Echelon launches "Prime Bike," claiming a partnership with Amazon
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Sounds familiar... Echelon is a connected fitness spin bike company that looks (and sounds) a lot like Peloton — serious knockoff vibes. Also: it's the code name of a top-secret government surveillance program (unrelated — we think). Echelon claimed it teamed up with Amazon to launch a $499 "Prime Bike," peddling it as Amazon's 1st-ever connected fitness product. Unsurprisingly, that generated some buzz. Two things:
- Echelon is making the bike, but said it was “developed in collaboration with Amazon” and only available to Prime subscribers. Awk, because Echelon is selling a nearly identical $499 bike on Walmart. The only apparent difference: it says "Sport" on the side instead of "Prime."
- Peloton stock fell on the news. The bike costs $1.5K less than Peloton's flagship model. But it doesn't have a screen, so you have to stream classes from Echelon's app on a phone/tablet.
Because Peloton wasn't enough... Echelon tried to knock off Prime, too (bold move). Yesterday evening, Amazon immediately stopped selling the bike, saying it "is not an Amazon product or related to Amazon Prime.” Echelon deleted its press announcement real quick.
If you can stream it, you can do it... Streaming has democratized plenty, including workouts. Instead of spending $2K on a fancy-screen Peloton, you can spend $499 on Echelon and then ironically stream Peloton classes from your phone (Peloton app membership = $13/month). Price is why Echelon's (misleading) bike is already sold out. Peloton's sales tripled last quarter, but it's brand strength will be tested by these cheaper look-alikes.