Want the Peloton experience without the Peloton price? You've got options.

Indoor exercise bikes are nothing new, but almost overnight Peloton has turned what used to be a dull, repetitive fitness activity into something flashy, exciting... and expensive. With a price tag of over $2,200, the Peloton "smart bike" costs 10 times as much as many "dumb" ones. And that doesn't even include the required subscription for exercise classes, which runs $40 per month.

Let's forgo the debate over whether the bike and service are worth the money. Instead, let's look at ways to get a Peloton-like cycling experience at home for less money -- quite possibly a lot less.

For starters, I've already tested a handful of affordable Peloton alternatives -- "connected" bikes that have similar designs and, in some cases, similar spin-class offerings. But even then you're looking at around $900 at a minimum. Surely there must be cheaper DIY options for budget-strapped cyclists?

There are:

The hardware is actually the easiest part of the equation, so let's start by looking at the software.

Read more: The best smart home-gym tech

It's all about the app(s)

The Peloton app gives you full access to all Peloton fitness content, but for a much lower price ($13 per month) than bike owners pay.

As you know, the Peloton bike slings all manner of live and recorded classes to its big built-in screen. But what you may not know is that Peloton also offers these classes to the masses -- those who don't own the company's equipment -- courtesy of the Peloton app. 

Available for Android and iOS, it allows you to "BYO bike" (or treadmill, just FYI), though with one key omission: You won't get all the same live stats and metrics (distance, resistance, calories burned and so on) as you would from a Peloton bike. Likewise, it may be difficult to mirror the exact resistance called out by instructors during classes; a "20" on the Peloton bike has no real correlation to a bike that uses an analog dial for resistance. You also don't get the Peloton's large screen to watch classes or keep track of your stats, but I'll cover how to replicate the experience below. 

However, you can feed heart-rate data to the app -- all you need is an inexpensive third-party heart-rate monitor. Similarly, the app can capture cadence (i.e., pedal-rate) data, which, again, can come from an inexpensive sensor. More on those options later.

Here's the real surprise: The Peloton app costs just $13 per month, not $40 like for owners of the Peloton bike. Whatever bike you end up using, your overall costs will end up much lower.

Of course, since you're going the BYO route anyway, you don't necessarily have to use the Peloton app. Or, you can switch between that and any number of others. Maybe you're not interested in spin-type classes; maybe you'd prefer virtual rides through famous city streets or on beautiful mountain trails. Maybe you'd like to compete in virtual races. There are lots of cycling apps designed to let you do all that and more. A few examples:

Of course, there's no law that says you have to use a cycling app at all. Maybe you'd prefer to read a book in the Kindle app or stream Cheer on Netflix. That's about as far away from the "Peloton experience" as you can get, but it's also a very low-cost option. (Here are 10 free Netflix alternatives to keep costs even lower.)

Inexpensive indoor exercise bikes

This Pyhigh bike sells for under $300. It's no Peloton, but if you're using the Peloton app to take classes, will you even notice?

As noted earlier, there are exercise bikes that cost a fraction of what you'll pay for the Peloton. You won't get all the same features, of course, and build quality might not be as good. But if your goal is simply to ride inside while enjoying instructor-led classes, that's easily accomplished.

What should you look for in an indoor bike? A few key specs: The weight of the flywheel (conventional wisdom holds that heavier is better), the type of resistance (pad or magnetic, the latter typically quieter) and the inclusion of a tablet holder. This last is pretty important, as you'll want a tablet for whatever app(s) you plan to use. You can also buy a separate tablet holder if you can't find an exercise bike you like that includes one -- more on that below.

However, any bike in the $200-$400 range won't be "connected," meaning it won't have any way to pair with that tablet. If you want heart-rate and/or cadence data from your rides, you'll have to add that equipment on your own (see below).

Search Amazon for indoor exercise bikes and you'll find a dizzying array of choices, many of them from brands you're not likely to recognize: L Now, Pooboo, Pyhigh and so on. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it can make your decision that much more difficult.

Having perused a lot of these brands and models, I found a few that appear to tick most of the important boxes. The how to spot fake Amazon reviews).