NordicTrack S22i Review

This is my official NordicTrack S22i review, and in this video, we’re going to go through the ten separate categories of the TailHappy Score and I’m going to give the S22i a TailHappy Score. So before we get into the meat of the review, let me just give you a basic rundown of this bike.

I paid about $2,000 for it, and you can check here to see current pricing. That pricing also included a one year family membership of iFit for free, which was a $468 dollar value at the time.

I know they do have sales on this bike sometimes, so check the link below to see if there’s any sales or discounts if you’re interested in buying it. One thing that kind of sets his bike apart from other bikes is the maximum user weight is 350 lbs, whereas most bikes really don’t even get close to a 350 lb max user weight. So the S22i is actually a really good option for heavier riders.

Another thing to point out about the S22i is this bike is actually very heavy. The in-box weight is listed at 203 lbs. Now this is not a Peloton comparison, I did a NordicTrack vs Peloton video comparison, you can check that out later, but the Peloton Bike Plus is actually a very heavy bike, and that one actually only weighs 135 lbs.

So this one is absolutely massive in terms of the size of other indoor cycling bikes I’ve reviewed. But once you get it into place, it’s not like oversized dimensions, it just weighs a lot because of the electronics, which speaking of electronics, this bike has a 22” rotating touchscreen.

And also that touchscreen has a little fan below it, which adds more weight. But really, the big thing that adds the weight probably is that incline and decline features.

The NordicTrack S22i has the ability to incline 20% and decline 10%.

And all of the motors and power required for that is probably where a lot of the weight of this bike comes from. Also, I should point out the NordicTrack studio series bikes right now at the time of this post are basically the only bikes that have this incline and decline ability.

There aren’t any other bikes out there quite like this one. The magnetic resistance on this bike goes from 0 to 24, whereas the Peloton has 0 to 100, but that number is not an indicator of maximum resistance at all. We’ll get into max resistance here in just a moment.

And on the magnetic caliper it’s listed as “SMR”, which means silent magnetic resistance, and this bike actually is very silent magnetic resistance, however, this bike is not silent, don’t be fooled by that.

So if you’re looking for a very silent bike, this is not a silent bike because when you press on the incline and decline for one, the motor makes a lot of noise inclining and declining.

And also, when you change the resistance, it beeps when you press on the button. And then also, there is a little bit of noise from the motor. So I mean, the motor for the magnetic resistance adjusting digitally, it makes noise moving from point A to point B, but once it’s in place, it’s very silent.

Other things to note is this bike does not have a resistance knob to control of the resistance on the screen from the touch screen and or you allow the instructor to adjust it for you or you used to be controls up on the handgrip positions.

One thing that I find really surprising about this bike is the pedals that come on it. They are a very basic, cheap cage style pedal, so there is no clipping pedals that come on this bike. And I would think, you know, a bike that costs $2,000 you’re kind of like getting into that like really higher end bike tier territory where, you know, most people, I would think, who are ready to buy a 2000 dollar bike would be ready to clip in. So the pedals that come on this bike are not my favorite, but it does make it so you don’t have to have any sort of special shoes to ride the NordicTrack s22i.

In general, I think the NordicTrack S22i is a great bike for outdoor riding enthusiasts. You know, if you like road bike riding and you’re trying to find a tool to help you get in better shape for your road bike rides, maybe it’s winter time or you want a bike in your home to help you get better prepared for your outdoor riding.

Drive Train Feel

The first category in the TailHappy Score is Drive Train Feel, which is simply how does the bike feel to ride?

As you probably already know, this is a magnetic resistance bike and the flywheel weighs 32lbs. The s22i has 24 levels of magnetic resistance. You can change either with the buttons on the handlebars or you can also use the touchscreen to slide your finger along here and change your resistance.

Honestly, the drive train on the s22i feels really, really good to ride, and I was really thoroughly impressed with how good it feels to ride this bike. As I compared this bike to the Peloton Bike Plus and many other bikes, one of the things I noticed about it was it has a relatively narrow Q factor, and what the Q factor is is basically how far apart your feet are when you ride the bike.

