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Air bikes go hand in hand with garage gyms for their use as a classic piece of equipment for cardio and conditioning. Many air bikes don’t take up much space in your garage gym and don’t require much technique to begin your workout. If you’re used to doing kettlebell HIIT workouts, or full-body workouts with dumbbells and you’re looking for a way to change up your routine, you should consider checking out the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike. This fan bike rivals many products on the market due to its durability and competitive price range and can give you a great lower body workout.
In this Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike review, I will discuss everything from specs to user experience and customer reviews, and will compare this product to the Rogue Echo Bike so you can choose which is the best air bike for you.
We Have Reviewed a Lot of Air Bikes
At Garage Gym Reviews, we write honest, in-depth reviews about garage gym equipment. Our team consists of CrossFit Level 1 Trainers, certified personal trainers, weightlifting coaches, Olympic athletes, and other experts who work to give the best opinions and most accurate scientific data for our articles.
Our website includes a wide variety of products like the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike that have been tested by our team and reviewed on our YouTube channel to give the best review to help you decide whether each product would make a good addition to your home gym.
Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike
Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike
Product Highlights
- Solid steel frame air bike
- Multi-position handlebars
- Does not require power source
- Pedals feature toe cages
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Water bottle included
- Heart rate monitor included
- Adjustable toe cage pedals
- Belt drive system
Cons
- Seat only adjusts by height, not horizontal
- Expensive
Bottom Line
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike is built with a solid steel frame and features a belt drive system for the fan. The bike has transport wheels, a water bottle holder, and an easy-to-use LCD console that displays time, distance, calories, and RPM. The Thrasher also features several built-in programs including intervals, target time, target distance, target calories, and target heart rate.
A Quick Look at the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike
The Vulcan Strength Training Systems brand aims to provide quality equipment for a wide variety of purposes. From home gyms to Olympic weightlifting to military training centers, they build strength training products for a wide variety of needs. Owned 100% by veterans, they have products made in the USA and abroad, and dedicate themselves to having good customer service.
RELATED: Best Exercise Bikes
Before You Buy
- The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike is very heavy and is not a good option if portability is a top priority
- This bike does not have a wind guard, so your legs may feel very cold if working out during the winter or in colder climates
Video Review
Is the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike Worth It?
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike is commercial-grade and great for interval training and cardio workouts. With its metal construction, it is extremely heavy duty and is great for people of all heights due to its adjustable seat.
Great for:
Not recommended for:
- People who want a quiet, belt drive system
- People looking for multiple handlebars and an adjustable seat
- People looking for a sturdy, great piece of equipment for a cardio workout
- People who want the option to adjust their seat horizontally and vertically; this only has vertical adjustment
- People who want Bluetooth/ ANT+ compatibility options
Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike Specs
| Price | $845.99 |
| Footprint | 44” L x 24” W x 55” H |
| Weight | 137 lbs |
| Seat length | 12” |
| Seat height | 31” to 43” |
| Monitor | LCD display |
| Drive system | Belt driven |
| Transport wheels | Yes |
| Heart rate monitor | Yes |
| Water bottle holder | Yes |
| Return policy | 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Warranty | Limited warranty for 2 years |
Using the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike
Cooper Mitchell, GGR founder and fitness aficionado, has reviewed Vulcan plates, bars, and benches as well as other equipment. Now, he has personally tested the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike because he saw a lot of good reviews on the Vulcan site and thought it was being sold for a great price. Also, many people in the GGR community asked him to specifically review this product and compare it to other air bikes on the market.
RELATED: Vulcan Standard Olympic Bushing Barbell Review
Coop said that most air bikes are naturally loud because their resistance comes from fan blades that are under the shroud, which makes a lot of noise. As a result, you don’t want a lot of additional noise from the machine itself. A plus is that this bike is very quiet, which is likely due to the heavy duty components and construction.
Footprint, Portability, and Construction
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike is a durable piece of equipment. This bike has a solid steel frame and is mostly constructed from metal with some plastic shrouds. Coop says that some air bikes have loose tolerances between their parts, so there’s some jiggle when using the product. However, this is not the case with the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike. There is great, direct connection from the handles to the arms to the pedals. One reason for that is because there are bearings in between the slats that connect the cranks to the arms, which is very nice and helps the bike to spin well. Overall, Coop believes that the componentry and materials make the bike heavy duty and made to last.
