Best Fitness Equipment Sales on Ellipticals, Dumbbells, and More

If you want a way to do cardio at home, exercising on an elliptical gets you an aerobic workout without the impact that comes with running. The Air Glide 14i is at a decent discount right now, and it’s CR Recommended for its above-average performance in our lab tests. This model got exemplary scores in our tests for construction, ease of use, and user safety. It’s also above average when it comes to ergonomics. It did fall short in terms of heart rate accuracy, but you can always wear a smartwatch or fitness tracker for more accurate readings if you want to track that.

As one of the least expensive machines in our ratings, this elliptical provides great value—though we’ve seen it for $600 during bigger sales. It earned top marks in our tests of exercise range, with 10 resistance levels. This elliptical doesn’t offer an automatic heart rate targeting program, but it does have five different preset workout programs that can be tailored to your fitness level or goals. Our testers found it easy to use with large buttons, a convenient display, and a reading shelf that doesn’t block any buttons.

The price for this set has increased $30 since last month, so you may be able to save more during Prime Day. Each dumbbell in the Core Home Fitness Adjustable Dumbbell Set is automatically balanced because of the easy, one-handed adjustment of simply twisting the handle. Like the NordicTrack and PowerBlock sets below, the Core Home dumbbell comes with a good handgrip, and each dumbbell is shorter at lighter weights. Still, we found that each can be harder to replace in the cradle in some settings. At heavier settings, the dumbbells didn’t come out of their cradle without holding the cradle down.

This top-rated Bowflex VeloCore Bike 16" earned impressive ratings for adjustability, data interface, features, noise, and capacity. It provides the option to ride in leaning mode—which means users can tilt the bike from side to side to more realistically duplicate the feeling of bike riding. This connected bike natively integrates with the JRNY on-demand exercise app. You’ll have access to a library of free workouts and the option to sign up for the JRNY on-demand workout subscription, starting at $20 per month.

As one of the heaviest recumbent bikes we tested, the Sole LRC has a notably sturdy, gym-quality feel as you ride it. It also offers one of the narrower Q-factors (or space between the pedals), which provides a natural-feeling pedaling experience with little knee strain. The fit range of this bike is especially accommodating for taller users—our testers estimate that users up to 6 feet, 5 inches tall can achieve proper leg extension (but the seat can be moved quite far forward, so shorter riders will do well too). Our testers found the seat of this bike to be very comfortable, with a contoured shape that provides good support to both the upper and lower back. 

The Peloton Row Basics earns top marks from us in all ratings categories. It’s pricey, but it doesn’t go on sale often. And it tracks all the metrics that serious rowers would want to measure, including stroke rate, time per 500 meters, and split time. It uses electromagnetic resistance and features sensors to evaluate your form and help you improve. The Peloton Row has a 23.8-inch high-definition screen, providing access to the company’s live and on-demand classes. Those cost $50 per month and include access to many types of workouts, not just rowing.

The high-end Hydrow Rower uses a quiet electromagnetic resistance system and tracks all standard metrics that rowers use to measure progress—from stroke rate to split time. This machine earns top marks across all CR’s tests. It also has a 22-inch high-definition screen that can be used to access Hydrow’s live and on-demand fitness classes. As with other high-end machines, those are subscription-based—$44 per month—and include access to many types of workouts, not just rowing. It’s $100 more than the sale price at the beginning of the month, so it’s not the best deal we’ve seen. But if you’re in the market, a $300 discount is still decent.

Samsung’s Galaxy Watch7 is at a new low price at Walmart right now. It typically retails for closer to $300, but Walmart’s discount is the biggest we’ve seen. This is a sleek-looking and high-performing pick, particularly if you own a Galaxy phone, and its stylish design means you can feel comfortable wearing it just about anywhere. The Watch7 offers some of Samsung’s latest health, fitness, and safety features—including sleep apnea detection, swimming stroke analysis, and daily AI-enabled Sleep and Energy scores, which make it easier to keep tabs on basic health metrics. It also has more standard features, like automatic workout-tracking, heart rate and blood oxygen level monitoring, and heart rate variability tracking.

