The Echelon EX-5s-22 stationary bike presents itself as a strong contender in the crowded home fitness market. With its focus on immersive workouts and a compact design, it aims to bring the studio cycling experience into your living room. Let’s dive into a detailed review to see if this Echelon bike lives up to the hype and if it’s the right choice for your fitness journey.
Dimensions and Storability of the Echelon Bike
Space is often a premium in home gyms, and the Echelon EX-5s-22 is designed with this in mind. It measures 58 inches in length and 20 inches in width, making it slightly more compact than many comparable exercise bikes. While this Echelon bike doesn’t fold for storage, it is equipped with transport wheels at the base. This thoughtful feature allows you to easily roll the bike away and store it when it’s not in use, maximizing your space. Weighing in at a manageable 124 pounds, this Echelon bike is also lighter than many competitors, which is particularly helpful if you anticipate moving it frequently around your home.
Echelon EX-5s-22 Man Riding
Important Safety Tip: If you utilize the weight cages on the back of the bike, always remember to remove any weights before tilting it for movement. This simple step prevents accidental drops and potential toe injuries. The Echelon EX-5s-22 is designed to accommodate a wide range of riders, making it a versatile option for most households.
Immersive Workouts and App Integration with Echelon Bike
The Echelon fitness ecosystem revolves around its Premier Membership, designed to provide a comprehensive and engaging workout experience. This subscription unlocks a wealth of content and features that elevate your Echelon bike workouts.
Echelon Premier Membership: Your Gateway to Fitness
The Echelon Fit app, priced at $39 per month, mirrors the pricing of popular competitors like the Peloton app. This membership is the heart of the Echelon bike experience, offering a rich library of live and on-demand classes. Beyond studio cycling sessions, the app expands your fitness horizons with outdoor routes, a competitive leaderboard, and a diverse selection of off-bike workout classes, providing a holistic fitness solution.
Echelon EX-5s-22 studio class
In our testing, the Echelon Fit app presented a user experience remarkably similar to the Peloton app. Instructors provide personalized shout-outs during live classes, fostering a sense of community. The leaderboard adds a layer of friendly competition, and the on-screen metrics are displayed in a familiar and easily digestible format.
While Echelon’s instructors might not yet be household names like some Peloton personalities, they are consistently engaging and motivating. The music selection is energetic and varied, even featuring popular artists like Pitbull, keeping your workouts fun and high-energy. With diverse challenges and an extensive class library, the Echelon app provides ample content to keep your workouts fresh and exciting.
A standout feature of the Echelon experience is the inclusion of outdoor ride videos. These are unique drone footage recordings from scenic locations worldwide, offering a visually stimulating backdrop to your workout. While these rides are not instructor-led, they provide a refreshing change of pace and a chance to virtually explore the world while you cycle. This feature adds a unique dimension to the Echelon bike experience that sets it apart from some competitors.
Onboard Workout Limitations of the Echelon Bike
It’s important to note that the Echelon EX-5s-22 itself has very limited pre-programmed workouts. Almost all of the bike’s functionality is accessed and controlled through the Echelon Fit app. If you are not interested in committing to the Echelon subscription service, this bike might not be the ideal choice. For users seeking standalone functionality without a subscription, exploring alternative exercise bikes with built-in workout programs would be advisable.
Console and Display of the Echelon Bike
The Echelon EX-5s-22 boasts a screen designed to rival premium bikes from Peloton and NordicTrack in size and clarity. Unlike lower-tier Echelon models that rely on tablet holders, the EX-5s and EX-7s models integrate a built-in screen directly into the console.
Echelon EX-5s-22 content menu
The screen delivers crisp graphics, and the class library is well-organized, making it easy to navigate and find your desired workouts. The screen offers vertical tilt adjustment to minimize glare and optimize viewing angles. However, it does not rotate horizontally. A key design feature is the screen’s attachment to the handlebars. This means that when you adjust the handlebar height, the screen also moves vertically, maintaining a consistent viewing position. While this is generally convenient, it might occasionally require minor handlebar adjustments to achieve the perfect screen placement. While vertical screen adjustment is available, forward and backward adjustments are not, which is typical for bikes with integrated touchscreens.
Echelon EX-5s-22 screen tilt
Despite the lack of forward/aft screen adjustment, the Echelon bike compensates with excellent handlebar adjustability. The handlebars can be adjusted both horizontally and vertically, allowing riders to fine-tune their riding posture for maximum comfort and efficiency.
Echelon EX-5s-22 Adjustments
The screen resolution is satisfactory and provides clear visuals. While it may not match the absolute top-tier screen quality found on Peloton bikes, it is highly responsive and easy to use. The touchscreen interface minimizes physical buttons, contributing to a clean and streamlined design. Functionality is well-implemented, with essential workout metrics like magnetic resistance level, calorie burn, and RPMs clearly displayed on screen.
For on-bike storage, the Echelon bike includes a water bottle holder for hydration and weight cages behind the saddle for two 3-lb weights. Notably absent are a tablet holder or phone mount, intentionally encouraging users to engage fully with the Echelon subscription content. The integrated content experience is clearly a central selling point of this Echelon bike.
Build Quality and Components of the Echelon Bike
Overall, the Echelon EX-5s-22 impresses with its solid build quality and well-considered features. This Echelon bike is constructed to be durable, supporting riders up to a weight limit of 300 lbs.
