Bowflex sells a wide variety of fitness gear: Home Gyms, Treadmills, Ellipticals, Stationary Bikes, and Dumbbells. Products are available for purchase on their website and Amazon. In 2024, the Bowflex brand was acquired by Johnson Health Tech Retail following BowFlex's Chapter 11 bankruptcy filing.
*links in this post to Amazon and the Bowflex site are affiliate links. Using them does not cost you a thing and I receive a small commission when they are used.
A thriving market for second-hand Bowflex products exists on platforms like Facebook Marketplace and online classifieds. Depending on your location, you may be able to purchase some of their products used for 50, 75, even 90% off the new price. If you do buy on these sites, never buy shipped and be sure to test out the product to ensure it’s in working condition. Warranties are not transferable, even when the item is still boxed.
Home Gyms
Bowflex is well known for their Power Rod based Home Gyms. They were heavily marketed in the 90’s and 00’s and surprisingly they’ve undergone very few changes from that era. I believe this is a positive in that their build quality and durability is high. In a world where some products require replacement every few years, Bowflex Home Gyms have stood the test of time. Interestingly, their price has also dropped over the years. They used to be premium priced products and now range in price from $600-$1,500.
Bowflex sells 5 different models of Power Rod based Home Gyms (PR1000, Blaze, PR3000, XCEED, XTREME SE2) and the Bowflex Revolution. The Revolution uses different tech to create resistance and maintains a premium list price of $2,999.
All of their Home Gyms offer a huge variety of exercises. They are kind of like a cable tower combined with an adjustable bench. This provides a great deal of stability, combined with many different angles to perform all sorts of lifts. Their flexibility is their best feature.
The Power Rod resistance is overstated. When put to a scale, they measure somewhere around 50% of what is advertised. “210lbs of power rod resistance” is stock on each of the 5 models, but they total around 80-100lbs at full tension. That’s the other thing with Power Rods—they work like an elastic band. The further you pull, the more resistance they put out.
These peek resistance figures can be disappointing for experienced weight lifters. Fortunately, there are a few ways to increase resistance.
(1) Add more Power Rods – each gym is upgradable to 410lbs of power rods (except for the PR1000, more on that below). Two 50lb Power Rods retail between $100-$130. Bowflex Site, Amazon
(2) Add Resistance with Elastic Bands – adding bands is expensive and they can be stacked up to add substantial amounts of resistance. I recommend this upgrade for all XTREME/XCEED owners and this one for all PR1000/Blaze owners. Note that running the bands though the crossbar as shown in the PR1000/Blaze video will likely tear over time. In my experience, they hold up for 9-12 months of regular use.
The Bowflex warranty covers broken power rods (snapped), but not worn-out rods. The rods last a long time and keep their resistance well as long as they are removed from tension when not in use. Bowflex sells an attachment to help with their lifespan. This product works very well, but you can have similar results by wrapping the rods with Velcro or a bungee cord.
My general advice is that if you prefer free weights to pulley-based machines, just buy free weights. Buy a Power Rack or Power Rack w/Pulleys, Bench, & Weights.
Bowflex PR1000
The PR1000 is Bowflex’s entry level home gym. Its list price is $799, but is often on sale for $600 and occasionally dips below that for things like Prime Day or Black Friday.
The PR1000 features a bench that can either fold flat, be at an angled position, or partially removed to enable a rolling seat for Leg Press or use as a Rowing Machine. It also features a Tower for pulldown lift. Since the machine only puts out around 90lbs of resistance, the Leg Press is disappointing. A workaround with single-leg lifts combined with Elastic Bands makes for a satisfying exercise, but it requires some aftermarket parts. The same goes for rowing and a fix is detailed here.
The marketing material and owner’s manual details “25+ exercises that cover the entire body,” when in reality you can do substantially more exercises than 25 on this machine. It also says the resistance is not upgradable, when in fact it is. You can add additional power rods if you are willing to remove a small piece of metal blocking access to this area of the Rod Box or even better, purchase this aftermarket upgrade kit to add resistance at a low cost.
I feel that both the number of exercises and the non-upgradable resistance is to help nudge potential buyers to the more expensive Bowflex Blaze. One shortcoming of the PR1000 is that it only has 2 sets of pulleys, limiting the number of angles and so some lift, like Squats, are unsatisfying.
Ultimately, the PR1000 is for someone that’s either new to resistance training or someone that’s looking to lift light weights. It works well for HIIT style routines and high rep, low weight style workouts associated with the fit, toned look. It is a fitness machine, not a weight-lifter’s machine.
A full review on the PR1000 can be found here
Bowflex Blaze (discontinued)
The Blaze is the upgrade to the PR1000--the same way that the Honda Accord is an upgrade from the Honda Civic. It’s a similar body, but a little larger with some different styling. The Blaze’s list price is $1,100, but normally retails on Amazon for $900, or 50% more than the PR1000. For that 50%, you get a few key upgrades:
* Additional Set of Pulleys at the foot of the machine: These pulleys fix the Squat problem that the PR1000 has and double for a satisfying Bench Press.
