Forget Peloton — I just tested the subscription-free Wattbike Air, and I've never felt my legs burn like that before

Tom's Guide

a day ago

Wattbike consistently makes some of the best exercise bikes used by professionals and home enthusiasts alike. The Wattbike Air is no different — it utilizes air resistance up to an impressive 2500W to complement HIIT and interval workouts.
The only drawback is that the Wattbike Air cannot automatically adjust resistance, rendering it incompatible with Wattbike's hill climbs. You can adjust this resistance manually, but I found this a little laborious during interval training.
If you're an avid interval trainer and you want the best of the best, then the Wattbike Air could be the perfect home workout bike for you. I'll discuss everything in detail in this Wattbike Air review.
Price
$2,395 / £1,895
Modes
Plenty: HIIT, endurance, test, warm up
Power
USB-C
Max air resistance
2500W
Weight
121.3 pounds
Dimensions
Up to 47.2 x 25.8 x up to 50.2 inches
Colors
Black
App
Yes — Wattbike
The Wattbike Air is $2,395 from Wattbike U.S. and £1,895 from Wattbike U.K. This is the second-cheapest Wattbike on the market today.
The Wattbike Proton is $2,195 from Wattbike U.S. and £1,795 from Wattbike U.K. Comparatively, the Wattbike AtomX is $3,999, but has smart resistance and a live touchscreen for on-the-fly metrics.
If you want to save as much dough as possible, the Yosuda Indoor Cycling Stationary Bike is just $359, so it could be a better super-cheap alternative.
However, the Yosuda lacks the Wattbike's smart integration that made me feel like I was at a personal training class.
Thankfully, the Wattbike Air is shipped partially assembled, so there's very little for you to do. The Wattbike Air I tested was fully assembled when it arrived, so unfortunately, I can't comment on assembly.
However, the Air is a whopping 120 lbs, so I'd recommend assembling it in the room you intend to work out in. The bike comes with wheels in case you want to move it around, but it's still heavy.
For the most part, the Wattbike Air looks like a regular exercise bike. The front wheel houses the resistance adjuster, which is controlled by the user.
Unfortunately, the Wattbike Air does not have automatic resistance adjustment, meaning the range of hill climbs in the Wattbike app is nothing more than an unfortunate reminder of the Air's restrictions.
Unlike the AtomX, there's no built-in screen, but there is a phone holder so you'll be able to follow workout routines on your phone.
The Wattbike Air's seat height and angle are adjustable without tools. Usually, there's a little stiffness with adjusting saddles, but I found this very easy. The saddle can be adjusted from 21 to 31.5 inches — I kept it on notch 10.5, and I'm 5'4 ¾.
I found the pedals comfortable and easy to slide my feet into the toe cage. This cage prevented my feet from slipping off during workouts, but there's no clip-in shoe compatibility.
The saddle's fore/aft is adjustable to 3.5 inches, but some high-end bikes can go up to 4.7 inches, like the Wattbike Pro. I kept this as the default, which was comfortable during workouts.
The saddle itself was quite uncomfortable. My outdoor bike has a women's saddle, which is wider than a regular saddle. The Wattbike Air, as standard, comes with a narrow, long saddle.
However, for an extra cost (of course), you can get a hybrid saddle designed for both male and female riders.
In the future, I'd like to see a selectable saddle option when purchasing a Wattbike, or both a male and female saddle included as standard.
To test the Wattbike Air, I used all of the available workout routines in the Wattbike app. I mostly gravitated towards the HIIT workouts, which take you through a series of preset laps.
Obviously, the Wattbike Air doesn't have automatic resistance adjustment, so you simply set the resistance to your desired level. I worked out on number 5 most of the time, which is the middle setting.
When pedaling at my top speed, I was surprised by how loud the Wattbike Air was. If you're planning to use this in a communal space, I would take this volume into account.
I'll discuss this in the 'App' section below, but one of the best aspects of the Wattbike Air is the app itself. The landing page during workouts has an easily digestible graphic showing your leg balance. If you achieve a 50:50 leg balance, the graphic turns green. I found this easy to analyze my performance on the fly.
If you want hill climbs, then you'll be better off with the Proton — this is probably the bike I would choose for myself, as I want to replicate real-world workouts rather than interval training, which is what the Air is designed for.
This live leg balance visual is fantastic for learning how to pedal properly and adjust your saddle correctly, which are vital for avoiding injury.
For sprinters and interval trainers, this is a great way to achieve top speeds for longer periods of time. I was a little addicted to perfecting my pedaling technique to land in the green section.
Unlike the Wattbike Proton, the Wattbike Air uses nothing but air resistance for power. This means, unlike the Proton, it's incompatible with the Zwift app's automatic resistance adjustment.
The air resistance tops out at 2500W, which is higher than Proton's 1800W. If you want hill climbs, then you'll be better off with the Proton — this is probably the bike I would choose for myself, as I want to replicate real-world workouts rather than interval training, which is what the Air is designed for.
Unfortunately, the lack of auto-adjustment means all the hill climbs in the Wattbike app (which are based on real climbs, including mountains in the U.K. and the steepest street in the U.S.) aren't usable.
As a result, I'd recommend this only for people who want to perfect sprints or interval performance.
Probably the biggest plus is that the Wattbike app is subscription-free. You don't need a monthly subscription to access the entire library of workouts, which is a major win compared to Peloton bikes.
However, this does mean that there are no live instructor sessions in the app. Everything is just a preset workout in the app.
Don't get me wrong, there are still pleasing visuals in the app — it counts you into laps and you can see your speed target in HIIT workouts — but if you need that extra motivation, maybe this isn't the bike for you.
This is the leg balance I discussed earlier. This is one of the best features as it really teaches you how to perfect your pedaling.
In the HIIT workouts, there are yellow and orange blocks. These align with intended intensity; you get a new power target with each lap.
I found this was a great motivator, as I wanted to hit that target every time. Perfect for those with a little competitive streak.
If you're a fan of indoor bikes and HIIT, then the Wattbike Air will be right up your street. I love feeling the wind in my hair and watching the world whip by on my bike rides, but if you love cycling and want to work out regardless of weather, then the Wattbike Air will fulfill almost all your needs.
The exception is if you want to replicate hill climbs, as the lack of adjustable resistance means the Wattbike Air has no hill climb functionality.
Regardless, there's still a huge range of workouts in the app, ranging from HIIT to endurance to tests. Each workout counts you in and times your laps in the Wattbike app, and presents this information in a user-friendly way.
If you're a beginner cyclist not concerned about budget, the Wattbike Air is probably the best premium model on the market right now.
The Wattbike app is informative and innovative enough that I learned a lot about my body during workouts. Just be prepared for a premium price for premium performance.