I wish they made these in adult size!

I saw the Smart Cycle advertise on tv a few months ago and my first thought was that it would be a great way for kids to get their exercise and have fun at the same time, especially with winter coming and outdoor playtime coming to a halt. 

Before I really looked too much into buying one, I happened to see a used one on Craigslist for $25.  I thought that sounded like a good price, so I checked on Ebay to see what the going price was.  Yep, $25 was a GREAT price.  Secondhand ones are going for anywhere between $50 to $70, and many of those you have to pay a fat shipping cost in addition.  (By the way, a brand new Smart Cycle at Walmart is $99). 

Needless to say, I snatched up this bargain in a hurry. The seller was only about a mile away from me, so I was there and home in a flash. When the kids saw me carrying it to the car, they got really excited. The colors on it (gray with green and purple) make it appealing to them, but to also see pedals on it was exciting to them, too. They had no idea what it was, but it looked like fun.

It was, of course, already assembled so I can't tell you how easy or how difficult it is to assemble one.  I can tell you how easy it is to start playing, though...VERY!  We set it in front of the tv, hooked up the red, white, and yellow cords to the tv, turned the tv to "video 2" and turned the power on.  It runs on "D" batteries (4 of them, I believe).  The seller left the batteries in it for me and so far it doesn't seem like the Smart Cycle sucks the life out of them (like many electronics do!).  We are still on the same set of batteries, which is a plus.

There is a joystick in front of where the child sits which they use to move things on the screen from one place to another, and a button they press that is like an "enter" button. For some games they will need to steer and pedal; for others they may need to move the joystick and press the button to do something. One thing I've noticed is that when they pedal backwards, a "beep beep beep" is sounded, similar to real work trucks that have a backing up signal. I thought that was pretty cute at first, but after awhile the beep beep can get annoying if you have a child who enjoys pedaling backwards!

On the side is the area where you plug in the game cartridge.
The Smart Cycle comes with one game cartridge when you buy it new in the store, but you can buy other cartridges for it such as Spongebob, Diego, Elmo, and Dora.  The game cartridge that comes with it is pretty basic and pretty boring, but is a good learning game for preschoolers.  There are several games on the included cartridge. One is a game where you have to pedal your "vehicle" toward letters, trying to hit the "A" or the "B", etc.  When you've hit all the required letters, you get a new set of letters to hit.  Another game has a frog that you make the tongue stick out to "catch" letters to spell a word.  My kids really enjoy playing, but they do get bored after awhile so they will probably be getting some new cartridges for Christmas. :)

From what I've seen, the extra cartridges you can buy start at around $20.  

We haven't had this long enough to know how durable it is. I will say that I think it is built pretty sturdy. I got on it myself and played for a minute. I'm an average sized woman and I didn't hear any moans, groans, or cracking.  :D   Of course, it was a little difficult for me to pedal!  :)   If only Fisher Price would come out with an adult version of this game, huh?

I would recommend this because it's a pretty ingenious idea for kids, and really is a great way for them to get the exercise they need when they can't go outside to play.