The Nautilus R616 was launched during late 2014 as an upgraded version of the old R614. Not only it is costlier but this new model has a whole lot of new features to take the market of recumbent bikes by a notch. In this review we will take a very close look at the R616 trying to cover all the important aspects.

Ergonomic Design Features

The price bracket of $300-$600 is a very competitive zone for recumbent bike makers.

The Eddy Current Braking (ECB) resistance has now been upgraded with 25 levels compared to the 20 levels of the R614.

The seat has been also upgraded with proper ventilation and lumbar support to ensure less physical fatigue.

The heavy flywheel along with the ECB resistance ensures a quite, smooth and efficient work out session.

The pedals are made larger over the R614 so as to accommodate more space for foot positions and more efficient transfer of power.

Display Console Design

Recently there has been a surge among the fitness companies to attach a smart phone or a tablet to the bike.

This helps one to share the workout data for monitoring or just to share with their friends. This also enables one to listen to music or watch movies during workout which causes mental distraction and less tiring sensation. But this generally blocks the screen and people can not monitor their vitals.

The R616 however has two Dual track LED Backlit displays where even if one connects a tablet , the person can monitor the vitals using the second display.

The details that are displayed on the screen are revolutions per minute (RPM), speed, time, distance, calories burned, and heart rate.

Sync Workout Data to NautilusConnect and MyFitnessPal

One of the major benefits of the R616 is the Bluetooth connectivity which allows one to connect several fitness app while working out. Nautilus provides their own fitness apps in addition to the other apps you can connect with such as MyFitnessPal. This helps one to monitor and achieve the work out goals and also to share the stats on social media.

Preset Workout Programs

One does not simply need to get worried about their regime they used to follow at the gym. With the Nautilus R616 one can choose from a wide variety of preset modes or define a user defined profile to match the workout routine they followed at the gym.

Workout program categories

• Fun Rides – very low intense with least amount of difficulty, this is meant for beginners.
• Mountains – high difficulty with very high variations, these are the best to develop lower body strength.
• Heart Rate Controlled (HRC) – these programs let you decide a specific heart rate according to which the whole exercise will be planned out.

Ease of assembly

Being extremely light weighted any one can assemble this product at the comfort of their homes. The package comes with a user manual so as to ensure the users do not face any problems fixing up the bike. It weighs only 90 lbs, and can be set around anywhere around the house so as to encourage the person mentally to work out for longer. This bike can also be very easily maintained.

The Final verdict

Pros:

• Bluetooth connectivity available.
• Very easy to assemble.
• Very light weighted.
• Dual backlit screens are very prompt.
• The three speed fan provides enough cooling.

Cons:

• Speakers aren’t as powerful as people expected them to be.
• The seats are not as cushioned as some other bikes in the same price range.