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Are you looking to take your cycling activities indoors with the best exercise bike on the market? If so, then you will be glad to know that you have chosen the best time to make the move.
Today’s exercise bikes come with the latest tech designed to make your indoor workouts all the more rewarding and enjoyable. NordicTrack and Bowflex are two of the top names in the game. Both brands use virtual platforms to help you create the most personalized workouts that take you to the most iconic routes all around the world without you ever leaving the comfort of your home.
While the Bowflex VeloCore and NordicTrack studio cycles, are considered to be the best the industry has to offer, choosing between these them can be quite a challenge given their many similarities. However, each of these options is also quite different from the other.
To guide you to the right choice, read on below for a detailed comparison between the Bowflex VeloCore and NordicTrack’s top of the line exercise bikes.
Head-to-Head Feature Comparison: What Do The Bowflex VeloCore and NordicTrack Studio Cycles Have to Offer?
At the face of it, both brands seem to offer very similar indoor exercise bikes. For instance, both brands offer bikes that feature a welded steel frame, adjustable seat and post height, ultra quiet magnetic resistance flywheel, Bluetooth connectivity, tilting displays and a pair of dumb bells to ensure that users can get an upper body workout on top of cycling.
In addition to all of these features, both brands have also designed bikes that help you enjoy highly interactive training sessions – thanks to their huge tilting 22 inch HD touchscreen displays, and 14 inches for the NordicTrack S15i – that make each training session all the more exciting and entertaining.
At this point, you might be wondering whether there is any difference between the Bowflex VeloCore and the NordicTrack studio cycles. Well, there are many differences between them as you will find out below.
Bowflex VeloCore Main Distinguishing Features
- 100 Resistance Levels
The Bowflex VeloCore, with its smooth, quiet magnetic resistance mechanism offers users access to up to whopping 100 levels of resistance.
- JRNY Workout Platform
Just because you are working out from the comfort of your home, your training sessions don’t have to be boring thanks to the VeloCore’s built in JRNY workout platform. With the JRNY membership, you gain access to a virtual trainer, tens of training videos, a variety of virtual cycling routes across the world and adaptive workouts that increase in difficulty as your fitness levels improve. All this is displayed on the built-in tilting 22 inch HD touchscreen display.
- Leaning And Stationary Modes
Whether you are sprinting through a straight stretch or going through curves along a scenic route, the Bowflex VeloCore has you covered with its stationary and leaning modes. You can set the bike to remain in a stationary position or make it lean with your body for a truly engaging workout.
- Bluetooth Fitness Armband
Another feature that sets the VeloCore apart from the NordicTrack offering is the Bluetooth fitness armband that comes with the bike. This nifty addition helps you track your heart rate throughout each workout.
- Warranty
Lastly, Bowflex provides a one year warranty on labor and a 2 year warranty on parts for their exercise bike.
NordicTrack Studio Cycles (S15i and S22i) Main Distinguishing Features
- Two Different Models: s15i and s22i
NordicTrack differentiates itself from Bowflex by offering two different exercise bike models, the S15i and the S22i. Each model is designed to appeal to different types of buyers. The main difference between the two models comes in the size and functionality of the display units. The S15i comes with a 14 inch touchscreen display with built-in dedicated buttons; while the S22i comes with a 22 inch HD full-touchscreen display.
- Digital Resistance Levels
However, NordicTrack’s commercial studio cycles come with fewer resistance levels, as compared to their Bowflex counterpart, with 22 on the S15i and 24 on the S22i.
- Powergrade Incline and Decline Drive Technology
Both the S15i and S22i from NordicTrack feature digitally adjusted incline and decline drive technology to help vary the intensity of your interactive workouts, by mimicking real-life cycling conditions.
- iFit Enabled
For the most interactive and productive training sessions right in the comfort of your home, both NordicTrack exercise bikes are iFit enabled. This means that you can enjoy training under the expert eye of experienced trainers, virtual access to iconic cycling routes around the world and so much more. Each purchase includes free iFit membership for the first year.
- AutoBreeze Workout Fan
For the most comfortable training sessions, the S22i from NordicTrack also comes with an AutoBreeze workout fan.
- Warranty
In addition to the 2 year parts and 1 year labor warranties provided by Bowflex, NordicTrack also offers a 10 year frame warranty, to further demonstrate their belief in the quality of their product.
As you can clearly see from the above, the commercial studio cycles from Bowflex and NordicTrack are quite different from each other, even though they may have a few similarities.
Check current NordicTrack prices at Amazon.
Workout Head to Head: iFit vs Bowflex’s Workout Platform
The popularity of both the Bowflex VeloCore and NordicTrack’s commercial studio cycles is in part due to their ability to give users the opportunity to engage in the most immersive workout sessions. To provide you with the most interactive workouts, Bowflex and NordicTrack use two different platforms, built-in JRNY and iFit, respectively.
With Bowflex’s workout platform you get to add an unlimited number of users, access to trainer led workout videos on demand, virtual rides in more than 40 scenic destinations around the world, adaptive workouts and Bowflex radio music stations and various video streaming services. However, it is worth noting that you have to pay for your JRNY membership separately.
With NordicTrack’s iFit membership on the other hand, you are limited to 4 users per account. Other features of the iFit membership include access to on demand trainer led workout videos, daily recommended workouts, automated trainer control, Google maps to ensure that you can train virtually all over the world, and access to a long list of cycling routes drawn from different parts of the globe. For the first year of ownership, owners can access iFit for free with NordicTrack.
Price Comparison: Bowflex VeloCore vs NordicTrack Studio Cycles
From a pricing point of view, the Bowflex VeloCore is the costlier option between the two, with its $2,199 one-time payment price. Alternatively, you can make 18 monthly payments of $123 per month. It is also important to remember that JRNY membership will cost you $19.99 per month or $149 per year.
On the other hand, NordicTrack charges a one-time price of $1,599 and $1,999 for its S15i and S22i commercial studio cycles. Alternatively, you can make 36 and 39 monthly payments for the s15i and s22i models respectively. Qualification for these deferred payment terms is subject to credit approval. The free iFit Family Membership offered for the first year of ownership also works to make the NordicTrack models cheaper than their Bowflex counterpart.
Summary: Which Bike is the Best Fit For You?
Given the features on offer, it is plain to see why the BowFlex VeloCore and NordicTrack are considered to be the best brands when it comes to top-of-the line indoor exercise bikes. However, the distinguishing features make each option a great fit for different types of buyers and users.
Reasons to Consider VeloCore:
If you are looking for a lean exercise bike that bends with your body through every corner you make, and aren’t afraid to pay a higher price, then the Bowflex VeloCore is a great option.
Reasons to Consider NordicTrack:
On the other hand, NordicTrack’s product variety, extensive warranty coverage, unique features – such as the automatically adjusted powergrade incline and decline drive system – lower prices and free iFit Family Membership for the first year of ownership, make it a better choice for those working with a tighter budget.
