ProForm Carbon CX
Editor’s Conclusion
The Proform Carbon CX bike provides users with high-end training features offered at a very reasonable price point. Constructed from a high-quality steel frame with a thick frame, this bike stays firmly in place even when pedaling at high intensities.
No one likes a stationary bike that has come down with a case of the wobbles, and this bike is built to feel like it is bolted to the ground.
The inertia-driven flywheel spins virtually quietly and provides up to 16 levels of intense resistance to help you build muscle as you shed calories. Everything from the pedals to the seat is adjustable to help users craft that perfect angle for their unique frame, the ergonomic seat is sturdy yet comfortable for an enjoyable ride.
While this bike works best with a tablet equipped with iFit, it offers a basic yet effective LCD display that tracks all of your progress.
If you are on the hunt for a great stationary bike, the Proform Carbon CX is worth checking out!
No one likes a stationary bike that has come down with a case of the wobbles, and this bike is built to feel like it is bolted to the ground.
The inertia-driven flywheel spins virtually quietly and provides up to 16 levels of intense resistance to help you build muscle as you shed calories. Everything from the pedals to the seat is adjustable to help users craft that perfect angle for their unique frame, the ergonomic seat is sturdy yet comfortable for an enjoyable ride.
While this bike works best with a tablet equipped with iFit, it offers a basic yet effective LCD display that tracks all of your progress.
If you are on the hunt for a great stationary bike, the Proform Carbon CX is worth checking out!
ProForm Carbon CX Review Facts
Editor's Pros & Cons
Pros
IFit app provides live workouts, leaderboards, and customized workout programs
Strong and sturdy wobble-free frame
Quick to assemble
Comfortable and adjustable seat
Removable pedal cages
A simple LCD display tracks your progress
Small footprint
250-pound weight capacity
Easy to move as needed
Affordable price point
Cons
Media shelf blocks LCD display while in use
iFit requires a monthly membership fee
Key Features
PERFORMANCE
The Proform Carbon CX is designed for those that want to fit in a high-intensity workout right in their home gym. This bike is built like a tank and offers beginner-level and advanced resistance options that are designed to grow right along with your endurance level.
Another great product we reviewed is the ProForm Carbon T7, so make sure to check it out as well.
If you just want a simple heart-pumping workout to elevate your heart rate and shed calories, the lower resistance options will get you there.
For building muscle or HIIT workouts, the impressive 16 levels of resistance help to build muscle and overall strength in your lower body.
Overall, this bike is a perfect option for beginners as well as advanced users. Pairing this bike with the iFit app will not only provide customized workouts catered to your fitness level, but it will also make you excited to lace up those sneakers and join in on live classes from the comforts of your home! Or check out Proform's Rower as it may suit your needs better.
ADJUSTABILITY
With plenty of adjustment features, this bike is designed to cater to most users. The pedals are come equipped with a cage that keeps your feet locked in place during those high-intensity training sessions.
Hate cages wrapped around your feet? This bike makes it super easy to pop those cages off if you hate using them.
It also provides riders with a super comfortable and adjustable seat that accommodates most sizes of users. To make adjustments, move the seat back and forth on the guide rail and lock it into place.
The seat also adjusts up and down at a slight angle to further tinker with that perfect seat placement.
Users can also move the handlebars as well as the screen up and down using a lever at the base of the unit.
Whether your like your handlebars low or higher up, this bike makes it super easy to find the perfect angle that works best for your riding style.
RESISTANCE
Proform uses their patented SMR, or Silent Magnetic Resistance, to place tension on the flywheel. If you like to wake up early in the morning for a great workout, this flywheel is incredibly smooth and silent, which means that it won’t wake up the household while in use.
Even at peak resistance, users found that this bike runs incredibly quietly throughout the entirety of their workout. If a quiet ride is something that is important to you, this bike is worth a look.
This bike provides riders with 16 different levels of resistance, and the higher level of resistance offers an incredibly strength-building workout.
To adjust the tension on the wheel, simply tap the up and down arrows on the central console. When used with the iFit app, the app will automatically increase or decrease the resistance for you.
SIZE
This unit measures to be 21.9-inches wide, 52.5-inches deep and stands to be 51-inches tall. I did a quick comparison to the dimensions of the Peloton bike and found that the footprint of this bike is very similar to Peloton.
