Cheap exercise bikes are two a penny - well not quite. But are they good value? Will they get you fit? Or is it false economy to spend well under £100 for an exercise bike.

A budget bike can be a complete waste of money or an absolute bargain buy. If the bike you buy doesn't do what you want it to do then you will waste your hard-earned cash no matter how little you spent.

The reasons why you're buying a bike are most likely to be:

• To get fit

• To lose weight

• To tone your lower body

• To recover from an illness or injury

With a bit of careful research you can get a really good bike that will meet your requirements at a very good price. However, there are some very shoddy bikes out there which will not last five minutes. Likewise, if you get bored of a very basic cheap bike within two weeks your not going to achieve your goal.

There are hundreds of cheap exercise bikes on the internet. If you've spent £75 on a bike you no longer use you'll not get much selling it on eBay because you'll be up against too much competition. You now have a piece of kit taking up space in your house that will probably make you feel guilty every time you walk passed.

Obviously a cheap exercise bike to one person may be expensive to another. When prefer the term 'budget' and use it for bikes under £200. It is possible to get a brand new bike for less than £75 - but we think they're not worth even that as you'll probably stop using it very soon. They look cheap, they feel cheap and usually fall apart quite quickly.

So before you think it may be too good to be true check out the features, reviews and what sort of warranty is available before you waste your money.