Nordictrack C1650 treadmill vs Concept 2 bikeerg

This is a comparison between the Nordictrack C1650 treadmill and the Concept 2 bikeerg including pros, cons and alternatives. Follow the links for more details

Overview and review of the Concept two bikeErg

The Concept 2 bikeErg comes in at $999. In this article you will learn more about the product itself, its Pros and cons and alternatives you might want to consider. This article has originally been published in the overview "Which conditioning equipment to buy from Rogue".

Overview of the Concept 2 bikeErg

The concept 2 bikeErg is concept 2‘s take on bringing the real cycling experience to your home. Most bike parts are compatible with the bikeErg so you can attach your own pedals, saddle and handles to simulate your bicycle. The bikeErg also has been designed with increasing resistance the faster you go. The mechanics simulate shifting gears to get you ready for the real ride. All of this comes with poly groove belts instead of a chain. This ensures a smooth ride which does not produce too much noise. The bikeErg comes with the following specs:

Assembled in the US
Color black
Length 48”
Width 24”
Weight 58lb
Made of Aluminium

Concept 2 has a long history of building machines for cardio. The bread butter machine is the concept 2 rower and recently the company has added the skierg and bikeErg to their portfolio. The bikeerg is the machine for you if you want to cycle at home and can not always take to the road to do your training.

Pros of the Concept 2 bikeErg

The pros of the bikeErg are

Lightweight construction
Adaptable
Simulated gears
PM5 monitor

The lightweight aluminum construction is an advantage for what this machine wants to achieve. Real world bicycles are usually built as light as possible. If you want your home training to be specific for cycling in a triathlon or the gourde France, you can not have a bulky Airbike to replace the experience.

If you want you to take all of the sports you touch as a driver apart and swap them for your own. This way you can get very close to riding your actual bike from the comfort of your home.

The bikeErg simulates the switching of gears during the ride so you get as close to the real experience than you can.

Finally, the PM5 monitor will enable you to race against others in parallel on multiple bikeErg. This can result in great fun for spinning classes.

Cons of the Concept 2 bikeErg

The cons of the concept 2 bikeErg are

No full body work out
Not for the big guys
It’s indoors

The concept 2 bikeErg will mainly focus on your legs. Therefore you will not get a lot of an upper body workout from your session. If this is important to you, you might want to go for the Rogue Echo bike instead.

The concept 2 bikeErg is lightweight and therefore build for cyclists. If you have a lot of football players on your roster you might want to go for one of the bigger Airbikes to make sure they don’t fall off.

Last but not least, nothing is like the real experience. If you want to compete in cycling you also must put in the miles on your bike outdoors. Otherwise, it is very likely that you will fail on race day.

Alternatives to the Concept 2 bikeErg

Alternatives to the concept 2 bike erg are

If you are buying equipment for your home gym and you are more on the extreme side of things you might prefer the Rogue Echo bike. This is the solid all body workout for the weekend warrior.

The concept 2 skierg is a great variation from concept 2 for anyone who skies. It simulates the upper body movement of skiing. Thing of it like a marathon version of a lat pulldown machine.

If you are shopping for a commercial gym you also might want to throw in a couple of rowers to mix things up. Avoid getting all of the same. Concept 2 actually has a mix pack on offer at Rogue where you can buy a skierg, bikeErg, and rower in one go.

Overview and review of the NordicTrack C1650 1999

This is a review of the NordicTrack C1650 including pros, cons, and alternatives. This article has been originally published in “which NordicTrack treadmill or elliptical to get in the UK”. Follow the links for more details.

