Precor Review

Friday, October 22nd

2021 Exercise Bike Reviews

Precor

• Generous warranty coverage
• Higher user weight capacity than many brands
• Good reputation

For over three decades, Precor has provided durable fitness equipment to fitness facilities, the military, and everyday home users. They offer two styles of exercise bikes: upright and recumbent.

Less-than-intuitive website

Sorting through your options on the Precor website isn't very intuitive. They don't make it easy to see the differences among the 8 models of bikes, or the options for upgrading monitors. The best they can do is a chart comparing each bike side-by-side, but you'll have to read through the tiny print to see what the differences are. (Spoiler alert: the differences are usually related to the number of pre-programmed workouts, the riding positions, and if the pedals are single- or dual-sided.)

Almost zero tech capabilities

Precor is still laughably low-tech. They recently added the ability to connect their highest-end exercise bike models to Apple Watches, but that's about it. You'll need to use an old-fashioned chest strap if you don't have an Apple Watch and want your workout metrics to show up on your machine - and not every Precor bike is chest strap compatible. That's as fancy as it gets here: no livestreaming workouts, no connection with today's most popular fitness apps, nothing. Considering that the lowest-priced bike is almost $3000, we're not sure why someone would choose Precor over comparably-priced equipment that has all of the bells and whistles they could want.

Equipment overview:

• Type of exercise bikes: Upright, recumbent
• Price range: $2845 to $7565
• Different models: 8
• Can stream live/pre-recorded workouts: No
• Financing available: Yes
• Weight capacity: 350 lbs.
• Return policy: None
• Warranty: Lifetime on frame/welds, 10 years on parts/wear items, 3 years on the console, 1 year on labor
• Shipping: $199

No returns or free shipping

Precor also hasn't made any improvements to their return policy or shipping fees lately. You'll still pay $199 for delivery, and Precor doesn't accept returns on exercise bikes for any reason. No risk-free trial with this company, unfortunately.

Exceptional warranty

The biggest positive with Precor equipment is their generous warranty coverage. No matter which bike you buy, you'll get a lifetime guarantee on the frame and welds, 10 years on the parts and even wear items, 3 years on the console/electronics, and 1 year on labor costs.

Higher weight capacity than most

We also appreciate that all Precor exercise bikes have a weight capacity of 350 lbs. Some of their rivals' indoor cycles only go up to 250, and we know plenty of people who need something more capable than that.

Good reputation

Reputation-wise, Precor holds its own. Their main company gets an "A+" from the Better Business Bureau, and their Home Fitness division earns a respectable "A-" . Very few complaints have been registered with the BBB: just a handful over the last three years, compared with Precor competitors who have thousands of negative reviews in the most recent 12 months alone. Then again, we're not exactly sure how much volume Precor has within the home fitness marketplace, with exercise bikes that are noticeably less advanced than most available today.

Get more for your money elsewhere

Good, solid bikes? Yes. Seemingly decent customer service? That too. But do Precor bikes offer the best all-around value in the industry? Not even close. Zero return policy, high shipping fees, and virtually none of the tech features that most people want: these are all factors in Precor's lower-than-average ranking among retailers of exercise bikes.