Exercise bikes, TV's and hula hoops

[puzzle_me]

My plans for staying fit over the winter are starting to come together. Today I went and picked up an exercise bike from a Craigslist ad. It is an older model - a Lifestyler, probably vintage late 80's or early 90's. But, it was practically free, and doesn't take up much space. If I use it a lot, I can upgrade to something nicer without worrying about getting anything for this one. With help from loyehudhara, I got it into my basement. The next step is to put a TV down there.

So I'm looking for TV suggestions and information. My basement is unfinished, and while it has never flooded while I've been in the house, I can't discount the possibility of that happening. So, I don't want to spend upwards of $1000 for a really nice TV, because I'd like to get something that I won't be too upset if it gets damaged or destroyed by water. (I am planning to put it on a TV stand off the ground and away from the wall, but with a basement you just never know - I could also get a leak in a pipe above or something like that). Anyhow, I'd like to get something for under $200 that I can connect a DVD player and a Netflix Roku box to. I don't care about surround sound, or having absolutely perfect picture quality. I just want something that can provide me with entertainment while I'm working out. I've had one offer of an older, non-flat screen, 36 inch TV. I might take it, but is there anything I need to be sure the TV has to hook up the DVD player and Roku box? Is there anyone else on here that has a TV they're interested in getting rid of or selling? And if I do go out and get a flat screen TV, does anyone have any good guides for what to look for? Also, does anyone have a TV stand they're interested in unloading?

Finally, I'm planning to get a folding exercise mat, to do hula hooping and other floor exercises on. When I mentioned hula hooping a few weeks ago, a couple of people said they were also interested in hula hooping. There are directions online for making your own hula hoop, and I was thinking about having a hula hoop making/craft day party. Other than the two people who spoke up before, is there anyone else who would be interested in making a hula hoop? I would ask you to chip in some $$ for supplies, but it would be no more than $10 (less with more people).

Comments

[auranja.livejournal.com]

(If you like yoga, by the way, I've found http://www.yogaglo.com is a good way to maintain my home practice. I get distracted and space out without a teacher, and this is like being in a class, so it helps.)

[springbok1.livejournal.com]

Ooh - thanks for the recommendation! I will look into that once I have a setup going.

[abernat.livejournal.com]

In brief: Bill just bought a 42" LCD for ~600, so you should be able to get a 30" for pretty cheap. The other option is to pick up a 17" computer monitor.

Longer: I'd avoid a 36" CRT. They're going to be huge and heavy. Free means a lot, but still... huge and heavy. Though if you want, as long as it has composite inputs (RCA jacks, yellow/white/red) it'll work with anything up to the new AppleTV.

If the bike is close to a wall I'd seriously consider a used 17-20" computer monitor (~$50 on Craigslist) with a wall mount (via mail order). You can get an articulating mount that lets you swing the monitor out, which is what I do on the treadmill. I'm right against a wall though.

If you're in the middle of the room I'd go with a 30" LCD and get a wall mount for it. No worries about leaking water that way, and you save the floor space of a cabinet.

[springbok1.livejournal.com]

Hmm. This is a picture that was taken of my basement for the real estate listing when I bought it - it looks basically the same, with a few shelves and a bit of extra junk.



So basically, it's just this huge unfinished space that I'm not really using at the moment. The bike could go anywhere. I'd be reluctant to mount a monitor to the wall, but not to a stud in the ceiling, so that's a possibility I'll look into.

[eqe.livejournal.com]

tee hee, I'm glad to see that the mackin' bike icon got its due.

Any of the $200 flatscreens at Best Buy will do just fine, just go get whichever one seems to have the best picture. (Maybe take 5 minutes to look at the remote control and the menu system to make sure they won't drive you crazy.)

With a flatscreen you can mount it up high and avoid the water damage issue entirely -- you don't need one of the fancy mounting brackets, just two chunks of 1/2" plywood, some two-by-four, and four of the appropriate bolts. Then some drilling and screwing and you're golden. (The link has the info on which bolts to get, etc.)

[jodi.livejournal.com]

Let me know about hoop-making-- i'm interested.

[birdfigment.livejournal.com]

Me too! Although I know I spoke up in your original post.

[hedgiewan.livejournal.com]

I am also still in!

[riotdorrrk.livejournal.com]

Re: TV - if you want to keep yr costs down, I'd go for the $0 craigslist special and get an el-cheapo digital converter box for it (also possibly found on CL) if you want to watch OTA broadcasts. You *can make everything work via RF or coax, but RCA inputs are the sure thing. Make sure it has two or three sets of RCA inputs, or get a switchbox if it doesn't.

If that free 36"er happens to be a Sony Trinitron, those have great picture quality and are well worth having.