FlexiSpot Sit2Go 2-in-1 Fitness Chair review: improving your work-life balance

The FlexiSpot F1 Sit2Go 2-in-1 Fitness Chair is part spin bike and part office chair, so you can work and work out at the same time. When FlexiSpot created this chair, they likely designed it with someone like me in mind — a remote-working workaholic who loves their job so much, they’ve let it bleed into other parts of their lives. 

Maintaining a healthy work-life balance was a bit of a struggle for me. I not only enjoy my work too much, but I also have my desk mere steps away from where I sleep, eat and relax. So, when I became complacent, it was easy for me to fall into that trap of stumbling out of bed and straight to my desk, pajamas and all, working for 12 hours, then stumbling back into bed having done not much else. 

I wasn’t alone. Especially at the height of the shelter-in-place lockdowns, a lot of people working from home suffered from not knowing where work ended and life started. There was nowhere you could go, after all, no one to see, no events to attend. The line between career growth and personal growth started to blur. 

Of course, we all lead such busy lives anyway that even before the pandemic, it felt like there was never enough time to tick everything off our laundry list. Sacrifices had to be made, and for a lot of people, it was usually fitness that bore the brunt of it. After all, who had the time or energy at the end of an already busy day?

The FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 essentially hits those two target markets — the one with remote workers needing ingenious ways to hit that work-life sweet spot and the one with overburdened hustlers who require clever fitness tools they can multitask in and simplify their lives. And, as such, it’s a vital piece of tech that couldn’t have come at a better time.

To test the FC211, I used it in place of my regular chair over a series of weeks. If you want to read more about how we review products, see T3's how we test page. 

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: price and release date

The best thing about the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair is that it is cheaper than the best exercise bikes out there. It’s not as fancy as a Peloton, to be sure, and it’s more on the stripped-down, back-to-basics end of the spectrum. But, its no-frills take on things also allows it to focus on the essentials and offer an accessible price of entry.

It sets you back $399 in the US and £299 in the UK, which puts it in the affordable-but-not dirt-cheap range. That’s a pretty good price, especially considering how much you’ll benefit from it, and inexpensive when compared to offerings from Peloton or NordicTrack that cost you more than $1,000/£1,000 (and that’s without the workout subscriptions). Plus, those aren’t really built so you can cycle and work at the same time.

There are cheaper desk exercise and stationary bikes on Amazon, but they aren’t likely to be just as durable or offer as many resistance levels as this one. 

It comes in white and black – although the white version does have a black seat and backrest. Sadly for interested consumers down under, it isn’t available in Australia. None of the FlexiSpot products are.

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: unboxing and setup

The FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair does need a bit of setting up out of the box. But don’t worry, you won’t need a knowledge of mechanics in order to do so. The complex mechanical parts of the bike come already assembled and encased in its hard plastic-covered trunk, your job mostly consists of attaching the seat and the backrest.

The company leaves that to you so you can set the horizontal seat position and backrest position to what feels most comfortable and supportive to your body. These are to be done manually, unfortunately, so be sure to have the included allen key handy if you want to make adjustments later on. It’s a good idea to keep that manual as well, just in case.

Still, the whole setup is straightforward, especially if you follow the easy-to-follow step-by-step instructions provided by FlexiSpot – something that company is pretty good at. The manual even comes with simple instructions on how to operate the chair including how to use its LCD display.

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: design

For something so affordable, the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair is a sleek and clean piece of workout kit. Unlike most stationary bikes, it has all its mechanical parts tucked away and out of sight. You won’t see the belt or the flywheel here; only the pedals and the legs/feet. This gives it a modern, minimalist aesthetic that makes it office-friendlier. 

The trunk is made of hard, sturdy plastic, as are the caster or wheels, which are supposed to have gravity sensors that keep them from moving when someone’s on the chair, and the pedals, which are textured for proper grip. Meanwhile, the legs and the seat tube are metal. FlexiSpot is not clear as to what type of material it uses for its seat cover, but it feels like some type of flexible PU leather that’s soft to touch and flexible yet firm. 

This and the fairly thick plush foam inside make for a very comfortable yet supportive seat. The seat on the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 has more than enough cushion for workouts that are kind to your behind and is contoured to keep you in place even when you’re pedaling fast and hard. Yet, it’s also firm enough to give you the support you need. Anything squishier, and your back will suffer. 

It’s a bigger seat as well, not quite as spacious as a proper desk chair, but definitely much bigger than a bike saddle – I would say big enough to fit an adult person’s whole backside. That’s on purpose as this chair is also meant to keep you comfortable when you’re in work mode. 

I wouldn’t say that it’s comfortable enough to sit in for a full workday, however. I find the seat good enough to sit in between laps, like when I needed to take a break and answer a few emails. But, I also find that I’m already longing for my regular chair after a couple of hours on it. Then again, I have the Mavix M9 as the chair I work in, and it is one of the most luxurious chairs on the market, so this is a lot harder for me to gauge. 

I wouldn’t be surprised if many people found FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 a comfortable throne to sit in for eight or more hours. I think it’s more a matter of preference at this point.

Whether you’re only working out on this or doing actual work as well, you will appreciate the backrest. Not only is it supportive, but it’s breathable as well, thanks to its soft mesh material that airs your back out and also makes you feel like you’re kind of in a hammock. 