Based on my research, the NordicTrack s22i has a 150mm Q factor, which is more narrow than most of the other bikes I have reviewed.

The Peloton bike is 20mm wider at 170mm. Personally, I really like the narrow Q factor on the S22i, and it really just puts it more in line with a road bike Q Factor and honestly, whatever they got going on in there between, you know, the flywheel mass, the cranks, the crank arms, and everything going on in there I give this bike a 10/10 for drive train feel, the s22i just really feels amazing to ride.

Maximum Resistance

The next category on in the TailHappy Score is maximum resistance. The NordicTrack S22i maximum resistance is incredibly strong, just as strong as like the Peloton Bike Plus, and it’s very smooth as well when you crank it up to max resistance because it is magnetic resistance.

One thing I should point out about the resistance ranges on this bike is they they change in line with the incline and decline as well. So if you want to reach true maximum resistance on the S22i, you have to have this bike on maximum resistance number as well as maximum incline.

Now, that’s not really a big problem because the maximum resistance when you’re on 0% grade is pretty darn strong. And honestly, most people, I think, would find this extremely challenging just at 0% incline. But if you increase it to 20% incline and also have it on maximum resistance, that is the point where you get the true max resistance of the s22i.

So in this category, for maximum resistance, I give the NordicTrack s22i a perfect 10/10.

The next category on the TailHappy Score is metrics. Simply put, does the bike give you Power output in Watts, Cadence, and Resistance.

This bike gives you all of the important metrics you get your power output, you also get your cadence in terms of RPM on the screen, and you get to your heart rate displayed as well over here on the right side of the screen.

You also get your resistance in terms of 1 to 24 that you can easily adjust. And also you get your incline and decline on the other side, which you can also adjust right here. Additionally, it gives you your calories burned.

However, one thing is kind of lacking here, I wish they gave you is your total energy exerted in kilojoules output, because it’s kind of like a more standard cycling measurement. You do get your distance in terms of miles and your time elapsed.

Since we are talking about a $2,000 bike, I will talk about some of the things that I kind of wish were here on the s22i. For the heart rate zones, I wish that it gave you a graphical representation similar to what the Peloton Bike Plus gives you. So, yeah, I am kind of comparing it to the Peloton Bike Plus here, but it just kind of shows you your heart rate and it doesn’t give you a visual display of like what zone you’re in while riding the bike, and I wish it did have that.

Generally when I’m talking about metrics I’m just talking about: power, cadence, and resistance, and that’s good enough. But on this bike, I wish that it gave you like your cadence zones and your resistance zones, like on the Peloton Bike Plus. And another thing that I really wish it gave you is your training zones. I wish there was an FTP test on this bike that you could do. And then, you can see what zone you’re riding in on the NordicTrack S22i.

So really in terms of metrics, displays, and the usefulness of the metrics that are displayed on the screen the NordicTrack s22i gives you the raw data, but the Peloton Bike Plus just does it a little bit better and more graphically, you know, just a better interface for you to make better use of what that data is and also on the Peloton bike the FTP range, as it gives you on the screen that shows you, you know, visually what the color is, you know what zone you’re in and a corresponding color. So it really gives you like a very good idea of like how you’re training and how you’re going to be able to hold up that performance and stuff.

The NordicTrack S22i gives you all of the good metrics and I’m going to give this bike a 9/10 in the metrics category.

Features

The next category is features, and this is where the NordicTrack S22i kind of really shines.

One of the major features is obviously the incline and decline ability of this bike. When I first saw that this bike had an incline and decline, I really didn’t think that it would actually make much of a difference in terms of the ride.

When you think about it, it’s like you’re not actually going up a hill or down a hill. So how if you if you don’t have gravity in the equation, how is that going to really give you any true benefit?