Overview of the C1650

The C1650 is a solid option in the Nordictrack portfolio. The main features are the 3.5 CHP motor, 10 HD touch display, and up to12% incline. This is a good option for walkers, joggers, and runners alike. The full list of features includes:

Large Boxed Item - This item can only be delivered or delivered and installed to a ground floor room location.
iFit Integrated
10" HD Touch Screen Display
Includes 1 Years iFit Family Membership
Integrated Accessory Tray
Dual 2-Inch Speakers

Flexselect™ Cushioning
51 x 152 cm Tread Belt
Autobreeze™ Workout Fan

3.5 CHP Motor
0 – 12% Incline
0 – 22 km/h Speed
EKG Grip Pulse Heart Rate Monitor
135kg Max User Weight
1.9" Roller

SpaceSaver® Design
Assembled Dimensions - 202 x 90 x 154 cm
Product Weight 92kg
Boxed Weight 115kg
Folded Dimensions - 90 x 107 x 181 cm
Boxed Dimensions - 213 x 77 x 35 cm
Warranty - Lifetime Frame Warranty, 10-year Motor Warranty, 2-Year Parts & Labour upon warranty registration within 28 days of purchase

The C1650 is a good upper range option from Nordictrack for the UK market, especially if you want a bigger touchscreen for your professional or home gym.

Pros of the Nordictrack C1650

The main advantages of this treadmill are:

3.5 CHP motor
10-inch monitor

This machine is good when you expect a lot of usage by people who want to be entertained while they are running. It is also a better value for money option from Nordictrack as a new buy than the S50 in my opinion. The 3.5 CHP motor gives it longevity while the 10inch touch monitor is an upgrade from most other options.

Cons of the Nordictrack C1650

The cons of the Nordictrack C1650 are:

No 40% incline
Relatively high price

The C1650 is still a machine that has quite a high price. If you do not expect to run a lot of miles in each session or expect multiple users per day the motor might be oversized. For the price tag, you will also not get a 40% incline which other models might offer you for the same budget. Here you can see how important it is to make a plan which features you are actually interested in.

Alternatives to the Nordictrack C1650

Some alternatives to the C1650 are:

The Nordictrack X7i is a good alternative for the home gym user who wants a 40% incline at the same price as the C1650. The motor is slightly smaller with 2.75 CHP and it has no touch screen, but in return, you get the 40% incline. So if you are not a marathon runner and preparing for long-distance races, but want to use a treadmill to use weight, the X7i might be a better option as the C1650.

The ACT Commercial 7 is a center drive elliptical which is very compact. If you want to save space in your home and do not like the pounding of a treadmill on your joints, the ACT 7 commercial is an alternative to the C1650 at roughly the same price. Definitely a good option for seniors or less ambitious fitness enthusiasts.

The TrueForm Runner is a self-propelled treadmill that is a great fit for anyone who wants to do starts and stops for sprints on a treadmill. If you are a short distance runner, football player, or any other kind of team sports-related athlete you want to look into this piece of equipment. The TrueForm Runner is hailed in many reviews as the best one of the self-propelled kind. This comes at a price, so be prepared to pay significantly more than for the Nordictrack C1650 for this model.

The Assault air runner is the other option in the self-propelled treadmill market. Compared to the True Form runner it comes in at a lower price. While this is a bonus, the reviews I have seen are slightly worse than for the TrueForm runner. The most common remark is that the bearing mechanics of the belt are calibrated better in the Trueform runner than in the Assault air runner. The Assault air runner seems to be unnaturally fast.

The öast aöternative to the C1650 is the Rogue Echo bike which is my personal favorite for home gyms. It is compact, affordable, and burns a lot of calories without being too hard on the joints. You will not get any multimedia options with it and the display is kept simple. This is the type of 20-minute maximum cardio machine which is ideal for the home. Yes, you can get cheaper bikes, but definitely not built like a tank like this one. With a price of around 700 - 800 it competes with competitor models in the 1200 - 1500 range.

Summary of the Nordictrack C1650

The Nordictrack C1650 is a good machine for anyone who expects to crunch more than 100 miles a week at home or in the gym. The big motor will make it long-lasting and a good buy. If you are not a long-distance runner you might want to look into other options which cost less but still provide a to of different features.