Categories: FitnessHealth

Rev Up Your Ride: The Affordable Amazon Alternative to a Peloton Bike

Have you been interested in getting a Peloton for a while, but a little put off by the cost and the current wait time (6-10 weeks)? I’m with you. And with gyms being limited right now, an at-home workout is in the cards for most people. But is there a cheaper bike that you can use with the Peloton app to be able to get a similar experience without spending so much money? I gottchu!

Between quarantine and gym shut downs, at home-workouts are what everyone is turning to. Therefore, Peloton has been a popular workout as of late. But with a price tag of about $1,850 + a monthly fee of $39/month membership required, it’s probably a little too pricey for some! Even if you finance the bike, it’s at least $88/month between the bike payment and the monthly membership, which for me was more than what I was paying for my kickboxing gym and my husband’s gym combined.

If you’ve been following me for a while, you might know that I LOVE kickboxing for a workout. But I finally decided that I needed to end my membership at my local kickboxing gym for a few reasons:

I’ve started a new job at the beginning of quarantine, and the hours for the gym were no longer working for me with my work schedule.
I was going through my credit card history and made the realization that my monthly membership for the gym had added up to almost $1,000 over a year’s time (OUCH)
With COVID rates still being really high in my area, we were required to wear masks while working out (which was HARD) and I started to fear potentially getting COVID from my gym or bringing it into the gym.

When I finally decided to quit, I made the decision to invest in something for a home gym so that I would have more flexibility with when I would workout and I wouldn’t be paying so much per month for a gym. I love cycling classes so I started to look into Peloton. One of my good friends bought a Peloton near the beginning of quarantine and she (as well as her husband) LOVE it, so I started to look into it. And I ALMOST did it. But when I realized that the Peloton app (if you DON’T have the Peloton bike) is only $12.99/month, I figured there had to be a good spin bike on Amazon that I could use to recreate the Peloton experience with (or at least come close to it).

I figured I would need 4 major elements to come close to DIYing a Peloton:

1. A bike with specs (belt type, flywheel weight, & resistance type) comparable to the Peloton

2. A way to measure and keep track of my cadence

3. Heart rate monitor

4. The Peloton App

And I think I think I’ve done it! I read a lot of articles on this topic that suggested bikes like the NordicTrack or the Schwinn bike, but the NordicTrack is almost as expensive as the Peloton, and the Schwinns can be a bit expensive as well. But I knew there had to be a good bike out there that was $400 or under!

I looked at A LOT of bikes on Amazon. Like a lot. And I tried my absolute best to find one that felt comparable to the Peloton as far as the specs (aka the resistance type, the weight of the wheel, and the type of drive). The Peloton is a belt drive, with a magnetic resistance, and a 38 lb flywheel. Now trying to find a bike that met all those 3 specs made most of the bikes more expensive. For example, I read some articles of people who purchased the Sunny Health bike. Well the chain version of the Sunny bike is $100 cheaper than the belt version! But the Sunny health bike has a felt pad that is the form of resistance against the flywheel. Which can be fine, but from what I researched, you normally have to replace the felt pad every 6 months. Some people in the reviews said that the felt pad started to fold and deteriorate after only 20 rides! A magnetic resistance will probably never have to be replaced because it won’t touch the flywheel (therefore there shouldn’t be a reason why it would need to be replaced like a felt pad resistance).

Eventually though, I found a bike that checked my boxes and didn’t cost an insane amount of money.

Let me put y’all on the JOROTO X2 Stationary Bike.

I bought mine in November for under $400. (I think the price fluctuates so keep an eye on it!)

Here’s the specs:

4 x 2 footprint (same as Peloton)
Belt drive (same as Peloton)
Magnetic resistance (same as Peloton)
35 lb flywheel (versus 38 lb flywheel on Peloton)

This bike might not be as aesthetically pleasing and high-tech as the Peloton, but it definitely comes close to meeting the basic spin bike specs as the Peloton! Another pro? 2-day Prime shipping versus waiting the current 6-10 weeks for a Peloton!

I am pretty good with putting things together, but I really don’t think this bike is super difficult to put together. Fair warning though, the parts are HEAVY and it did take me about an hour to put together. But the bike is very sturdily made and I have yet to have any issues with it other than some clicking when I would pedal (turns out it was my fault– I didn’t tighten the pedals tight enough when I initially assembled it) but once I tightened the pedals, it is now SO quiet! The magnetic resistance makes the bike quieter than if it was felt pad resistance which I love!

Resistance Levels on the JOROTO

One element missing from this bike that is hard to replicate is that on the Peloton, there are actual numbers for the resistance level, whereas on the JOROTO, there is a resistance knob that doesn’t have any correlative numbers. But after using this thing for over two months, I don’t feel like it’s a huge deal. A resistance of 25 on the Peloton feels like a flat road on a regular bike. Once you figure out what that feels like, I have found that about 1.5 full turns on the Joroto equal 10 in resistance on Peloton. (1.5 full turns = 10 in resistance; 3 full turns = 20 in resistance; 4.5 full turns = 30 in resistance; 6 full turns = 40 in resistance and so on). I know that might sound somewhat complicated, but once you’ve done a few classes and gotten a hang of the bike, it’s really easy to keep up with the classes and adjust accordingly.

