YMMV Inspire Fitness IC1.5 Indoor Cycle spin bike @ Costco B&M $420

Can anyone that has used this and a peloton compare the difference? Is it worth the additional 1500 to get a peloton or is it all hype?

Quote from jon2249 : Can anyone that has used this and a peloton compare the difference? Is it worth the additional 1500 to get a peloton or is it all hype?

Significant difference. This bike features manual resistance. The Peloton is a much more advanced bike. But Peloton really needs that $40/month so I guess it depends on what you are looking for. Personally I have looked at this bike and not been that interested in a manual resistance bike. I also do not know what tech they are using the "track your workout". I doubt this thing has a power meter, so they are probably tracking time/speed, and maybe doing some sort of watt calculation based on resistance level and flywheel speed.

Hey All,


The one bike that is indeed Belt drive and not magnetic that has rave reviews is this one:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=pd_gw_unk

Having said all of that, I was at costco yesterday and saw this in person. Build quality seems to be solid but I dont trust costco reviews that much but it is a little turn off so far that its a 3.2 rating (of only 53 thus far).

Saw that this is selling in several places online for $899

Right now i'm debating between the Belt driven Sunny Bike ($400) and this Inspire Bike (magnetic).

Anyone have any further info on the Inspire Bike?

I would appreciate it.

Quote from ebernedo86 : Hey All, The one bike that is indeed Belt drive and not magnetic that has rave reviews is this one: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product...=pd_gw_unk Having said all of that, I was at costco yesterday and saw this in person. Build quality seems to be solid but I dont trust costco reviews that much but it is a little turn off so far that its a 3.2 rating (of only 53 thus far). Saw that this is selling in several places online for $899 Right now i'm debating between the Belt driven Sunny Bike ($400) and this Inspire Bike (magnetic). Anyone have any further info on the Inspire Bike? I would appreciate it.

I would strongly consider the Echelon Sport from Walmart. I have one and have been thoroughly impressed for $499. It seems to be the most popular alternative to ponying up for a real Peloton - check out the Facebook group 'Pechelon'.

Quote from Aarp272 : I would strongly consider the Echelon Sport from Walmart. I have one and have been thoroughly impressed for $499. It seems to be the most popular alternative to ponying up for a real Peloton - check out the Facebook group 'Pechelon'.

Echelon Sport from Walmart is basically the same with Echelon EX-15 (or Prime bike) from Amazon, correct? There are few differences that I noticed on the website; the handlebar and the base-bar (rear-foot) are different.

Quote from Aarp272 : I would strongly consider the Echelon Sport from Walmart. I have one and have been thoroughly impressed for $499. It seems to be the most popular alternative to ponying up for a real Peloton - check out the Facebook group 'Pechelon'.

Great news and funny how it all worked out and this happened before I read your reply.

I kept digging and saw that for $500 Echelon Connect Sport from Walmart is excellent for $500 but in my head $400ish was my budget limit.

Saw there was a SD on the echelon clearance at walmart but it was 2+ weeks ago so I was a little let down that it appeared the deal was done. Just in case I checked the brickseek link and one walmart said it had "limited inventory." I called them up and said hey by any chance do you have it? they mentioned they did and set it aside for me. Looks like it was the last one in town (at least via brickseek). It ended up being their last one and it was on sale for $300 so now I'm super stoked for this and the GF will love it. I've been reading that tons of people like getting this bike and pairing it with the Peloton app.
Of course then I saw your reply and looks like it was meant to be.
Cheers.

Quote from ebernedo86 : Great news and funny how it all worked out and this happened before I read your reply. I kept digging and saw that for $500 Echelon Connect Sport from Walmart is excellent for $500 but in my head $400ish was my budget limit. Saw there was a SD on the echelon clearance at walmart but it was 2+ weeks ago so I was a little let down that it appeared the deal was done. Just in case I checked the brickseek link and one walmart said it had "limited inventory." I called them up and said hey by any chance do you have it? they mentioned they did and set it aside for me. Looks like it was the last one in town (at least via brickseek). It ended up being their last one and it was on sale for $300 so now I'm super stoked for this and the GF will love it. I've been reading that tons of people like getting this bike and pairing it with the Peloton app. Of course then I saw your reply and looks like it was meant to be. Cheers.

Dude, you're so lucky .Just wondering, what city/state are you? I checked Los Angeles, CA area and they're all OOS

This seems to be inline with Echelon Sport. If you can find it in your local Costco then it's a great deal considering this is Costco with all the perks of Costco.

Quote from FantasticDirt : Dude, you're so lucky .Just wondering, what city/state are you? I checked Los Angeles, CA area and they're all OOS

I live in Tucson AZ.

I noticed Brickseek's range isn't quite that long so I would try some of the other cities in the LA area. If it says Limited Stock on one find, I'd recommend to call their sporting goods department and have them check if they actually have it. If they do,they can hold it for about an hour. Good luck man.

Quote from TiltJunkie : This seems to be inline with Echelon Sport. If you can find it in your local Costco then it's a great deal considering this is Costco with all the perks of Costco.

The only echelon I've seen is the $1000 model (sometimes it may go slightly lower) at Costco.

This is definitely an upgrade from the $500 connect sport after doing my research on reviews. For me, it was out of the budget I wanted to spend so I ended up with the connect sport.

