I cycle outdoors a lot and enjoy that more than any other type of exercise. It's great for cardio and legs, but I consider it lacking for the whole body. I used to have quite a bit of weightlifting equipment(barbells, dumbells, etc) and have had a few exercise machines over the decades (recumbent exercise bike, rower, stepper.) I still have an elliptical but only because my wife uses it regularly. Of the indoor machines I've owned, I'd say the elliptical has been my favorite(my wife's favorite, too), but I don't use it much. For general fitness, I like bodyweight exercises and HIIT(high intensity interval training.) Here's a video of a routine that combines those:
No equipment needed for many routines of that type. There are quite a few more HIIT routines on that youtube channel. Exercising that way can be challenging to the newcomer to it, but it's a really time efficient way to become fitter. Some of the HIIT routines are very difficult, but they can always be cut down to better match with a person's current fitness level. This is about the only piece of equipment I use anymore: http://www.amazon.com/Iron-Gym-Express-Chin-Up-Bar/dp/B003VNAKEE/ref=sr_1_1/187-4488179-7688114?s=exercise-and-fitness&ie=UTF8&qid=1408094033&sr=1-1