Well, actually, it turns out I was wrong about my assumption of this because for one, like I mentioned before, when you have that incline go up, it also changes the resistance at the same time. So it really does kind of simulate like you’re going up a hill in that sense, but really kind of more so than that, it changes the angle of your muscles. It’s kind of hard to explain in words, but it definitely changes the way your body sits on the bike. And you know, again, especially if it’s pointed down at that negative 10% decline, you definitely get like a lot more weight up on like your arms, and it changes the way your muscles work again.

So it really does make a difference, and it really does kind of make it feel, if you’re following the outdoor rides, it makes it feel like you’re actually going up and down hills and really changes the way your muscles work.

Another desirable feature of this bike has is the automatic adjusting resistance of the instructors will automatically change your resistance for you, and also it will automatically change your incline and decline, according to the ride. One unique feature that this bike does have is a fan built into it, so that is kind of nice because when you’re riding a lot of the times, you have to add your own fan, right? Well, this bike has a fan built directly into it with several different levels of adjustment, so it’s definitely something really nice to have when you’re doing a workout on a bike.

The S22i does have the rotating 22 inch touchscreen, so it will rotate around 180 degrees one way, and then also it rotates back around the other way, 180 degrees. And in addition to that, it will tilt way up and down some. The key takeaway here is there are off bike workouts, so you can rotate the screen and do off bike workouts as well.

One thing that I really like about the NordicTrack S22is it has the ability to independently adjust the trainer volume from music volume, so if you only want to listen to the trainer or you only want to listen to the music, you can change those independently.

And also there was a music update, so you get like popular normal music. There used to be music that wasn’t so good, but now, with the update there is actually good music on the NordicTrack S22i.

I’m not going to bother playing the speakers for you because it’s not going to translate what they actually sound like. But they are here in the back of the the monitor and they’re OK. You know, they’re not great, but they do get the job done. They play the sound just fine.

There is a 3.5 millimeter jack on the NordicTrack s22i. So I just use my earbuds.

I’d also like to point out there is an HDMI out here, so you can’t plug it in and take a bigger TV if you are. And then there’s also a USB port.

One feature that kind of blows my mind that the NordicTrack S22i doesn’t have is actually a power switch. So literally the only way to turn this thing off is to unplug it from the wall. And if you don’t unplug it, it’ll just kind of like play these like scenic transitions like kind of like just like a screensaver.

It just kind of rotates every now and then, which is kind of neat, but it’s just kind of weird, leaving the screen on like all the time, 24/7.

I know a lot of people put one of those switches, they plug it into a switch on the wall. But really, this power brick that comes on it with all of the electronics and stuff, this thing outputs 36 volts and 3.5 amps, so that’s actually quite a lot of power to be sending through, like a switch. So just make sure your switch is rated to handle that sort of power. I really just can’t believe they didn’t put a power switch on this bike or I mean, at least like a way to turn off the screen when you’re done using the bike. You know, maybe you have this thing on like a bedroom or something where you need it to be dark.

>> Click Here to see NordicTrack S22i features and details

The bike does have dual water bottle holders, which work just fine. And also, there is this little tray up here to set the weights.

If you’re going to do weight training on the bike, just be careful not to bash it here on the fan and definitely not hit it on the screen because, it is kind of like a bit of a tight space here.

But that being said, they are quite easy just to grab since they are just like right here by your hands for features. I give the NordicTrack s22i 9/10.

Adjustability

The next category is adjustability, how adjustable is the bike?

So this is a three way adjustable bike. The handlebars do not go forwards and backwards, and that’s really my only complaint about the adjustability on this bike. Other than that this bike does have micro adjustments. There are no holes you need to click into for raising and lowering the seat so you get micro adjustments.

Same goes for the handlebars. They do go up and down with no holes to click into, and they move up and down quite a bit. So you know, you can really get these handlebars into a comfortable riding position.

I do wish they came up just a little bit higher, but honestly, this kind of goes back to the comfort category, which we’ll talk about in just a moment. The seat also has the ability to move forwards and backwards with micro adjustments.

So for adjustability, I give the NordicTrack S22i a 9/10.

Comfort

The next category in the TailHappy Score is comfort. How comfortable is the bike to ride? And really, this takes into consideration points of contact you have with the bike.

