Cardio

Home cardio equipment

Rowers, ski ergs, bikes, treadmills and ellipticals: the conditioning machines worth paying for.

View along the rail of an indoor rowing machine in a dim concrete gym

A bright home gym room with large windows, a rowing machine and a bench

Cardio · 11 min

Best Ellipticals for Home (2026)

SOLE, NordicTrack and Life Fitness ellipticals compared on stride length, flywheel, incline, footprint and the ceiling height you need once you are standing on the pedals.

A matte black flywheel housing on a pale oak floor in a bright room

Cardio · 11 min

Best Indoor Cycling Bikes (2026)

Peloton, NordicTrack, Echelon, Schwinn and SOLE, compared on resistance type, drive, pedals, rider limits, subscriptions and the floor each one takes.

A bare concrete gym floor with a barbell and a kettlebell, seen from above

Cardio · 11 min

Best Treadmills for Home (2026)

NordicTrack, SOLE, Horizon Fitness and Peloton motorized treadmills compared on incline, folding, iFIT and Peloton subscription costs and the room each one needs.

Heavy battle ropes coiled on a concrete gym floor

Cardio · 8 min

Assault AirBike vs Schwinn Airdyne (2026)

The two best-known air bikes compared, with an honest note on what can be confirmed: the AD7 is on Amazon, the Assault is sold direct.

A fan-resistance air bike on a concrete floor in an industrial gym

Cardio · 10 min

Best Air Bikes (2026)

Schwinn, Sunny, Titan, Concept2 and Marcy on Amazon, plus why Assault and Rogue are not, with the floor space for each.

A barbell and kettlebell on a large empty concrete gym floor, seen from above

Cardio · 10 min

Best Curved Treadmills (2026)

SOLE, Sunny Health & Fitness, Vortex, SB Fitness and the AssaultRunner, with the floor, ceiling and clear zone each one needs.

Close-up of the black fan flywheel housing of an air rowing machine on a wooden floor

Cardio · 11 min

Best Rowing Machines (2026)

Concept2, Hydrow, WaterRower, Aviron, NordicTrack and two budget picks, with the floor space and user-weight rating for each.

Close-up of a steel cable running over a pulley wheel

Cardio · 8 min

Best Ski Ergs (2026)

Concept2 dominates this category. The question is whether to buy the $850 wall mount or the $1,070 floor stand, and whether your ceiling is tall enough.

Cardio · 9 min

Concept2 RowErg vs Hydrow (2026)

The RowErg costs $990 once. The Hydrows cost more up front and $50 a month after. Here is when that is worth it, and how much floor each needs.

A bright home gym room with a rowing machine, bench and dumbbell rack

Cardio · 9 min

Curved vs Motorized Treadmill (2026)

How curved manual and motorized treadmills differ on cost, incline, power, noise and space, and who should buy each.