A home gym for under $500 that you will still use in March

The home gym that gets used is small. One cardio machine you can fold, one pair of adjustable dumbbells, and a mat. Everything beyond that is a coat rack by spring. This guide picks the two pieces, shows what they cost at every store we can read, and tells you where the price gap is big enough to matter.

The category is also our best illustration of why we compare stores at all. The same XTERRA treadmill has been fifty dollars apart between two sporting goods chains in the same week, and the cheaper one was not the one you'd guess.

The treadmill that folds and doesn't wobble

XTERRA TRX1000 Folding TreadmillXTERRAAlso at Official Xterra Fitness $499.99 · Target $445.99$499.99 $749.99

XTERRA's TRX1000 is the folding treadmill I'd recommend to anyone who wants to walk and jog, not race. It folds flat, the motor is quiet enough for an apartment, and the deck is wide enough that you stop thinking about your feet. It is not a running machine for tall people. Below 6'2" and below a nine-minute mile it is fine.

Watch the rows above. This treadmill's list price is aspirational; it lives on sale, and the sale price varies by store. If one store is at list, that is not the store to buy from this week.

If you'd rather sit

XTERRA FB360 Folding BikeXTERRAAlso at Target $159.99 · Walmart $159.38$179.99 $279.99

The FB360 folding bike is the cheapest cardio machine I'd put my name to. It folds to the size of a suitcase, it is quiet, and the seat is better than the price suggests. It is a light-duty machine: fine for daily thirty-minute rides, not for standing sprints.

XTERRA EU 100 Hybrid Elliptical Upright BikeXTERRAAlso at Target $265.99 · Walmart $265.62$299.99 $449.99

The EU100 hybrid is the odd one out: an upright bike that becomes an elliptical. I was sceptical. It is better than a cheap dedicated elliptical and takes half the floor. If knees are the reason you're not running, start here.

The serious bike, if the budget stretches

The Schwinn IC4 is the value answer to the boutique bikes. Magnetic resistance, a belt drive you cannot hear, and it works with the training apps on a tablet you already own. It breaks the $500 budget on its own, so it is here for people who know the bike is the whole gym.

Sunny's belt-drive bike is the honest budget version of the same idea. Less polish, same workout.

The weights

One pair of Bowflex 552s replaces a rack. They go from five to fifty-two pounds with a dial, they are quick to change between sets, and they are the piece in this guide that holds its value if you sell it. Buy them used if you can; buy them on sale if you can't. They are never worth list price.

The total

Folding bike plus the dumbbells lands under $500 at today's cheapest stores. Treadmill plus dumbbells is closer to $850. Either way, buy the mat too. Every piece here goes on sale in January and again in the summer doldrums; the rows above will tell you when.