By some stroke of complete and total coincidence, a friend of mine called me last Wednesday morning and asked about the Peloton bike system. You may remember the company from about 2.5 years ago when they first launched into the market via Kickstarter, ultimately shipping last winter. At the time, it seemed like a bit of a variant of the super-expensive and well-connected indoor bikes from ProForm (you know, the one that people wear helmets on indoors). Anyway, my friend was asking me how to compare that against something like an electronic trainer from Tacx or Wahoo. He’s not a huge cyclist, but more into spin classes.
No more than about 6 minutes later did I randomly stumble past the Peloton booth at CES. So, I figured I’d get a bit of a demo into what their whole system is. And surprisingly, I came away impressed. I say surprisingly because I’m not really into expensive stationary bikes, nor equally expensive paid services. However, for a very narrow audience, I think this is a spot-on platform. But first, let’s start at the beginning.
The first thing you need to know about the Peloton platform is that you’ll need one of their super swanky indoor cycling bikes (technically it’s not called a ‘Spinning bike’, since that term is trademarked, thus, the industry uses ‘indoor cycling’ instead of the less exciting ‘stationary bikes’). But yes, all of us call them spin bikes, even if they don’t.
In any case, this beast of a bike will set you back $2,000USD. Or roughly, the price of a mid-range road bike. Or about 1.5x-2.0x that of a high-end computerized trainer, depending on model.
Now, the specs on the 125lbs bike are impressive. First up, it includes a 21” 1080p display up there, which seemed pretty beefy. It’s also WiFi connected, as well as supports Bluetooth (for audio) and ANT+ (for HR straps). Oh, and both water bottle and dedicated dumbbell holders:
That screen includes speakers, as well as a microphone and camera (but more on that in a moment).
Now the primary draw of this bike is the connected platform, a platform which is both required and pricey at $39/month. Essentially, everything about this product is pricey, but as I’ll explain in the next section – I think the monthly fee is justifiable.
The platform is all about video content, but not just recorded content – rather, live too. You’ll sign-in with your profile and see a slew of options on how to get a workout in. These include viewing any existing recorded spin classes, as well as videos from scenic spots:
They’ve also got random rides, like this celebrity one too. You could have done this live, as well as now recorded.
But the most interesting piece is the ability to join a spin class live. For this, there are multiple sessions per day. I actually waited around in the booth until the next one came on, which at roughly 12 live classes per day, most heavily grouped at fairly logical workout times during the day. For example, here’s the schedule for today and tomorrow (note that it’s not showing the 6AM Monday class, since it was prior to my screenshot):
And, here’s how it appears on the screen:
Once you launch a class, you’ll see the instructor live. You’ll also see the other members of the class listed on the right, sorta like a chat window. You can communicate with them, and even open up a video stream to them if they agree (remember, the camera is in your TV screen). The quality is HD, and seemed pretty good – though, there were certainly some drops in the connectivity/quality due to the poor WiFi at the convention center.
During the class you’ll hear the instructor’s instructions as well as see various camera shots live of the instructor and others in the class. And I think that this gets to the main interest point here for me – it’s a live class with real people in it. When you’re watching the screen, you’re seeing actual humans in a live class in NYC, not just some recorded thing somewhere without others. When I picked some random 4:30PM live class on a Wednesday, it was showing nearly 130 others logged in at the time into that specific class. Pretty impressive.
You could tap on anyone (it’s a touchscreen running Android), to see their current metrics. So here’s some random person that afternoon that I tapped on:
If I tapped to ‘Follow’ her, and then she accepted, I could have also begun a video session with her using the small camera at the top of the screen:
Also note that you can pair a set of Bluetooth headphones to the console as well as just used plugged in ones.
On the unit itself, you’ll see power, pace, speed, distance and other metrics you’d commonly find:
The heart rate field would come from any ANT+ connected HR strap.
These are all then saved to your profile later. The same profile that’s accessible from the main screen within the class. So it’s sorta like Strava meets Facebook (there are privacy settings of course), with the ability to video chat while you’re pouring sweat.
The only downside here is that there’s no way yet to actually export/connect any of this data to Strava, or other platforms. The company says that kind of integration is something they’re looking at – but I didn’t get the impression they had a timeline for that. Just sorta a ‘Oh, this answer will appease him’.
A Few Final Thoughts:
Now, regular readers know that I’m hardly a fan of stationary bikes or islanded platforms. Nor of expensive gadgets just for the sake of it. And in fact, this manages to nail all of those. With just one exception here: It’s executed very well, and in this case it might be cheaper or easier for a certain segment of the population.
