Out of all of the Peloton Bike alternatives we’ve tested, the MYX II offers the best value. Starting at $1,399, the smart stationary bike costs $100 more than the original model, but features a slimmer 21.5-inch touch screen with improved speakers and increased processing power. It also has a new metrics sensor for more on-screen data, a video camera for interactive classes, and Apple Watch support. And after a recent merger with The Beachbody Company, the MYX II offers access to two different workout streaming platforms: MYX + Openfit ($39 per month) and Beachbody On Demand Interactive ($29 per month), both of which offer plenty of content to keep you sweating. Given all of these upgrades, the MYX II is a compelling alternative to the Peloton Bike+ and the SoulCycle At-Home Bike, and earns our Editors’ Choice award for affordable smart stationary bikes.
Two Workout Streaming Service Options
The MYX II base package costs $1,399 and includes the bike in black or white and a Polar OH1 heart rate monitor. If you don’t already own weights, you might want to consider springing for the $1,599 Plus package, which adds a six-piece dumbbell set (in your choice of light, medium, or heavy), a kettlebell, a 24-by-48-inch stabilizing mat for the bike to sit on, a 30-by-72-inch oversized exercise mat for workouts off the bike, a foam roller, and a resistance band.
The light kit includes 3-, 6-, and 9-pound dumbbells and a 15-pound kettlebell; the medium kit includes 6-, 9-, and 12-pound dumbbells and a 20-pound kettlebell; and the heavy kit includes 9-,12-, and 15-pound dumbbells and a 25-pound kettlebell. All of the weights have a gray rubber coating on them, so they look nice and are easier on your floors than traditional metal weights.
The company sent me the base package for this review because I still have the weights and mats from when I reviewed the original model.
The MYX II comes with free delivery and assembly, a 30-day return policy, and a one-year warranty. To make the cost more manageable, MYXfitness offers 12-, 24-, or 48-month financing options through Affirm starting at $30 per month for the base package or $34 per month for the Plus package.
MYXfitness says that most orders ship within two weeks, but delivery time frames vary depending on your location and other factors. After you place your order, MYXfitness ships the bike to a warehouse in your area; its logistics partner then contacts you to schedule a delivery and fully assembles the bike before arriving at your house.
The day before the delivery, the partner will contact you with a time window. Then, on delivery day, they call you when they are about 30 minutes away. When they arrive, they will carry the bike into your home, place it wherever you like, and plug it in.
Once the bike is in place and plugged in, press the button on the right side of the screen to turn it on. Then, select your Wi-Fi network, and use the on-screen keyboard to type in your password. From here, you can either log into or create an account with MYX+Openfit or Beachbody On Demand Interactive (BODi).
Like its competitors, the MYX II requires a monthly membership to access workout classes on its display. Since I reviewed the original model, MYXfitness has made some big changes on the content side thanks to its merger with The Beachbody Company, parent company of the Beachbody On Demand Interactive (BODi) and Openfit workout streaming platforms.
Following the merger, MYXfitness and Openfit combined their classes into one platform called MYX + Openfit. The subscription now costs $39 per month (a $10 hike from the old solo MYX subscription) and is in line with the price of Peloton’s All-Access Membership. The MYX II also now offers access to BODi, which costs $19.95 per month after a $99 annual membership, which works out to $28.20 per month (no annual membership is required for MYX + Openfit).
The MYX + Openft and BODi subscriptions are separate. Both platforms let you create up to five profiles for friends and family members under one subscription, so each person gets separate login credentials and stats.
The MYX II tablet screen doesn’t work with other platforms outside of MYX + Openfit and BODi. Without a subscription, the bike is still fully functional, but you lose access to all tablet features, including ride metrics and heart rate training.
Second-Generation Hardware Updates
Measuring 54 by 21 by 47 inches (LWH) and weighing 150 pounds, the second-generation bike is just as compact as the original. It’s recommended for riders 4’11” to 6’8” and up to 350 pounds (Peloton supports people up to 300 pounds).
