Amazon taps Echelon for the Prime Bike, a $500 Peloton knock-off
Update: Amazon disavowed the Prime Bike, saying it has nothing to do with the product and removed it from the retailer's site. Read more here.
Amazon teamed up with Echelon to build and sell the Prime Bike. The $500 exercise bike is a virtual clone of the $1,900 Peloton bike minus the screen — even the color scheme and design are the same. The bike is available now from Amazon (and Walmart, with slightly different branding).
Echelon builds several fitness products, including a smart mirror that's eerily similar to Mirror. The Prime Bike is Echelon's third smart bike, with the other two featuring video screens and available for $999 and $1,199.
The Prime Bike has nearly every feature found on a Peloton bike, from multiple adjustments to front-mounted wheels for easy movement. Instead of toe clips, the Prime Bike uses straps to lock riders' feet to the pedals. However, the Prime Bike weighs 80 lbs instead of the Peloton's 135 lbs, which suggests it's not as well-built and lacks the solid feel of a Peloton.
A screen is the notable missing feature, but that's quickly resolved with a tablet. And because Peloton offers its classes through an app, Prime Bike buyers can even use Peloton's service or Echelon's service that's very similar to Peloton's offering.
"We were built on the idea of attainable fitness for everyone. The Prime Bike was developed in collaboration with Amazon, aiming to create an amazing, connected bike for less than $500, and it's proven to be a phenomenal match," said Lou Lentine, president, and CEO of Echelon Fitness . "Amazon looking to us to partner on their first-ever connected fitness product is recognition of our commitment to deliver quality at a reasonable price-point as reflected in our explosive growth over the last year."
There are countless spinning bikes available for less than what the Peloton costs, and many are available on Amazon. Few are as blatant of a knock-off as the Prime Bike, though. Amazon has a long, well-documented history of producing and selling products that draw heavy influence from popular products.
With this partnership with Echelon, Amazon is taking a big step toward Peloton, and Peloton's stock responded in kind, dropping nearly 5%, to $90 a share.
It's worth noting the same exercise bike is available at Walmart for $500, where it sells under Echelon's branding of the Connect Sport Bike.
