Schwinn IC4 Review

This is my Schwinn IC4 review, and in the next few minutes, I’m going to rate it on a scale of 0-10 in each of the ten individual categories of the TailHappy Score and share my thoughts and opinions along the way.

Then at the end of this post, I’ll add up each of the individual category ratings and give the Schwinn IC4 a TailHappy Score to see how this bite compares on a scale of 0 to 100 to other popular Peloton alternative indoor cycling bikes.

The Schwinn IC4 costs about $900, depending on when and where you buy it from. I got my Schwinn IC4 on Amazon and it shipped to my front door for free in just a few days, but you may be able to get a better deal purchasing it here.

It’s one of the most quiet and smooth indoor cycling bikes I have with its belt driven, magnetic resistance, 40 pound flywheel. Which leads me straight into the first category of the TailHappy Score and probably one of the most important components of an indoor bike, the drive train feel, which simply put, is how does the drive train feel overall?

Drive Train Feel

Some bikes simply feel incredible to hop on and start turning the pedals over, and they transmit feelings of excitement through your mind and body as you crank the pedals faster and inspire you to push yourself to new levels, while some bikes simply don’t deliver those exhilarating vibes, I purchased this Schwinn IC4 after the Echelon Connect bike, and I did compare the Schwinn IC4 vs Echelon, and also the Peloton Bike+ vs Schwinn IC4 and several other bikes in other videos on my channel.

But this isn’t another comparison, this is a TailHappy Score review, so let’s dive straight into the first category drive train feel.

schwinn ic4 review

Simply put, the drive train on the Schwinn IC4 feel smooth, quiet, and nice. This bike does have magnetic resistance as a belt driven, and the Schwinn IC4 has a flywheel mass listed at 40lbs, which is a respectable flywheel mass. When riding the Schwinn IC4 the inertia from the flywheel feels smooth and nice when you get that flywheel cranked up to speed. But it’s not excessively difficult to get it turning over either, since the flywheel isn’t overweight.

After spending quite a bit of time on this bike and also hopping on and off this bike and comparing between six other highly popular indoor cycling bike side by side, overall, I’d give the Schwinn IC4 for a 7 out of 10 for drive train feel, which leads me straight into the next really important category in the TailHappy score: max resistance.

Max Resistance

The maximum user weight listed for the Schwinn IC4 is listed at 330, which is higher than a lot of bikes I review and may lead you to think this bike has a really high maximum resistance, but this actually isn’t the case for the Schwinn IC4.

The resistance knob on the Schwinn IC4 feels nice to the touch, but more importantly, it only takes about four rotations to get from zero to maximum resistance of 100, which makes it super convenient and easy to jump resistances quickly, which is great for HIIT workouts.

In comparison, some other bikes take as many as 30 turns to get from max resistance to minimum.

The max resistance on the Peloton Bike Plus is 100, and the maximum resistance on the Schwinn bike is also 100, but these are simply numbers, and they don’t mean anything in terms of how hard it is to pedal the bike at max resistance. After hopping back and forth between the Schwinn and the Peloton bike time and time again, I feel like the Schwinn IC4 max resistance equals about 80 on the Peloton Bike+, which is very difficult to pedal for me at my weight of 190 lbs.

But like many of the less expensive bikes I have, the Schwinn IC4 does leave more to be desired in terms of maximum resistance, so I give it a 7/10 on maximum resistance. So let’s move on to the next category in the TailHappy Score: metrics.

Metrics

Unlike some budget friendly bikes, the Schwinn IC4 comes with a mini screen that’s actually useful as it gives you important metrics, namely cadence and resistance levels on the screen, but it doesn’t show you power output. Additionally, there are other metrics on the mini screen that can be useful to some people, depending on your riding level and really what you want from the bike.

The metrics on the Schwinn IC4 are similar to the Echelon EX-15 I compared in the video below:

Additionally, the Schwinn IC4 has the ability to output your cadence to the Peloton Digital app, which I’ll talk about here more in a moment in the Features section. The IC4 actually does really good in the metrics category, and I give it an 8/10. Let’s move straight into the features category.