The bike feels sturdy and well built. I set it up with the stabilizer mat on top of carpeting and have never experienced any rocking, even when pedaling at my maximum cadence. One word of caution, however: Check that the pedals are fully tightened before your first ride. The first time I hopped on for a class, I heard a squeaking sound before the pedal disconnected from the bike. I have tested a lot of smart stationary bikes; that’s the first time this has ever happened and it was kind of scary. Fortunately, I was riding very slow at the time. Needless to say, if I had been going faster, or was standing up, I could have been injured. This was a major oversight on the assembler’s part, and not a hardware issue. Fortunately, I wasn’t hurt, had no problem reattaching the pedal myself, and never experienced this problem again.
As with the original model, the MYX II tablet swivels a full 360 degrees and tilts up and down, so you can easily move it around for a good viewing angle when you’re doing workouts on and off the bike.
It comes with double-sided pedals that work with regular athletic shoes or SPD cleats. Several competitors offer similar stock pedals, including the Bowflex VeloCore, Echelon EX5S, and Carol Bike. Peloton models, in comparison, require Delta-compatible clip-in shoes. The SoulCycle At-Home Bike works with either Delta or SPD cleats.
The MYX II is a customized version of the Star Trac Studio 5 bike with a 21.5-inch touch screen tablet mounted above the handlebars. Tablet upgrades compared with the previous generation include a 30% slimmer design for a more streamlined look, new 20W speakers for a more immersive music experience, and improved processing power for faster downloads. It also now has a 8MP Sony camera for interactive group fitness classes and personalized training.
In testing, I could always hear both the background music and the trainer’s audio loud and clear. The classes are well produced, and the speakers get sufficiently loud (you can always pair wireless headphones if you want). During classes, you can use an on-screen slider to adjust the music/trainer audio balance.
I connected the MYX II to my 5GHz Wi-Fi network and have never experienced any buffering or lag when streaming classes, even live workouts. MYXfitness recommends download speeds of at least 3Mbps for uninterrupted streaming. A helpful internet speed test feature in the MYX + Openfit Settings menu lets you check your connection.
I’ve used the camera during live classes and it adds a lot to the experience; because it acts as a mirror, it lets you check your form against an instructional video and the trainer to see you and offer feedback.
You can also now connect an Apple Watch to the tablet to use it as a heart rate monitor. This integration requires a few steps. First, download and log into the Openfit mobile app (available for Android and iOS). Then, install and open the Openfit app on your Apple Watch and enable Bluetooth and Health permissions. From then on, just make sure the Openfit app is open on your Apple Watch when you want to pair it with the bike tablet.
In testing, I occasionally had trouble pairing my Apple Watch Series 7 with the MYX II, but restarting the bike’s tablet and the Openfit Watch app always corrected the issue. I never had problems connecting the Polar OH1 heart rate monitor, however.
The MYX II also features a new sensor for cadence (revolutions per minute), distance, and speed metrics, which you now see on the display as you work out. When I reviewed the original MYX bike, one of my gripes was that it didn’t show your cadence, so this is a welcome change.
In testing, the metrics sensor occasionally failed to connect during classes. When this happened, I was always able to fix the problem by pausing the class, stopping the pedals, popping out the sensor (it’s located inside the left crank arm, the part that attaches to the pedal), then reinserting it. If you experience sensor issues, you can also try recalibrating it and making sure you have the latest firmware installed. To do this, visit the MYX + Openfit Settings menu > Speed Sensor, then select Tune Sensor and/or Firmware Update.
The second-generation tablet still doesn’t show your resistance level or output (a combination of your cadence and resistance, measured in watts), features you get on Peloton’s bikes, but I don’t really miss these metrics on the MYX II since its classes aren’t focused on competition.
The MYX + Openfit Experience
Before bringing Openfit into the fold, MYXfitness already had a big class library, including bike and floor-based workouts like strength and yoga. Adding Openfit to the mix offers even more options to supplement your cycling sessions. A spokesperson tells me that “thousands” of on-demand classes are already available in the MYX + Openfit workout library, with new ones being available weekly.
When you sign up for a MYX + Openfit account, it asks you to fill in your gender (with options for female, male, prefer to self-describe, or prefer not to say), height, birth date, and weight. So it can surface relevant classes, it also asks about your current fitness level, the number of days a week you want to work out, your average workout duration, and what types of workouts most interest you. After creating an account, go through the MYX Zone Calibration Ride to get your custom target heart rate zones, which act as a benchmark for all of your future workouts.