That segment being those that actively go to spin classes. At $39/month for unlimited virtual classes/videos, it’s undoubtedly cheaper than going to an actual studio numerous times a week. And in many ways you’re getting a fairly similar experience due to the live connectivity.
Of course, you have to be the type of person that’s really into spinning (or, officially ‘indoor cycling’). For me, not so much. But for my friend I mentioned – it actually makes sense. That’s because he’s unlikely to find much interest in the TrainerRoad or Zwift platforms used on indoor trainers, compared to a structured spin class like this. Just the way his personality is – and that’s great. Of course, it is more expensive. Though less so if you’re paying a lot for spin classes each month.
I also think the company is missing out on a huge segment of doing something similar for those with regular trainers though through their subscription service and a laptop/tablet/computer (Update: You can do this on their iPad app for $13/month). Undoubtedly their main goal is to get thousands upon thousands of people paying $39/month for the service. The actual hardware probably isn’t a huge money-maker for them comparatively. And the metrics like speed and HR don’t really matter to the platform anyway. Though I believe they should be offering a way for folks to export that data to 3rd parties.
With that – thanks for reading!
–
Don’t forget to check out all of the DCR CES 2016 coverage, as well as a slew of updates that were only seen on Twitter. It was a crazy busy week!
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some interesting criticisms of the equipment at http://peloton-bike.com
but for someone who really likes spinning classes and doesn’t plan on riding outdoors it might work out fine.
also, the peloton bike calculates power using a dyno which they say can vary 10% between bikes link to support.pelotoncycle.com
Interesting first link, but that seems* an awful lot like a competitive dealer that setup a one-page site to draw you to buy one of their bikes (vs the Peloton). In fact, some of the supposed ‘points’ they bring up are pretty shallow – such as needing cycling shoes. C’mon, duh? (You can use any compatible shoes you want) And having to pay tax? Yes my friends, that’s how it works.
*And by ‘seems’, I mean it is, as the link at the top of the page indicates.
This link doesn’t appear to be working anymore.
Thanks for the post. As always, you gave some nice details that can’t be found on the company’s website.
I started seeing a ton of commercials for this over the weekend. It was definitely intriguing enough that I did some research. The Peloton cycle costs more than my tri bike, so I don’t think I’ll be dropping my cash anytime soon (Unless I hit that 1.3 Billion Powerball jackpot). But the scenic views option is one that might sell my father in-law on buying an “indoor cycle.”
For “scenic views option” your father in-law could be way better of with existing software and videos that is capable of working with variety trainers with wide price spectrum.
Disclaimer: we are a vendor of such software and videos. Well trainers as well but our trainer is even more expensive then Peloton
Thanks Veloreality. I started looking into a few options for him (although, to be honest I haven’t done much because he is a grown man who can do his own research!). I will give him your site information along with the peloton info I sent him yesterday.
Thanks for the post Ray. I have been curious about these. I am an avid outdoor rider/racer but like to do my intense interval sessions in a control indoor environment. (I unfortunately don’t live where it’s possible to have an uninterrupted steady gradient for miles, which would be perfect.)
I use a trainer now, but I would actually like a dedicated high quality stationary bike. It would need to have magnetic and responsive resistance, true power meter, and road bike-like geometry. The new bike from Stages is the closes I’ve seen, but they missed on the geometry for smaller riders.
Have you checked out link to wattbike.com
They have some Wattbike Pro ones at the gym I goto and have even managed to hook it up with Zwift and pair power, cadence and speed/distance with Garmin devices.
Thanks Tim Grose. I’m familiar Wattbikes and understand they are pretty impressive. Unfortunately I’ve never actually seen one in the US.
Oddly enough, Pelaton seems to have an app that streams the live or on-demand classes to your iOS devices for 12.99 a month, with a lower cost drop in option. A solid spinner bike is around $1000, so … Seems like they are cannibalizing their own market. I suppose your lose the interactive nature somewhat… I may try a class on a spin bike at the gym and see how it is
The iOS app only has the on-demand classes. It doesn’t have the live classes. It gives you a ‘class’ when you’re away from your bike. As a result, you have no power, speed, resistance, HR, etc data that their bike collects.
Think of it as a spin class while you’re away from your bike (like on vacation, business, etc).
Anyone else want to pay to see Ray cycle/dance with some 1 pound dumbells?
