Kathleen already gave you some good information. I don't know why the salesman told you spinning bikes don't have resistance, because they do, albeit in a different way from a regular stationary bikes.
Spin bikes are more like your first bike you had when you were a kid - you can't pedal backwards, and the pedals would continue to turn even if you removed your feet from the pedals, because they're mechanically attached to the bike flywheel.
In a practical sense, spin bikes feel more like real bikes, both ergnomically and in the resistance they provide, and they have more adjustment options (at least the ones I've sat on). You can adjust the resistance much more quickly, which makes them easier for interval workouts. On my regular stationary bike, it takes a few moments to increase or decrease intensity, which makes short intervals like Tabatas nearly impossible - though it's fine for longer intervals. It is quite hard, on a regular bike, to get the resistance right for hovering or standing on the pedals as Kathleen described.
If you don't need to do any of those things, regular stationary bikes are just fine. They're nice for steady state cardio. But if you intend to do spinning workouts and intervals and include workouts where you have to stand and climb....well, I wish I had a spin bike instead!
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Sophie
be as relaxed as you can be, as you do what you gotta do.
~erich schiffman
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