Why You Can Trust CNET Amazon says Echelon's $499 Prime Bike isn't an Amazon product
The online retail giant denies working with home fitness company Echelon on the bike.
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Echelon's Prime Bike
Editors' note: This story has been updated since its original publication on Sept. 22 to reflect Amazon's denial of a partnership with Echelon.
Home fitness company Echelon on Tuesday launched a new exercise bike called the Prime Bike that it said was developed in collaboration with Amazon. However, Amazon is distancing itself from the bike, saying that it's "not an Amazon product."
"This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime," an Amazon spokesperson said in an emailed statement late Tuesday. "Echelon does not have a formal partnership with Amazon. We are working with Echelon to clarify this in its communications, stop the sale of the product, and change the product branding."
Echelon's original press release on Tuesday about the Prime Bike, which is officially called the EX-Prime Smart Connect Bike, has been removed. (You can see a cached version here.) All mention of an Amazon tie-in has been scrubbed from the product listing on Amazon's site. The bike is also now listed as "currently unavailable" on Amazon's site.
On Wednesday, Echelon declined to comment on its original release but said it's working to rebrand the bike.
"This product was built by Echelon to sell exclusively on Amazon," said a spokesperson for Echelon, adding that the company has been in communication with Amazon about the bike since its inception. "We are working to rebrand the product to get it back up for sale as soon as possible."
The branding change will have no impact on the bike itself or customers who already purchased the exercise machine, said the spokesperson for Echelon.
Amazon declined to comment beyond its earlier statement.
Though it's unclear when the Prime Bike may be available again or under what name, the $499 price on the bike may appeal to people longing for a Peloton but unable to stomach the cost given that Peloton's Bike currently costs $1,895 and its Bike Plus costs $2,495. Even most Peloton alternatives are still around $1,000 and up.
Echelon's Prime Bike doesn't offer the same level of features as you'd get with a Peloton but promises a 30-day free trial of Echelon's United Membership, which gives you access to live and on-demand fitness classes, plus training programs.
Like Peloton, with the Prime Bike you would need to pay more for a membership service to get access to video classes on demand and to make the most of your stationary bike experience. Unlike Peloton, the Prime Bike doesn't have an attached screen, so you'd need to provide that yourself with a phone or tablet.
Echelon previously created a similar bike at the same price for Walmart.
