Spin Bikes for Home Use

So - I purchased a used spin bike about 3 years ago and regret not educating myself first.
Now my gym membership has expired and I would like a new spin bike. I want to do it right this time :cool:
What should I look for?
What brands are good?
Brands to stay away from?
Any advice on Costco's spin bike?
Money is no object. Ha ha, who am I kidding :D I'd like to stick around $500 or less.
My gym bikes are toooooooo well used for my liking - we only have 8 bikes and they are used two times a day every day of the week plus the occasional all day spin-a-thon.
Thanks!!

Pst, Pst....is this thing on?? Anyone?? :D:D

Why a spin bike over a trainer? For that amount of money you could get any trainer you wanted and not have to try to fit it to your present riding position.

To address your question, though, I have no idea on spin bikes. I'd look for one that has the biggest capacity to be adjusted. You want to be able to move the handlebars forward and backward as well as being able to move the seat forward and backward as well as up and down.

I'm with roadie on this one. If money is really not an issue, then get a CompuTrainer. These are great as they allow to program in any workout you want and then the system makes you stick to it. You also get power readings, and can train to percentages of your pre-determined FTP. soooo, much better than turning that resistance knob on a spin bike and training with only a heart-rate monitor/RPE.

Unfortunately, computrainers might run a bit more than $500, but if you can find a good deal on ebay or craigslist, then this is the way to go.

See some earlier discussion here.

What does your gym use?
Can you research wholesale/refurbished gym equipment in your area?

I'd love a spin bike. I have tried a few trainers and I just don't like the way the feel vs. rollers. Rollers are definitely a way to go, but admittedly rollers don't always allow me to do the workout I want - to stand and hammer, for instance, or to do a Spinerval DVD (possible, but a challenge).

I just sold my Cycleops Fluid trainer and got a home spin bike instead. I just prefer spinning over my bike on a trainer. Call me crazy. I had my trainer for three years and probably used it all of 10 times. It just bored me to tears.

We ended up getting a spin bike that cost about $300 from Sunny Health & Fitness (a division of Nordic Trac). It was well reviewed on Amazon so we decided to take a chance given the price. We were otherwise looking at more expensive models by Star Trac.

So far, it's working pretty well. It's certainly not top of the line, but the use it'll likely get (2-3 a week for several months a year), I just didn't see the point. I've used gym spin bikes that have digital wattage and cadence readouts, but I really have no interest in my wattage and I have a pretty good feel for my cadence. My only complaint about the bike is that I wish the bars were a little wider. Otherwise, it's really no functionally different from most of the gym quality bikes I've used.

I left a Reebok spin bike in the house I just moved from.
Too heavy, no room. I

The Kieser M3s are equipped with computers giving WATTS, HR etc. and have electro-magnetic resistance instead of a heavy flywheel. They retail for $1395.00 in the last catalog I got and I've been teaching classes on them for the last five years and if money were no object, would own one.

Since I've been a cycle instructor since 1997, I've taught on a lot of different bikes and this is my favorite, by far. You can read more about them at their site.

Oh...and they're built in the USA too.

My sister bought Costco's spin bike last year. It seems to be working for her. Likes it better than the trainer. Said it's much quieter.

I also bought Costco's spin bike sometime in April of this year. Before that I'd had a high-end Kurt Kinetic trainer I'd use while watching Spinerval DVDs.

I prefer the spin bike over the trainer.

Thanks for all of your responses. I am checking them all out this afternoon. I appreciate everyone's time!