KIT ZONE

HELEN WEBSTER 220’s editor is your go-to for women’s multisport kit.

JAMES WITTS He’s a published author writing about sports science.

ECHELON EX3 MAX

£1,238 Does the EX3 Max warrant a place in the tri homestead?

You’ve bought a Wattbike!” a friend on Zoom shouted when they saw my new short-term loan during lockdown. Alas not, but the Echelon EX3 Max was certainly a quieter, healthier and more productive visitor than most entrants to my dining room. While there are Wattbike comparisons, Echelon’s main rival is the £700 more Peloton (they of £8bn stock market value and dubious Christmas adverts) in the home training market, with both offering reams of live and pre-recorded indoor spin classes and training content on their apps. So, does the Echelon warrant a place in the upper echelons of the indoor training market for triathletes?

The EX3 arrives in a mightily-heavy box that won’t be welcomed by anyone on upper floors with no access to a lift. Assembly is largely straightforward, however, even for someone who’s at their upper limits with Ikea bookcases, and once built the bike is easy to move due to the front wheels. Unlike Peloton, the Echelon comes without a data