MERACH Exercise Bike, Brake Pad Stationary Bike with Exclusive App, Low Noise Indoor Cycling Bike with 300lbs Weight Capacity, Tablet Mount and Fitness Courses for Weight Loss

I love cycling. My road bike fits me so well thoughts of actually buying a second bike disappear when I hop on and pedal. But recovering from a tender spot surgery, and tenderest spot stitches, got me interested in an indoor bike again. No bumps, potholes, or deer (even in cities, everywhere!), so no risk to bodily punctures, much less tire. Like everyone else, I looked. A lot. This bike won, as opposed to the more expensive Merach version that changes incline/decline, and definitely over much more expensive brands becauseA) I don’t want to plug in a bikeB) I don’t want to be obligated to pay for a subscription orB.1) Have my data mercilessly harvested by grad school face-huggers.By picture you can quickly see changes I’ve made. I’ve absolutely voided the warranty, but it was so smooth and quiet and just “fit well” that it’s worth it.Changes:1. Swapped out the seat to one that matches my sit bones. Way more comfortable than getting numb butt from being on a cushy office chair bike seat. Get a fitting, use a seat that matches. I get better leg movement and less butt crush. This bike already uses an actual seat adapter, so no need to spend more for that just to be more comfortable.2. As always, put on different pedals. I had SPD-SL lying around since I didn’t like them on my road bike, but perfect for this critter. Cage pedals that come with are perfectly fine; I wanted to make use of pedals I’d otherwise have to release into the wild.3. Warranty voiding changes to handlebars. I’m a long torso, short-limb, 5’8” T-Rex. So the handlebars as is do not quite reach me comfortably. I sawed off theirs, leaving a 4” nub to clamp on drop bars. I reused their handlebar inserts and some tape on the new ends I made to keep me from cutting myself since I didn’t file them smooth. Using shims and some dual truss clamps. And brake hoods. Cuz why not? Now the handlebars reach me, are more similar to riding in the real world, and I can rest on the hoods. I also had to trim the plastic housing for the electronics, and I may get rid of their casing and build it a new, smaller one. Later. Other than that, I’ve not opened it to tinker.a) I would love it if spin bike makers included as option to either use their handlebar, or it comes with a bolt down stem for your own. Dare to dream!4. Bought a 10.1” android tablet to use for just riding. The S26 magnetic also has a version that comes with a larger tablet, you can use a PC or android tablet, but FantomFite isn’t yet (2025) on iOS.5. Waiting for hedgehog pods to give more “natural” movement. But maybe ride in the real world from time to time? I’ve heard it both ways.Pros & Cons/Notes:*Very adjustable seat, from height to forward, and don’t be shy. Get out your level and make sure any seat is even, that also helps ease the tissue crushing damage of fluffy wide seats. For me. I’m also a fat T-Rex. That doesn’t skip leg day. But skips every chest day ever. Get your seat level and fit correctly forward, since it’s very adjustable.*Apps! I got the Merach, Kinomap, FantomFite, and Zwift. Zwift, for cycling, requires a subscription and data harvesting, but their game Merach apps don’t track you. Kinomap is nice, cheaper, less gamey than Zwift. FantomFite is cool, but less robust than Zwift. Zwift for dopamine social nature (like getting a thumbs-up from a 100 level rider in confetti socks! Whaaaat?) is better, has options to ignore chat, and currently the one I’m using. Try Zwift for free running, or get it. Lots of options for apps, and super easy to pair the bike.*Stable even with some movement. I’m ~245, so sitting to standing does move the bike a bit. And it sits on a rug that isn’t a smooth design, so it has a bit of natural side to side wobble as I pedal, but I’ve never been concerned about its safe stability. I’m looking forward to using the hedgehog pods as well, but over noticed the knee or back pain issues others describe even after 4 hours of riding “still”.*Very smooth pedaling action.*Quiet with the magnetic resistance, just hard to know the “level” you’re on aside from using perceived effort. This can matter when you’re trying to compare sessions for improvement ; however, the watts do change with resistance and cadence changes, as it should, so apps using watts/kg can be used instead.•My tuxedo cat, who only got the one brain cell and not every day, and has recently scared himself by 1: seeing his reflection in the dishwasher door, 2: his toy bouncing (after he attacked it), 3: I sneezed (probably took a decade off his life. Sorry, buddy), even my fancy coward is unphased by the quiet whir of the wheel. He’s also afraid of my sandwich wrappers, so, very quiet.*Easy to move around, sort of. I pick it up by the handlebar housing and seat housing, because to tip it to the wheels is a long tip. I have handlebars at the top of their adjustment, so if they’re lower, that’s be easier. Like the tall guy doing the video review who clearly hasn’t adjusted the bike at all.*Easily connects to apps, once you realize it’s labeled oddly. Looks more like a spam email address, MRK-more numbers and letters, but once paired, it’s fine. And it can still pair to other apps. Which is more than my earbuds can manage.*I’ve truly hunted hard to find out how Merach measures watts/power. Dual power cranks or pedals cost the same or more than this bike. But even Zwift thinks Merach is sending power data that changes more when resistance changes, and a bit less when only cadence changes. So it’s getting some amount of power data that corresponds to leg effort and not heart rate. The bike doesn’t do HR, but I’d love to be able to find how Merach is calculating power/watts. It seems to pass the sniff test, my detrained, unfitness hit a peak of 201 watts on an FTP test, with my end result being 122 watts. That seems reasonable with how I pedal in the real world, and I ride in Zwift around 0.9-1.2 watts/kg, which all seem fair. So it’s consistent and measurable, and seems realish for my resistance level and cadence, HR around the 201 watts hit my Zone 4, which is cool. I would feel honest entering a Zwift race with Merach power data.*Tablet holder! Solid, attached, rubber pad to keep it from sliding around. Even as I move heavy from sit to stand it doesn’t move. Nor do my cats move the tablet while rubbing their possessive faces all over, without additional safety strapping. Honestly, the Zwift ride at $800 doesn’t come with a tablet/computer holder; it’s extra. Given that the metal frame for the tablet holder and the tablet holder are only bolted together, an industrious person (better than me at measuring) could easily attach a larger tablet/computer shelf without voiding the warranty. Sorry, Merach, I really do love your bike!*Given that resistance is “infinite”, but really only 8 levels, I’d love it if the level was shown on the LED display. The bike data shows it knows the levels, why keep it secret? Add that, keep every other data point, perfect. I’m fine with dumb resistance, I change it instead of the app changing it, and watts gives a good suggestion of the resistance level, my symmetrical desire brain just wants to see it.

