Elite Fitz Bike

Nite one - the arrival. Well, this bike arrived 2 weeks earlier than I anticipated, much to my relief since I live in water logged TX. The box arrived well marked and no noticeable damage on the outside. As I popped the box open I found a very well packed bike, which was incredible considering the 160lb weight. As expected, I knew I would have to put at least part of this together. Not a problem, its not my first time turning a wrench; and, while I don't consider myself a mechanical person, I'm usually pretty good with putting things together. I methodically went through the instructions and put the bike together step by step until I had everything but the pedals on. This spin bike looks and feels incredibly solid and I can't wait to put my 1st session in. At that point something told me to stop and investigate how to get the flywheel to roll freely, I noticed that the fixing screws that keep the wheel stationary were loose and wanted to make sure there would be no problems with the flywheel once I completed the build. I spent an hour trying to get the red wedge that keep the flywheel from moving during shipping dislodge from between the flywheel and the magnets that are positioned on both sides. Nite 2, with the weather still sore and rain impending; I decided to leave work a little early since I knew I had my work cut out trying to remove the red shipping wedge. At another 1-1/2 hrs of struggling to remove this stupid shipping wedge, I decided to try to contact the seller so I could find out some trick to remove this **** wedge. As you can tell, I'm slowly getting a little ticked off. There is no way call a support team to ask any type of questions. Stay tuned, If I get it figured out, I'll update on how this performs. Or, that I end up returning. So, this last week I road this new toy. Here's my update: Pros: Solid Build, The bike feels great and has micro adjustments to really fine turn your fit. The flywheel is very heavy, which means it takes more effort to get it rolling and keep it rolling. For an outdoor cyclist, this is a good thing, the more realistic the indoor ride, the easier it is to transition indoor training to outdoor riding. Cons: Chain Driven, Chains will never be as smooth as belts. I would have liked to have known before I purchased this so I could weigh out that decision better. Because it's chain driven, this bike produces typical noise and vibration associated with a chain. Not terrible but it is noticeable. The vibration is similar to actual road riding, so it's not terrible. The noise can be drowned out with a good sound system. I use my smart TV with LG sound bar and crank the volume, just like if I were in a normal spin class. With the Smart TV you can find good spin videos that simulate actual outdoor riding. Makes the time pass quickly. I found TurboTripping videos which really ramps up the training for indoor cycling. Overall, I'm happy with the purchase and this bike will get used a lot. I do suggest having someone familiar with set up and tuning spin bikes come in and go over the bike to make sure its set up correctly and turned perfectly. I'm only able to get rolling on mine due to my familiarity with bicycle mechanics; mostly from years of working on bikes.