MERACH Indoor Exercise Bike with Automatic Resistance, Home Trainer with Bluetooth, 16 Level Adjustable Resistance Setting, Professional LCD Data Screen, Heart Rate and Pulse Test

Be prepared: there is a lot of assembly. My husband, who is really adept at multi-step instructionals and is very logical, still needed almost 2 hours to complete the build. If you do not feel confident with machine building, it may be worth your time to pay for someone to assemble it for you. That being said, this bike is excellent and very worth the money. Easy to use and the app function tracks progress with many data points. It is very quiet, as advertised, and great for a small one bedroom apartment. The workouts can be varied in many different ways and it works well for beginners (me) looking for an easy start as well as 'experts' who want to sweat buckets (my husband). The seat height is decently adjustable. At it's lowest setting, it works for me (5', short legs) and I believe the 2nd to the highest setting works for my husband (6'). In my opinion it paid for itself in the first 2 weeks.

I must rate it five Stars because it’s a great well-built bike for the money. Good points: it’s sturdy, gives readout for speed, time, calories, distance and rpm, easy to assemble, its light enough to move around with the built in wheel, has a nice mount for a tablet or smartphone, and it’s extremely quiet while riding. Not so good points: the seat slips unless the adjustable knob is really tightened, handle bars don’t adjust high enough for my comfort, and the pedals are hard to slip into due to the flimsy straps but I use the under side of them with no problems. I haven’t used the fitness app so I can’t review that aspect. Overall I’m very pleased with the purchase. For the money I doubt there’s a better one.

Very quiet bike! Easy set up ,mostly put together. Very compact and does the job. Not made for big screens, but that is cool. Electronics is just okay. You can use any program or app on your iPad, so their app is not necessary in some cases. You can use your Apple, Garmin, Withings, etc watch to track exercise. I’d say one small negative thing was the quality control. My screen holder bar and tray are off a bit. Looks a little wonky, but not too big of deal. That’s what a mass produced bike gets you sometimes. I use a binder clip to level out the tablet, but the plastic ledge and bar holding it is obviously off a bit. It’s bolted down, so it’s not something you can fix or bend. In the picture, it's hard to tell but it's noticeable when you have your tablet on it. No worries. At this price point, I’m okay with it. Not sure if it was a fluke with just this bike. I’m just glad the deformity was not in the flywheel or pedal system. All good! I have a bony bum, so the seat is not comfortable. I bought a cushon cover for it so I'm all set. Happy with the purchase!

TL;DR: Love the quiet, smooth action of the Merach S26 magnetic, belt-drive spin bike. Power data seems to pass the sniff test in Zwift. Worth it more than the Merach incline/decline spin bike. *Review fully updated & edited on August 12, 2025 (~100 hours of riding Merach S26 Magnetic & ~ 10 hours of riding Zwift Ride w/Wahoo Kickr Core w/Zwift cog V2) Preamble & apologies: I love cycling. My road bike fits me so well thoughts of actually buying a second bike disappear when I hop on and pedal. But recovering from a tender spot surgery, and tenderest spot stitches, got me interested in an indoor bike again. No bumps, potholes, or deer (even in cities, everywhere!), so no risk to bodily punctures, much less tire. Like everyone else, I looked. A lot. This bike won, as opposed to the more expensive Merach version that changes incline/decline, and definitely over much more expensive brands because A) I don’t want to plug in a bike a. *Yeah, I caved using the Wahoo which is plugged in and potentially always transmitting i. Eating my money through energy costs (probably less than AC, but still) ii. Chatting with my devices iii. But it works so well I forgive the Kickr for being a multi-plane vampire B) I don’t want to be obligated to subscriptions a. If I buy it, it’s mine to use/abuse as I want i. *Yeah, caved again. Spelunking at its finest. I now pay for Zwift. It has nice colors and geometric shapes. But the hardwares will work w/out Zwift, so the knowledge I can bail whenever I’ve had it (see B.b.) is