Renpho AI Smart Bike review

Our Verdict

The Renpho AI Fresh Bike might not comprise the most trend-setting-looking bike away there, but crucially it does offer a good workout and operates pretty restfully too. Its ain software program isn't the slickest, but it does work with a range of third party good condition apps that gives it some added charm when matched leading against similarly priced smart bikes.

For

Offers a healthy workout
Whole shebang with apps like Zwift and Peloton
Quiet operation

Against

Associate app not the most sophisticated
Sustain to download instructor workouts
Atomic number 102 water bottle bearer
Not the best looking

TechRadar Verdict

The Renpho AI Cagey Bike might not be the most in-looking bike out there, simply crucially it does offer a in force physical exertion and operates pretty quietly overly. Its own software ISN't the slickest, but it does work with a range of third political party fitness apps that gives it some added appeal when paired up against similarly priced smart bikes.

Pros

+ Offers a good workout
+ Works with apps equivalent Zwift and Peloton
+ Quiet operation

Cons

- Companion app non the most polished
- Have to download teacher workouts
- No water bottleful holder
- Not the best sounding

Two-minute reexaminatio

The Renpho AI Smart Bike is organized to offer an indoor bike experience that doesn't require an extra subscription, whether you'ray looking to bring fort fit or you need to process building those cycling legs. On the whole, it does a good job, only you'll make to make some compromises happening the hardware and software front end.

It's a space-friendly setup that's easy to trick out and running, and offers adjustments in the right places to make sure you can enjoy a comfortable ride. You put on't mystify a built-in display though, so you're relying on your own phone or tablet, and it's slightly annoying that there isn't a spot to fall a water bottle anywhere either as things originate in to bring sweaty.

Renpho AI Bike — (Image credit: Michael Sawh)

Renpho's companion app isn't the nigh polished either, but does offer just enough in the way of classes and breeding programs to make sure you can put it to smashing use and information technology's asymptomatic suited to tiro riders who want the scope to dial things au courant the thought-provoking advance. The real attract here is that outside of that app, the Renpho Artificial intelligence Bike whole kit with another popular apps including Zwift, which isn't something you can say almost much of smart bikes at around this price.

If you can live with that non-so-pretty look, and you the like the option of being healthy to connect it to other platforms to vary your workout time, and so there's plenty to like approximately the Renpho Artificial intelligence Smart Bike.

Price and handiness

The Renpho AI Ache Bike launched in 2020, and is available now for $599 / £699 (more or less AU$800) direct from Renpho.

For comparison Peloton's exercise bikes start at $1,895 / £1,750 / AU$2,295, while the Wattbike Atom costs £1,999 (about $2,700 / AU$3,700). These are rather different bikes, however, so IT's worth reading up on every last three rather than fashioning your decision based on price alone.

Innovation

With the Renpho AI Smart Bike, you're definitely getting something that veers more towards that orthodox wheel look every bit opposed to rivalling a Peloton or a Wattbike in the intent department. Granted, you're paying much less for it, but it's by no means the sleekest looking setup we've had to position to the test.

Its carbon steel frame at to the lowest degree International Relations and Security Network't a hulking one at to the lowest degree, and won't dominate a room. It's a really nice and easy bike to set up likewise, even if you're doing and then alone. Put away 20-30 minutes and you should have everything in office to bewilder thereon bike and start riding.

You'll motivation to attach the front stabilizer and replaceable pedals, and connect the internal power cord indoors of the handlebars. There's a itsy-bitsy bundle of screws and wrenches included in the loge to helper you do that.

You need to make a point it's positioned close to a plug socket and it's slightly annoying the adapter cable isn't the longest, so you may want to snatch an extension lead if you want to place it some boost away. At that place are wheels up nominal head to make it easier to maneuver, and thankfully International Relations and Security Network't the heaviest pedal to turn.

You can tinker with handlebar and seat height, as healed as seat profundity to make a point you find the most accommodating setup. We found that it paid to spend some time playing around with these adjustments, as our legs initially had a habit of hitting the handlebars when riding out of the seat.

At the front of the bike you won't find a assembled-in display. Instead, you'Re met with a jolly simple pad holder to drop your smartphone Oregon tablet onto that did thankfully keep our twist firmly in place flatbottomed during more energetic rides. There's also the nice touch of a USB port that sits a little further consume the frame, which means you give the axe hold bac your phone or tablet hot as you work out.

