Rogue Echo Bike Review (2024)

The Rogue Echo Bike has become a household name in the world of air bikes.

Rightfully so, I must say – it’s one of the best air bikes out there.

I’ve used the Echo Bike since it was released in 2017. I have experience with each version of the bike, including the current version that I’m reviewing here.

In addition to using this bike extensively, I’ve also used numerous other air bikes, including the Assault Bike, Concept BikeErg, Bells of Steel Blitz Bike, Titan Fan Bike, and more.

As I look directly behind me in my garage gym, I’m reminded that I have a bike addiction. I have seven air bikes at the moment, and I’m not sure I’m capable of stopping.

To put it simply, I love training with fan bikes. I’ve made it a quest to find the best ones based on performance, features, durability, accessories, and more.

I can confidently say, with several years of experience with this bike, it’s a top contender.

In this review, I’ll take you through everything you need to know about the Echo Bike. I’ll detail the positives and the negatives, and I’ll compare it to some other popular bikes.

By the end, you should be able to tell if it’s right for you.

Let’s dig in.

Rogue Echo Bike

Rogue Echo Bike

The Rogue Echo Bike is one of the most popular and well-reviewed air bikes on the market. It's extremely durable and very effective.

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Rogue Echo Bike

The Rogue Echo Bike is a premium air bike at a solid value.

Not only does Rogue equipment tend to retain its value better than most, but this bike’s quality ensures high value in its own right.

It’s overbuilt in nearly every way. It can withstand constant abuse and, thanks to its belt drive, it requires less maintenance.

It offers a nice monitor with third-party integrations and several optional accessories including a wind guard, turf tires, and more.

There’s a reason the Echo Bike dethroned the Assault Bike as the official air bike of CrossFit.

Let’s have a look at the specs before jumping into the review.

Overall Build Quality

The Rogue Echo Bike is unquestionably one of the most overbuilt exercise bikes on the market. Weighing 127lbs, it’s constructed primarily of heavy-duty steel aside from a plastic enclosure around the drivetrain and the optional accessories. With this heavier frame comes a greater weight capacity compared to some other fan bikes. The Echo Bike carries a maximum user weight of 350lbs, which is up to 50lbs more than other high-end bikes.

The support base of the bike measures 20″ on the back and 23.5″ on the front. This is right in the wheelhouse for quality air bikes, and it creates a very stable riding experience. Even with intense pedaling and exaggerated side-to-side motion, this bike holds firm to the ground.

Under each support base are two caps (four total) that can be raised or lowered to accommodate your floor level. For example, you’ll commonly find that garage floors will gently slope toward the garage door to prevent any water issues. You can ensure a perfectly level ride with this bike regardless of its orientation on the floor.

The build quality of this bike is very impressive. It’s rugged, heavy, and clearly made to handle intense workouts. If there’s one area I would like to see improved, it’s the plastic enclosure behind the pedals. While I don’t have much concern with the plastic cracking (it’s also heavy-duty), I do think it cheapens the look and feel of the bike to an extent.

Operation and Mechanics

The Echo Bike provides one of the best riding experiences of any bike that I’ve tested. Air bikes are operated with either a chain drive or a belt drive. Chain drives have historically been the most popular because they’re cost-efficient and they work well. Not to mention the nostalgia of riding chain-driven bicycles as kids.

That has changed over the last few years, however, as we’ve seen belt drives become more popular. This is largely due to the Rogue Echo Bike for both its performance and its maintenance benefits.

Belt drives provide a couple of key benefits over chain drives. Firstly, they require less maintenance. With a chain drive, lubrication is a necessary process to ensure the chain is operating smoothly. You don’t have to worry about that on a belt drive. The likelihood of a belt drive snapping is also less than a chain drive. Even still, if you have to replace a belt drive, the process to do so is much easier than a chain drive.

The second benefit of a belt drive is that it’s much quieter. Now, to be fair, no air bike is “quiet”, but it’s noticeably less noisy than a chain drive. Having used numerous belt drive bikes and chain drive bikes, there is a distinct difference. If you’re training in a home gym, this may be a consideration.

The Fan and Blades

In addition to creating one of the most fluid riding experiences, the Echo Bike from Rogue also provides one of the most challenging. This is largely due to its fan system, which differs from most air bikes in several ways.

Firstly, most air bikes contain 6-7 blades. The Echo Bike contains 10.

Secondly, most air bikes are equipped with flat-profile blades. The Echo Bike uses channeled blades with raised edges that effectively trap air.

Thirdly, most air bike blades measure 2-2.5″ wide. The Echo Bike measures 3″ wide.

Each of these is a benefit of the Echo Bike, and they all contribute to providing more resistance.

