Exercise bikes... Peloton? [ merged ]

[Snazzylass]

If you have a Peloton, I'd love to hear your thoughts
I'm thinking about making an appointment to try one out in their showroom. My house is small. So, if I buy one, I'll never have a sofa. haha

It's just that they are so expensive! I've bought exercise equipment in the past and I've always used it. I sure like the convenience. Trying to justify getting out the crowbar to open my pocketbook

 

[rickandcindy23]

Our daughter-in-law loves her Peloton. She rides it a couple of times a day. She bought it after using the same type of bike at the gym in a class, and now she can ride at home. She keeps telling me to get one to help me maintain the weight loss of the last year. I have a recumbent Life Fitness home version that I love, so I won't be buying one myself.

 

[Snazzylass]

Our daughter-in-law loves her Peloton. She rides it a couple of times a day. She bought it after using the same type of bike at the gym in a class, and now she can ride at home. She keeps telling me to get one to help me maintain the weight loss of the last year. I have a recumbent Life Fitness home version that I love, so I won't be buying one myself.

Well if you already have one you love and are using, I can completely understand that! My dad, who is 84, gets on his exercise bike every morning for a few spins before showering and going to work.
I love hearing that your DIL rides hers a couple of times a day! Yay!

 

[Cornell]

I have a Peloton. What would you like to know? I love it.
If you get one, you can give me your Peloton handle !

 

[Cornell]

Regarding the price -- this is how I justify it : They have free financing. When I look @ my monthly Peloton payment it is less expensive than what I paid for at my previous cycle studio.

Couple of things:
You'll want to buy the Peloton mat that it sits on;
You'll need cycle shoes, too (so that' easily another $125-ish)
Mine sits on carpet and had too much sway. So I put the mat and bike on a piece of plywood to steady it. That was another $40.

Have you done cycle classes before? If so, be forewarned: I hear lots of new riders complain about butt pain the first few weeks.

There are two bikes now: the cheaper "original" and they've introduced a new one with a lot of bells and whistles.

 

[Snazzylass]

Regarding the price -- this is how I justify it : They have free financing. When I look @ my monthly Peloton payment it is less expensive than what I paid for at my previous cycle studio.

Couple of things:
You'll want to buy the Peloton mat that it sits on;
You'll need cycle shoes, too (so that' easily another $125-ish)
Mine sits on carpet and had too much sway. So I put the mat and bike on a piece of plywood to steady it. That was another $40.

Have you done cycle classes before? If so, be forewarned: I hear lots of new riders complain about butt pain the first few weeks.

There are two bikes now: the cheaper "original" and they've introduced a new one with a lot of bells and whistles.

Ah. Laura, thank you! I was hoping to hear from you! I used to do spinning classes and loved them. Funny about the butt comment. I forgot that people complain about that. I have been know to be a bit of a road rider, too. So, that's a nonissue with me. I do have shoes for my road bike. So, I was wondering if I could use those.
Do you have the original? You are giving me pause about needing the mat and all. Yikes!

And, as I took my lunch break, I see Amazon may begin offering a competitor?

 

[Cornell]

Ah. Laura, thank you! I was hoping to hear from you! I used to do spinning classes and loved them. Funny about the butt comment. I forgot that people complain about that. I have been know to be a bit of a road rider, too. So, that's a nonissue with me. I do have shoes for my road bike. So, I was wondering if I could use those.
Do you have the original? You are giving me pause about needing the mat and all. Yikes!

And, as I took my lunch break, I see Amazon may begin offering a competitor?

The cycle cleats that Peloton requires are called LOOK DELTA cleats. You can google that to see what those cleats look like. I think that most cycle shoes are NOT Look Delta. I bought my cycle shoes & cleats from Amazon, I didn't buy the Peloton shoes.

If you are an avid cyclist, you won't be bothered by the "sore butt thing".

There are various competitors out there. Echelon is quite a bit cheaper. Nordik Trak has a product that I think most people feel is superior to a Nordic Trak b/c it actually inclines/declines vs using a knob to add friction to simulate.

I went with the Peloton b/c to me it's like the Apple of cycle bikes. It's super user friendly, cool, intuitive. There are just lots of "little things" about it that I love.
An example: Let's say I do a ride. Once I'm done and I exit the ride. My screen then pops up and suggests , would you like to try one of these ? And it will be a few options like a 10 minute cool down ride, a 5 min stretch, a 10 minute arm workout. Just super cool.