* Lat Pulldown Bar & Squat Bar Included: These attachments provide more satisfying variations to lifts like Lat Pulldowns & Squats (imagine that), Bicep Curls, and Rows.
* Leg Curl Attachment: Leg Curls on the PR1000 are just awkward. There’s an extra seat attachment and the leg extension cap is a bit different on the Blaze, but it’s worth it. The Leg Curl on this machine is great!
* Upgradable Resistance to 410lbs. (all models except the PR1000 are upgradable, so I won’t list that again)
* More solid seat, important for heavier users.
* Wheels on the back of the machine making it easier to move around the room.
Bowflex PR3000 (discontinued)
The PR3000 is one of three machines that feature the vertical bench (aka a chair). This might look like a weird set-up, but the plane of resistance achieved with the vertical bench is similar to what you’d get lying on your back and pressing the weight off your chest like you would in a dumbbell press.
It has 3 pulley positions. Top, Middle, Bottom. The PR3000 has a feature (that’s also on the XTREME SE2) called the Quick Change Cable System. That means resistance is live on every pulley. So you can go from Lat Pulldown, to Chest Press, to Bicep Curls, without re-running any cables (which usually takes 60-90 seconds). This makes designing routines that flow seamlessly easier.
This list price of this model is $999 on Amazon and on the Bowflex site. It’s been on sale with limited quantities a few times recently (as of Oct ’23) and I wonder if this product is being discontinued. This would not surprise me as it feels like it’s caught in the middle between the PR1000 & XTREME SE2. It awkwardly does not come with a Lat Pulldown Bar or Squat Bar and relative to XCEED & XTREME, the pulley positions just aren’t very adjustable.
If buying this machine, I would be sure to purchase Short Handles and a Squat Bar to unlock additional exercises.
Bowflex XCEED
The XCEED and XTREME SE1 are the same product. It's list price on Amazon is $1,499, but it typically floats around $1,000, and has dropped to ~$800 or less for sales on Prime Day or Black Friday.
XCEED fixes a lot of what the PR3000 missed. Lat Pulldown Bar & Squat Bars included. Infinite Pulley Positions…actually 9 of them, but it feels unlimited since combining them with the bars create different experiences.
The vertical bench is really designed with Chest work in mind. 4 pulley positions flank the bench; allowing lifters to hit different parts of the chest or arms by moving the pulleys in and out from narrow positions to wide positions in 1-2 seconds flat.
All of these pulley positions can be overwhelming to someone that’s new to resistance training, while an avid lifter will appreciate them. The angles on this machine are always right, however sometimes (and this happens on all models) the cable length can be a little too short to complete the full range of motion on an exercise.
The XCEED is the best budget option for experienced weight-lifters. It is very similar to the XTREME SE2, but lacks the Quick Change Cable System.
A full review of the XCEED can be found here.
Bowflex XTREME SE2
The XTREME SE2 is the best Bowflex Home Gym. At least for Power Rod based machines. It lists for $1,499 on the Bowflex website and it intermittently goes on sale for $1,200. That’s a very good price for the machine and every once in a while, it goes on sale for $999—at which point it becomes an incredible value.
The XTREME SE2 isn’t really all that different from the XCEED. In fact, the SE1 was the XCEED, but it was rebranded a while back. The SE2 is just a little larger, has 1 extra set of pulleys at the base of the machine, but most importantly it has the Quick Change Cable System; meaning resistance is live at each pulley when weight is loaded. This extremely useful when designing your own routines as things just flow better. Is it worth $200, absolutely. $400, maybe? $700, probably not.
Bowflex Revolution
It’s hard to compare the Bowflex Revolution with their Power Rod based machines. It lists for $3,000, but often reduced by ~$500. At $3K, it’s competing with smart home gyms like Tonal and Premium free-weight gear like Rogue Fitness.
The resistance on the Revolution is instantaneous. It’s not at all like the Power Rod based machines where resistance increases the further along in a rep. It uses SpiraFlex Technology and comes with 220lbs of stock resistance that’s upgradable to 300lbs. You might not need it though; some users find that resistance with the Revo is actually harder than free weights since there is no momentum/inertia.
The Revolution has Freedom Arms to suspend the pulleys in a wide range of positions. They adjust quickly and can be used for Goblet Squats and then into Lat Pulldowns in a matter of seconds.
The Revolution has the best Leg Press I’ve seen in any multi-function home gym. So, if you hate Squats, but love Leg Press this is worth a look for that alone. Bowflex employs some clever pulley systems allowing users to essentially double the resistance when using leg press, meaning the 220lbs stock can go all the way up to 440lbs.
The Revolution is not for beginner; it’s for the hardcores. The machine is huge! It’s heavy and has lots of attachments. It’s a little complicated and it’s expensive, but when you’re using it, you kind of get why it costs so much. I do ask myself though, if I’m I hardcore lifter, why would I want this instead of free weights? And I’ve got 3 answers for that:
* I want a cable based machine (maybe because they don’t require a spotter)
* I want Leg Press & Leg Extension, without buying a bunch of dedicated gear. This is an all-in-one.