However, a possible downside to these larger blades is that they produce a lot more wind directly into your face. This is fine when it’s hot outside, but when it’s cold, you may not like the arctic blast.

Fortunately, Rogue sells a wind guard to eliminate it. Unfortunately, you have to pay extra for it. Some other bikes like the BoS Blitz Bike include fan guards as standard.

The Seat

The seat of the Rogue Echo Bike has some advantages and some disadvantages. One of the first things you’ll notice about this seat is that it’s large, at least relative to some of its competitors. The seat measures 10.75″ wide and 10.5″ long.

It’s comfortable overall, but it provides a different feel than what some riders are likely accustomed to. That said, it mounts like other saddles, so you can easily replace it with an aftermarket saddle if you prefer.

A possible downside to this seat is that it doesn’t have as many adjustment options as some others. This is one of the more common complaints with this bike, especially from shorter riders (5’2″ or less). Still, with six horizontal adjustments and eleven vertical adjustments, there’s likely a position that fits you well.

The vinyl on the seat is very supple, with a great texture and quality stitching. Ultimately, the seat comes down to personal preference. If you like a narrow seat, you probably won’t love the standard Echo Bike Seat, and you may find yourself replacing it with an alternative like the AIKATE Saddle.

The Pedals

The Echo Bike Pedals are fairly standard metal pedals. They measure 4.5″ long and 4″ wide, which provides plenty of foot support. They also include raised nodules to prevent slippage, but the texture of the pedal is noticeably smoother than some other bikes, which does make it feel slightly less secure.

The great thing about air bikes is that most of them offer pedals that can easily be swapped with upgraded pedals. For example, SHIMANO makes several metal pedals that can be used as flat pedals or as clip-ins with a fixed foot position. The PD-EH500 Pedals are especially popular for the Echo Bike.

Like most fan bikes, the pedals are affixed to an “L-bracket” that extends from the drivetrain housing. This design can sometimes clip your heel if your foot shifts on the pedal, which can interfere with your ride. It doesn’t happen often, but when going all-out, you may hit it from time to time. Again, after-market pedals can mitigate slippage or eliminate it altogether.

The Handles

The handles on the Echo Bike, like the vast majority of air bikes, articulate to provide a full-body workout. You can ride the bike using both your legs and arms, or you can use it with just your legs or just your arms.

The handles measure 40mm in diameter, which is thicker than other bikes. Some users have complained about this, finding them to be more uncomfortable on their wrists.

At the bottom of the handles are knurled, spinning footrests. You can use these to take a quick break or if you want to just operate the bike with your arms.

The Monitor

The monitor on the Rogue Echo Bike is one of its biggest selling features, in my opinion. Aside from the Concept 2 BikeErg, which has the best monitor, the Echo Bike is right there at the top. I really appreciate the simple layout of this monitor, and the raised buttons provide a great tactile feel that you don’t get with other monitors outside of the PM5 from Concept.

This monitor does not include Bluetooth, which is a downside, but it is compatible with third-party heart rate trackers via ANT+. The Polar H10 is the most popular tracker, and it works seamlessly with the Rogue Echo Bike.

Something I would like to see added to this monitor is a backlit display. The LCD is legible as-is and it provides a nice contrast, but it can be hard to see in dark settings. As long as you’re riding in ample lighting, you should have no issues. The monitor is powered via two AA batteries that are included in the package.

In terms of the metrics this monitor tracks, it includes the following:

• Time
• Distance (measured in miles)
• Calories
• Heart Rate (requires heart rate straps)
• Speed (measured in mph)
• Watts
• Cadence
• Intervals (Includes 20/10 and 20/20 as standard, but custom intervals are available)

Using the monitor is very straightforward. You can jump right on and start riding or you can easily set up intervals with the push of a button. The custom intervals are especially helpful if the default options aren’t cutting it.

Overall, this is an impressive monitor that could be even better with the inclusion of Bluetooth and backlighting.

Footprint and Portability

The Echo Bike is on the larger side in terms of total footprint. Measuring nearly 59″ long and 30″ wide, it takes up more space than some competing air bikes. It’s also heavier than most bikes on the market.

It does include wheels and a rear “handle” to make moving it around easier, but the standard configuration still isn’t very easy. The “handle” is just an empty cavity that can be used to lift it up, and the wheels sit higher than some other bikes. This requires you to lift the bike higher in order to roll it.

If you want to make your life A LOT easier, Rogue sells a turf tire and handle kit. These tires make maneuvering the bike a much better experience, and the dedicated handle sits higher on the frame to reduce effort. I don’t have turf tires on my current version, but I’m planning to add this kit.

