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The Freebeat Boom Bike is one of the most affordable studio bikes with a touchscreen and training content. Learn more about the gamified training content in this Freebeat Boom Bike review.
Updated: April 22, 2024
The Freebeat Boom Bike is an affordable exercise bike. It has the same content options as the more expensive Freebeat LIT Bike, so you can still access the music-filled classes. The bike comes in multiple colors, and the classes are often a kaleidoscope of colors and fun graphics. This bike is ideal for someone who enjoys an upbeat workout. The build quality is not quite as nice as a more expensive bike, and I will get into all the details on the more affordable construction in this review of the Freebeat Boom Bike.
The Freebeat Boom Bike is on the lower end of the price range of exercise bikes that we typically review. Considering this, I knew that the construction wouldn’t be on par with the Peloton Bike+, Carol Bike, or NordicTrack S27i, which cost nearly $2000 more. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how good the Boom Bike is. It felt sturdy. The brand didn’t skimp on the essentials. While the difference in quality between the Freebeat Boom and its pricier counterpart, the Freebeat LIT Bike, was noticeable, I felt the tradeoff in price was very fair. If you are looking for a fairly priced bike that performs well, the Boom Bike is worth considering further.
The Boom Bike has a welded steel, v-shaped frame. It comes in 3 colors: gray, white, or yellow. The frame is ED & powder-coated with your color of choice. It has a supportive and stable base. The frame is covered by a 10-year warranty to match the industry standard.
We were fortunate enough to get the super fun Tuscany Yellow Boom Bike. One thing I have noticed on both the Boom and LIT bikes is that the paint can chip or scratch off if you are not careful and knock the bike into something. I don’t consider this a flaw in the bike. It’s just something to be aware of so you are a bit more careful.
There are two transport wheels on the front stabilizer. The bike weighs only 79.2 lbs, so it is easy to lift the rear stabilizer and wheel the bike around. The bike has a pretty compact footprint, so it is a great option for small spaces. I like this bike for dorm or apartment living a lot.
The saddle is padded and comfortable. It’s a bit bigger than the LIT Bike’s saddle and should be suitable for more users as a result. The saddle has smart detection. This feature detects whether you are in the saddle or not and rewards you with additional points for following along with the trainer’s cues.
The saddle has 10 levels of adjustability. Freebeat reports that the Boom Bike can fit a user from 5’0” to 6’7”, but our testing suggests this range should be shifted down to 4’10” to 6’5”. Of course, reach and inseam measurements will vary from person to person, so be cautious if you are on either end of these ranges. As a bonus, the adjustment knob for the saddle height feels really nice and is easy to use.
The handlebars are bullhorn-shaped. They also have 10 levels of adjustment. Overall, the handlebar positioning felt a bit low compared to the saddle height at the same level. The handlebars don’t come up as high as we expected at their tallest. They stay pretty even with the saddle height, so taller users won’t be able to adopt a more upright position.
The pedals are flat with toe cages. There are no SPD or Delta clips, but you can replace the pedals that the bike comes with if you want. Pedaling felt smooth and comfortable. The saddle also adjusts horizontally, so you can get a nice alignment over the pedals. The Q factor felt comfortable–not too narrow or too wide.
The Freebeat Boom Bike has 100 levels of magnetic resistance. This resistance automatically adjusts when the auto feature is enabled in the Freebeat classes. You can also control the resistance with the resistance knob.
On most exercise bikes, I don’t expect to be able to pedal at the highest resistance level. I’m not the most experienced cyclist, so I generally look for resistance that is far too difficult for me when making a recommendation for a more experienced user. I was able to pedal the Freebeat Boom bike on level 100. While it was still hard, and it’s not somewhere I would hang out for very long during a class, it’s not as challenging as the resistance offered on the LIT Bike and other pricier bikes. It’s a great indoor cycle for a beginner to intermediate user.
The flywheel weighs 15.4 lbs. It’s encased inside a plastic shell with a sticker decal on the side. The flywheel is lighter than most higher-end bikes, We usually find 30 to 40 lb flywheels on those, but it’s not unheard of for lighter flywheels to perform well. For a beginner to intermediate user, the Boom Bike is just fine. It has a quiet belt drive. I wouldn’t rate it as the smoothest pedaling and flywheel motion, but I’m just being nitpicky to say so. Another small point–I wish that the flywheel was exposed rather than encased in plastic. I think the case makes the wheel look unnecessarily cheap.
The Freebeat Boom Bike has most of the essential features including a touchscreen display, which we were not expecting to see at this price. Unfortunately, it lacks a bottle holder. This was the only feature I really felt was missing on the Boom Bike. The Boom Bike holds its own against bikes that cost two, three, even four times more when it comes to features.