Frame Construction
The frame of the Echelon bike is built from powder-coated steel, providing a robust and stable foundation. It offers four points of adjustment, allowing for a customized fit. During workouts, the bike feels exceptionally sturdy, exhibiting no unwanted wobble or rocking, even during high-intensity out-of-the-saddle riding. The rear flywheel design is a distinctive feature, differing from more conventional exercise bike layouts. The seat post and handlebar post are angled slightly outwards, which subtly increases the reach between the handlebars and seat as you raise the height.
The frame’s adjustability is designed to accommodate a wide range of body types. However, riders significantly taller than 6 feet might want to test ride the bike to ensure sufficient leg extension range for comfortable and effective workouts.
Flywheel and Resistance
The Echelon EX-5s-22 features a 29-lb, rear-mounted flywheel. Positioning the flywheel at the rear shifts the weight distribution, potentially enhancing stability during workouts. The flywheel operates smoothly and quietly, delivering a fluid pedaling motion without any noticeable drag from brake resistance.
Echelon EX-5s-22 Flywheel
The rear flywheel placement also offers a practical advantage: it’s positioned away from the primary “sweat zone,” reducing the risk of corrosion and damage from perspiration over time, potentially extending the lifespan of the flywheel components.
Resistance System
This Echelon bike provides 32 levels of magnetic resistance, adjustable via a manual tension knob located on the down tube, conveniently positioned just below the handlebars and in front of the saddle.
Echelon EX-5s-22 adjustment knob
The tactile feel of the knob offers a satisfyingly direct control over resistance. While a knob might not offer the pinpoint precision of digitally preset resistance levels, it provides intuitive and responsive adjustments. The knob’s sensitivity is well-calibrated; a substantial turn is required to produce a noticeable change in resistance (approximately two levels per large turn in our testing). This deliberate design prevents accidental resistance changes but does necessitate more rotation to achieve larger resistance jumps when desired.
Handlebars
The handlebars on the Echelon EX-5s-22 are thoughtfully designed for comfort and performance. They feature a sweat-resistant coating to enhance grip and durability. Multiple hand positions are available, including an aerodynamic loop in the center for riders who prefer a more aggressive riding posture. The handlebar design incorporates an upward angle and a widened area at the base of the horizontal bar, providing comfortable forearm support when riding in an aero position. Importantly, the handlebars are designed not to obstruct the screen, ensuring an unobstructed view of workout content.
Echelon EX-5s-22 handles
Saddle Comfort and Adjustability
Comfort is paramount during cycling workouts, and the Echelon EX-5s-22 saddle is surprisingly comfortable for an exercise bike. Exercise bike saddles are often criticized for being too firm and narrow, but the Echelon saddle offers a welcome level of contouring and padding.
Echelon EX-5s-22 Seat
Saddle adjustability is also well addressed. You can easily adjust the saddle height via the seat post and fine-tune the fore/aft position on the carriage post, allowing you to dial in your ideal riding position.
Warranty Considerations for the Echelon Bike
The Echelon EX-5s-22 comes with a 1-year warranty. It’s worth noting that this warranty coverage is less extensive than that offered by some other brands in the market. Prospective buyers should consider this warranty duration when comparing different exercise bike options.
Final Verdict: Should You Buy the Echelon EX-5s-22 Bike?
The Echelon EX-5s-22 is a strong and competitive spin bike that holds its own in the crowded home fitness market. It effectively competes with other high-end brands, offering a similar suite of features and workout content at a potentially more accessible price point. The inclusion of four adjustment points is a notable advantage, uncommon in many home exercise bikes, allowing for a highly customized fit.
If you are seeking an engaging, quiet, and effective spin bike experience for your home workouts, the Echelon EX-5s-22 is definitely worth considering. Its affordability compared to some competitors makes it an attractive option for budget-conscious buyers looking for premium features and a comprehensive connected fitness experience.
Echelon EX-5s-22 Exercise Bike: Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use the Echelon EX-5s-22 without an Echelon Subscription?
Yes, you can use the Echelon bike without a subscription, but functionality is significantly limited. You will need to create a free Echelon account to access a set of basic, pre-programmed workouts with preset durations. However, to unlock the full potential of the Echelon EX-5s-22, including live and on-demand classes and the complete workout library, an Echelon Premier Membership is highly recommended. If you prefer not to use subscription-based training content, you might consider exploring exercise bikes that offer a wider range of onboard workouts independent of a subscription.
How does Echelon compare to Peloton?
Echelon shares many features with Peloton, including a similar subscription model and focus on studio-style cycling classes. However, while Echelon offers a compelling fitness experience, some reviews suggest that Peloton might hold a slight edge in terms of instructor celebrity status and the overall perceived quality of their bikes. Echelon positions itself as a strong value proposition, offering a similar connected fitness experience at a potentially more budget-friendly price point, even though the subscription costs are comparable.
Is this Echelon EX-5s-22 review unbiased?
This review is intended to be unbiased and based on our assessment of the Echelon EX-5s-22 bike. While the bike was provided by Echelon for testing purposes, this review was independently created to share our honest experience and findings. Websites like ours often collaborate with brands to provide in-depth reviews to help consumers make informed decisions. Affiliate links are used, which is a common practice that allows us to monetize our content and continue providing reviews like this.
