Yesterday, a fitness equipment maker called Echelon Fitness announced its latest product, the so-called Prime Bike. At $500, it’s nearly a clone of Peloton’s $1,900 product. The company said it had developed the bike “in collaboration with Amazon”. Amazon is now saying that’s not true and has removed the product from its site and issued statements distancing itself from Echelon. The press release announcing the product is now removed from most listings, too.
“This bike is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime,” Amazon said in a released statement. “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.”
This comes the day after Echelon Fitness announced the product, touting the partnership that resulted in “[Amazon’s] first-ever connected fitness product”. The $500 bike certainly looked the part as a Peloton knock-off. Despite weighing 45 lbs less than Peloton’s original, Echelon’s Prime Bike had the same color scheme, design, and features minus a large video monitor.
At this time, the bike is unavailable from Amazon. If the retailer’s statement above is any indication, the product will eventually be re-listed and available for sale under different branding. Or buyers can look to Walmart where it’s available under a different name for the same price.
