How to adjust Bowflex C6 and Schwinn IC4 water bottle holder position

The Bowflex C6 and Schwinn IC4 are great bikes to use with Peloton and other apps (see my analysis of using these bikes with apps), but the water bottle cage placement always had me bumping my knees on the top of my bottle. It probably inadvertently was influencing my form, so I wanted them moved!

Stock water bottle holder positions on the Bowflex C6

Here’s a quick fix: For those of you irritated by the placement of the water bottle holders on the Schwinn IC4 / Bowflex C6, you can make a bracket to move them pretty much anywhere you'd like!

Extender brackets installed to move bottle holders

Data and details on the Bowflex C6 bike with Peloton app

Early in the 2020 pandemic I realized I probably wouldn’t be going to a gym anytime soon. I already had a treadmill (see my treadmill repair guide), dumbbells, and yoga mats, so we wanted to expand that into spin classes and officially cancel our expensive gym membership. A proper Peloton bike and subscription is pretty pricy, so I wanted to see if I could get most of the premium benefits for a fraction of the cost. Short answer: you can!

The Peloton app can be used with just about any spin bike, not just theirs. And to boot, the monthly cost when you do so drops from $39/mo to $13/mo (super wacky; I guess they assume you aren't locked into their ecosystem and so have competition).

First let's talk about the bike I chose and the setup, then get into the technical details of how it works and how to get the best power data out of it.

Home gym with Bowflex C6 and iPad Pro (with SelectTech 552 dumbbells!). I cleaned up the power cable with gaffers tape.

So which bike?

You could go cheap (~$330), and it’ll work, but I wanted to mostly replicate the premium experience. A Peloton bike runs $2245 for the base kit with no accessories, but for $950 (hmm, now $999) you can get a Bowflex C6 with all the fixins (or even spend $100 less for the Schwinn IC4 which is the same thing with different accessories [no mat] and graphics. The Bowflex had a shorter lead time when I ordered. Sales rep for the parent company Nautilus confirmed they are mechanically the same.).

How to Carry a Bike With Another Bike

For years I’ve wanted to tow a bike with another bicycle and had this towing solution tucked away in my garage. Now I finally want to make it available to everyone! What do you do when you have one person and need to move two bikes? Maybe you’re taking a bike to be repaired, or your dirt jumper to the bike park, or picking up your friend at the train station and don’t want to drive there. Or you left your bike at the bar and need to pick it up the next morning. I searched all over and couldn’t find a solution that was compact, easy, and did not involve disassembling the second bike, so I designed my own device to tow one bike behind another.

Updated 6/17/2023

Attached bike ready to tow, thanks to my assistant

Ready to go! And it won't fall over!

Troubleshoot your ProForm treadmill and replace the controller board

Like everyone else sheltering in place, we are mostly exercising at home, so having our treadmill working is more important than ever. I thought I’d do some preventative maintenance since we had bought the unit a few months ago used. In a fit of irony, the machine stopped working when I was checking the belt tension. Bummer. (Our model is the ProForm Crosswalk 545, PFTL6193.0S)

ProForm Crosswalk 545: decent treadmill, adorable girl

How to correctly use a bike tube patch kit

A recurring theme in bicycle discussions is the use of patch kits to fix flat tires. Some people claim they work poorly and are unreliable, while others claim they are great and last forever. Who is right? I'll go ahead and agree with the latter, that they are very reliable and will last as long as the rest of the tube will, but only when used correctly. I think many people do not use patch kits correctly, which is the root of the problem! (Tuning up your bike and not sure if everything is being covered? See my tuneup checklist.)

Instead of just saying "follow the instructions in your kit" in an article on fixing flats, let's review a little more in depth with the most common type of patch kit, which uses vulcanizing glue (all the vulcanizing kits are pretty much the same, though I've heard good things about the Rema Tip Top TT-02).

Bike Tune-up Checklist Reference

When a friend wants you to look over his or her bicycle so they can get riding again, what do you look for? Online and in books I've seen some regular maintenance schedules and daily pre-ride checks, but what about initial evaluation of an unknown bike? I've combined the best info I could find along with my personal experience tuning up bikes for friends and family to create this handy checklist!

Obviously pages could be written about each of the items on this list, and indeed they have been in a variety of books and web sites. My favorite online reference for older bikes is Sheldon Brown's site, and for a more organized and comprehensive physical book, I use The Bicycling Guide to Complete Bicycle Maintenance & Repair (according to reviews, don't buy the ebook version). This book got me started in bike maintenance so it holds a special place in my heart, but has still stood the test of time.

The work listed here would typically cost $75-175 at a Chicago bike shop, so learning to do it yourself definitely pays off.

REI Member Sale and Coupon Code Timing 2026

When are the REI big sales, member dividends, and 20% off member coupons? The people want to know the sale dates! If you're in the market for something substantial like a backpack or tent, shopping at REI during the sales is key. I get most of my stuff (especially bike lights and accessories) at the member garage sales, but sometimes you need a specific item or size, or used won't cut it. Like those other people on the internet, I've searched for the timing of these sales and didn't find anything satisfactory besides vague anecdotes. I guess I'll have to figure it out myself!

My wife had an excellent data resource available—a gmail account just for promo emails where she uses the archive button, not delete. A simple search for "REI" provided me with a mountain of data, which I present here for your shopping ninjafication.

Knog Blinder—How to Fix Broken Mounting Strap

The Knog Blinder 4 is a great rear blinky bike light—super bright, cool flashing modes, and USB rechargeable.  But the Achilles' heel of these bike lights is the attachment band, as confirmed by the repair needs around the internet. (Same issue with the Knog Frogs!) A few of these sites have hinted at fixes, and certainly the 3D-printed cover is a good go at it (I tried it and it works!), but when I had two of these lights' straps fail on me I had to find a simpler / smaller / cleaner solution.

Knog Blinder with broken strap on right side

It turns out all it takes is a few minutes with some snips, a zip tie, and two small o-rings.  The result is a mounting mechanism that works very similarly to the original but if it breaks it is easily fixed!