There aren’t a ton of buttons on the Freebeat Boom Bike. There are giant buttons for the volume on the side of the screen. There is also a power button for the screen. Other than that, all the controls are on the screen itself.
The screen is 15.6”. The plastic around the screen doesn’t feel as premium as other exercise bikes I have tried. However, it doesn’t impact my training or my enjoyment of the bike. I’m very pleased with the screen quality and size for this bike’s price. I don’t feel like I’m missing out by not having the larger than 20 inches, which a ton of higher-end bikes have.
The screen pivots for off-bike viewing. This makes it super easy to use the non-bike Freebeat classes. There are strength and stretching classes to help you supplement and recovery from your cycling. I recommend setting up your bike near an exercise bike mat if possible to make use of these classes.
There are two front-facing speakers beneath the screen. The audio quality is good. I could hear everything clearly without maxing out the volume.
Bluetooth connectivity allows the Boom Bike to pair with headphones for quiet listening and heart rate monitors to track your heart rate. I connected my Garmin Forerunner 965 easily. I could see my heart rate onscreen while in the Freebeat studio classes.
The 3-lb dumbbells are technically an additional accessory, but Freebeat often includes them with the Boom Bike as part of a promotion. There is a wire cage for each dumbbell behind the bike saddle. I hardly ever use dumbbells as a part of my cycling routine, but they may be a good supplement for some users’ training. Additionally, they let you follow along with classes that incorporate them into the training.
The most exciting feature on the Boom Bike is the light strip. The default setting keeps the light strip on a soft white that flashes intermittently as you cycle. You can change the light and color settings of the strip for even more fun. I like setting the bike to random colors for the full party experience.
I’m always really excited to test out Freebeat’s products. I’ve written about my previous experience with the Freebeat LIT Bike, which I loved. The Boom Bike delivered a similar experience. I could tell from the handlebars and the plastic components on the Boom Bike that it wasn’t going to match my experiences with other bikes, but I don’t think it needed to. While I really enjoy cycling, I’m not competitive at it. I use it primarily to cross-train for running. This bike would make a great addition to my training regimen. If you are in a similar situation, I recommend this bike for you. It provides a great way to vary your training experience.
New exercisers and cyclists will find a lot of incentives to train on the Freebeat Boom Bike. There are gift cards and PayPal credit rewards for participating in classes regularly. The gamified training content really draws you in and makes you feel like you are playing a video game, not riding a bike. I frequently find myself wanting to return to Freebeat’s content for more.
Freebeat classes are designed around the music. Think Peloton, but dialed up to 1000%. Your RPM goals are tied to the music with the easy target being on the beat and the hard target being double-time. The more you connect to the music, the better your performance will be. And honestly, it helps distract you from how much your legs are burning. In addition to the music, the backgrounds of the classes are super colorful and entrancing. They change with each new song. They are extremely vibrant and hectic, so Freebeat is not a good option for photosensitive users.
In addition to the studio classes, there are scenic rides and simulated city routes. You can also play the rhythm game which is a Guitar Hero-like game. You pedal on the notes to score more points. This game appears after your classes for a nice little finisher session, but you can opt to play it any time you would like.
Without a Freebeat membership, you can still use the Boom Bike. You can either adjust the resistance without seeing any metrics from the home screen. Or, you can create a free Freebeat account and train in the manual ‘Just Ride’ program. Freebeat also gives you access to one sample class.
The Freebeat Boom Bike is best with the membership. Unfortunately, the membership is not budget-friendly like the bike is. It is $39/month. This rate is comparable to iFIT and Peloton rates. I wish the rate were a bit lower because Freebeat does not have the content range of these other services. However, you do have an opportunity to earn back some of your money by earning money in Freebeat’s raffle challenges and trading points earned in workouts for PayPal credit.
I really enjoy Freebeat’s training content, and I think the lower price of the Boom Bike is a great way to offset some of your ongoing subscription costs.
The Freebeat Boom Bike is one of the most affordable bikes that I’ve used, and I was pleasantly surprised with how good its performance is. I recommend it for new to intermediate cyclists. It doesn’t feel as refined as more expensive products, but the onscreen content and fun colorways are great. Freebeat’s studio classes feel like a game as they challenge you to pedal to the beat and earn points. The saddle has a smart detection that rewards you for rising out of the saddle when cued to do so. The kaleidoscope classes and strobing light strips under the bike make indoor cycling a rave party, but this may not be suitable for photosensitive users. The Freebeat Boom Bike is a ton of fun when paired with an active membership.
