Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike review
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike is a great entry-level machine for anyone new to indoor cycling and looking to get fit at home. It’s super easy to assemble and set up and looks smart and modern with its simple monochrome grey and white design.
As with a standard bike, all the nuts and bolts are kept hidden away behind an outer shell so it’s child and pet-safe. Unfortunately, it doesn’t come with an inbuilt screen, but the wood veneer device holder is sufficient if a little on the small side.
The sweat-wicking handlebars have a good grip and this is where you’ll find the smart LCD control/magnetic resistance dial. From here you can control the resistance, or use the MobiFitness app to do that. Sync your smartphone or tablet via Bluetooth. The app works well enough but it’s a little clunky and has limited content. However, the bike is compatible with Zwift and Kinomap so you can try other workouts there.
Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike: Key specs
Dimensions: 41” x 9” x 33”
Weight: 112 lbs
Max user weight: 330 lbs
Display? No
Resistance levels: 32
Warranty: 1 year (parts and labor)
Workouts: Limited programs, more to come
Other features: Bluetooth, LCD screen on resistance dial
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike is really quiet, and this is one of the highlights of the machine. It comes with standard flat/cage pedals, which can easily be swapped, as they are industry standard.
The ergonomic padded racer-style seat is comfortable and easy to adjust. The classes we tried – hip hop HIIT and cadence – were good fun, and we liked the instructor’s personality and motivating energy. At present, there are only male instructors so it would be good to see some variety and more female teachers in the mix.
The Mobi Turbo exercise bike doesn’t come with a water bottle holder, which feels like a design fault given that indoor cycling is such a sweaty workout. We like that the bike has an emergency stop button.
Overall this is a good value and compact exercise bike that will suit people new to cycling and home workouts. The app has limited content, which will disappoint some people, but it’s really quiet and gives an authentic studio experience.
Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike: Set up and usability
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike arrives in a big box, which ideally needs two people to move. It takes about 15 minutes to unpack all the components, then another 45 to put it all together (so an hour in total). Assembly is really straightforward and the instructions are clear. It comes with all the tools you need to set the bike up.
The main bit of the bike is quite heavy and bulky, so while you can set it up with one person, you might benefit from having an extra hand on standby.
The bike looks like one you’d find in a studio and comes in a grey and white design with a padded black seat and black handlebars. It’s quite heavy on plastic but has a compact and modern design, which doesn’t take up too much space.
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike has a recommended height range of 43.7” to 48.43” and a maximum weight capacity of 330 lbs. It weighs 92 lbs so is fairly easy to move around, especially with the transport wheels. It’s powered by an electrical cord, so make sure you position it near a power plug.
The bike comes with an emergency stop safety feature, so you can quickly slam the brakes on the flywheel if needed. It also comes with auto-resistance – this is a brilliant feature that means the bike will adjust the flywheel tension, to increase or decrease the intensity.
British customers take note: the Mobi Turbo exercise bike has a standard Type-A plug with two flat prongs most commonly used in America and Japan, so you will need an adaptor in order for this to work in the UK.
Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike: Design and display
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike looks like a classic stationary bike with a simple grey and white design. It’s sturdy and comfortable but is a little heavy on the plastic.
You can adjust the ergonomic racer-style seat horizontally and vertically, and the sweat-wicking handlebars can also be repositioned to suit your height and preference. It’s nice and compact and doesn’t take up too much room, making it an ideal choice for those living in apartment blocks or short on space.
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike is commercial grade quality but doesn’t have an inbuilt screen. Instead, it has a fairly small wood veneer phone and tablet mount. Unfortunately, it doesn’t have a water bottle holder either, which feels like a bit of an oversight considering that cycling is such an intense and sweaty workout and you need to drink a lot throughout.
The bike comes with adjustable cage pedals for extra stability (note: these are quite hard to attach to the bike frame during setup).
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike is not foldable and doesn’t come with shock absorbers, but the transport wheels help if you want to move it to another room or into a corner when not in use.
Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike: Features
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike has a 26 lbs flywheel and a smart LCD dial with 32 magnetic auto-resistance levels. You tap the dial to turn on Bluetooth and the bike will connect to the free app on your smartphone or tablet.
Core metrics (resistance, time, distance, calories and cadence/RPM) are shown in the smart control dial, which you can twist to change resistance or adjust via the free MobiFitness app (no subscription required).
The bike doesn’t have an inbuilt display but you can put your tablet or phone on the wooden veneer screen mount, which is a little on the small side. You’ll need a tablet or smartphone to access the free app and virtual classes. Most big brand exercise bikes charge a monthly subscription to their online content so this is a big plus and makes the Mobi Turbo a good value and affordable level-entry exercise bike.
Like many exercise bikes, the Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike uses Bluetooth connectivity to access free classes on the app. Unfortunately, it only has a few pre-programmed workouts on the app to choose from but more are reportedly due to be uploaded soon, and there’s the option to customize your plan. The classes feature Peloton-style high-energy instructors and fast-paced music to motivate you as you train.
Another feature is a competition section where you can compete against other members who are online when you are. Or simply hit Quickstart to begin a basic workout.
Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike: Performance
The magnetic resistance means the bike is really quiet, which is a huge plus. It’s reportedly 45dB – about the same as a quiet conversation, and we liked the fact it wasn’t noisy.
The Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike itself is sturdy and comfortable thanks to the ergonomic padded seat. The industry standard flat/cage pedals are also easy to use, and if you want something more advanced you can replace them with a pair of Look Delta Peloton pedals that work well (you will need to also buy Delta-compatible cycling shoes that fit the pedals if you do this).
It offers a smooth ride thanks to the auto-resistance. We love the LCD control screen and the fact that you can adjust the resistance via the dial or the free app.
The main downside is the lack of content – there are currently just seven workouts to try (with more due to be added according to MobiFitness). Saying that, the classes that are on the app are well done and feature two Peloton-style instructors who are motivating and energetic (Owen and Fernando). It would be nice to see some female instructors, as well as a wider range of music genres.
We enjoyed the HIIT cardio and high cadence workouts as well as the hip-hop workout session. We just wish there were more classes to try to mix things up a bit, and the app is also a little clunky and hard to navigate (it’s difficult to go back once you’ve loaded a page).
Should you buy the Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike?
Affordable, good value and compact, the Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike is a great entry-level machine for cycling fans of all fitness levels. It’s super easy to assemble and set up, and doesn’t take up too much floor space.
The auto-resistance is a great feature and we love that for once you don’t have to pay for an app to access virtual classes.
The main drawbacks are the lack of inbuilt screen, there’s no water bottle holder, the app itself is a little clunky and there is very limited content, but MobiFitness says there will be more workouts added soon.
If this product isn’t for you
If the Mobi Turbo Exercise Bike isn’t the product for you then here are three other exercise bikes on the market to consider:
If you are looking for a durable, well-designed exercise bike, the Echelon Connect EX3 delivers on performance price (on sale at $1262, was $1595 – with $39.99 monthly subscription). This indoor cycling bike has been dubbed the Peloton alternative for good reason: it offers a huge array of live and on-demand spin classes both on and off bike, and is suitable for all fitness levels. It comes with 32 magnetic resistance levels for a smooth and quiet ride. Its biggest drawback is that it doesn’t come with an inbuilt screen, but it has a moveable mount, which easily fits a tablet or smartphone.
If money isn’t an issue, the Peloton Bike+ has a great rep for being the crème de la crème of exercise bikes. With its solid, heavy frame, it is super quiet and offers a huge variety of live and on-demand workouts, as well as ‘auto-follow’ feature that adjusts the resistance to match the instructor’s. It retails at $2145 (plus an extra subscription fee to Peloton app, $39/month) so it’s expensive, but if you want the ultimate home exercise bike, this is the one.
