Can SoulCycle’s New At-Home Bike Compete With Peloton?
SoulCycle, the indoor cycling studio chain, is now selling an own at-home stationary bike, along with a subscription for streamable classes.
The new bike appears to be similar to the one offered by Peloton and will cost $2,500, with streaming services for $40 a month with the new Variis app. For now, it will only be available to buy in select cities.
The stationary bike market just got a little bigger. SoulCycle—the indoor cycling studio chain and fitness community—is launching its own at-home stationary bike, complete with a high-res display screen and streamable, on-demand classes. The new bike will likely compete with the one offered by Peloton, which has largely dominated the stationary bike market.
SoulCycle will bring its at-home bike to market in phases. The option to pre-order starts on March 13, and right now, it’s available to purchase in New York City, Los Angeles, Chicago, Austin, Dallas, and Houston. If you’re not in those cities, don’t fret! You can sign up to receive updates on when the bike is available near you.
The company is partnering with Equinox, a luxury fitness company and lifestyle brand, to roll out Variis, the streaming platform for the classes. SoulCycle’s at-home bike customers will have early access to the Variis app, on which customers can also stream content from Equinox, Pure Yoga, Precision Run, Myodetox, and HeadStrong.
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There will also be a function in the app called SoulBeat, which shows a post-ride analysis of the rider’s ability to “connect to the music during class” as well as their distance and power measurements.
The SoulCycle at-home bike will cost $2,500, plus tax, which includes shipping and handling and five SoulCycle classes. But if you want unlimited on-demand classes, you’ll need to sign up for the Variis app, which costs $40 a months and requires a 12-month commitment (so, $480 for a year).
Peloton is obviously the biggest competition for this SoulCycle bike. By comparison, Peloton’s at-home bike starts at $2,245 for the “basics package,” with the on-demand class subscription costing $39 a month. At the slightly more comparable price of $2,494 for the “works package,” you can get the Peloton bike plus a pair of shoes, a pair of weights, a pair of headphones, a heart rate monitor, and a bike mat.
Peloton recently won a lawsuit against different competitor, Flywheel, which offered a similar at-home stationary bike with streamable classes. Flywheel lost the patent infringement suit over imitating certain elements of its bike and streaming platform.
Both companies offer quality classes, motivational instructors, supportive communities, and more (like trendy, on-brand apparel). Only time will tell how the SoulCycle at-home bike fares in the face of an already well-established and popular product like the Peloton bike.
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