The MYX + Openfit platform is well organized and colorful, with photos and descriptions for each class that show the music genre, equipment requirements, and intensity level to help you decide if you want to go for it. Along the bottom of the interface, you see the following tabs: Dashboard, Schedule, Ride, Cross-Training, Programs, and Workouts.
The Dashboard tab shows your recent workouts, stats (total workouts, calories burned, and duration), and latest achievements (you get badges for different things, like completing 25 classes or working out on the weekend). Here, you also see recommended, featured, new, and popular classes.
The Schedule tab lets you browse and sign up for live floor-based workouts, during which you can turn on your camera to get real-time feedback from a trainer. Dozens of classes appear on the Schedule every day, including barre, pilates, strength training, stretching, yoga, and more. On weekdays, they typically run from 5 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. ET, and on weekends, they run from around 8 a.m. to 3 or 4 p.m. ET.
I took several live classes and really enjoyed them. During these workouts, you see yourself on the screen (as long as you turn on your webcam) alongside an instructional video, which allows you to compare your form in real time. The Peloton Guide connected strength product, slated for release this year, seems to work similarly.
If you have your camera turned on during a live MYX + Openfit session, only the trainer can see you, not any of the other participants. You can hear the trainer, but it won’t broadcast your audio, so nobody will be able to hear you. A chat box on the screen lets you message the whole group or just your trainer.
You have to sign up for live classes in advance, because MYX + Openfit caps them at a certain number of attendees and the popular sessions sometimes fill up quickly. Browsing the next day’s schedule and signing up for a class gives me something to look forward to, and brings me back to pre-pandemic times, when I used to attend an in-person yoga class every day.
I like that MYX + Openfit caps the number of attendees in each session; because of the limited class size, I’ve received a shout-out and personalized form feedback in each session I’ve attended. When you sign up for a live class, you have the option to add it to your calendar or enter your phone number to get a text reminder. One time after a live class, the trainer texted me to ask how I liked the session and how I was feeling. I love that welcoming, friendly, personalized experience.
You won’t find any live cycling classes on the MYX + Openfit schedule at this time, but the Ride tab is packed with on-demand sessions. When you want to hop on the bike for some cardio, you can choose from the following class types: rhythm, theme, HIIT, climb, endurance, recovery, warm-up, and scenic. The rhythm rides challenge you to pedal to the beat of the music. Theme rides are set to a certain type of music, like songs from Black artists, classic rock hits, or popular country tracks.
I’m a big fan of the platform’s Cross-Training classes, during which you spend part of the time on the bike, then hop off for mat-based strength training or recovery.
I described the MYX heart rate zone training method in detail in my review of the original bike, so I won’t reiterate that information here. After connecting a heart rate monitor like the Apple Watch or Polar OH1 to the bike, you see a color-coded graph of your heart rate on the screen as you work out. The instructor will tell you which heart rate zone you should be in, and you can adjust your intensity accordingly. Watching your heart rate go up and down as you try to stay in the appropriate zone alleviates boredom and helps motivate you to give it your all.
MYX + Openfit doesn’t feature class leaderboards like Peloton, but I’m not a particularly competitive person, so I don’t miss them. The platform’s excellent music, top-notch instructors, and heart rate training make the workouts fly by. Dylan Tsiumis, Justin Flexen, and Jesse Barton are among my favorite instructors on the platform—they’re down to earth and motivational without being too intense.
In the Programs tab, you see goal-based workout series including 7-Day Jump Start, HIIT Your Goals, 4 Weeks of Focus, Pilates for Beginners, and Xtend Barre 7-Day On-Ramp. The HIIT Your Goals program, for instance, consists of five 20-to-30-minute cycling, cross-training, and floor workouts each week for three weeks. You can also take any of the sessions out of order, at any time.
The Workout tab is where you can browse and filter all the classes available on the platform. The mat-based class options include barre, cardio, HIIT, pilates, recovery, relaxation and meditation, strength training, and yoga. Within each of those categories, you choose between several different class styles. The strength training category, for example, offers the following class types: bands, bodyweight, kettlebells, sculpt, weights, and core. In the yoga section, you get several different styles including cardio flow, hatha, power, restorative, and vinyasa (my personal favorite), along with alignment-based and pose tutorial classes. The cardio section even features jump rope and kickboxing classes, among other types. If you’re looking for something specific, you can tap a certain workout category, then filter classes by trainer, duration (from 5 to 60+ minutes), level, type, body areas, and music.