a comfort b. Grad school face-hugger data miners should have to put in some effort to get my data Merach S26 Magnetic resistance review/notes: By picture you can quickly see changes I’ve made. I’ve absolutely voided the warranty, but it was so smooth and quiet and just “fit well” that it’s worth it. Changes: 1. Swapped out the seat to one that matches my sit bones. Way more comfortable than getting numb butt (or other area) from being on a cushy office chair bike seat. Get a fitting, use a seat that matches. I get better leg movement and less butt crush. This bike already uses an actual seat adapter, so no need to spend more for that just to be more comfortable. 2. As always, put on different pedals. I had SPD-SL lying around since I didn’t like them on my road bike, but perfect for this critter. Cage pedals that come with are perfectly fine; I wanted to make use of pedals I’d otherwise have to release into the wild. 3. Warranty voiding changes to handlebars. I’m a long torso, short-limb, 5’8” T-Rex. The bullhorn handlebars as is do not quite reach me comfortably. I sawed off theirs, leaving a 4” nub to clamp on drop bars. I reused their handlebar inserts and some tape on the new ends I made to keep me from cutting myself since I didn’t file them smooth. Using shims and some dual truss clamps. And brake hoods. Cuz why not? Now the handlebars reach me, are more similar to riding in the real world, and I can rest on the hoods. I also had to trim the plastic housing for the electronics, and I may get rid of their casing and build it a new, smaller one. Later. Other than that, I’ve not opened it to tinker. a. I would love it if spin bike makers included as option to either use their handlebar, or it comes with a bolt down stem for your own. Dare to dream! 4. Bought a 10.1” android tablet to use for just riding. The S26 magnetic also has a version that comes with a larger tablet, you can use a PC or android tablet, but FantomFite isn’t yet (2025) on iOS. 5. JEFit Hedgehog pods tried a. Yeah, it wobbles more, not so much side to side, but like I’m the broccoli in the Midwestern Jello salad. b. Didn’t really make a difference to me c. But the bike isn’t so stable and rigid that those kind of rockers are needed. i. Use a fan to help your swass ii. The bike has enough wobble on its own for users over 200 lbs/90 kg iii. Still stable to ride, just a bit of motion to minimize issues that lead to using a rocker plate Pros & Cons/Notes: 1. Very adjustable seat, from height to forward, and don’t be shy. Get out your level and make sure any seat is even, that also helps ease the tissue crushing damage of fluffy wide seats. For me. I’m also a fat T-Rex. That doesn’t skip leg day. But skips every chest day ever. Get your seat level and fit correctly forward, since it’s very adjustable. 2. Apps! a. I got the Merach, Kinomap, FantomFite, and Zwift. Zwift, for cycling, requires a subscription and data harvesting, but their game Merach apps don’t track you. Kinomap is nice, cheaper, less gamey than Zwift. FantomFite is cool, but less robust than Zwift. Zwift for dopamine social nature (like getting a thumbs-up from a 100-level rider in confetti socks! Whaaaat?) is better, has options to ignore chat, and currently the one I’m using. Try Zwift for free running or just get it. Lots of options for apps, and super easy to pair the bike. 3. Stable even with some movement. I’m ~245 lb/111 kg, so sitting to standing does move the bike a bit side to side. Like in the real world. It also sits on a textured rug (Mohawk, 3’x 5’ squares), rather than a rubber mat (cheaper, works better to protect carpet/floor). The bike has a bit of natural side to side wobble as I pedal, but I’ve never been concerned about its safety or stability. I’ve never noticed the knee or back pain issues others describe even after 4 hours of riding 4. Very smooth pedaling action. 5. Belt drive is the best a. All chains make some noise. Not exactly the Jacob Marley level, but a vibrational whir that you’ll at least feel, if not also hear. b. Belt drive on Merach is quiet c. Belts tend to last nearly forever on bikes d. No grease to gum up the works with debris or get the obvious marks on your right calf (that you spend all this time biking to build into glorious diamonds just to be perpetually smudged. Looking at you, all my bike since forever!) 