The amount of classes and the quality of instructors is beyond description. I have been doing spin classes for years and I'm now realizing how bad my spin instructors have been after having the Peloton instructors.

I bought the original in May. Then Peloton just announced their new "fancier" version about 3 weeks ago. Then they dropped the price of the original . I got an email from Peloton telling me they were offering me a $350 refund b/c they dropped the price. I thought that was cool.

There's a long wait for bikes , which is a bummer.

I hope that helps. I love mine. I'm WAY into music so it's a no brainer that I would love my Peloton.

If you get one, you have to think long and hard about your Peloton profile name / handle. Perhaps yours will be "Snazzylass"? Mine is DePauwNotDePaul.

 

[Snazzylass]

The cycle cleats that Peloton requires are called LOOK DELTA cleats. You can google that to see what those cleats look like. I think that most cycle shoes are NOT Look Delta. I bought my cycle shoes & cleats from Amazon, I didn't buy the Peloton shoes.

If you are an avid cyclist, you won't be bothered by the "sore butt thing".

There are various competitors out there. Echelon is quite a bit cheaper. Nordik Trak has a product that I think most people feel is superior to a Nordic Trak b/c it actually inclines/declines vs using a knob to add friction to simulate.

I went with the Peloton b/c to me it's like the Apple of cycle bikes. It's super user friendly, cool, intuitive. There are just lots of "little things" about it that I love.
An example: Let's say I do a ride. Once I'm done and I exit the ride. My screen then pops up and suggests , would you like to try one of these ? And it will be a few options like a 10 minute cool down ride, a 5 min stretch, a 10 minute arm workout. Just super cool.

The amount of classes and the quality of instructors is beyond description. I have been doing spin classes for years and I'm now realizing how bad my spin instructors have been after having the Peloton instructors.

I bought the original in May. Then Peloton just announced their new "fancier" version about 3 weeks ago. Then they dropped the price of the original . I got an email from Peloton telling me they were offering me a $350 refund b/c they dropped the price. I thought that was cool.

There's a long wait for bikes , which is a bummer.

I hope that helps. I love mine. I'm WAY into music so it's a no brainer that I would love my Peloton.

If you get one, you have to think long and hard about your Peloton profile name / handle. Perhaps yours will be "Snazzylass"? Mine is DePauwNotDePaul.

oh my gosh! Girl, you are pulling me in! So apparently you are using it? It's great that you got it in May. I am giving this serious thought as a result of your post! Thank you!

And, sounds like you have spent time in my hometown? Greencastle ? Small world!

 

[WinniWoman]

I have a good old fashioned Schwinn fan exercise bike with the moving handlebars.

 

[moonstone]

I'm glad I'm not the only one with an old fashioned basic exercise bike! Mine doesn't have the moving handlebars as the shoulder movement aggravates my shoulder injury. I have my exercise bike in front of the TV in the basement and watch an hour long show while riding, it makes the time pass effortlessly.
I prefer riding my regular bike outside but we live in a very hilly area with narrow country roads and drivers who seem to try to make bikes a target. We often put our bikes on the carrier and drive to a paved (former railway line) trail near us that runs along Georgian Bay.

~Diane

 

[MULTIZ321]

Amazon says the $500 Peloton knock-off isn't from Amazon after all

Amazon says the $500 Peloton knock-off isn't from Amazon after all

Amazon is distancing itself from the $499 stationary bike that the manufacturer said was "developed in collaboration with Amazon."

www.cnn.com

Richard

 

[SandyPGravel]

Mine sits on carpet and had too much sway. So I put the mat and bike on a piece of plywood to steady it. That was another $40.

My DH uses his 1977-ish Trek road bike on a wind trainer. He burned a hole in the carpet of our previous home with the back tire! Lesson learned

 

[Cornell]

oh my gosh! Girl, you are pulling me in! So apparently you are using it? It's great that you got it in May. I am giving this serious thought as a result of your post! Thank you!

And, sounds like you have spent time in my hometown? Greencastle ? Small world!

I ordered it in May but got it in early Aug. I use it practically every day and I still go to the gym. You may know this but the Peloton app (that you have to purchase a subscription to in order to use the bike) has TONS of classes that go beyond cycling: strength training, yoga, barre. I have streamed strength classes at my gym .