The Pixel Watch 3 is $30 less than its recent sale price. It has many of the same pros as its predecessor—an elegant design, as well as seamless compatibility with the Pixel phone and full Google ecosystem. In our testing, the model barely beats out the original, thanks to a slightly more robust suite of health features, like automatic workout detection and heart rate variability tracking. It also can give you a more holistic look at your health, with daily Readiness and Sleep scores. The Pixel Watch is also catching up to other high-end smartwatches with strong scores for ease of use, readability in bright and low light, and heart rate accuracy.

The Cerana looks and feels a lot like the rental electric bikes available through most urban and suburban bike shares. It’s not big on power, but it certainly gets the job done with a crank-mounted electric motor and four levels of assist. That allows the rider to use the bicycle’s seven-speed gearing to augment the electric motor’s twist with good old-fashioned leg power. Braking is strong, and the display screen, although simple, is easy to see and use. Metallic paint and color-keyed anodized aluminum accents give the Cerana an attractive look. It is, however, $100 more than it was last month, so look to bigger sales in June.

Whether it’s delivering goods or carrying kids around, the XPedition 2.0 cargo e-bike is capable of hauling it all. The bike has a large rack integrated into the aluminum frame, contributing to its 83-pound weight with the battery installed. Lectric says that this long-wheelbase e-bike can haul a maximum payload of 450 pounds, which includes the rider, cargo, and any attachments. We were able to cover just over 17 miles with a combination of hills and flats at full assistance at the highest level. The top assist speed when operating as a Class 2 e-bike (as we tested it) is 20 mph.

Big power gets this Class 2 electric bike moving quickly on flat ground and also up steep hills. Although the bike’s joints sound a bit rattly going over bumps, the ride is smooth and stable, and the seat and riding position are comfortable. Big tires and a front suspension help absorb bumps. At 65 pounds, the XP 3.0 is objectively heavy, so despite its convenient carry handle, it will most likely be a chore (if not impossible) for many riders to carry. It’s bulky as well, folding into a 37x18x28-inch package that’s larger than some of the other folding bikes we tested.

The Garmin Varia RTL515, whose price has dropped nearly $20 since last month, has a long radar range and a variety of alerts to warn the rider of approaching vehicles. When paired with a phone or bike computer, the Garmin uses different colors on the display and different tones to indicate the status of vehicles approaching the rider. The radar can detect multiple vehicles at the same time. In our radar evaluation, the RTL515 was able to detect the test car from an average of 450 feet away. There are four light modes to choose from, plus a radar-only (light off) mode. Unlike some other devices, it does not operate as a brake light when the rider slows down. In subjective riding evaluations, the Garmin didn’t have any false alerts, nor did the radar miss any vehicles. The RTL515 has a claimed battery life of up to 16 hours, depending on the light mode.

There’s no question that Allen Sports’ Deluxe 4-Bike hitch-mounted hanging rack is priced right. At just 20 pounds, it’s also pretty light, making it easy for one person to take the rack on and off a vehicle. We like that the rack can handily tilt down and out of the way so you can access your vehicle’s cargo area. The “hanging” portion of the rack that holds the bicycles can also be flipped down so that the rack barely sticks off the back of your vehicle when you’re not carrying bikes. But for all its good points, this is still a hanging rack and isn’t one you’d want to use on a regular basis. Due to the close proximity of the bicycles to each other, if you’re carrying more than two bikes, parts are going to rub.

The Kryptonite New York FAHGETTABOUDIT Mini U-Lock had the thickest, most cut-resistant U-bar in our tests. It was the only model we could not cut with a hacksaw. It doesn’t come with mounting hardware for transport, so if you get one, you have to figure out how best to stow it.