If you’re looking for a much more affordable alternative to the Peleton bike, check out this Amazon find!
After six months with the UREVO Indoor Cycling Bike, I’m finally getting around to reviewing it!
During the height of the pandemic last year, I was *this close* to buying a Peleton bike. Spinning is one of my favorite types of cardio workouts and with gyms closed, the idea of taking a spin class from the comfort of my own home seemed like a great idea. But I just couldn’t justify the $2,000+ price tag (plus tax and shipping, equipment and the $40 per month premium membership which is required if you have their bike). So I settled for their digital membership for $13 per month, which includes strength training and yoga classes, and took to occasionally running around my neighborhood for cardio.
It wasn’t until I became pregnant that I had a renewed interest in getting a stationary bike. I had a very lethargic first trimester, so I was determined to get back to being active. I still didn’t want to spend a ton of money, so I started looking for some Peleton bike alternatives. Let me tell you, there are a ton of stationary bikes on Amazon and it can be a bit overwhelming combing through reviews (some companies will offer customers a gift card in exchange for a 5-star review, so you have to be really careful).
I decided to purchase the UREVO Indoor Cycling Bike for a couple of reasons:
- The dimensions and weight are ideal for our apartment. As you know, space is a hot commodity when it comes to NYC living. The only space we had for a bike is in the corner of our bedroom, so compact is key! We also live in a building without an elevator, so we needed the bike to be a weight that we could easily carry up a few flights of stairs ourselves.
- It’s also one of the few white stationary bikes that I’ve seen on Amazon – if not the only one! I know that’s a pretty superficial reason, but I wanted workout equipment that would blend in versus making our bedroom look like a gym!
- Lastly, you can’t beat the $199 price point. At the time that I purchased mine, most affordable indoor bikes ranged anywhere from $250 to $450. Of course, it’s always a risk to buy the lowest priced option on Amazon, so it’s important to read as many reviews as possible so that you can make a fully informed decision.
One of the reasons why it took me so long to write this indoor bike review is because I wanted to ride it enough times to form a fully informed opinion. At the time of this post, I’ve had the bike for five months and have gone on nearly 50 rides (currently on a break since giving birth to my baby in May, but will be getting back in the saddle soon!). Here are my thoughts:
It’s easy to assemble and to move around. Granted, James did most of the assembling while I handed him the parts and tools. It took us about 30-45 minutes to put the bike together, and unlike Ikea furniture, the instructions were pretty easy to follow. Since the flywheel is also on the lighter side (about 22 pounds), it’s also easy to move around if we want to re-arrange the setup.
The quality doesn’t compare to the Peleton bike, but it gets the job done. If you go into this $200 purchase knowing that the quality of the product isn’t the same as a $2,000+ bike, then it really helps to level your expectations. I’ve taken many in-person classes at the Peleton studio in Chelsea, so I fortunately have a frame of reference. Riding on the UREVO bike isn’t as smooth and it doesn’t have a stunning 21” touchscreen tablet built into it, but the lack of a few luxuries doesn’t stop me from breaking a sweat and getting my heart rate up for a good workout.
A couple of gadgets can help enhance your workout. The UREVO bike has a little ledge for your tablet or mobile device – I love working out with our iPad, either taking a Peleton class or just streaming a TV show during a free ride. The $13 digital membership includes spin classes, so really the only thing you’re missing out on is the live metrics that track your speed, resistance and power output. James bought this cadence sensor that measures your RPM (revolutions per minute aka speed!) and you can actually sync it with the Peleton app so that you can see how fast you’re riding during class. While it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles, it really does help you to follow along in class. Because resistance on the UREVO bike is controlled by a manual knob and not tracked by any devices, you’ll have to gauge what feels heavy or light to you. I prefer not to get caught up in the numbers too much anyway!
I’ve encountered a few minor issues with quality, but think it’s still worth the money. As the saying goes: you get what you pay for. Since buying the UREVO indoor cycling bike, I’ve noticed two very minor quality issues. In the first few weeks, when cycling with heavy resistance, I started to notice a quiet clicking noise that felt like two parts of the bike rubbing up against each other. We couldn’t determine the exact cause, but after a while, the issue disappeared on its own – maybe it was user error when assembling the bike or something that just needed to be broken in. The other issue was that a cover that goes over a fastener (like a nut/washer type) kept popping off one of the pedals. Again, this might be an error on our part, but thankfully nothing falls apart when it comes off and it’s easy to put back on.
We originally bought this Amazon stationary bike not as an easy way to keep moving during the pandemic. With a baby on the way, we weren’t sure how long we would be able to keep it due to space constraints, which is why we didn’t want to invest a lot of money on an indoor bike. But after six months, I can confidently say that it’s worth every penny, a great deal that gets the job done, and that we will be keeping it for as long as we have room for it! I love having this bike as part of my workout routine and I’m so excited to be back in the saddle!