While it doesn’t boast any foldable or compact features, users found that this bike is daily simple to move when you need a little change of scenery. It weighs in at 122 pounds (which is pretty heavy), but it provides a pair of wheels on the base that makes it pretty easy to pick up and move around in your home gym.
It’s also important to note that this design has a max weight capacity of up to 250 pounds, which runs fairly par for the course when compared to other stationary bikes out there on the market.
IFIT
I’m not typically a fan of subscription apps. With so many television streaming apps accumulating on my credit card, it’s always hard to add a new one.
However, the price of the iFit app is half as much as my monthly gym subscription and it provides just as many (if not more) live classes and personal training options to keep you engaged and excited about your daily workout without the need to pack a gym bag and hop on the freeway to the gym.
Just like the bike itself, the iFit app is very comparable to Peloton’s workout app, but it’s offered at a much more affordable price point. It provides users with live fitness classes that sync up with your machine, so when it’s time to increase the intensity the bike will automatically adjust as you move through the workout.
It also provides personal training options that are catered to your fitness level, and even hosts live leaderboards to appeal to the extreme competitor that lies inside of you!
The iFit app also compiles your daily performance into the app to provide a clear picture of where you are succeeding and places that you need a little bit of work.
If you are unsure if the iFit app is worth the monthly fee, ProForm provides a 30-day free trial to give it a spin before you make a commitment.
ONBOARD DISPLAY
If you decide that a monthly subscription isn’t in the cards for you, ProForm also provides a modest LCD display that tracks all of your progress while you train. This LCD display is found on the other side of the media rack, which means that it is only visible when the media rack is not in use.
If you use your tablet to binge Netflix as you train, you will need to briefly move your tablet to check your mileage or speed.
This simple LCD screen displays your progress in big numbers that are easy to read at a glance, but it is not backlit so it may be harder to read in low light conditions. This screen details your distance, speed (or cadence), and calories burned.
It also allows you to manually adjust the resistance on the line by pressing up or down on the resistance buttons. With an Ifit membership, you can check these details or make adjustments right from the app.
PRICE
While this bike performs very similarly to high-end brands such as Peloton, the price point is one of the biggest differences. This bike is offered at a super affordable price point that is well worth every penny.
There are certainly more affordable stationary bikes out there on the market, but few provide the same high-end construction, durability, and performance.
The primary reason that this bike performs like a Peloton without the Peloton price tag is that it doesn’t include a built-in color screen display. To utilize the advanced features offered by the iFit app, you must bring your own tablet or smartphone to the table.
To me, this is a really smart choice, because most users already have a good tablet or smartphone that they can use with this bike, and utilizing your own tablet keeps the price tag super affordable.
The Proform Carbon CX is designed for those that want to fit in a high-intensity workout right in their home gym. This bike is built like a tank and offers beginner-level and advanced resistance options that are designed to grow right along with your endurance level.
Another great product we reviewed is the ProForm Carbon T7, so make sure to check it out as well.
If you just want a simple heart-pumping workout to elevate your heart rate and shed calories, the lower resistance options will get you there.
For building muscle or HIIT workouts, the impressive 16 levels of resistance help to build muscle and overall strength in your lower body.
Overall, this bike is a perfect option for beginners as well as advanced users. Pairing this bike with the iFit app will not only provide customized workouts catered to your fitness level, but it will also make you excited to lace up those sneakers and join in on live classes from the comforts of your home! Or check out Proform's Rower as it may suit your needs better.
ADJUSTABILITY
With plenty of adjustment features, this bike is designed to cater to most users. The pedals are come equipped with a cage that keeps your feet locked in place during those high-intensity training sessions.
Hate cages wrapped around your feet? This bike makes it super easy to pop those cages off if you hate using them.
It also provides riders with a super comfortable and adjustable seat that accommodates most sizes of users. To make adjustments, move the seat back and forth on the guide rail and lock it into place.
The seat also adjusts up and down at a slight angle to further tinker with that perfect seat placement.
Users can also move the handlebars as well as the screen up and down using a lever at the base of the unit.
Whether your like your handlebars low or higher up, this bike makes it super easy to find the perfect angle that works best for your riding style.
RESISTANCE
Proform uses their patented SMR, or Silent Magnetic Resistance, to place tension on the flywheel. If you like to wake up early in the morning for a great workout, this flywheel is incredibly smooth and silent, which means that it won’t wake up the household while in use.
Even at peak resistance, users found that this bike runs incredibly quietly throughout the entirety of their workout. If a quiet ride is something that is important to you, this bike is worth a look.