Ray,
I actually bought a Peloton for my wife for Christmas this year, and I’ve used it myself 3 times now. Normally I don’t chime in on product reviews, but I’m comfortable with this one. I’ll sum it up quickly since I think I can represent the mind of the endurance athlete (most of your readers) and for whom this bike was meant for (not them). It’s really made for discriminating folks that want an engaging, motivating piece of equipment that you’ll enjoy using to workout, but don’t want to futz with bike setups, computers and gizmos. Plug it in, start pedaling. It’s always there waiting for you and there’s a person in that screen telling you what to do. Aha! Just like a spin class.
The software platform is very solid, and it’s fun to see other people as you workout. I’ve done two classes and one scenic ride around Banff. The scenic ride is cool because it doesn’t just stick to roads. It follows trails, roads, jumps to other roads and keeps things interesting. The video is not synced to your effort, so it plays along at one speed no matter how hard you pedal.
The bike does capture a lot of data and I’ve paired my Wahoo heartrate monitor to it, but I guarantee you the power reading is not accurate. How? Because at a full sprint I put out 500w on this bike, vs 1100 with my SRM on the road. Pushing hard, I barely get it over 200w. It reads low, but for the crowd it’s meant for? who cares. Oh, except, all the leaderboards are based on comparing kilojoules between class participants, which is weird because it is strongly biased toward big fat guys like me and not normalized at all. Oh well, it’s still a great motivator to see yourself move up or down on the leaderboard as you ride along with other class participants.
The equipment is very well made, solid and seems of high quality. The bike itself is silent, not quiet, I mean literally silent, a very nice feature. However, it is a “spin” bike, that is, the cranks have no freewheel, which is very weird to get used to for a road cyclist like me, and in many ways, I think detrimental to a serious cyclist’s pedal stroke, but I’m not hear to debate that, just pointing it out. The Q-factor is good, much narrower and more like a real bike than many spin bikes I’ve used.
The screen is great, and the touch based interface is super easy to use. It supports multiple users and keeps track of your workouts to view stats over time. The live stream classes are really well done, and there is something engaging about following along during a live class with the instructor cussing at you now and then. They will even call you out by name occasionally. For recorded sessions, you still compete with the leaderboard of the group that did the class in real-time. It’s very motivating (even if I do feel like I’m cheating since it’s all based on kj).
Bottom line, I think the bike is really meant for people looking to get some good exercise, not for people looking to train. Leave that to the Zwift and Trainer Road folks. This is a well done “in your home spin class” on a piece of quality equipment that requires almost zero fuss. Also, the bike is more like $3,000 by the time you pay tax, delivery & setup fee, get the accessories and pre-pay for 1 year of classes.
I’d recommend it to anyone, but I still like riding my own bike, on a KICKR with Zwift or Trainer Road. That said, because the Peloton is just always there and ready, I’ve used it more in the last couple months.
I sure wish they would allow exporting the data…
Gear you hit the exact points that I keyed off on when buying the Peloton. I strongly considered using the iPad app with AirPlay to get it to a TV, but ultimately decided against it. Although I don’t mind messing with technology, my spouse prefers things that work right the first time and require no fuss.
We haven’t taken delivery yet, but your comments make me feel good about our decision. Thanks for posting.
I agree. I was debating between this and computrainer. My wife will actually use this because it simple to jump on. And she doesn’t care about becoming a faster biker or working on form, it’s all about the workout. So we went this option. It is silent. We normally do the workouts right after putting kids to bed. So that is a huge bonus. Didn’t like the pedals, so switched those out. The monthly subscription is a pain, but use referrals whenever possible to get 2 free months. Use ours if you want here: link to pelotoncycle.com
They do support exporting to strava. I love this device!
My wife wanted it for Christmas last year. I put my Vector pedals on it, zip-tied a Garmin Speed Sensor on it, and use it just fine with Zwift!. I just wish Zwift would work on the screen! Power is never the same between the two, although it can have similar max power from time to time. Usually varies by about 10-20 watts with the Peloton on the higher side. After a year of use, we’ll be canceling our gym membership as we’re both content to do our indoor workouts on the bike.
I have a Peloton as well that my wife and I both use, so this piqued my interest. Curious what sensor you used and how you attached it to the Peloton? Thanks!
