into your home. Some may say why not get a proper bike and go out onto the road itself? This is fine if you live in the country with inviting open roads but for many traffic, pollution and safety concerns are a big turn-off.

They were originally designed as an indoor training for professional cyclists hence the top spinning bikes are quite complex pieces of kit and their price reflects this. The high intensity nature of the exercise makes it ideal for short or longer training sessions as even a few minutes will count. In a 30 minute session you can burn up to 600 calories.

By varying your cycling position and resistance levels you can work more muscles than a conventional bike, specifically the quadriceps, hamstrings, hips, calves and even your abs. A number of spinning bikes have handles that move so you can tilt to mimic bends on a hill climb or example.

Prices start around £200 and go up to around £2,000! We’ve tried a few so far and will be adding more reviews shortly, including the BH Fitness SB3 which we’re expecting in October 2009.

Spinning bikes reviewed to date:-