FoldFit X1 Folding Exercise Bike

This bike suits people who want steady cardio at home and have limited floor space. It works well for beginners returning to exercise, for anyone building up to the weekly activity guideline, and for households where the bike has to disappear between sessions.

It is a good fit if you live in a flat or a smaller house, if you want to ride while watching television, or if you want back support rather than a racing position. The maximum user weight is 120 kg.

Three things decide whether a folding bike is worth owning: the resistance type, the folded size, and the seat.

Resistance comes in two common forms. Magnetic resistance uses magnets that never touch the flywheel, so nothing wears and the ride stays quiet enough for a flat or a shared room. Friction resistance uses a pad pressed against the wheel, which is cheaper, louder, and wears out. The FoldFit X1 is magnetic, with 16 levels, so you can make small changes rather than jumping from easy to hard.

Folded size decides whether the bike actually gets folded, and space is tight in most homes: the average English home has just 96 m² of usable floor space, and social rented homes only 66 m²^[4] (English Housing Survey). At 116 x 40 x 23 cm this one stands upright in a cupboard or behind a door, and the transport wheels mean you tilt and roll rather than lift.

The seat decides whether you ride for 20 minutes or 5. This bike has a padded, height-adjustable seat and a backrest, which is why it suits people who want a folding exercise bike with backrest support rather than a hunched position.

Delivery is free across mainland UK. Your bike is shipped to your door by a tracked courier, part-assembled, with the tools you need in the box.

The frame arrives mostly built. The pedals, seat, handlebars and display are the parts that attach at home, and clear instructions are included. You do not need any special skills or tools of your own.

Typical delivery window: [confirm]. The courier will arrange a day that suits you and send tracking before it arrives.

Folding takes a few seconds. Release the catch on the frame, close the bike, and it stands on its own. Tilt it onto the transport wheels and roll it to a cupboard, under the stairs, or behind a door.

Wipe the frame and the seat after a sweaty session, because sweat is salty and will mark steel over time. Check the pedal bolts and the seat clamp every month or so. Magnetic resistance has no pads to replace, so there is little else to service.

Store it somewhere dry. A cold, damp garage will rust the fasteners faster than a warm room will.

Against other folding bikes, the FoldFit X1 stands out on resistance and on back support: 16 magnetic levels and a backrest at £179.99 is more than most folding bikes at this price give you. Against a fixed upright bike, it gives up a little stability in exchange for the ability to vanish into a cupboard.

It is not a spin bike. A studio bike has a heavy flywheel and is built to be ridden out of the saddle, which this one is not. If you want that ride, look at the Studio Pro S3 instead.

Activity levels in England are slowly improving. Sport England's Active Lives survey found that 64.6% of adults, 30.9 million people, now meet the weekly activity guideline^[1], and that 3.3 million more adults are active than in 2015 to 2016^[1]. A bike that folds away removes one of the more common excuses.

Compare the range on our folding exercise bikes page, or see every model on the exercise bikes hub.