6. Quiet with the magnetic resistance, just hard to know the “level” you’re on aside from using perceived effort or the Merach app. This can matter when you’re trying to compare sessions for improvement; however, the watts do change with resistance and cadence changes, as it should, so apps using watts/kg can be used instead. 7. My tuxedo cat, who only got the one brain cell and not every day, is unphased by any riding noises. He has recently scared himself by a. Seeing his reflection in the dishwasher door b. His toy bouncing (after he attacked it) c. I sneezed (probably took a decade off his life. Sorry, buddy), even my fancy coward is unphased by the quiet whir of the wheel. He’s also afraid of my sandwich wrappers, so, bike is very quiet. 8. Sort of easy to move. I pick it up by the handlebar housing and seat housing, because to tip it to the wheels is a long tip as the wheels are horizontal. I have handlebars at the top of their adjustment, so if they’re lower, that’d be easier. Like the tall guy doing the video review who clearly hasn’t adjusted the bike at all. 9. Easily connects to apps, once you realize it’s labeled oddly. Looks more like a spam email address, MRK-more numbers and letters, but once paired, it’s fine. And it can still pair to other apps. Which is more than my earbuds can manage to do (basically the bike isn’t locked into one thing and can multi-pair). 10. I’ve truly hunted hard to find out how Merach measures watts/power. Dual power cranks or pedals cost the same or more than this bike. But even Zwift thinks Merach is sending power data that changes more when resistance changes, and a bit less when only cadence changes. So it’s getting some amount of power data that corresponds to leg effort and not heart rate. The bike doesn’t do HR, but I’d love to be able to find how Merach is calculating power/watts. It seems to pass the sniff test, my detrained, unfitness hit a peak of 201 watts on an FTP test, with my end result being 122 watts. That seems reasonable with how I pedal in the real world, and I ride in Zwift around 0.9-1.2 watts/kg, which all seem fair. So it’s consistent and measurable, and seems realish for my resistance level and cadence, HR around the 201 watts hit my Zone 4, which is cool. I would feel honest entering a Zwift race with Merach power data. 11. Tablet holder! Solid, attached, rubber pad to keep it from sliding around. Even as I move heavy from sit to stand it doesn’t move. Nor do my cats move the tablet while rubbing their possessive faces all over, without additional safety strapping. Honestly, the Zwift ride at $800 doesn’t come with a tablet/computer holder; it’s extra. Given that the metal frame and the tablet holder are only bolted together, an industrious person (better than me at measuring) could easily attach a larger tablet/computer shelf without voiding the warranty. Sorry, Merach, I really do love your bike! 12. Given that resistance is “infinite”, but really only 8 levels, I’d love it if the level was shown on the LED display (It is on the incline/decline bike, but that doesn’t seem to have watts. Odd choice for zero-sum data). The bike data shows it knows the levels, why keep it secret? Add that, keep every other data point, perfect. I’m fine with dumb resistance, I change it instead of the app changing it, and watts gives a good suggestion of the resistance level, my symmetrical desire brain just wants to see it. **********Merach vs Zwift Ride on Wahoo Kickr Core with Zwift Cog V2********** 1. Merach is quieter (belt-drive) a. Also smoother as the chain feels loose or tight as you pedal into sudden incline/decline changes, or go faster than that “gear” 2. Watts are more accurate with Wahoo, so: a. Add at least one full turn of resistance knob per 1% increase of incline, off-load during declines b. Eyeball incline/decline like a hawk for every change c. Or: i. Just set it and enjoy the heavy effort regardless of slope changes as Zwift will just adjust your in-game speed lower as you go up and higher as you go down while you sweat like a fully hydrated sauna user d. Data from both are ethical for in-game racing efforts & tracking improvements i. It’s an honest data representation in Zwift from both, just a slightly different feel. Wahoo & Ride make it more like the rolling roads of outdoors for legs without extra fiddling, but Merach can give the same lower extremity & cardiopulmonary destruction by manual adjustments. e. Because