I’ve had a lot of trial and error with attaching sensors the past 13 months of ownership, determined to have my workout data! I wish they would just permit an export data feature to upload wherever. What have worked have been the Garmin magnet less speed sensor and cadence sensors. The speed sensor does not fit on the front wheel by itself, so I had to level it using cardboard (wrapped in electrical tape for stability) to lie flat. To keep it from falling, I used a combo of rubber band (blue in pic) + cable velcro, secured with a zip tie. That has held up for 5 months now and counting. The speed sensor alone gives me predictable speed and distance ONLY at a fixed resistance. My setting for wheel size is: 1600 mm at a resistance of 50, Wife’s = 1200mm at 33. Once I change resistance higher or lower, both speed and distance are no longer in sync with the Peloton screen data, so this metric is not that important to me. Due to the Vectors, I don’t need the cadence sensors, but they go on just like they would on my outdoor bikes. The Vector pedals install just fine and give me the option to put on my wife’s outside bike during family rides. The Vector’s allow me to use Zwift, which then output rides to Strava with realistic metrics for speed/distance as well as power. They are keeping me from buying a kicker. I would recommend a Peloton to anyone whose wife will allow them to buy a pedal power meter as well!
I tried this and my speed was way high, couldn’t get it to be in sync with peloton data… There’s got to be an easier at it another speed sensor that works easier/better
Have you tried to connect the Peloton console to another bike. The data cable for the Peloton is just a 3.5 mm jack. Wonder if i could just get the console and attach to another bike. hmmmm. See if that works. aLet me know.
Just got the Peloton myself. My wife and I both love it. Gear Fisher really nailed the points. I can’t speak enough for the live classes. That leaderboard they have is awesome. It’s just different than seeing those avatars pass by me or me by them in Zwift.
I did find it humorous when the cost was cited as being high when in comparison adding up my carbon Di2 road bike and Tacx trainer greatly exceeds the sum total, including the monthly subscription fee for a year. The further north I keep moving the more viable an indoor spin bike looks ;-)
Ray, I’m not sure if you were aware but Peloton has an iPad app that gives you full HD quality access to all their live and recorded classes for $13 a month. My wife AirPlay’s it from the iPad to the TV on the wall in front of our spin bike (not the Peloton bike). You of course don’t get the metrics or social aspect but classes are top notch and similar to what you would get in a much more expensive gym full of bikes that aren’t hooked up to metrics either. For my wife it works great and is an option if you don’t need the fancy social / metric features of the $2000+ bike.
Sweet! I had looked around but couldn’t find any mention of it. Just updated the post.
Ray, correct me if I’m wrong, but when I stopped by the Peleton booth, I thought they said the subscription for the the first year was built into the bike’s purchase price. But maybe I misheard.
Interesting, my understanding was actually the opposite – that for the first year you had to buy it, it was part of a 1-year commitment to the service.
When I kerplunk the bike into my shopping cart online, it seems to match that. :(
They do have an IPAD App… You should really do a class. I was a nay sayer early on, but now it is my go to trainer. Try a 75 minute class with Nicole Meline; you might get hooked.
Kind of weird to me that you’re buying a 2,000USD piece of hardware only to be able to use an online platform that costs big money each month as well. And then it reads as if using the online platform is the only thing you can do with the hardware …
Unless you’re tweaking it (probably beyond warranty terms) as Sam indicated, but then you end up putting yet another display on the attached display to … ah well … I guess I belong to the endurance athlete group this product is not designed for.
Bought myself a Wahoo Kickr last year, was happy while using TrainerRoad (10USD monthly fee), and even more so when I discovered Zwift. I appreciated the ability to swap and being able to benefit from new developments in the market (potentially by other companies).
I guess you loose most of your investment if Peloton quits the service (forced or unforced), or changes it significantly in the future requiring one to purchase its next version of hardware …
The last 4 years my indoor riding has been on a kettler ergometer x7 that i got used.
Kettlers software let me import my own gpx tracks to ride them again and again or online Ketller world tours 2.0 (link to kettlerworldtours.de) is by current software standard very old looking but the appeal with it is that there is real people out there that also wants win the race. But the numbers of active users does seems high enough. I often end up racing my old pb on a known course. But it does support RealLife videos (RLV) and I’ve also created a few myself.
If you look at the current indoor race bikes they are not cheap either – ~2000€
link to sport-tiedje.de
With a seperate indoor bicycle you don’t have the mess of bringing a dirty road bike indoor. Unfortuntately the kettler protocol is proprietary so zwift/trainerroad etc can’t control it.
