Amazon Takes On Peloton With Connected Fitness Prime Bike

[Update: Amazon has since denied any involvement with Echelon's fitness bike. Original story below.]

Amazon.com Inc. AMZN is launching a partnership with Echelon for a new low priced fitness bike.

What Happened: Echelon is launching the Amazon exclusive EX-Prime Smart Connect Bike, which will also be called the Prime Bike. This marks the first connected fitness products from Amazon.

The bike has “the perfect balance of sleek aesthetics, cutting-edge technology and reasonable pricing," according to the press release. 

“We were built on the idea of attainable fitness for everyone. The Prime Bike was developed in collaboration with Amazon, aiming to create an amazing, connected bike for less than $500 and it’s proven to be a phenomenal match,” said Echelon President and CEO Lou Lentine.

Why It’s Important: Peloton Interactive PTON has seen shares rise 234% year to date, as membership rises due to a stay-at-home shift amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Peloton has a series of connected bikes and treadmills and sells a monthly subscription product.

The $500 price point is significantly lower than Peloton’s Bike, which is now $1,895, after a price cut from $2,245.

The Prime Bike will come with a 30-day free trial membership to Echelon United, which provides live and on-demand classes and also includes scenic rides for users. The membership also includes live leaderboards and overall progress trackers.

More About Echelon: Echelon sells fitness bikes, rowers, and fitness mirrors. The company debuted a connected bike in 2017 and had a similar $500 connected bike partnership with Wal-Mart Inc. WMT. Echelon’s cheapest non-partnered bike is $839.98.

Echelon announced in August it had hired Dave Reiseman, the former Chief Marketing Officer from Gold’s Gym International, to lead marketing efforts. Kevin Custer, a former director of production at Peloton, was hired to lead premium content for Echelon.

What's Next: This adds to the growing competition for Peloton, which now includes Apple Inc AAPL and its Fitness+ product and KKR & Co KKR funded Zwift, who was just valued at over $1 billion.

Shares of Peloton are down 3% in pre-market trading to $91.95. Amazon shares are trading 2% higher to $3,013.25.