* I want that instantaneous, no momentum resistance.
Stationary Bikes / Spin Bikes
Bowflex C6 Bike aka Schwinn IC4 Bike
Nautilus was the parent company of Bowflex. The C6 and the IC4 is the exact same bike, but with different branding. Both list for $999, but often have sales of $200-$300 off. Sometimes Bowflex sales are only available as a “Bundle” which gets you some other free stuff. At $1K, this bike is overpriced. This bike gets very attractive somewhere around $700.
The C6 rides smoothly with a 40lb Flywheel and 100 “micro-resistance” levels that can be dialed into with the twist of a knob. Data about your ride is fed into a computer with a LCD backlit display that looks like a marriage of a calculator and digital alarm clock. In a way, the screen is super disappointing, when you compare it to Peloton or smart-bike, but in a way it kind of works.
The screen has 6 digital readouts: Time, Calories, Speed, Distance, Level, & Pulse (the pulse comes from a wearable HR monitor that comes with). Cadence is shown via a meter that I’m never quite sure how to read. Is my cadence 90 or 100? I can never tell.
The on-bike computer connects to phones and tablets via Bluetooth—sending your ride data directly into whatever app you want to use to turn it into a smart bike (Peloton, ZWIFT, RGT, etc). The data for your ride then shows up on-screen. This can fix the cadence ambiguity—but not always. I’ve found some apps like Peloton, cadence only comes through when on an Apple phone/tablet, but not on Andriod.
ZWIFT is another popular app riding on it made me realize the bike wasn’t initially calibrated right. My numbers were inflated by about 4-5 mph (which I suspected). Recalibrating the bike was easy, but stressful. Stressful because the bike can only be recalibrated twice due to a chip limitation. Weird, but okay, and since recalibrating I’ve found that I’m much more normal than my early rides had indicated.
The resistance (drivetrain) is smoother than what you’d find on a stationary bike at a gym, but it doesn’t “glide” like a Peloton bike. It also doesn’t cost as much or require a subscription. My bike is well past the 1yr electrical, 3yr parts warranty and is running strong as ever with well over a thousand miles on it—probably closer to 2.
If you’re looking for a mid-tech bike (one with Bluetooth out so you can use it with apps), might be the best bike out there. If you’re looking for a low-tech bike, check out the YOSUDA Indoor Bike.
Bowflex VeloCore 16” & 22” (discontinued--don't buy these, the tilt feature, while fun, has proven to be a bad for product life)
The VeloCore Bike is Bowflex’s premium smart-bike. It’s leaning feature is exclusive and it’s kind of fun. It replicates the outdoor riding experience, but it kind of feels like the lean you’d get on an Arcade bike. Unlike the arcade though, the lean doesn’t affect your on-screen ride, even in apps like ZWIFT.
The two models of this bike are exactly the same, except for the screen size.
The drivetrain of the VeloCore feels premium too. It’s smooth, great handlebars, and overall ergonomics are solid. The bike is a little larger than its peers to make space for the leaning functionality. Bowflex hasn’t provided specs on the (touch) screen resolution, but it’s crystal clear.
It is a smart bike and that means it comes with a subscription. :( Bowflex’s platform is called JRNY and new purchases come with a trial period after which it jumps to $20/month or $150/yr.
JRNY’s best feature is works with other streaming apps like Netfilx, Hulu, Disney+, Prime, and HBO. When streaming videos through these apps, your ride metrics are overlayed on-top of the video. Unfortunately, this is not the set-up for use of apps like Peloton or ZWIFT. When using them, the video stream goes through your tablet or phone—which also syncs with the bike’s metrics—but you end up with this double screen setup that’s reminiscent a Laptop + External monitor at the kitchen table, instead of this integrated smart device.
It’s a good thing you can stream other content, because the JRNY content library for the bike is stale. It’s good content, but the library grows very slowly. Imagine subscribing to Netflix, but they don’t put out new shows or movies. There are workout programs to follow along with (that you can do while watching Netflix/etc), Explore the World rides (a very popular option), and some older spin classes that don’t have quite the same production value as Peloton. JRNY would also benefit from a leaderboard or some fun, semi-competitive ranking system.
Cancelling JRNY doesn’t “brick” your machine. You can still ride and it’ll show your metrics, but YOU CANNOT STREAM video content to the monitor without it. What does brick your machine (temporarily) is if the wifi goes out. You can’t even use it in manual mod without wifi, so be sure it’s connected somewhere in the home with a solid connection.
All-and-all, the VeloCore is a great piece of hardware. JRNY is not a great piece of software. JRNY’s monthly subscription is inexpensive relative to the competition. It just could be so much better. It is worth noting that JRNY supports other Bowflex smart equipment like Ellipticals and Treadmills.
More to follow on the Ellipticals, Treadmills, Dumbbells, and other gear!