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike may be the heaviest air bike on the market. Weighing 137 pounds, it may feel like it’s bolted to the floor. This can be very nice because the bike will stay in one place, so it will not creak or wobble while you’re using it. Coop said that if you go all out and do a 10-20 second interval, you’re going to want a bike that gives it back to you and this one does.
A downside to the weight, however, is that its portability is not great. The bike does have a handle on the back and wheels on the front so you can move it around your garage gym. Coop said, “If you’re planning on taking this thing out of the garage and out into the driveway, like I like to do, to get some beautiful vitamin D with your shirt off, this isn’t the bike for that.” However, he also said that you may be able to use it to deadlift for extra reps, but overall, 137 pounds is heavy.
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike has a belt drive system, so they are not using a chain drive, which is louder. The belt drive system is used in cars, so they don’t break very often.
Coop also looked at the “Quack Factor” or Q factor, which is the distance between the cranks. If this is very large, it may be bothersome for some people if they go from a more natural gate to having their legs spread out. Generally, most air bikes have a Q factor of 6 inches. However, the Vulcan bike has a Q factor of 9 and 7/8 inches, which is very wide.
Although it is wide, Coop says, “One thing that makes it a little better is that they’re using these really thick, flat steel plates on the cranks, so rather than your heel hitting like a knob joint that’s on the other bikes, you just swipe against the side of the plate if it goes off to the side.” He thinks that Vulcan did the best they could with the width by having a big flat plate.
The bike seat is also very comfortable, says Coop, even though he personally prefers a saddle when riding a bike. Also, it has an adjustable seat, which is great because this bike could work for very small and petite people to very tall people, since the bike offers very high and very low adjustments on the tube seat.
There is also a spring-loaded adjustment system for forward and backward travel of the seat, which you can adjust while on the bike. This is particularly nice because you don’t have to dismount in the middle of a set. Also, if you’re using this product in a commercial gym and someone just finished using the bike, you can jump on and then adjust, which is a good benefit.
The handle on this bike has a good height, so you can do neutral grip, for example, and it feels really nice, according to Coop. This bike also comes with a phone holder, but it doesn’t have any other add-ons. Coop says that the phone mount is built into the monitor and covers the screen, so that isn’t great.
Just as people want modularity with a squat rack, they want it with their air bikes, too. People may want water bottle holders or windscreen guards, which doesn’t come with this bike. Coop wishes that the bike had a windscreen, especially if you do air bike workouts in a garage gym during the winter, because your legs will be very cold unless you make a DIY wind guard.
Technology Pros and Cons
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike comes with a monitor to track time, distance, calories, and heart rate. Coop says that he doesn’t like the monitor very much simply because he thinks there could be better monitors available. This monitor has the quick buttons that most people use: 10-second to 20-second interval rests, for example. It has most of the usual functions that people would want for Tabata type workouts and you can track your heart rate.
If you are looking for a bike that has Bluetooth/ANT+ compatibility, you may opt to choose a different bike.
Comparison to Rogue Echo Bike
Rogue Echo Bike
Rogue Echo Bike
Product Highlights
- Heavy duty steel
- Overbuilt for smooth ride
- 350 lb weight limit
- Solid foundation for max outs
- Easily portable
Pros & Cons
Pros
- Extremely durable, beefy construction
- Very little rocking or side-to-side movement
- Black powder-coated metal on almost everything
- Belt-driven fan for much less maintenance.
- Easy-to-read LCD console screen
- Legs feature adjustable leveling feet
- Somewhat compact
- Oversized, heavy-duty front wheels
- Sleek, attractive look
Cons
- Larger than other stationary bikes
- Belt drive is overall harder to push than a chain drive
- Not the cheapest air bike on the market
Bottom Line
We’ve tested just about every air bike on the market, and the Echo combines many of our favorite features into one. The belt drive is much more durable and requires less maintenance than a chain drive. The size and weight make it extremely stable, and the price is much less than we’d expect for such a quality piece of equipment.
According to Coop, the Rogue Echo Bike is probably the most comparable to the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike. Both bikes are made from heavy duty metal, making them very sturdy. When looking at the Q factor, the Rogue bike is 8 and 1/8 inches, so it is quite a bit thinner compared to the Vulcan bike that has a Q factor of 9 and 7/8 inches. This may be important for some people, especially since your gait will be affected the wider it is. The ideal Q factor is around 6 inches.
