I couldn’t find any information about comparison of an airdyne bike vs a bicycle. Jim suggest using the bike to aid with recovery, and this surely is something I would love to incorporate into my current program. I found a cheapo airdyne bike on craigslist and was thinking about getting it, but then I remembered that I have a bicycle that has been seating in my garage for a while.
What are the main benefits of an airdyne bike vs a bicycle except that you can set it indoors and watch TV while exercising? This question kind of sounds like what is the difference between walking on a treadmill vs walking in a park.
I bought an AirDyne at play-it-again-sports. It’s an old one with nothing fancy, but gets the job done. I bought a gel seat cushion to put on top of the old one - made a world of a difference for the 10 mile bouts. A street bike goes faster and the pedaling gets easier the faster you are moving - the airdyne gets harder the faster you pedal and pretty much stops if you stop pedaling. The variable resistance allows you to condition easy, but if you want an interval workout, doing sprints on the airdyne will kick your ass fast. You really can’t get that on a street bike. Buy the cheapo one and see how you like it - get a newer, nice one when you can justify it.