The bike is designed with a steel frame and is designed to support all types of spin workouts. One main highlight of this bike is the drive that it is 40 pounds heftier than the normal indoor bikes. The bike is equipped with a good basic design and features that can satisfy a serious fitness rider.
Often found in small gyms and spin studios alike, the AC Performance Plus is a home fitness bike that can stand toe to toe with most commercial grade machines. Having ridden bikes without these – and having experienced the difficultly in stopping the motion of a flywheel and getting twisted legs in the process – we appreciated this feature. Considering that it has nearly 4,000 reviews on the Schwinn website (averaging 4.5 out of 5 stars) and the approval of two smitten Greatist editors, let’s just say people LOVE this bike.
It has loads of handlebar and seat adjustability to dial in the fit for a vast range of rider heights and preferences, as well as an agreeable performance seat and multi-position handlebar. While the IC4 is a smart bike with connected features, you can use it as a stand-alone bike for manual workouts without the need to connect to a device. In manual mode, you can start pedaling and adjust the resistance however you like. You also have the option of setting a time, distance, or calorie workout goal through the bike’s console.
Although the bike offers integrated cushioning and has superior airflow, the seat is not built for comfort. I saw several complaints about the water bottle holder getting in the way while pedaling for those with long legs. People also mentioned compatibility issues between the bike and Android systems. When riding, some Android users found that the data was not synching properly to the bike.
It is the result of the power reading being an estimation based on cadence and resistance as opposed to an actual power meter reading. There is a process to recalibrate the resistance on the IC4, which may help normalize the power output reading on Zwift, although it seems unlikely that it would make it completely accurate. This is not to say that recreational Zwifters should avoid this bike, but those who seek to compete virtually schwinn spin bike would be better off looking into more accurate smart trainers or using power meter pedals. The abovementioned issues are related mostly to the fact that this is a spin bike. Spin workouts are typically high intensity and focus on cadence and resistance instead of distance or power. The Peloton app is a bit different since their studio workouts are based on spin bikes using cadence, resistance level, and perceived effort.