This bike provides riders with 16 different levels of resistance, and the higher level of resistance offers an incredibly strength-building workout.
To adjust the tension on the wheel, simply tap the up and down arrows on the central console. When used with the iFit app, the app will automatically increase or decrease the resistance for you.
SIZE
This unit measures to be 21.9-inches wide, 52.5-inches deep and stands to be 51-inches tall. I did a quick comparison to the dimensions of the Peloton bike and found that the footprint of this bike is very similar to Peloton.
While it doesn’t boast any foldable or compact features, users found that this bike is daily simple to move when you need a little change of scenery. It weighs in at 122 pounds (which is pretty heavy), but it provides a pair of wheels on the base that makes it pretty easy to pick up and move around in your home gym.
It’s also important to note that this design has a max weight capacity of up to 250 pounds, which runs fairly par for the course when compared to other stationary bikes out there on the market.
IFIT
I’m not typically a fan of subscription apps. With so many television streaming apps accumulating on my credit card, it’s always hard to add a new one.
However, the price of the iFit app is half as much as my monthly gym subscription and it provides just as many (if not more) live classes and personal training options to keep you engaged and excited about your daily workout without the need to pack a gym bag and hop on the freeway to the gym.
Just like the bike itself, the iFit app is very comparable to Peloton’s workout app, but it’s offered at a much more affordable price point. It provides users with live fitness classes that sync up with your machine, so when it’s time to increase the intensity the bike will automatically adjust as you move through the workout.
It also provides personal training options that are catered to your fitness level, and even hosts live leaderboards to appeal to the extreme competitor that lies inside of you!
The iFit app also compiles your daily performance into the app to provide a clear picture of where you are succeeding and places that you need a little bit of work.
If you are unsure if the iFit app is worth the monthly fee, ProForm provides a 30-day free trial to give it a spin before you make a commitment.
ONBOARD DISPLAY
If you decide that a monthly subscription isn’t in the cards for you, ProForm also provides a modest LCD display that tracks all of your progress while you train. This LCD display is found on the other side of the media rack, which means that it is only visible when the media rack is not in use.
If you use your tablet to binge Netflix as you train, you will need to briefly move your tablet to check your mileage or speed.
This simple LCD screen displays your progress in big numbers that are easy to read at a glance, but it is not backlit so it may be harder to read in low light conditions. This screen details your distance, speed (or cadence), and calories burned.
It also allows you to manually adjust the resistance on the line by pressing up or down on the resistance buttons. With an Ifit membership, you can check these details or make adjustments right from the app.
PRICE
While this bike performs very similarly to high-end brands such as Peloton, the price point is one of the biggest differences. This bike is offered at a super affordable price point that is well worth every penny.
There are certainly more affordable stationary bikes out there on the market, but few provide the same high-end construction, durability, and performance.
The primary reason that this bike performs like a Peloton without the Peloton price tag is that it doesn’t include a built-in color screen display. To utilize the advanced features offered by the iFit app, you must bring your own tablet or smartphone to the table.
To me, this is a really smart choice, because most users already have a good tablet or smartphone that they can use with this bike, and utilizing your own tablet keeps the price tag super affordable.
Verdict
With sturdy and affordable bikes like the Proform Carbon CX, there is really no need to drop four digits on a Peloton bike. Not only is the bike offered at a much more affordable price point, but the monthly iFit app is also slightly more affordable than Peloton’s app while providing a very similar service.
Users love that the wobble-free frame holds up well under high resistance levels and the SMR flywheel runs virtually silently. This bike is perfect for inexperienced riders, or for skilled athletes that want to fit in a high-intensity workout from home.
This bike works very well on its own, but I highly recommend getting a subscription to the iFit app to take your workouts to the next level.
Getting motivated to work out from home can prove to be a bit of a challenge, and the live workouts offered from iFit (as well as leaderboards) can transform your living room into a gym, without the need to pack a gym bag!
Users love that the wobble-free frame holds up well under high resistance levels and the SMR flywheel runs virtually silently. This bike is perfect for inexperienced riders, or for skilled athletes that want to fit in a high-intensity workout from home.
This bike works very well on its own, but I highly recommend getting a subscription to the iFit app to take your workouts to the next level.
Getting motivated to work out from home can prove to be a bit of a challenge, and the live workouts offered from iFit (as well as leaderboards) can transform your living room into a gym, without the need to pack a gym bag!
