Affordable, Sleek and Feature-rich
Exercising at home can be difficult with free weights, machines and various other equipment. An exercise bike allows you to improve your cardiovascular health, boost your stamina and lose weight all while building your leg muscles. The Body Sculpture BC1700 comes in a sleek silver or black color, offers 8 levels of resistance and is so affordable that it may just be the best piece of exercise equipment for the price.
Body Sculpture BC1700 at a Glance
- Magnetic resistance exercise bike
- Eight levels of resistance
- Size: 80 x 50.5 x 123 cm
- Safety: EN957 compliant
- Weight: Max user weight of 100kg
- Resistance: 8 magnetic resistance levels
- Monitoring: Pulse monitoring along with time, speed, distance and calories
Features and Performance
Upon unpacking, you will notice a lack of screws and bolts. Don’t worry, many of the bolts and screws are already on the parts and need to simply be fastened. This is the case with the saddle, pedals and various other parts.
The tension cable will need to be attached next. This is a very delicate process that is easy once you know exactly how to attach the cable. You will need to set the setting to 1 by twisting the black dial before trying to attach the tension cable. This will allow you to quickly install the cable without worry. While not mentioned in the instructions, customer service will tell you this exact method if you call them.
The rest of the assembly process is a breeze and should take no longer than 30 – 60 minutes.
Batteries can be put into the LCD display to ensure that the monitoring features work. This is the last step needed before you can jump on your bike and go for your first ride. Upon sitting on the seat for the first time, you will need to adjust the height level and tension settings to match your desired level.
Upon setting the tension (easily done with a twist of the black knob), you will want to setup the LCD for your workout. This is done intuitively with one touch of the screen. The display will display the current time, so, you will not need to tinker with the display often.
There are a few options to choose from on the display, which include:
- Time: How long you have been riding.
- Speed: The current riding speed.
- Distance: The total distance ridden during a session.
- Pulse: Your current heart level.
We really did not do much with the LCD screen besides track out progress for the daily workout. The pulse level is a nice addition, but as you will see in the cons section, this feature is subpar. Oftentimes, the pulse was not accurate, which seems to be the case with most exercise bikes on the market. Pulse is monitored through your hand.
Related: Which exercise bike is the best?
The 8 tension levels allow you to pedal with either great ease, or with immense tension that is very difficult to pedal through. Changing the tension is a breeze, and the magnetic resistance will help you build leg strength and burn calories as a result.
Pros
- Easy to assemble
- Adjustable handlebars and saddle
- LCD screen to monitor calories, speed, pulse and distance
- 8 resistance levels
- European safety compliant
Cons
- Pulse monitor is not accurate
- Tension cable is difficult to assemble
- May not be ideal for riders 6’2 and taller
Unfortunately, there is not much that can be done about the pulse monitor. The tension cable is only difficult to assemble when the tension is not set to the lowest. We recommend setting the dial to 1 to allow for the easiest assembly possible.
Interestingly, one taller user complained that they were not able to achieve full leg extension even when the set was at its highest level. This is definitely a concern for taller riders, but at this price, you really can’t complain.
We found that the Body Sculpture BC1700 provided a difficult workout that left our legs wobbly and really worked our muscles to the limit. While the pulse setting was inaccurate, the rest of the metrics provided seemed to be highly accurate. With 8 great tension levels and easy adjustments for the saddle and handlebars, we really liked this bike. For an affordable, great workout, we highly recommend the BC1700.
