The American Heart Association recommends getting at least 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise five times a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three times a week. The elliptical trainer and exercise bike are both common pieces of equipment you might find at the gym that can help you toward meeting this requirement. You'll also encounter both ellipticals and exercise bikes in smaller, relatively lightly built home versions.
Muscles Worked
Both exercise bikes and elliptical machines work every muscle in your lower body, moving your hips, knees and ankles as you exercise. Bikes typically lock you into a single circular pedaling motion, while ellipticals often offer more adjustability; some let you modify stride length, while others allow you to tilt yourself up or down along a variable incline, focusing the effort of moving the pedals on different muscles.
Calories Burned
According to the Harvard Heart Letter, vigorous stationary cycling may burn slightly more calories than working out on an elliptical trainer; a 155-pound individual would burn 391 calories in half an hour of vigorous bike pedaling, while a general elliptical workout would burn 335 calories in the same amount of time.
Balance
Elliptical trainers require more balance than an exercise bike because you're supporting your entire body weight on your moving feet, as opposed to simply sitting on the bike seat. This may be a disadvantage for some exercisers who have instability issues, but desperately need to get their cardio in, while others enjoy the challenge. Most ellipticals offer some sort of hand grips for stability-challenged exercisers to hold on to as they work out.
Arm Workout
Exercise bikes work only your legs. Many, although not all, elliptical trainers come with movable handlebars or swing arms that let you work your upper body, too. The swing arms are often connected to the elliptical's foot pedals so that pushing with your arms helps your feet go faster, too.
Appearance
Elliptical trainers, even light home models, typically have a larger footprint than similar quality exercise bikes. The upright exercise bike is one of the most familiar-looking pieces of gym equipment for most beginner exercisers, while the ellipticals, with their imposing frontal framework and movable pedals, may take a little more getting used to. Ellipticals also tend to sit taller than exercise bikes, a definite consideration if you're thinking of purchasing an elliptical trainer for home use and have low ceilings.
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