Pre-covid, I was a four to five time a week studio junkie. My jam was soul cycle and pilates with a few yoga classes mixed in. However, once the world shut down, unfortunately so did my workout routine. I had a couple of apps for yoga and mat classes I could do in my living room, but without being locked into a class for an hour and having an instructor tell me what to do, I severely lacked motivation. One vibration from my phone, or ding from my laptop, and my brain would go back to the email I needed to answer, or the laundry that needed to go into the dryer. Working out from home can be difficult with all of the distractions. So this past December, after being locked down since March, and feeling beyond unhealthy and out of shape, I decided it was finally time to bite the bullet and buy my own spin bike. At least I could lock my feet into the pedals, right?

First, I asked all of my friends who owned spin bikes, which bike they had and why. Most of them had a Peloton, and a few had cheaper options from Amazon. I must say that Peloton was my first choice, but the more I researched the more I started leaning away from the Amazon models, and discovered the Bowflex or the Schwinn.

Peloton Retail Price: $1895 + $40 monthly membership

Bowflex Retail Price: $999 + monthly membership of your choice

Schwinn Retail Price: $899 + monthly membership of your choice

The more I looked at the Schwinn and Bowflex, I realized that they are literally the exact same bike, made by the same company, except the Bowflex is prettier in my opinion. It’s virtually all black and the Schwinn is a mix of black, red and grey. Both bikes work with all of the major spin apps (Peloton included), and have media holders for any device that streams classes.

I also researched more affordable versions on Amazon that retailed closer to $300-$500, because that’s what I would have loved to spend, but they all seemed to lack a few key components I needed. You couldn’t adjust the handlebars forward and backward, there wasn’t a device holder, or a holder for hand weights and water.

The Schwinn and Bowflex quickly became the front runners.

PRO’s: Fully Adjustable, Made by a well-known and trusted manufacturer, Device Holder, Water Holder, Hand-weights with holder, LCD Screen for Stats that syncs with the app of your choice, Clip in pedals & shoe cages, and Heart Monitor. Plus, with the device holder, I can stream whichever spin app I want, or just have a mellow ride and catch up on some Housewives:)

CON’s: I honestly couldn’t find any.

Peloton was quickly starting to look less appealing. The cost was twice as much, plus you end up paying a required $45 a month for the app, when it’s only $12 for the app by itself. It’s great that it comes with the giant screen, but it only plays the Peloton app, so no other Spin apps, and sorry folks, no Bravo:(

So long story short, I ended up going with the Schwinn at $899 and getting the Peloton app (which I can stream on my apple tv or my iPad) at just $12.99/month. And in my opinion, just as good of a bike, with better options, and a better price.

Pre-covid, going to my Soul Cycle class would end up taking two hours out of my day, 30 min to drive to the studio, 45 min for a class, and 30 min drive home. Now, I can hop on my bike, do a quick 30-45 min class, and I’m done! And don’t worry, it won’t permanently be chilling in my living room, but until I finish my garage project, that’s where it might be.

So, if you’re looking to take your home workout to the next level and love spin, I 100% recommend the Schwinn! This isn’t a sponsored post or anything, I just REALLY love this bike and wanted to share:) I wish I would have bought it a year ago!!

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