Sure you can buy a stationary bike but I doubt you're going to get as good of workout pedaling while watching a TV show as you would cycling w/a coach and thousands of other riders.

The data and metrics it collects are so cool too.

And did you grow up in Greencastle? If so, wow - that's incredible. YUP, I'm a DePauw Tiger.

 

[Snazzylass]

Amazon says the $500 Peloton knock-off isn't from Amazon after all

Amazon says the $500 Peloton knock-off isn't from Amazon after all

Amazon is distancing itself from the $499 stationary bike that the manufacturer said was "developed in collaboration with Amazon."

www.cnn.com

Richard

Ha! I saw that on a Facebook Peloton group. Laura really has me sold on the real deal. I'm a road rider. I've been doing spinning classes for 20 years. I considered joining a gym before COVID because I loved, loved my ol' spinning classes - especially the ones on Sunday morning with black lights.

My first spinning instructor always offered us a free class if we puked INTENSE

 

[Snazzylass]

My DH uses his 1977-ish Trek road bike on a wind trainer. He burned a hole in the carpet of our previous home with the back tire! Lesson learned

I thought about getting one of those...but it really sounded like a hassle because they encourage you to use a special tire.

 

[Cornell]

Ha! I saw that on a Facebook Peloton group. Laura really has me sold on the real deal. I'm a road rider. I've been doing spinning classes for 20 years. I considered joining a gym before COVID because I loved, loved my ol' spinning classes - especially the ones on Sunday morning with black lights.

My first spinning instructor always offered us a free class if we puked INTENSE

Ok - you will love the Peloton as we sound the same. I loved going to spin classes b/c of the energy, hype. Sometimes we had live DJs -- the whole deal. Peloton gets as closed to this as possible in your own home.

 

[Cornell]

@Snazzylass These are the shoes I use:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725Q8CPD/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_nQ6AFb7Y0NCNS

I also have a set of 3 lb dumbbells. I frequently do a 10 minute add-on arm workout after I'm done with my cycle class.

If you are on FB, join the official Peloton member group. Lots of freaks and weirdos on there but also some good info as well.

 

[Snazzylass]

I ordered it in May but got it in early Aug. I use it practically every day and I still go to the gym. You may know this but the Peloton app (that you have to purchase a subscription to in order to use the bike) has TONS of classes that go beyond cycling: strength training, yoga, barre. I have streamed strength classes at my gym .

Sure you can buy a stationary bike but I doubt you're going to get as good of workout pedaling while watching a TV show as you would cycling w/a coach and thousands of other riders.

The data and metrics it collects are so cool too.

And did you grow up in Greencastle? If so, wow - that's incredible. YUP, I'm a DePauw Tiger.

Yikes! Long delivery time, but that has been widely reported and makes sense. I totally agree with you about the work out. Have you done any road rides? I really miss those! There are so many good ones back in the Midwest. I look forward to maybe doing a bike tour in Europe. We had the most wonderful time riding bikes in Germany.

So, now that I've done a bit more research, I totally see what you mean. I'm making an appointment to do a trial class in their store.

And, yes, I am a townie. LOL! Lots and lots of DPU connections. Have always considered "house mom" as my last career

 

[Snazzylass]

@Snazzylass These are the shoes I use:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0725Q8CPD/ref=cm_sw_em_r_mt_dp_nQ6AFb7Y0NCNS

I also have a set of 3 lb dumbbells. I frequently do a 10 minute add-on arm workout after I'm done with my cycle class.

If you are on FB, join the official Peloton member group. Lots of freaks and weirdos on there but also some good info as well.

Ah, thank you again for the link! I will take a look! I have dumbbells Need to look and see what weights I have on them. I am in the FB group! Very helpful

 

[Cornell]

Yikes! Long delivery time, but that has been widely reported and makes sense. I totally agree with you about the work out. Have you done any road rides? I really miss those! There are so many good ones back in the Midwest. I look forward to maybe doing a bike tour in Europe. We had the most wonderful time riding bikes in Germany.

So, now that I've done a bit more research, I totally see what you mean. I'm making an appointment to do a trial class in their store.

And, yes, I am a townie. LOL! Lots and lots of DPU connections. Have always considered "house mom" as my last career

The delivery times really vary by where you live so keep the dream alive that you won't have to wait so long. I bought mine sight unseen & never looked back.

I've never been much of a bike rider but love all forms of fitness & that's how I got hooked on cycle classes.