Today I would probably go with a trainer setup with more open interfaces like the Wahoo KICKR
But again – don’t underestimate the motivational effect of training with/against actual people.
It looks like http://virtualtraining.eu does support my kettler.
But it is all about critical mass of users….
Some quick back of the napkin math based on the initial purchase price and monthly fee – I could have over 8 years of a regional multi-gym membership – spinning classes included – as well as indoor pool, cardio classes, weights, treadmills, rowing machines, professional trainers, health assessments, yadda yadda. But perhaps it’s a good solution for people that don’t have that option, or want the convenience of not leaving the house.
Yes – most of my indoor riding are after the youngest of the kids is put to bed. It is hard to beat the convenience of training at home. And the social aspect might be worth it for many. Besides like many others i have half an hour to any gym with classes. Indoor cycling at home does not waste much time. The same from riding outdoors when the weather is tolerable. Luckily i work close to a good pool so i can get a good hour in the water in just over 1,5 from my desk.
I am a big fan of my Kettler Ergoracer. I would like very much to have support for it in trainerroad, so maybe others would like that too: link to trainerroad.uservoice.com
Does it have a CSAFE port that one could connect the recently announced Wahoo GEM Retrofit Module to gather/export data?
OT again, sorry for that.
just wondering how much does a booth at 2016 CES cost.
Thanks for for the great CES coverage
Very much depends on size. See this: link to inc.com
Keep in mind the value used for the floor space cost is much higher than noted on this article (now 3 years old). Space is at a huge premium now.
I work long hours during tax season and by the time I can ride my bike it is May – I have an old Johnny G Spinner and I love riding it. I would really use this thanks for the review. Did you get a chance to try out the bike ?
I use the Peloton studio in NYC a few times per month and it is by far my favorite spin bike. It is really well made and makes class very enjoyable.
They do have an iPhone app as well now that came out a couple weeks ago. They’ve been advertising heavily on Instagram
Hmmm, I think I’ll keep an eye on Beverly Hills Craigslist around June. Probably pick one up for under $1K.
Seems a bit steep.
I feel for you Ray if yo feel that 39 bucks a month is cheap.
My gym membership costs 29.9 euro a month. This price includes all clases… there are 10 live spinning classes a week + option to take a 30-60min virtual class. Also there are like 5 Zumba, 6 Lesmills bodypump, 6 lessmills cxworks and several several other live and virtual classes… and the gym. With wattbike2 bikes, Technogym bikes, Technogym mats and all kind of freeweights and machines. So I’m good.
Lucky duck indeed. In most of the places I’ve lived or visited, Spin classes are not included in the monthly membership fees. :(
LA Fitness and 24 Hour fitness are both decently priced, national (mostly) brands in the US, and both include cycling classes in their memberships at least here in Arizona. The two gyms near me have 3 and 15 classes each week. So, availability seems to vary pretty widely from gym to gym.
Perhaps it’s a Nordic thing.
Wisited gyms in Finland (where I live), Sweden and Norway.
There might be gyms that charge extra for Spinn etc classes. But I haven’t been to one or seen one.
In my town we have 65 000 inhabitants and 18 gyms… and in general there are a lot of gyms in my country so it might be a case of “charge extra for classes and lose customers”.
The exclusive gyms might be approx 70 euros a month… but they have solariums and (almost) 24/7 live classes, chilcare services etc etc. In general: however for 29-39 euros a month you can find a gym where there are several free classes. Gyms with no live classes cost somewhete between 10-19 euros a month.
Hi ! Thanks for the review. I tried a Peloton spin class from my iPad using AirPlay riding my Johnny G Spinner and really enjoyed it. With 60 hours a week at work until April 16th this is the perfect way to be ready to ride. Unlike some other spinning videos they use great music. My spinner is sol old but at 13.00 per month this solution is great. When tax season is over I am on the trails ! Thanks for all the great reviews. Now to find a good bike computer but that is another post.
I highly recommend the iPad app for $13/month. I have a super hectic schedule — making it to a class isn’t feasible. I run 25-30 miles a week and like to do a few spin classes in addition. I have a Spinning brand bike, and I can pull up an archived Peloton class anytime I want. Aside from the initial cost of my bike, on a monthly basis there’s no doubt the Peloton app is cheaper than going to classes, and much more convenient for me. It’s not the same as being in a class (which honestly I’d prefer if my schedule allowed), but it’s the next best thing, and at my convenience. It took me a few classes to get used to adapting their Peloton-specific terminology/references to their own metrics to my own bare-bones bike (no power meter), but it actually works out fine. FWIW, I don’t think Peloton is cannibalizing their own market with the app, because even though they are awesome classes, it’s nowhere near the same thing as riding on their proprietary bikes as part of the their whole ecosystem, with the leaderboard and everything.
