5 Excellent iFit Compatible Exercise Bikes

By
Published:
Last updated: January 16, 2024
All products are independently selected by our editors. If you purchase something through our links, we may earn a commission.
Contents show

By Robbie Ferri, Cyclist, Personal Trainer, and Group Exercise Instructor.

Spinning has changed a lot in the past few years. Many of us don’t go to classes anymore, not in person anyway. We now go up to our own bike in our apartment, and it’s ready to set up for us to go. The world of Spinning has gone online, and it couldn’t be more fun right now. We have been given some fantastic tools to help us reach our goals, and many of us choose to do this with applications such as iFit or Peloton. 

What is iFit?

IFit is an application just like Peloton. It does differ in many ways though, and many spinners do class it as one of the best apps on the market for home workouts. It is equipped on many bikes on the market with screens, or you can use a tablet of your own to connect to these. Nordictrack, ProForm, and many other brands are in partnership with iFit, so you will see a few of these in this list.

iFit vs Peloton

  • Price: Let’s start with our cash. Peloton bike is currently looking at $1500 and $2000 for the Bike+. iFit compatible bikes you’re looking at are as cheap as $1300 all the way to $2500. There’s not much in it. As far as application subscription costs, they are both $39 a month and match equally at the price for the family plan, so there’s no competition here, unfortunately. IFit does have an individual plan which is about $15 a month, which makes it much cheaper for a single user. IFit does come with a free month trial which is a lovely touch, and Peloton a free month too. Peloton offers a mini-application too, but it’s to use without a Peloton bike and not the same as the original application.
  • Compatibility: IFit is only compatible with bikes that have iFit installed on them. Peloton is only compatible with Peloton bikes. As I mentioned before, they offer the mini-app, but it’s not the same. The screens on these bikes are locked to these applications for companies such as iFit and Peloton. They make their money in subscriptions, not in the sale of the bike.
  • Classes: They both do live and on-demand classes on the applications. These are where you can spin in real-time with the instructor and have a leaderboard. Peloton offers Strength, Yoga, Bootcamp, Running, Stretching, and Meditation. IFit offers Global workouts, Events, Progressive series, Challenges, iFit mind, Yoga and Strength workouts, and Cooking Classes.

Unique Features of iFit Bikes

The iFit bikes are very cool and have some features some Peloton bikes don’t.

  • When you’re in a class on the iFit, you will find yourself logging on to a session, and the instructor can change your resistance for you. This makes the ride fun, and it means you can focus less on what you should be doing and focus on your effort. The original Peloton bike can’t do this, but the Bike plus can.
  • Also, the iFit bikes we call the Nordictrack S22i and S15i, which we will speak in more detail about later, can replicate climbing automatically. The instructor can change the incline on the bike like you could a treadmill and make you feel like you are going up and downhill. This isn’t something Peloton can do, but iFit can.
  • IFit also has google maps integration. So you can do your own training ride, and it pulls the images off google maps, and you can ride anywhere in the world, and it produces the route to make it look like you are cycling through regions. It’s basic technology and still a little lumpy but very fun and makes each ride completely unique.
Best iFit Compatible Exercise Bikes

Let’s Talk about bikes!

Best Five iFit Exercise Bikes

Nordictrack S22i (New Edition)

Nordictrack S22i (New Model)
Nordictrack S22i (New Model)
4.4

The bike itself is an incredible machine and has an incline and decline feature, which means when you ride, a motor will raise and drop the front of the bike. The screen is 22” HD and uses an application called iFit for all your live and pre-recorded classes.

Amazon US Review Check Holiday Sale
  • 22” HD Touchscreen
  • Bluetooth Compatibility
  • Incline Decline climbing ability
  • Inbuilt fan
  • Automatic Resistance Control
  • 32lbs Flywheel

The Nordictrack S22i is an incredible bike and is one of my favorite indoor spinning bikes available on the market. It’s fantastic, and honestly, I feel they changed home spinning forever when they did this. The screen is 22”, impressive quality, and the touch screen is very responsive even when soaked from sweat. The fan on the screen is a nice touch, and the screen itself displays all the data you’re going to need, including power. It has an incredible ability to incline and decline automatically in a session, and also the instructor in classes can adjust the resistance for you. This makes workouts on this so much fun and interactive.

It’s equipped with the incredible iFit application on its own screen and also comes with a set of weights for those arm workouts and strength sessions. The bike is a magnetic frictionless system and has 24 resistance levels. We must mention there are two types, an old version and a new one. The latest version has a quieter climbing lift motor, Bluetooth headphone compatibility, a better quality screen that rotates, and is a more powerful computer. Both are very good. Make sure you know which one you are getting.

Pros

  • Amazing Screen
  • Auto Adjustable Incline Decline and Resistance
  • Frictionless resistance
  • Fan on Screen 
  • Power meter function

Cons

  • Incline motor is noisy on Original better on the improved version

The Nordictrack is just a fantastic bike, and the iFit complements it completely.

Nordictrack S15i

NordicTrack Commercial S15i
NordicTrack Commercial S15i
4.2

The NordicTrack Commercial S15i iFit Studio Cycle includes a 14" HD Touch Screen and a one-year subscription to iFit. This bike is equipped with an inertial-enhanced flywheel and offers 22 digital resistance levels.