I'm cracking up at your "house mom" comment b/c my daughter plans on going through sorority rush and I keep threatening her that I will become a house mom when that happens.

 

[VegasBella]

I have a Peloton. I absolutely LOVE it.

That said, I don't think I would love it if I'd gotten it pre-pandemic. It's been a life-safer for me with the Pandemic making gyms closed and/or unsafe to use. I love the gym and go regularly, it's my lifeline and keeps me sane. Without the gym I got really depressed. My husband saw how depressed I was and he insisted we get a Peloton. I was skeptical. But he was right. I use it every single day that I am not out of town. I love it.
But... He used it once. He doesn't use it. It's not really his thing. And our son uses it a tiny bit but not really. So my feeling is that it's going to be really well-suited to people who already love working out and maybe like spin class or group fitness but that other people are more of a gamble as to whether they will like it or not.

Other things:
I use a Scosche heartrate monitor with mine. The Peloton brand heartrate monitor broke pretty quickly.
I use Pearl Izumi shoes. I don't have special feet or anything, I just got a better deal. I have heard the Peloton shoes are extra narrow but I don't know.
I have the Peloton handweights. If you don't buy theirs (which are overpriced) do get some weights. 1-3 pound handweights for the arms classes or the classes that have bike and arms mixed.
I didn't buy any of the other special Peloton stuff like their yoga mat etc bc either I already had it or I could get it much cheaper elsewhere.
We do not use the mat under the Peloton. We have it but our pets will chew it up. Our floors are stained concrete so it's fine, it's not going to slip or anything. Everything has been fine.
I got a set of hand towel sized workout towels just for use with the bike. And I got a small fan that sort of 'clips' onto the bike to help cool me off during a workout and help me feel like I'm moving in the breeze.

Is the bike worth it? Well that totally depends, of course. My husband is so impressed he says he thinks we already got our money's worth even though he doesn't use it. He just knows how much I use it and love it. I am talking about it CONSTANTLY.
There is a new Bike+ available now so... that means there might be more used bikes available if you're willing to take a little risk. We bought ours used (to avoid the long delivery waits) and it's been great. But I'm sure not everyone has a good experience. Otherwise, you can buy new from the company with interest-free financing.

Keep in mind that to get the full benefit you need to pay the subscription service. If you are considering getting it without the subscription then I highly suggest getting a BowFlex or similar and using a tablet to ride with various other cycling services. That will save a lot of money. The Peloton without a subscription isn't really worth the money IMO. It's a package deal that works very well together but you can get the pieces separately elsewhere in a way that might suit your needs better depending on your fitness skills, goals, etc. So think about that before taking the plunge, especially if money is tight.

 

[VegasBella]

The amount of classes and the quality of instructors is beyond description. I have been doing spin classes for years and I'm now realizing how bad my spin instructors have been after having the Peloton instructors.

This is accurate. I have been VERY impressed by the instructors.

I ordered it in May but got it in early Aug.

This is why we bought ours used. We decided in June we wanted one and bought it the next day. It was set up and I was using it literally hours after we made the decision to buy one. So much better than waiting months. But... we did pay a premium. For me, it just sort of felt urgent that we solve the gym/ fitness situation for my mental health. And it worked!

 

[Snazzylass]

This is accurate. I have been VERY impressed by the instructors.


This is why we bought ours used. We decided in June we wanted one and bought it the next day. It was set up and I was using it literally hours after we made the decision to buy one. So much better than waiting months. But... we did pay a premium. For me, it just sort of felt urgent that we solve the gym/ fitness situation for my mental health. And it worked!

Thank you! What great information!
I'd love to buy a used one. I'm curious why you say you paid a premium if it was used?

 

[Snazzylass]

The delivery times really vary by where you live so keep the dream alive that you won't have to wait so long. I bought mine sight unseen & never looked back.

I've never been much of a bike rider but love all forms of fitness & that's how I got hooked on cycle classes.

I'm cracking up at your "house mom" comment b/c my daughter plans on going through sorority rush and I keep threatening her that I will become a house mom when that happens.

Not to highjack my own thread, but, "Go Greek!" It's such a wonderful lifelong experience I'm glad to hear she is interested!

 

[Beachclubmum]

My sister loves hers! She upgraded to the newest one when it became available after having the old one for 2 weeks. Likes the bigger screen.