Features

The Schwinn IC4 is compatible with many platforms and offers integration features not seen on a lot of other indoor cycling bikes. For starters, the Schwinn IC4 integrates smoothly with the Peloton digital app, and currently you can even display your cadence from the onto the screen of the Peloton Digital app when you bring your own tablet.

The Bluetooth connectivity feature on this bike really turns it into a metaphorical Swiss Army knife, and at the time of this recording, Schwinn IC4 has the following data sharing (4:30 timestamp of video), which admittedly, I know little to nothing about some of these third party apps, but Schwinn does offer integration abilities with them, so it’s not like you’re buying this bike and getting married to Peloton, necessarily.

However, if you do want to participate in the Peloton experience, you won’t be able to participate in the leaderboard with the IC4 because it’s not a Peloton bike. Additionally, one other good feature about this bike is it has dual sided pedals with SPD clip ins on one side and cage style paddles on the other, which makes it good for a casual rider as more of a serious rider.

Also, you get these dual water bottle holders up front, which can kind of get in the way of your knees sometimes if you’re a taller person, but you could just kind of flip those water bottles the other direction and get them out of the way. I give the Schwinn IC4 a 9/10 for its features.

Adjustability

The next category is adjustability, and the Schwinn IC4 is better than most bikes I’ve owned in terms of adjustability. The handlebars have the desirable forward and backward adjustment ability, as well as the ability to raise up and down with micro adjustments, and there are no holes to click into on the handlebars for the IC4 the seat can raise and lower, with holes spaced about 15 millimeters apart based on my measurements, which is closer spacing than most of the cheap bikes I’ve reviewed, so you can dial in the riding height of the seat more precisely, but not as precisely as on a bike that has no hole to click into at all, such as the Peloton Bike Plus.

The seat can also move forward and backwards, with micro adjustments resulting in this bike being what they call four way adjustable, whereas many bikes are simply three way adjustable due to the lack of the handlebar forward and backward adjustments.

At my height of six foot five, I about max this bike out in terms of maximum seat height. Although the Schwinn website says the recommended height range for this bike is 4’6″ up to 6’6″, which ultimately probably boils down to things like arm length and inseam distance, which my inseam and a pair of jeans I typically wear is 34 inches.

The adjustability of the Schwinn IC4 is similar to the Sunny SF-B1805 when I did a comparison of these two bikes in the video below:

I give the Schwinn IC4 for a 9 out of 10 for adjustability.

Comfort

Comfort is the next category in the TailHappy Score, and this accounts for points of contact you have with the bike, namely the seat, the handlebars and the pedals, and also the ability to adjust the bike into a comfortable riding position and the adjustment knobs starting with the handlebars.

I like them the handlebars on the IC4, they’re thick, there’s multiple handgrip positions and they have a nice shape.

The pedals are perfectly fine for a casual rider with cages on one side, and the other side also comes equipped with SPD style clip ins for the more serious rider looking to get more out of their workouts. I like the seat on the bike, it’s relatively firm compared to the other five bikes I have here right now, and I do prefer a more firm seat. So don’t listen to my opinion on seat because everybody has their own flavor for bike saddle.

With it’s four way adjustability this bike is really easy to get into a comfortable riding position. One minor complaint on comfort I have for this bike is with regards to the adjustment levers. There are definitely a solid build quality, however, to the touch, they are a bit harsh and I’ve kind of jammed my hands and fingers adjusting them with the pointy steel edges quite a few times. So I am kind of being a little nit picky here on this one. Just be careful when it comes to loosening and tightening them, and you’ll be good.

This is a very minor complaint. Perhaps I am spoiled a bit by the soft touch rubber knobs on the Peloton Bike Plus.

I give the Schwinn IC4 an 8/10 in comfort.

Style

The next category on the TailHappy Score is Style and you know, the bike is probably going to be in your home, so you probably want a bike that looks good to you. Many bikes come with a flat black frame, but the Schwinn IC4 has a somewhat glossy, grayish gunmetal look to it, accented by typical touches of red on the resistance knob, and this bike has crank arms and a bike saddle with a little bit of accents of red as well.

The plastic corner covers on the frame, and the plastic rolling wheels aren’t really the prettiest thing, in my opinion, but the exposed Peloton shape and style flywheel and a peek-a-boo look at the magnetic calipers make up for some of the less pretty features on this bike. Don’t take my opinion on style too close to heart, though, because we all have our own preferences on bike appearance.