The monitors are both decent, according to Coop. He thinks that the Rogue’s version 3 monitor is slightly better. However, the Concept2 BikeErg, for example, has a much better PM5 performance monitor, which Coop would love to see on the Vulcan. The Rogue also has Bluetooth / ANT+ compatibility so you can use several apps to get feedback on your workout performance.
For the handle options, the Rogue bike only has a single handle, yet the Vulcan has multiple options, which is very convenient.
The Rogue bike, in particular, has been around for awhile and has been used by many people so it is extremely durable. The Vulcan bike, on the other hand, hasn’t been in that many gyms so Coop can’t definitively say whether it will be as durable. However, based on Coop’s experience using the bike and its construction, for example, how tight the tolerances are, it looks like it is a “dang good bike.”
Ironically, the Rogue Echo Bike is known as a beefy bike, weighing 127 pounds. However, the Vulcan bike weighs 137 pounds, showing that it truly is a heavy-duty bike.
Both bikes have a belt drive system for the fan, which offers a quieter workout. The Rogue bike has the option to purchase add-ons, including a customized Version 3.0 Wind Guard, which may be important to some people.
If you’re looking at the higher echelon of priced bikes, says Coop, it’s between the Schwinn AD7, which is more expensive, the Rogue Echo Bike, and the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike. Coop said that he would personally purchase the Vulcan bike over the Rogue one.
RELATED: Schwinn AD7 Review
| Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike | Rogue Echo Bike | |
| Price | $845.99 | $895.00 |
| Footprint | 44” L x 24” W x 55” H | 58.8” L x 29.8 W x 52.75” H (to top of handles) |
| Weight | 137 lbs | 127 lbs |
| Weight capacity | N/A | 330 lbs |
| Seat length | 12” | N/A |
| Seat height | 31” to 43” | N/A |
| Seat adjustment | Only vertical adjustment | 8 height positions; 5 front/back settings |
| Monitor | LCD display | LCD display with Bluetooth/ ANT+ compatibility |
| Drive system | Belt driven | Belt driven |
| Transport wheels | Yes | Yes |
| Heart rate monitor | Yes | Yes |
| Water bottle holder | Yes | Yes |
| Return policy | 30-day money-back guarantee | 30-day money-back guarantee |
| Warranty | Limited warranty for 2 years | Limited warranty for 2 years |
Customer Experience
Vulcan has a 2-year warranty for any part of the frame or product that malfunctions. This can be a nice comfort to customers when purchasing this product. They also have a 30-day return policy.
Based on the reviews visible at the time that this article was written, one customer commented on the fast shipping and others said that the products arrived in good condition and were of good quality.
Ordering the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike
The ordering process should be straightforward. You can purchase the Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike on the Vulcan website along with a warranty for $89.99. You can also get free shipping with your purchase.
Customer Reviews
While there were no reviews on the Vulcan website specifically for the Thrasher Air Bike, there were reviews for the Vulcan brand. Out of 3,253 reviews at the time of writing, Vulcan has an average of 4.77 out of 5 stars.
Final Verdict of Our Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike Review
The Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike may be a great addition to your home if you are looking to do interval training or cardio workouts. Built with a metal construction, this bike is a heavy-duty piece of equipment great for people of all heights due to the adjustable seat. If you are looking for a new air bike, you should consider this one because it offers a great value proposition.
Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike Rating
Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike Review
This Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike Review will explain how this heavy-duty product makes a great addition to your home gym due to its great build and competitive price.
Product Currency: $
Product Price: 845.99
Product In-Stock: InStock
4.38
Vulcan Thrasher Air Bike FAQs
Are air bikes worth it?
If you’re looking to burn calories or improve your cardio, then an air bike is a great way to get a full body workout.
What muscles do an air bike work?
An air bike can target muscles in your legs such as your calves, hamstrings, and quadriceps. If you ride the bike with proper form and maintain a good posture, it can also target your back muscles and your glutes. You can slowly increase the intensity or resistance to make your workout more difficult.
Why is the air bike so difficult?
Unlike other bikes, when you increase the intensity of your workout, the air resistance also increases, making it harder to pedal. This is similar to the effect that you get with an air rower, for example, because the fan creates resistance.
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