This stationary bike is perfect for anyone looking to workout at home. It was easy to assemble with clear instructions, came with all necessary tools to assemble, all parts were in the box, and everything was wrapped perfectly to prevent damage. I love the Bluetooth connection to my phone and the app that tracks your progress, has training videos, scenic routes you can follow along with, and challenges to participate in. It’s very easy to move around, sturdy, and quiet! The adjustable seat and handle bars make this product adaptable for the whole family. This is an affordable product with high quality value.

Overall, quite satisfied with the bike. It was easy but a bit involved to assemble. All tools, bolts, washers etc. were included along with great pictures showing the assembling process.I've ridden it several times, around 40 miles or so. It is very quiet as most have stated. However, mine has a slight rubbing sound that comes and goes. It seems dependent on what resistance level is set.Pros:*foldability*position of the resistance bands. They work well and retract very nicely to the frame of the bike when not in use*resistance knob is very well positioned; very easy to get to beneath the retracted resistance bands*very stable. I'm 255 lbs. it remains stationary throughout my pedaling at various resistance levels.*bluetooth works very well with appCons: (note of these are not deal breakers, just 'be nice' category)*acceptable height. I'm just under 6'1" and find I can't get the seat up high enough to get better extension of my legs. It is acceptable and works fine, just not the extension I would like as I get on my ebike.*display is not backlite and the numbers are not illuminated. it would be nice if either one of these were present, the numbers are well displayed though*although foldable, I dislike having to screw in and unscrew the knob to fold and unfold the bike. I've had other stationary bikes where you simply pull out the knob adjust as desired and let the knob slip back into place, it being spring loaded. This bike's method is ok once you get used to it; just be nice to simply pull the knob out and let it slide back in once the adjustment is as desired.*wheels for moving around - it has them, however, you really have to lower the bike quite a bit for them to roll smoothly thus making it harder to move into compact areas when the bike is upright.*no battery backup - although I haven't confirmed this yet being I just installed the batteries, based on what the manual says, the odometer will reset with a replacement of the 2 batteries to activate the display. A previous stationary bike I had contained a small (CR2032 if I remember correctly) that retained the odometer setting. Thus, every time you replace the batteries, the odometer will revert back to a '0' reading.Merach app - It installed easily on my android tablet. With bluetooth active on the tablet, the app connected to the bike with no issues. On subsequent uses, it connected with no issues or need to try and reconnect. In the 'free training' mode, all display items worked great except resistance. I contacted Merach. Since the bike sets the resistance manually, this value will not be displayed. If you have one of the bikes where resistance is automatically set, then this value will be displayed. The one value I would have liked displayed in the 'free training' mode is speed which is missing. Not a big deal, just be nice. If you connect the bike to the app, then the physical display will be bypassed. If the app is not used, then the physical display will work normally.I only tried the online riding courses once. It worked fine. Showed nice display of path in the country. It was fun to use.I would recommend this bike with no reservations. I only gave it a 4 star rating because of the cons above which again are not deal breakers, just things that I didn't like.

I’ve been using the MERACH stationary bike for a few weeks and I’m really impressed! It was easy to assemble, and the overall build feels solid and sturdy — no wobbling, even during intense rides.The brake pad resistance system works really well, and it’s easy to adjust the intensity to match my workout. The ride is smooth and quiet, which is perfect for using while watching TV or working out early in the morning.The LCD monitor tracks all the basics like time, speed, distance, and calories. The seat and handlebars are adjustable, which makes it comfortable for both me and my partner to use.If you’re looking for an affordable and reliable indoor bike that delivers a great cardio workout, this one is a fantastic option. I’m very happy with the purchase!