The American Council on Exercise recommends that healthy adults under age 65 get 30 minutes of moderate cardio exercise five days a week, or 20 minutes of vigorous exercise three days a week. If you're considering purchasing either a StairMaster or stationary bike to help you meet these recommendations, take time to compare the relative merits of each machine and, even more importantly, try them out to decide which one you enjoy the most.
Function
A stationary bike's function is fairly intuitive to most exercisers; after all, you've been pedaling a bike since you were a small child. Just get on the bike and pedal to power it up, then adjust the resistance against your pedaling as needed.
Using a StairMaster stepper is fairly intuitive, too; just place your feet on the pedals and start stepping as if you were climbing an imaginary set of stairs, or if you're using a StairMaster StepMill, power up the machine and climb the moving steps just as if it were an escalator moving down as you climb up.
Muscles Worked
Both StairMaster machines and stationary bikes offer a complete lower body workout, although the StairMaster will work your calves more than a bike does. The StairMaster offers no option for an upper body workout, while stationary bikes sometimes come with upper body attachments, usually moving handles as if you were on an elliptical trainer.
Calories Burned
According to Harvard Health Publications, most stair-stepper machines burn between 180 and 266 calories in half an hour of effort, depending on your body weight. Stationary bikes tend to burn more calories, anywhere from 210 to 466, depending on body weight and how hard you pedal.
Features
Most stationary bikes and StairMaster products offer very similar features, including push-button adjustable resistance and pedal or step speeds. Both types of products offer digital consoles that display basic information such as
steps per minute or pedal rotations per minute, distance traveled, calories burned and time spent. Furthermore, both moderate- to high-end bikes and StairMasters usually come with pre-programmed fitness courses, fitness tests and built-in heart rate monitors.
Cost
StairMaster StepMills are industrial strength exercise machines you're likely to find only in gyms. As of May 2010, you can expect to pay more than $5,000 for this type of equipment when purchased new. Smaller StairMaster steppers retail at about $2,000.
Stationary bikes, by comparison, are dirt cheap. You can get a basic stationary bike for $250 or less, and according to GaltTech, any stationary bike that costs $1,000 will be similar to the models you find in a gym.
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