I gave the Schwinn IC4 an 8/10 for appearance.

Convenience

Moving on to the next category of the TailHappy Score is convenience, which is basically how easy is it for you to just get on the bike and start going? And this also takes into account for instructor led classes.

So there is a mini screen on the handlebars, and aAll you need to do is just hop on this bike insert pedaling, so it’s super convenient to get a workout in. But since this category also accounts for how convenient it is to join an instructor led class, such as on Peloton or another app, we do need to take into account that on the IC4, you do need to bring your own tablet and connect up all the tech stuff so it can be a bit of a pain compared to a bike that comes with the screen on it, and it’s ready to roll.

All in all, the Schwinn IC4 is a pretty convenient machine to get on and just start riding. All you really got to do is just remember to keep your tablet charged stored up there on the handlebars and you’re good to go.

It’s pretty simple to connect up your heart rate monitor and everything you need to do to get into an instructor led class, so I give the Schwinn IC4 a 7/10 for convenience.

Initial Quality Impressions

The next category is initial quality impressions, which does not have anything to do with long term quality. I don’t really have a statement on long term quality of the Schwinn IC4.

In the time I’ve had the IC4, I haven’t had any major issues with it. However, I have noticed that one of the pedals tends to come loose. It might be that I’m simply just not tightening the pedal up enough. Or maybe I need to add a little bit of lock tight to the threading, but every now and then it seems to come loose a little bit and then I just have to tighten it back up.

The build quality of the Schwinn IC4 seems to be really good overall. However, I don’t have a long term quality report on this bike, so I know many of you have had this bike for a long time, please leave your comments down in the comment section below and share your opinion and thoughts on the long term quality of the Schwinn IC4.

For me, nothing really feels cheap or flimsy, although the bike saddle, when it is on maximum height, does kind of have a little bit more of a sway to it than a lot of the other bikes I have here, which I’m not going to dock it for initial quality impressions. It’s simply an observation I thought I’d share.

The initial quality of the Schwinn IC4 feel superior to the less expensive Joroto X2 I compared this bike to in the video bvelow:

The dual water bottle holders are sturdy and they’re rubber coated and the handlebars feel robust.

This bike feels solid, and as the flywheel states, quality appears to be a strong point of this bike so far. I give the IC4 an 8/10 for initial quality impressions.

Value

Value is the final category in the TailHappy Score, which takes into account the price versus what you get.

This category also includes any mandatory recurring fees you might have to pay.

The Schwinn IC4 has a lot to offer at a medium price point, and you aren’t committed to any monthly recurring membership fees, but you certainly have the option to join a fitness app and paired up the IC4.

The price appears to vary from time to time, and there are discounts available on occasion. I put a link to buy this bike with the best price I can find for in case you’re interested in buying the IC4 today.

There are certainly bikes that have a lower price tag than this Schwinn bike, but considering all of the features, the useful mini screen, the built in cadence sensor, the heart rate monitor and the ease to adjust the resistance knob from 0 to 100 and all of the metrics displayed on the screen, the IC4 has a lot of value at a decent price.

I give the Schwinn IC4 a 7/10 for value.

TailHappy Score

Adding up all the scores in the individual categories of the TailHappy score gives the Schwinn IC4 for a final TailHappy score of 78 out of 100. If you have any questions or comments about that TailHappy score.

Feel free to duke it out in the comments section down below.

Overall, the IC4 is a good, solid bike, and if you’re thinking about getting it, there’s no big red flags that I would say, don’t buy this bike.

>> Click here to see the current best Schwinn IC4 price

>> See Amazon price for Schwinn IC4

If I missed anything or if you have any questions and I’ll try my best to get back to you. I have plenty more videos on the Schwinn IC4 on my TailHappyTV YouTube channel if you’re interested in learning more about this bike, and also, I’ve reviewed many more indoor bikes and compared the IC4 head to head with other popular bikes, including the Peloton Bike Plus.

Also, the assembly process for this bike can be seen in the video below:

Thanks for reading, browse my website or YouTube channel for many more useful indoor cycling bike videos, see you next time!