Wahoo Cadence Monitor

The Wahoo Cadence Monitor is under $40 and is (in my opinion) 100% necessary if you are purchasing a bike to use with the Peloton app. Cadence (also known as the RPM) is a huge part of Peloton cycling classes along with the resistance. And because the Wahoo monitor is compatible with the Peloton app, it displays your cadence in the class:

I stuck my Wahoo cadence sensor on the pedal of my bike and installed the Wahoo app. I only ever had to connect it in the app once, and ever since, as soon as I start pedaling and it automatically connects to my phone through Bluetooth (you don’t have to turn it on or anything) and the Peloton app syncs to it and displays it on the screen (like shown above). But if you ever start a Peloton cycle class and it’s not auto connecting, just click this little button:

That will open up this where you can select your cadence monitor (and also your heart rate monitor if you are utilizing that):

In Peloton classes, the instructors will call out the resistance and cadence at the beginning of each song, and while you can probably get by just going off the beat of the son, sometimes there are “sprints” which may be above the beat of the music. I find it necessary to push myself and to make sure I’m on track with the class.

Apple Watch or other compatible heart rate monitor

I already had an Apple Watch (I’ve been rocking the same 1st generation watch for almost 5 years now!) so I didn’t have to buy anything for the heart rate element of this Peloton DIY. Is heart rate necessary for this? No. But I find it helpful. I wear my Apple Watch EVERY DAY and have used it to track my workouts for 5 years now because I find the calories burned super motivating and I find it helpful in day to day life in tracking my overall movement, heart rate recovery following a workout, etc. You can get a series 3 Apple Watch for under $170 nowadays, but if you want a cheaper option just for the purposes of using while doing a Peloton app workout, Wahoo also makes a heart rate monitor that also seamlessly syncs to the Peloton app and is under $80.

Heart rate shows in the same way cadence does in Peloton cycling classes which is helpful to try and get your heart rate into a specific goal!

Phone or iPad with Peloton App ($13.99 per month)

One of these is necessary in order to access the Peloton app and be able to see your cadence and heart rate on the screen in the app. I personally have an iPhone, so my only experience is with the Peloton iPhone app, but I do know that there is a Peloton app on the Android and Google app store! Isn’t it kind of crazy that it’s only $13.99 for the same classes if you don’t have a Peloton but it’s more expensive ($39/month) if you actually have their bike? Such a savings in the long-run!

I have been considering getting an iPad (for multiple reasons other than using it for cycling) and getting a stand to be able to use my iPad as my screen when I cycle. But for now, I use my iPhone and it’s just fine! A smaller screen, but you can also display it on your tv (more on that later).

The app is super easy to navigate (although I do wish there was a way to be able to search for classes!). It also syncs easily with the Wahoo cadence monitor and my apple watch heart rate in real time while I am taking a class. Plus you can add friends who have a Peloton (or are DIYing it like you) and take classes at the same time as them.

But obviously the biggest thing is the classes. I’ve loved almost every class I’ve done– and it’s not just cycling! I love Cody Rigsby and Kendall Toole for cycling instructors, but they have an instructor for everyone I think. The app also has great guided runs. I did a 45 minute turkey trot one for Thanksgiving this year and it is a great way to push your runs (or speed walks)! I’ve more recently been using their strength classes and when I did an arms and back workout the other day, I was the sorest I’ve been in a long time for THREE DAYS. Miserable, but it was a great workout!

Cost Breakdown for the Important Stuff:

JOROTO X2 Bike: $400

Wahoo Cadence Monitor: $40

Total: $440 + $13.99/month versus $1,850 + $39/month

Getting a Peloton isn’t out of the cards for us one day. Maybe if I stick with it and I start to care about “leaderboards” and “output” and see that as a motivating factor; but for the time being, this set up is working quite well for us and has for the past couple months. We enjoy the classes a lot and we are getting healthier in the process. And that’s what matters the most!

Extras that you might not need but that I use:

Tablet/Phone Holder

The JOROTO bike has a built-in stand that can hold your water bottle and your phone, but I am annoying and like to use the water bottle holder for my water and then watch the classes horizontal on my phone rather than vertical (stupid I know) so it doesn’t quite fit. So I use a stand. But if you’re using a tablet, it’s probably big enough that you don’t need a stand and it will fit in the built-in stand.

Bike Mat (under $30)

While not technically essential, I highly recommend getting a mat to go under you bike, whether its on carpet or on hardwood. We keep our bike in our upstairs bonus room which is carpeted; however, I still put a mat underneath it so that when I sweat, it won’t end up on the carpet. And if you have your bike on your hardwood floors without a mat, you could scratch them up! It will be worth the less than $30!

Seat Cover (under $12)

Personally, I found the seat to be SO uncomfortable and had to end up buying a seat cover. This one is under $12 and helped A LOT!

Weights

There’s some really great strength classes on Peloton and I’ve done a couple of cycling classes that utilize weights in the ride. You can easily avoid these if you want, but doing these are a great way to tone up! I have a 3 lb set of dumbbells and a 10lb set and it’s been perfect for me so far.

Chromecast (under $50) or Apple TV (under $150)

If you want to watch the classes on a bigger screen but don’t have an iPad, the Peloton app is compatible with Chromecast and AppleTV, and you can cast your classes onto your TV. It won’t show your heart rate or cadence on the TV screen which is a little annoying, but it will still have them on your phone in front of you, so it’s not like they are completely unavailable.

My mom got me a Chromecast for Christmas so that’s what we set up in our upstairs TV where my bike is. But if you have a newer TV (like our other TV in our house), you might have built in iPhone screen mirroring and therefore won’t need an Apple TV or Chromecast for this! If you need to connect a Chromecase/Apple TV in Peloton, just press this button:

And then just select either Chromecast or AirPlay (whichever you have):

Airpods or other headphones

When my husband is working and I need to be a little bit quieter, I just use my phone instead of the TV and use my headphones. Like I said, this is a good, quiet bike, so if you need to keep your workout quiet for sleeping kiddos or something, make sure you have some headphones so that it is extra quiet!

That’s it! It’s not a crazy set-up and thankfully they created the Peloton app to work with other devices, so it’s not hard to create your own Peloton experience without the actual Peloton bike!