Thanks for the input, folks. I followed up on many of the ideas you've offered. Looks like 800 RMB is a nearly unbeatable price to pay for this bike I found. (It's actually much nicer than some higher priced models.) The shipping cost and uncertainty factors make this a no-brainer.

It actually feels a lot like the spinning bike I used at my gym back home.

Thanks for all your help!

Shyam

Back home, I have an exercise bike and treadmill. I probably used each no more than 20 times. Home workouts require me to have extra motivation. In Beijing, I had a gym membership. I went to train almost everyday. Then I came to Kunming and gained 15kg. Such is life.

@Shyam, I find that, over the past few years, more newbies are showing up with more security/comfort/ etc. worries than are necessary, and I really do not want to leave them with the 'this-is-not-the West-therefore-I-better be-careful-it's-all-dangerous-&-weird' attitude - nothing can ruin intelligent life faster than paranoid fixations. The fact that most Chinese people living in Kunming are not dropping dead on the streets might possibly indicate that non-Chinese are not likely to either. Does sh#t happen? Yes, sometimes it does, but don't overfixate on it.

As for knee & ankle problems, well, obviously if they prevent one from ordinary exercise, then one has to do something else, like take the bus or whatever - and if one's physical problems are more serious, then yes, there are taxis.
As for gym memberships for ordinary people, I fail to get the point. I don't know where you folks are all from, but I have heard it said that America is the only country in the world in which people will drive alone in large automobiles 2 miles to a gym where their expensive memberships allow them to run on a treadmill for 4 miles and then drive 2 miles home.
Try the real world, it's a nice place, and not quite as risky as thinking about it, which can lead to unrealistic psychological distortions, restrictions, defense mechanisms, etc. Yes, Kunming is different from New York or Tokyo or Budapest or wherever, but it's also interesting, and one can learn from it, once one leave the bubble.

@ Alien - You deserve this:

One of the sad and unfortunate things about your postings is the latent insecurity and bitterness that you display. Its so obvious that, by now, everyone who has read such posts from you knows this part of your soul. Even those of us who have strong beliefs and opinions about certain topics, usually have the sufficient "right brain" functions needed to suppress reckless and irresponsible blather. Many of us have found that people who speak in such cavalier terms are often attempting to compensate for deeper inner insecurities. How better to do this than try to come off as some sort of half-cocked world adventurer?

Well, Alien...I've been traveling internationally for almost 30 years...almost entirely for work. Moreover, I've had to work and survive in some places that were not only different, but dangerous. (Think war zone.) By this, I mean lots of places where it wasn't an option to sit on a bar stool in an expat bar, wiling away the hours in a semi-inebriated state. So you can step off the soapbox about newbies, junior. I doubt you know anything about the world I described.

What is really pathetic here is how much of a Western apologist you have become. Your entire bent here seems to be oriented around embracing a lifestyle that even the Chinese don't want for the long-term. They are employing every method of urban planning to essentially clone the West here. Its going to happen sooner than you think. Once the subway is in and the street traffic is less congested, Kunming will adopt the same traffic control measures that the 1st and 2nd tier cities have. At that point, Kunming will look more like Las Vegas or Seattle. As for you ridiculous criticism of American car ownership, I have some news for you, junior. China has the fastest growing auto market in the world, and within 10 years they will probably surpass the U.S., in car ownership. The U.S. lifestyle requires more use of personal cars because of the way our size and the ways cities are constructed. Guess what? China is headed the exact same way. Anyone flying into Changshui can see the urban sprawl, rolling over the landscape. No, my friend...your diatribe on things American has no place in China. Both the Central Government and the Chinese people are racing toward the American model. More and bigger...in houses, cars, and everything else. It may be fashionable for someone born in a Western nation with all of these things to adopt a phony air of provincialism. But, where will you be in the months and years to come when you discover that the object of your pseudo-idealism rejects your views. Pretty pathetic.

The posting I'm writing here is not about an exercise bike. Its about the kind of arrogance and stupidity that insecure people like you employ to compensate for your own emotional shortcomings. If you kept this to yourself, no one (least of all me) would care. But, when you expel this blather in the form of reckless and irresponsible advice to unknowing people, that's when you need to get stomped on.

By the way, I had three cars back home - a convertible, a truck, and an SUV. (I needed them to get between my home in the city and 3 pieces of property in the country.) Also helps when you are building things, as I was. I miss them a lot. :)

insecure? or just trolling?

Either way, Dazzer....just something to stomp on. :)

Why the need to always personally attack posters who don't agree with you?

@yankee - Perhaps, you should disclose the similarly anti-American remark you made on another thread...but, that isn't even the issue. I value honest, logical, good-willed disagreement. However, I have very little patience with people who present irresponsible, sloppy, and inaccurate information...especially when it involves misinformation.

I generally like to keep things light, but I do not suffer fools gladly.

See? You are doing it again.
And i am NOT anti american.

@yankee00 - If you do not understand the difference between attack and the defense of principle, I have no time to teach it to you. What I do detect is a very short memory.

I see a lot of this sort of thing from posters on GK. I don't know whether to ascribe this to foolish youth, or another form of anti-social behavior. But, be aware that I have a low regard for people who use language in frivolous and irresponsible ways. This includes casual disregard for truth and the feelings of others. As I've mentioned before, this will be stomped on.