So here we’re talking about the handlebars, the seat that comes on the bike, the adjustment knobs and the riding position that you can get into on the bike and the pedals as they come on the bike. So let’s start down here with the pedals.

These pedals are beginner friendly, I guess. I don’t really think that these are the pedals that should come on a $2,000 dollar bike. But that being said, if you do buy a brand new high end road bike from a bike store, it doesn’t come with any pedals at all. So I kind of look at it that way, this is like a quality bike and they give you just some really basic pedals to start with. So really, in my opinion, if you want to take your riding experience to the next level, you should get some clip in style pedals, which you can easily replace these links down below for clip in style pedals that I recommend and I personally use.

I guess the good part about these pedals is you don’t need any particular kind of shoes to use these.

You can just kind of put your foot in here and strap it down you get a lot of the benefits of a clip in style pedal without having to have a special shoe on top of a $2,000 dollar bike.

In terms of the handlebars, I actually really like them. They’re very thick and the material is like a rubber coated material and they’re really nice. I really like them. They kind of have like a little bit of a slope down.

So you can see here it’s not exactly like what you get on a road bike where usually they’re flat across on the front. These one just kind of have a little bit of a slope down and then, you kind of get this bullhorn position and then out here position three, you can get out of saddle and ride holding on out here.

To keep this review 100% honest, I don’t love the plastic feel out here on the very end, but you know it’s fine. It works.

As far as the saddle (seat) goes, I wouldn’t really take my opinion on this one too seriously or too close to heart because everybody’s always going to have their own saddle preference. For me, this saddle works. It’s not my favorite. I wish it was a little bit more firm. I like the narrowness of it. A lot of beginners would probably prefer a wider saddle. So, you know, if you don’t find this saddle comfortable, you can definitely swap this out for any saddle you want or put one of those gel covers on or get some riding shorts riding shorts that definitely help ease a little bit of that discomfort

But for me personally, I find the seat acceptable, it’s not my favorite, but I just wish it was a little bit more firm regarding comfort on this bike.

I think that one thing that many people would probably want to take into consideration is saddle height in relation to max handlebar height. So I’m 6’5″, I’m pretty tall and I have the seat up pretty high, pretty much level with the handlebars on max height, and the bike is on a 0% incline.

So for me personally, I prefer this the saddle about equal to the height of the handlebars. If you’re shorter than 6’5″, you can drop that seat down. Your saddle will be lower, but you can still have the handlebars high.

So you know, if you’re if you’re shorter than me, this bike will probably be more comfortable for you. Now, really, what this bike is trying to do is mimic that road bike riding feel, so it does a really good job of this.

And also, I should point out when you incline the bike. So let’s bring it up to Max Incline. You can see the whole thing kind of pivots back and the handlebars come up higher. So if you want to get the handlebars higher, you can simply just tilt the thing up and tinker with the resistance to get the resistance where you want it and the riding position, how you want it.

Here’s what the bike looks like at negative ten incline, so you can see it kind of moves the whole seat up higher up in relation to where the handlebars are and just kind of makes you feel like you’re pointed down.

So I think most people would find the NordicTrack S22i to be actually a very comfortable bike to ride and I give it a 9/10 in terms of comfort.

Style

The next category is style, which is basically what does the bike look like?

Do you like the look of the bike in terms of like the frame and the bones of the bike? I actually think it’s a really good looking bike. I like the exposed flywheel. I think it looks really nice.

I like that you can see the magnetic calipers. I think that it just has like a really clean look. I like the look of the crank arms and the little flywheel cover the casing.

>> Click Here to see NordicTrack S22i style updates

It does have a little bit of plastic covering up like the drive train belt. Taking a look at the back of the tablet, it kind of just looks a little bit like a dated television. It’s not the most beautiful thing, but it’s not horrendous, right?

In my opinion, the front of the tablet looks just fine. Perfectly acceptable. The little weight tray up here by the handlebars is plastic, and it’s not beautiful, but it gets the job done. In terms of appearance, I think the NordicTrack S22is perfectly acceptable.

