Every so often we dip our toes into a series called Danny Recommends:, posts that tip you off to the stuff that I…you know. The recommendations might be products for use in your ministry, resources that will help you develop leaders around you, or just fun stuff that you need. Want. Whatever. I have a full list of recommended books and such over at the Reading List, but these posts will go into further detail. For other posts in the series, check out the link at the bottom.

---

If you’ve followed the Danny Recommends posts for long, you know that I typically throw stuff your way that is helpful for your ministry. Today I’m shifting gears to something that is helpful for you.

I’ve hit the age where my primary care physician regularly uses hurtful and abusive language like high cholesterol and vigorous exercise and I don’t care if that party size bag of Cheetos is the color of an orange, it still doesn’t count as a fruit.

Enter the Merach exercise bike.

I stumbled across a review of a “poor man’s Peloton,” an exercise bike for those who – like me – think paying for an exercise bike is kind of dumb, but also like the idea of exercising without heading outside or getting a gym membership.

I’ll (finally) cut to the chase: I couldn’t be happier with my choice. It was easy to put together (one of my pregnant daughters-in-law and I tackled it together in under an hour, because #complementarianism). While it does not have a built-in screen, it has an easy-to-connect app that tracks all the necessities, plus provides Peloton-style training videos on your phone or iPad (bike through Amsterdam! Bike across Rome! Bike across … uh … Lake Michigan?). It’s super quiet (as long as you ignore the occasional gasping for breath). It has two cup holders (I can only assume that one is for water and the other is for Cheetos?). And for an exercise bike, it’s relatively compact (Merriem has not made me take it out to the garage…yet).

And best of all, the price is just right. I happened to catch it on a sale and with a digital coupon, which clocked it at the $159 range…roughly 10% of the cost of a Peloton. (And looking at the price history, price drops on Amazon are fairly common.)

If there’s one drawback, it’s that the positioning of the seat vs. handlebars takes a lot of adjustments here and there. (Imagine a T-Rex on a stationary bike and you begin to get the idea of what I looked like the first few days.) Plus you have to make sure that the seat is fully anchored at the proper height or you might experience a sudden, shall we say, loss of altitude. Ask me how I know.

If you’re looking for an affordable indoor option to offset your Cheetos-are-not-a-fruit lifestyle, the Merach might be the poor man’s Peloton for you.

Order the Merach exercise bike.

---

See all posts in the Danny Recommends: series.

---

Disclaimer: FTC watchdogs will probably want to know that the vendors listed / linked above did not ask for this endorsement, nor did they provide me with free swag in order to do so. I’m just a really satisfied fan who wants to let you know about helpful things. I only promote items that have benefitted me and that I believe will benefit you. So there. If you order from the link above, I may receive a small affiliate commission from Amazon. If that bugs you, feel free to bypass the link and order another way.

---

photo credit