Accessories

In addition to the turf tire and handle kit, Rogue also offers the following accessories as premium add-ons:

• Wind Guard – highly recommended
• Cell Phone Holder
• Water Bottle Holder

Some of these accessories come standard on other bikes, like the Titan Fan Bike and BoS Blitz Bike. If you were to purchase all of the accessories, it would add nearly $150 to the price as of this review. If I had to pick only one, I would start with the wind guard and then add others as you see fit.

Aesthetics

I think the Echo Bike is one of the best-looking bikes in its class. I love the clean black-and-white color scheme. It will fit in virtually any gym without clashing with different color schemes. If you have red accents in your gym, you’ll likely also appreciate the red stitching on the seat.

Assembling the Rogue Echo Bike

The Echo Bike comes nicely packaged in a single box with plenty of internal protection. The assembly instructions were very easy to follow.

As you can see, there aren’t too many parts to contend with. It was overall a smooth process – I found that the arm installation was easier on this bike than others. From unboxing to my first ride, it took around 35 minutes.

The Rogue Echo Bike Has Great User Reviews

The Rogue Echo Bike is well-reviewed by thousands of customers. With a nearly perfect 5-star rating, it’s one of the most popular air bikes ever made.

The most common complaint is that it’s difficult for smaller users. Some have reported they can’t find a good seat height for their shorter height, while others have complained about the thicker handle diameter.

Otherwise, the Bike receives very positive feedback overall.

Rogue Echo Bike vs. Assault Air Bike

Assault AirBike

The Assault Bike is a well-made chain-driven air bike that's smaller, lighter, and less expensive than the Echo Bike.

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The Assault Bike is another very popular air bike. Once the official bike for CrossFit, the Assault Bike has been around for years. In that time, it’s built up a strong reputation, and it has a few notable features worth comparing to the Rogue Bike.

The most important distinction between these two bikes is that they use different drivetrains. The Echo Bike uses a belt drive, while the Assault Bike uses a chain drive. As mentioned earlier, belt drives require less maintenance and are much quieter.

Where the Assault edges out the Echo is its size. Standing only 51″x23″, it’s much more compact than the 59″x30″ frame of the Echo Bike. If you’re training in a tight space, this may be meaningful.

With that smaller size also comes a lighter frame of only 98lbs vs 127lbs. This makes it easier to move around, but the max user height is 50lbs less at 300lbs vs. 350lbs.

Resistance on the Assault Bike is adequate and challenging, but the blades are noticeably smaller than the Echo Bike, which offers noticeably more resistance.

Both bikes are equipped with solid monitors for stat tracking. The Assault Bike has an optional wind guard like the Echo Bike, but it doesn’t include the other accessories, including turf tires and more.

As of this review, the Rogue Echo Bike is around $100 more expensive than the Assault Bike. Owning both of these bikes, I prefer the Echo. It feels smoother, more resistant, and more rugged. Both are great bikes, but the value is better with the Rogue Bike, despite its higher price tag.

Rogue Echo Bike vs. Bells of Steel Blitz Bike

Blitz Air Bike 2.0

The Bells of Steel Blitz Bike is modeled closely after the Echo Bike. It includes several quality features at a great price point.

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The Bells of Steel Blitz Bike is one of the most underrated air bikes on the market. It has a lot of similar features as the Echo Bike, but at a cheaper price point.

The Blitz Bike was seemingly influenced by the Echo design. The most notable similarity is that both bikes use belt drives. The Blitz bike also has a heavy-duty frame (118lbs) weighing almost as much as the Echo Bike.

The fan cage is also similarly-sized, but the Blitz Bike has slightly smaller blades. However, they are thick-gauge steel, giving this bike a comparable resistance profile.

The monitor on the Blitz Bike tracks similar stats as the Echo Bike, but it lacks the polish and premium touches. Both are compatible with heart rate straps.

In terms of other accessories, the Blitz Bike includes a wind guard, a cell phone holder, and a water bottle holder as standard. However, it doesn’t have an option for turf tires, nor does it have a handle. Moving the Blitz Bike is generally more challenging.

As of this review, the Blitz Bike is $145-$205 cheaper than the Rogue Echo Bike, depending on which accessories you add to the Echo.

In my opinion, the Blitz Bike is the best budget air bike on the market. If you’re looking for a bike that performs similarly to the Echo Bike, but without the bigger price tag, I would recommend the Blitz.

Pros and Cons

Final Thoughts

The Rogue Echo Bike is quite possibly the most popular air bike in the world. It’s a top performer with excellent features and a very robust build. It can handle anything you throw at it.

I think the monitor is very good overall, but it could be great with a couple of modifications. I’d also like to see a grippier pedal to reduce the risk of slippage.

Overall, I think the Rogue Echo Bike is an excellent option if you’re looking for a high-quality exercise bike.

FAQs about the Rogue Echo Bike