After teasing its connected bike to rival Peloton last summer, SoulCycle today released official details about its own at-home offering. By and large, it looks very similar to Peloton’s: the bike will offer on-demand cycling classes that users can stream through a monthly content subscription via a digital platform called Variis.
According to the specs, the bike will come with a 21.5-inch full HD screen, 4GB of RAM, and, interestingly, a G-sensor and NFC support. The footprint of the bike itself is a little bit longer than the Peloton bike, and it weighs about seven pounds more. However, it can support riders who weigh up to 350 pounds, where Peloton’s model recommends 300 pounds and lighter.
Price-wise, SoulCycle’s bike costs $2,500 which includes a five-class pack to use in studio. (While shipping and installation is included, if users want to return the bike after a 30-day trial, they’ll have to fork over $250 to coordinate its removal.) Although both the SoulCycle and Peloton bikes support clip-in cycling shoes for safely pushing and riding out of the saddle, only the cleats are included with SoulCycle’s package, and users will have to buy their own cycling shoes. In comparison, Peloton’s starter pack costs the same but includes shoes, a floor mat, a heart rate monitor, and headphones. Curiously, the website doesn’t indicate whether SoulCycle’s at-home bike will offer live classes.
While users will be required to commit to a one-year subscription of the Variis app — $40 a month thereafter — membership will also give access to other classes from SoulCycle’s parent company Equinox Group’s roster, which includes Equinox, Precision Run, Pure Yoga, and HeadStrong. To stream other Equinox Group classes however, users will have to do so through the mobile Variis app, as the bike is limited to just SoulCycle content.
Equinox did not specify whether it plans to release an option to subscribe only to the app without the bike hardware, though we do know it plans to release its own connected treadmill that is likely to be powered by Variis as well.
SoulCycle’s bike comes shortly after competitor Flywheel discontinued its own at-home bike offering after losing a lawsuit against Peloton for patent infringement. We’re expected to learn more about the SoulCycle at-home bike this week, so stay tuned for our hands-on impressions to see just how different it is and whether it stands to make a dent in an increasingly saturated market.
This article originally appeared on The Verge.