Wahoo is making the resistance adjustments, it can give you credit in-game for your rolling speed, helping to push you over smaller inclines without always needing to change gears. Just a nice way to psychologically make some climbs palatable 3. Merach is less expensive, not cheaper a. In spite of my warranty voiding changes (or because of), I truly enjoy my fit on the Merach bike, which made it fit very similar to the highly adjustable Zwift ride b. Stiff enough to transfer power, but not so rigid as to really need rocker plates i. Zwift Ride really does need a wobbler of some type, like a rocker plate. I’m using the tennis balls under the Wahoo which lets the front of the “bike” wobble a bit along with trainer and makes it more comfortable, again, still safely stable. c. However they are calculating power (watts), seems to be within 10% of Wahoo. Which is great because Wahoo is both adjusting my resistance automatically and giving power instantaneously, so it’s lower when I pedal slower and/or downhill, but top efforts are within a reasonable range. i. If you’re an elite rider, you probably want the greater accuracy of a fancier power meter. For the other 98% of the world, Merach’s calculation adjusts watts higher for increases in resistance, and a bit higher for increases in cadence. So it’s using real information to give a watt value, it’s just not the same as Wahoo. ii. Making Wahoo & Merach closer in watts, increase the resistance knob by at least one full turn for each 1% change in incline. Continuously. Or, again, just aim for close enough. Probably Merach’s ability to mirror in-game climbs will end around 8-10% inclines. d. Reasonable power (watt) calculation using resistance & cadence. Power meters often cost more than this bike and also vary in accuracy for power transferred, so having that be arithmetically added is an amazing feature and easily accounted for by being proactive on the resistance knob e. In-game speed changes are more abrupt, as the Merach is a steadier watt calculation (again, unless you are going full match on the resistance knob), so you “slow” uphill faster, and can be a hair slower downhill as your cadence has probably not increased and there are no gears to help you maximize your downhill. i. Advantage of this is the smoother cardiopulmonary training as you can continuously mash your legs and lungs even when the game thinks you should be gliding along ii. The braking in-game is slower using Merach, so you eke out a few more feet/meters as you finally give in to the need to offload all the water. Your avatar stops the same way regardless of access. iii. I’ve still hit up to 50 mph in-game going back down a climb, but higher speeds probably harder to do with Merach. If you’re like me and want to collect all the pretty shapes, ramp up the resistance going downhill and pedal like your rear is on fire. I’m usually sucking air at that point so even the “coasting” is a challenge. iv. A bit easier to recover on Merach bike as the smoother resistances haven’t gobbled up my physical energy and mental will, so I can go longer on Merach (for now) Summary: I love both. My effort is different between the bikes in Zwift because of the manual resistance vs automatic, but you can stare bug-eyed and turn the manual to match each change. I’ll be tugging the Merach off to work to ride at my desk since it’s quiet, small, and (as I see by comparison with the known quality of Wahoo power data) the Merach is even more impressive at its price for an ethical, in-game racing spin bike.

I bought the Magnetic version, well worth the added cost. The is a very well-built cycle, robust construction and very sturdy (even on carpet), while being easy to roll about. Surprisingly small footprint, great for apartments. Easy to assemble, and all necessary tools are included. Hate to admit it, but Chinese quality is excellent with this bike. Nothing cheap, no quality issues. Highly recommended. If Merach is reading, a few requests: Freewheeling (you can pause peddling and the flywheel continues to rotate) would be great. As it is now, if you need to pause peddling to adjust something, you cant. The pedals, and your feet, keep rotating. It will buck you until you get used to it. Add a digit to the mile distance display. It show in tenths (0.0) but hundredths (0.00) would help with motivation to see it move a bit more rapidly.