Below the bearer is the broadsheet console, which is essentially a round bimetallic button that you can revolve to whorl through different metrics (RPM, mogul, cadence and calories), and adjust underground.

Renpho uses a fresh motor damping resistance arrangement to offer automatic and manual immunity controls, which information technology says is smooth and offers real-time power calculations with an accuracy of more than than 90%. It's a system that operates jolly quietly, which is ideal if you'ray uneasy about making a racket for early morning or late evening Sessions.

Ultimately, it's a bike that keeps things simple and if you're daunted by the prospect of having to spend a long time acquiring things set up, that's non something you really need to worry about here.

Apparatus and execution

While you butt use the bike manually, you'll get the near out of it when you pick out advantage of its connected smarts. In one case it's plugged in, you'll motivation to expend the console table leading front to pair the bike to the Renpho AI Gym app (Android and iOS) over Bluetooth. Despite some initial connectivity issues, we didn't have major problems pairing IT functioning with the Mechanical man or iOS apps we proved it with. The app experience across those platforms is pretty consistent likewise, which is good to see.

That AI Gym app, it's fair to say, International Relations and Security Network't the most polished, but does extend jolly much what you'd expect to see from a fellow traveler app. You don't have to pay to entree IT, either.

From the home screen, you can see the option to go for a free cycle, consider recent training or perform the Cycling King Test to raise your functional doorstep office (or FTP) to better tailor training programs to to each one user. This is in truth the whole AI element of the experience here.

You can as wel browse what the app calls 'video' and 'power' courses, with the former offering teacher-style workouts where the resistance is automatically adjusted for you based on the session. An annoyance aspect of these picture workouts is that you'll need to download them individually as opposed to pullulate and the size of the files are thumping and will tomfool finished a circumstances of your twist infinite.

The power courses offering sessions geared on targeting contrastive power ranges, and are engineered for those looking for more serious cycling-title training. If you don't fancy listening to the beautiful uninspiring audio, you can simply unarticulate it and play your own music from a streaming service equivalent Spotify no trouble.

To boot to the power and video recording courses, you fire also make use of the Challenges, which are essentially scenic rides that are decidedly best enjoyed on a tablet as opposing to a headphone screen.

Open-air of the AI Gym app, there's rather a nice array of thirdly party apps that this bike is compatible with. That includes Zwift, Peloton (iOS only), Sufferfest and KinoMap. So for Zwift, for instance, you can make use of the automatic resistance support, which makes it an cheap bicycle option to pair up with the fashionable training app.

In terms of the riding experience, we'd say IT's solid happening the whole. We tried a host of the power and video-style workouts on with some of the scenic rides and the superpowe rides definitely stood outer most in terms of providing really provocative and tough workouts and really helping us build a sweat. You'll get the same from the instructor-led sessions, simply these certainly lack some of the introduction gloss you find from similar style classes connected a Peloton, NordicTrack or Echelon smart bike.

You fare have the option here to pair up Emmet+ heart pace monitors, and it's Orchard apple tree Spotter-genial too, which does mean connected top of those core cycling prosody, you tin can better measure effort levels present.

Getting into the saddle is comfortable on the complete though as mentioned, we did need to make adjustments to the handlebar height to make sure enough our legs didn't off IT. The pedals don't feel like the best quality you'll recover on an indoor bike, but thankfully you can swop them out for better quality ones excessively.

The handle bar offers 2 ways of gripping, but IT definitely feels more natural opting for the racing-style grip. The most disappointing aspect is the lack of any sort of drinks holder here, which meant shoring a bottle nearby to reach for during sessions.

Renpho says there are 70+ classes and four training courses, which should be enough for beginner riders to get started, just it's unclear how much the classes and training libraries get updated. That's why it's such a oversized plus to stimulate access to those third party apps, even if information technology does mean that you power have to spend a bit more to use them. There's enough here to challenge experienced and inexperienced riders, but it unquestionably feels like a bike meshed towards people delving into the indoor bike world for the first time.

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Michael is a freelance journalist who has tiled consumer applied science for over a decennium and specialises in wearable and fitness tech. Previously editor of Wareable, he has backhand for publications including Wired United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Irelan, GQ, Men's room Fitness, BBC Science Focus, Metro and Overindulge. Michael is a keen runner and swimmer and is as wel the co-give way of YouTube channel The Run Testers.