The seat is highly adjustable. You can adjust its height from 22.4 to 31.5 inches, which means you should find your comfortable seat height whether you’re four-foot-nine, six-foot-three, or somewhere in between. You can also adjust its horizontal position as well as its backrest for depth. Bear in mind, though, that while it comes with a lever for easy height adjustments, the rest of it has to be adjusted manually using the included allen key. It’s a little annoying to do so you might want to find the most ideal position for you early on.

An LED display sits on the main trunk of the bike, which shows six different exercise metrics, a button to toggle the display, and a medium-sized knob that lets you cycle through the eight resistance levels.

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: features

The FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 isn’t the most kitted-out, feature-rich fitness chair on the market. Unlike other desk bike chairs, which come with things like their own desk or a foldable form factor, it takes a no-frills, back-to-basics approach, focusing instead on the features that are essential to your workouts. If you want one with a desk attachment, the FlexiSpot V9 is only $60/£100 more. 

One of those features is its LED screen, which displays seven different stationary bike metrics – time, speed, distance, calories burned, odometer, and RPM or revolutions per minute. Below it is a button, which lets you manually choose which setting you want to be displayed or set it to “Scan” so that the display simply cycles through the metrics automatically.

I found the LED display to be very useful. Unfortunately, it’s not backlit, which makes it hard to see the numbers on it or even figure out what metric is currently being displayed. Especially if you’re cycling in a well-lit room in the middle of the day, you have to squint real hard to see anything.

To its credit, it does pause settings like time and calories when you stop pedaling, allowing it to give you more accurate numbers of your cycling sessions, and it turns off automatically after four minutes of no activity. It also automatically turns on as soon as you start pedaling.

Apart from that, the only other feature you’ll find on the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 is its resistance knob. Located on the top panel of the trunk, right in the middle for easy access, it lets you change your resistance setting even when you’re pedaling.

It’s a bit clunky to operate and not the most seamless to use – I have, on occasion, turned it a couple of notches more than intended. That, in a way, affects your cycling experience, especially when you’re in the zone. However, I also don’t find it to be a deal-breaker. It’s just something you have to get used to, especially if you’re used to just pressing a button on an exercise machine to change the difficulty level.

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: performance

Sometimes, the issue with cheaper stationary bikes is that they don’t offer enough resistance levels to challenge you when you start to plateau on your current settings. You need not worry about that with the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211. With eight different resistance levels, each one more difficult than the last, it’ll last you a few good years. And, that’s depending on how hard and how often you use it.

Even if your goal is to just use it to just keep your legs limber and the blood flowing, it will still get you sweating at the lower settings. 

On the other hand, if your goal IS to lose weight, or train for a marathon/backpacking trip in the wilderness, you’ll be pleased to know that its most difficult levels are indeed challenging, especially the highest ones. 

You won’t have to worry about accidents either. The seat tube does start to wobble just a little when set at its highest point. But if you are six feet tall or more, you’re likely to be heavier, and your weight should help stabilize it. 

The absence of a handlebar doesn’t stop it from being a secure machine either. Its gravity-sensing casters do an excellent job of keeping the bike itself in place. Meanwhile, its contoured seat takes care of you, keeping you in place on that bike no matter how hard you pedal. 

The lack of a handlebar or a laptop desk is, due to the fact that this exercise bike is designed to fit nicely with a standing desk – more specifically, FlexiSpot’s own standing desks. Still, because it is so stable, you don’t have to only use it at your desk where you have something in front of you to lean on for support. You might not be able to use it on just about any desk, as your legs will need that clearance for you to pedal properly. However, you can use it in your living room while watching TV or on the balcony while you enjoy a good book comfortably. That also makes it pretty versatile.

Another thing that adds to its versatility is its quiet operation. FlexiSpot’s claim that it’s whisper-quiet isn’t exactly accurate. If someone’s in the room with you while you’re using the bike, they will hear it, but not enough to bother them if they’re working or watching TV. This means that you can pedal away during a video or conference call with colleagues without worrying about disrupting the meeting.

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: verdict

Is the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 a good addition to your work-from-home setup or hectic life hacks? Absolutely. This fitness chair lets you stay active and productive at the same time, saving you from a sedentary life and saving you a whole lot of time to tick other things off your laundry list.

It isn’t the most feature-rich option on the market, but where the essentials are concerned, it’s a honed exercise machine that gets the job down. It’s well-built, stable, highly adjustable, comfortable, and versatile. And, while there are cheaper options out there, there aren’t many that can rival it when it comes to value.

FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 2-in-1 fitness chair review: also consider

The FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211 is better suited for desktop computer setups where you have an all-in-one PC or a desktop tower and a separate monitor. If you’re more of a laptop user and want the flexibility of working (out) anywhere in your house, the FlexiSpot V9 might be more your speed. It comes with its own small desk where you can set your laptop alongside other smaller work essentials like a cup of coffee. This will set you back $449 in the US and £399 in the UK (with the desktop attachment).

If you want something more compact and less visible, the DeskCycle Under Desk Bike is cheaper at $199 / £179. It’s ideal for folks who don’t have standing desks and it boasts eight resistance levels like the FlexiSpot Sit2Go FC211.