Quote from ebernedo86 : The only echelon I've seen is the $1000 model (sometimes it may go slightly lower) at Costco. This is definitely an upgrade from the $500 connect sport after doing my research on reviews. For me, it was out of the budget I wanted to spend so I ended up with the connect sport.

Picked it up yesterday and did one ride. Initial thoughts compared to my old Sunny friction resistance one.

Pros:

very quiet and a little smoother
more adjustment which in turn makes it more comfortable
digital resistance, makes it easier to track your progress and follow directions from trainers
tablet mount built in

Cons:

Max resistance - compared to Sunny it is low but magnetic vs friction might be the reason for that. I don't have much experience with other bikes. All I know I've only been doing this couple months and my climb ride was done at max resistance already. Nowhere to go from here.
Sunny is built like a tank so while this one is nice and sturdy it is not on the same level
Seat got a bit wobbly toward the end. I'll try to make it tighter next time around and see.
I've noticed that flywheel on mine seems to be few degrees off, probably just a problem with mine.

Overall max resistance would be my only deal breaker here. I would like to know how the max resistance compares to other budget bike like Echelon. Seems like tailhappy on youtube will be reviewing it soon so looking forward to that.

Quote from TiltJunkie : Picked it up yesterday and did one ride. Initial thoughts compared to my old Sunny friction resistance one. Pros: very quiet and a little smoother more adjustment which in turn makes it more comfortable digital resistance, makes it easier to track your progress and follow directions from trainers tablet mount built in Cons: Max resistance - compared to Sunny it is low but magnetic vs friction might be the reason for that. I don't have much experience with other bikes. All I know I've only been doing this couple months and my climb ride was done at max resistance already. Nowhere to go from here. Sunny is built like a tank so while this one is nice and sturdy it is not on the same level Seat got a bit wobbly toward the end. I'll try to make it tighter next time around and see. I've noticed that flywheel on mine seems to be few degrees off, probably just a problem with mine. Overall max resistance would be my only deal breaker here. I would like to know how the max resistance compares to other budget bike like Echelon. Seems like tailhappy on youtube will be reviewing it soon so looking forward to that.

Hey dude...i've been watching lots of tailhappy videos actually. He seems like one of the few unbiased reviewers.
Here's what i've got looking at both the connect sport and the 4s (costco model):
In general, Echelon does not have the same resistance maxes as say Sunny would have.
Overall they rank like a 7/10, which isnt bad where typically sunny ranks at 9/10 or higher in that category.

So i guess it depends on how hard you plan on pushing it.

What happened with me:
I was about to get the Sunny 1002 friction bike. It used to be like $330 months back, then it hiked up to $400. I was about to pull the trigger and said hey I'd rather spend $400 than $500 on the echelon, but I found the last one in town at walmart and it was only $300 so it was a no brainer for me completely.

Echelon overall, after setting up the gf's bike last night, seems like its pretty well built.

From everything I've read about Sunny: they are indeed tanks completely. They dont have the name recognition of Peloton or Echelon, but pretty much everything I've read on them is SUPER positive.

So far the girlfriend is loving the Echelon. Keep in mind shes gonna use it casually 3-4 times a week and nothing too extreme so I think the Connect Sport $500 model is perfect for her especially after getting a deal.

and the more I keep reading, lots of people buy Echelon or Sunny of course and get the Peloton app and they are happy as can be.

Quote from ebernedo86 : Hey dude...i've been watching lots of tailhappy videos actually. He seems like one of the few unbiased reviewers. Here's what i've got looking at both the connect sport and the 4s (costco model): In general, Echelon does not have the same resistance maxes as say Sunny would have. Overall they rank like a 7/10, which isnt bad where typically sunny ranks at 9/10 or higher in that category. So i guess it depends on how hard you plan on pushing it. What happened with me: I was about to get the Sunny 1002 friction bike. It used to be like $330 months back, then it hiked up to $400. I was about to pull the trigger and said hey I'd rather spend $400 than $500 on the echelon, but I found the last one in town at walmart and it was only $300 so it was a no brainer for me completely. Echelon overall, after setting up the gf's bike last night, seems like its pretty well built. From everything I've read about Sunny: they are indeed tanks completely. They dont have the name recognition of Peloton or Echelon, but pretty much everything I've read on them is SUPER positive. So far the girlfriend is loving the Echelon. Keep in mind shes gonna use it casually 3-4 times a week and nothing too extreme so I think the Connect Sport $500 model is perfect for her especially after getting a deal. and the more I keep reading, lots of people buy Echelon or Sunny of course and get the Peloton app and they are happy as can be.

Inspire Fitness seems to be just another brand trying to cash in on Peloton success and to replicate their model. Similar to Echelon. I think either one is a great alternative especially when used with Peloton subscription.

I've been enjoying Sunny for the last two months but decided it is time to move to digital resistance to better track progress. This is the reason I am in the market for a new bike.

I'll wait for tailhappy comparison of max resistance before I make my decision. Might need to move up to EX4 or something similar in order to future proof this.

There is similar design of this bike on Indiegogo for $300 (launch day special) called OVICX WEKEEP. They also available at Amazon for $400, but i think it doesn't have Bluetooth (OVICX Q200). I'm not sure about this design. Few people mentioned that the saddle & handlebar are a bit wobbles.

I finally bought/contributed one for $299, before it goes up to $399:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/ovicx-wekeep-most-affordable-smart-fitness-bike/ [kckb.st]