Price & Reviews Check Holiday Sale
  • 14” HD Touchscreen
  • Bluetooth Compatibility
  • Incline Decline climbing ability
  • Inbuilt fan
  • Automatic Resistance Control
  • 32lbs Flywheel

The Nordictrack S15i, let us just get this straight. It is pretty much the same as the S22i, just with a smaller screen. There’s very little difference between the two. It has a 14” high definition touch screen still with the fan. It has auto resistance and incline and decline ability. It supplies all the data you need along with watts and the ability to measure your power.

The Nordictrack S15i is pretty much the same internally. It is a magnetic system with a belt drive, but instead of 24 resistance levels, it only has 22. This will make very little difference. Like the S22i, you will find the new version with the same upgrades as the old S22i to the new S22i, better speakers, rotating screen, quieter incline motor. 

Pros

  • Good Screen
  • Auto Adjustable Incline Decline and Resistance
  • Frictionless resistance
  • Fan on Screen 
  • Power meter function

Cons

  • Incline motor is noisy on Original better on the improved version

The Nordictrack S15i is just a fantastic bike, and although a watered down version of the S22i still an incredible machine.

Proform Pro 22

ProForm Studio Bike Pro 22
ProForm Studio Bike Pro 22
4.4

Bring the full training experience to your home with the Studio Bike Pro 22 exercise bike, lots to look at and touch with the massive 22-inch touchscreen.

Amazon Reviews Check Holiday Sale
  • 22” HD Touchscreen
  • Bluetooth Compatibility
  • Automatic Resistance Control
  • 32lbs Flywheel

The ProForm is a very cool bike and needs to be on this list. It’s an excellent bike and has a considerable amount of technology for the money you are paying. Let’s start with the screen. It is a 22” screen, and it’s high definition. The screen is where you adjust the resistance and use the iFit. Unlike the Nordictrack bikes, it cannot incline and decline but does have the automatic resistance feature. The screen does swivel, and it offers such a great immersive experience for the rider.

The internals are very similar to the other bikes on this list. It has a 32lbs flywheel and runs a magnetic frictionless system with 24 levels of resistance. In the most powerful sprints, it is super silent, and your neighbors won’t know you’re exercising next door. It comes equipped with dumbness for the classes. It is a comfortable bike and looks much more straightforward and cleaner than other bikes on this list.

Pros

  • Good Screen 
  • Auto Adjustable Resistance
  • Power meter function

Cons

  • Basic for the price
  • No resistance adjustment dial just on screen

The ProForm offers less than the Nordictrack bikes, but simplicity is key, and you get so much for the price.

Matrix ICR50

  • 22” HD Touchscreen
  • Bluetooth Compatibility
  • Resistance Control
  • Evenly weighted Flywheel

The Matrix ICR50 is an epic-looking bike. The rear-facing flywheel and clean lines make this bike stand out so much. It comes with a 22” screen, but this isn’t like the other screens. It’s only a mirror screen, so you link your tablet or phone up to it and run the application off that. I rate this because the mirror screen opens you up to more applications than just the iFit if you ever need them.

Like the other bikes, it’s an entirely frictionless system, and although they don’t specify the flywheel weight, it’s evenly weighted, meaning it’s incredibly efficient in design. It has 11 resistance levels for you to play with and doesn’t work as a dial. It is a lever that is a lovely touch to the bike. This bike isn’t going to auto-adjust for you though.

Pros

  • Good Mirror Screen 
  • Resistance Lever
  • Power meter function
  • Use of other applications if required

Cons

  • Need a phone or tablet

Nordictrack Commercial R35

  • 14” HD Touchscreen
  • Bluetooth Compatibility
  • Resistance Control
  • 25lbs Flywheel

It’s not often you see recumbent cycling in homes, and you see them in gyms. This is getting more common over time, though, and people with hip issues often use these. It uses the Nordictrack 14” screen equipped with an onboard fan. It has Bluetooth for wireless headphones, and wired headphones are more complex to use on this.

The resistance is magnetic, and the bike is a belt drive. It has gym grade internals so expect this to last for a very long time before any maintenance is required. It will provide you with 26 levels of resistance and is super quiet, so you can use it anytime without the worry of waking anyone up.

Pros

  • Good 14” HD Screen
  • Recumbent
  • Power meter function
  • On Board Fan

Cons

  • Recumbents are not for everyone

I absolutely love this because it is an intelligent recumbent trainer which is needed in the market. Very few recumbent trainers have this technology.

FAQs

Can you use iFit with other bikes?

Yes, you can download the application on Android, Apple, and many other devices and use it for all the classes without an iFit ready piece of equipment.

Does the iFit have live classes?

Yes, and they are excellent, great motivational instructors.

Conclusion

All the bikes on this list are excellent, and they wouldn’t be here if we didn’t think so. If I had to pick a favorite, I would definitely be on the Nordictrack S22i, the new improvements they have done to the bike are just incredible, and it’s such a fantastic bit of kit.

Robbie Ferri CPT

Robbie from “Riding with Robbie” is a Personal Trainer living in in Norfolk, UK. He has bikepacked all over the World, and also raced ultra distance at a top-level. He has worked closely with industry leaders such as Shimano.

Read More...

2 thoughts on “5 Excellent iFit Compatible Exercise Bikes”

    • Hi Becky!

      There is no official information in the website about the height limits of the S22i, so we asked a NordicTrack sales agent to clarify this and the answer is: Yes it does!

      It fits down to 4’11” tall, so you still have room to spare as well.

      Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.