In this article I want to compare the Schwinn 250 recumbent exercise bike with the Schwinn 240 bike, which is actually fairly similar in many ways.

To give you a bit of background, the Schwinn 240 was the first bike to be released, whilst the Schwinn 250 was essentially an upgraded version of this bike with some improved features.

The price of these two models reflects this fact because the 250 bike is often at least $100 more than the 240 (depending on where you look).

I should start off by saying that they share many of the same features. For instance they both have 16 levels of resistance and an extra large backlit LCD console, whilst they also have the same dimensions, the same padded seat and the same reading rack and transport wheels.

Each one also comes with its own AC adapter and makes use of the same Schwinn Advantage technology when it comes to performance tracking.

However it should be pointed out that the Schwinn 250 recumbent exercise bike has an improved heart rate monitor and more workout programs than the 240 model. It also includes a fan and a storage rack, unlike the 240.

These are relatively small additions and although there are a few other minor differences, the difference between the two is not really that great in all honesty.

Both of these recumbent bikes have received numerous positive reviews on Amazon and other sites, and people seem to be very happy with both models on the whole. To demonstrate this point, the 240 model has an average customer review of 4.2 stars out of 5 on Amazon, whilst the 250 has an average review of 4.1 out of 5 at the time of writing.

So I guess it is ultimately up to you to decide whether or not you want to pay extra for a few improved features, or whether the slightly older version of this bike is more than sufficient to satisfy all of your needs.

Whilst the Schwinn 240 is the older model, it is still one of the most popular recumbent bikes on the market, and does in fact out-sell the Schwinn 250 on quite a few occasions whenever I check the latest list of best-sellers.

You may well think that even the cheaper 240 model is still out of your price range (coming in at $300 or more). In which case you might want to check out some of the other models that are available because there are plenty of bikes available in the $100-$200 range that are still excellent quality, even if they may not have some of the advanced features of these two bikes.

You could even pay between $50 and $60 for an indoor bike trainer because these can convert your road or mountain bike into an indoor exercise bike. The point is that you do have lots of options, even if you do not want to buy the two products featured in this article.