After you sign up for MYX + Openfit, you can use the same login credentials to access the Openfit mobile app (available on Android and iOS). The app also offers meal plans and recipes, as well as walking and running classes you can do outdoors.
Classes you do in the app sync with the bike and vice versa, so you can track your workout stats at home or away. Openfit is also available on the web, Apple TV, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, and Samsung Smart TVs.
The BODi Experience
If you’re already logged into MYX + Openfit, you need to log out before you can access BODi. From the main MYX II login screen, just tap the link in the lower right corner to sign in. Then, follow the on-screen instructions to create an account and calibrate your metrics sensor. When you sign up for a BODi account, it asks you to fill in your gender (female, male, or other), birth date, height, start weight, and goal weight. Next, it offers instructional videos demonstrating how to set up the bike and pair your heart rate monitor before giving you the option to start your Calibration Ride to get your custom heart rate zones.
BODi’s setup process, user interface, and features are similar to MYX + Openfit, but the platforms have independent content and different vibes. In general, the instructors on MYX + Openfit are more chill and welcoming, but the classes are still challenging and effective. The experience on BODi is more intense and even a bit punishing. The instructors rarely stop talking. During higher-energy workouts such as cycling and HIIT, they yell a lot. Water breaks are infrequent.
For me, the experience is overstimulating. During BODi classes, a big screen sits behind the instructor with a grid of class members who have chosen to turn on their camera, a feature they call the BODcast.
You see the other participants doing the workout, but everyone’s audio is turned off so you can only hear the instructor and the music. The camera periodically zooms into one participant, so they can wave and give a thumbs up. Occasionally, you see pets and kids running in front of the camera. One time, a cycling class participant was wearing a burglar mask and holding up a sign saying “like I stole it,” which was amusing. That said, when I’m working out, I like to focus on myself and what I’m doing, so I find the BODcast distracting.
Like many other workout streaming platforms, BODi gets its music from Feed.FM. Unfortunately, the BODi class preview screen doesn’t specify the genre of music it features and you typically can’t skip tracks. That’s a shame, because music can make or break a workout. Most of the cycling and HIIT classes I tried used upbeat techno music.
Between the instructor’s shouting, the grid of participants, and the unskippable high-energy music, I got annoyed during several workouts. That’s just my opinion; you might find BODi’s classes fun and motivating.
I admit, I already had some preconceived notions about The Beachbody Company because of its multi-level-marketing (MLM) branch, Team Beachbody, which allows anyone to sign up to be a “Coach” for $39.95, plus $15.95 per month. Coaches can sell the company’s products, organize workout challenges, and recruit others to become coaches. You may have at some point received a pitch, or two (or more) from a Team Beachbody coach in your Facebook or Instagram direct messages; I know I have.
These gripes aside, the BODi platform offers live workout classes throughout the day, as well as a large on-demand library. The class options include barre, bootcamp, cardio, core, cycling, HIIT, meditation, pilates, strength, stretching, and yoga. The platform also offers access to several popular workout and nutrition programs, such as the popular Insanity program.
In addition to the MYX II bike, you can access BODi on the web, Android, Apple TV, Chromecast, Fire TV, iOS, Roku, and Wahoo Tickr X. I also like that the BODi platform on the MYX II is a slightly more affordable option than most other home gym machine class memberships, which generally cost $39 per month.
More Choice, More Value
I review a lot of smart fitness equipment, so I’m always swapping out the machines I have at home. I generally test one for about a month or so, write the review, send it back, and get a different one. I can’t say this for all the machines I test, but I’ll be sad to return the MYX II.
When MYXfitness merged with The Beachbody Company, I was a bit dubious. But after testing the MYX II for the last two months, I’m happy to say that the smart exercise bike is still as strong an option as ever. The newly combined MYX + Openfit membership ($39 per month) offers a regular schedule of live, floor-based workouts in addition to its expansive on-demand class library, and the bike’s new metrics sensor means you see cadence, speed, and distance data on the screen during cycling workouts. The MYX II also has Apple Watch support, upgraded speakers, and a faster processor. I prefer MYX + Openfit to the BODi platform, but I like that you get two different subscription options. For all of these advantages over the original model, the MYX II earns our Editors’ Choice award.