It’s not my favorite looking bike, but I do think this bike does look good and I give it a 7/10 on style.

Convenience

The next category on the TailHappy Score is convenience, and that is basically how convenient and easy is it for you just to get on this bike and just start riding?

And that takes into account joining an instructor led class on whatever platform comes with the bike on the NordicTrack s22i comes at the big screen right up here on the front, and there’s not even clip in pedals on this bike.

So really, in terms of convenience, you just get on this bike. It’s super convenient. You don’t need anything, you just literally hop on. This bike is connected up to Wi-Fi and you’re good to go. So for convenience, I give it a perfect 10/10.

Initial Quality Impressions

The next category is initial quality impressions, and this is basically just my initial quality impressions, not long term quality. If you do have a long term quality report on this bike, please leave it down in the comment section below to share with everybody else.

I’ve had this bike for about two and a half months now, and I haven’t had any problems with it personally. It’s held up perfectly fine and seems very robust. As I mentioned in the beginning of this video, this bike weighs like.

200 lbs and look at the rolling wheels here up on the front, I always like to look at these for initial quality impressions. These rolling wheels on the front of this bike are absolutely enormous compared to most of the other indoor bikes I have.

The drive train feels good and smooth. It doesn’t really give me any sort of vibe or feeling like it’s going to give out on me any time soon. The touchscreen monitor seems to work just fine, you can browse through classes and select from whatever you want.

There’s all kinds of different options for indoor rides, outdoor rides, on bike workouts, off bike workouts, and according to the company website, there is a ten year frame warranty on this bike, and there’s also a two year parts warranty on this bike, as well as one year of labor warranty.

So NordicTrack does seem to stand behind the quality of their product. My one and only concern about the quality of the NordicTrack s22i would probably be the WiFi, which personally, I have not had problems with the WiFi, but I have read and heard, complaints about some people having trouble with the Wi-Fi working properly.

Now this might have to do with the bike itself or very well, it could have to do with the WiFi in the home of the customer of the s22i I’m not sure. So based on my experience with this bike for about two and a half months now, I give the NordicTrack s22i a 9/10 for initial quality.

Value

The last category is value. What do you get for the money you pay?

So, you know, $2,000? One good thing about that is you get one year of the family membership to iFit for free with the bike. So unlike, you know, Peloton, you definitely don’t get any free classes or free subscription with the Peloton. But with NordicTrack, they’re nice enough to at least give you a full year of iFit for free.

And you know, it’s a $2,000 dollar bike, so it’s not cheap, but you do get that incline and decline feature. You get the 22 inch rotating touchscreen, you get the fan that’s built right into the monitor area right here for you.

So I have to say I do think you do get a lot for your money with the NordicTrack s22i, and I give this bike an 8/10 for value.

Conclusion

So to tell you the truth, when I bought the NordicTrack s22i, I thought I was going to hate it.

But honestly, I really do like the NordicTrack S22i, it has a great drive train feel, and the max resistance is great. This bike really is great for simulating that outdoor real feel, road bike feel. It gets you into that road bike riding geometry and position.

So adding up all of the separate categories of the TailHappy Score the NordicTrack s22i earns a 90/100.

>> Click Here to see current NordicTrack S22i price and promotions

So the NordicTrack s22i actually performs very well overall and I think it’s a really good bike.

Another thing that the NordicTrack S22is particularly good for is heavier users with that max user weight of 350 lbs. So if this video has convinced you to buy the NordicTrack S22i and that’s what you intend on doing.

You can buy it through the link below this video and if you do buy it through that link, that would help support TailHappyTV, and I would greatly appreciate it.

But as always, I’m not trying to convince you to buy the NordicTrack s22i, I’m just saying if you’re going to buy it anyway and you want to help support the channel, you can buy through the link below and I would greatly appreciate your support.

If you found any value in this review please share it with a friend. Leave down in the comment section below, and I’ll do my best to get back to you. I’ll see you in my next post!