SpinRunDrMama, I couldn’t agree with you more. And I second the recommendation for the iPad app. I have actually been using it since the first version came out more than a year ago. That was actually my introduction to Peloton as a company. We have a nice Schwinn AC Performance bike at home and my wife teaches spin at a local gym on the same bikes. I personally prefer to ride outside but winters in the northeast have been long, so I had been trying spin classes just to keep in shape and try something different. Sometimes its just more fun than sitting on a bike with a trainer! Anyway, this app with the $13 per month subscription is a great option. We can do classes any time and there is something very appealing to doing one of the live classes when you know that others are somewhere in a room with the instructor doing it at the same time. And if you’re a music fan, the variety of themed classes can really make your workouts a lot of fun. I just use my Wahoo app, with heart rate monitor and cadence sensor to record the workouts so I always have my stats. Schwinn also has a console option that lets you track power so I may even check that out for our bike. Kudos to Peloton for putting this app out there. I’d recommend anyone give it a try. You just might really like it!!!
I still can’t get my head round paying that amount of money for a spin bike when as you say you can purchase a goo midrange road bike and then one of the many turbo trainer’s available plus for the really keen the zwift hook up looks a really good bet (i see yens voight did 100 miles session on it the other day)
can you assume this alternative is more reliable and accurate in comparison to a smart trainer PM? Also, while using a smart tainer does PM values are affected by trainer calibration (how strong the wheel is attached and tyre pressure) or does the trainer smartly knows to generate the correct wattage data in relation to the current settings? Asking differently, can one bluff and get higher PM output from is trainer by lowering is trainer pressure in tyre? And if so, how can Zwift leaderboards be taken seriously?
Based on the feedback here, I’d say this is generally less accuracy than a smart trainer PM (that you do a roll-down calibration on).
What are the concerns for the life cycle of the “tablet”? It’s running Android 4.1, and we’re now on 6.0.1. My wife really wants one of the bikes, but my concern is that either the content will eventually not be supported on 4.1, because I don’t know if the tablet is going to be getting updates like our smart phones and tablets do. Or, if it does get the Android OS updates, when will the hardware no longer support them. All of us who have smart phones and tablets (regardless of iOS versus Android) know that eventually the older models stop getting the updates. Would we be better off getting a mid-range SOLE bike and the iOS app from Peloton?
Tim,
Had the same concerns and after speaking with the sales folks, bought the bike anyway(just got it two days ago). Even though the bike is running Android 4.1, it is heavily modified and is essentially only running their app. They also apply security patches and other updates OTA.
Take it fwiw, but the sales person I spoke to said the only near-future plans are for a commercial subscription plan (i.e. 20 bikes with a $20/month fee). No plans to change the tablet or bike in the next 18-24 months.
After receiving the bike, the tablet would be easy to replace should they release a new model. Of course it would be up to Peloton to sell the tablet separately and who knows what it would cost.
I to considered a cheaper setup (SOLE/iPad to be exact), ultimately decided against it for ease of use. It costs more, but damn if the integration isn’t smooth and so far my wife has had 0 troubles or questions for me.
Anyway to get video into the bike from an iphone or other device?
I have been using my old Johnny G spinner using the videos online (stream to TV from my iPad and am really enjoying it. I am challenged and the instructors are really good. I doubt in my case I will get a Peloton bike as the set up I have works, I would like to add a speed sensor or some type of sensor to get more info while riding. Any suggestions ?
Thanks for this great website and forum.
Martha
Can anyone talk about the included tablet? I’m gathering it is dedicated to their Android app? I just think the subscription and high price is all about that tablet and would love to be able to drop the subscription and re-purpose the tablet. Either load another OS, open it up, or even just provide a feed from another source.
It is an excellent spin bike and the classes are fun. How is it that they can make a spin bike that is silent — and I mean completely silent, there is absolutely no noise — but my Kickr and every other trainer I have had screams and makes a racket? Peloton would be wise to manufacture a trainer. As far as its utility for endurance athletes, is going to spin class helpful to cyclists?
Just bought my bike and I love it!
The first year commitment is pricy but in the long term I think it will be worth it. I purchased shoes (3 hole style) and weights separately from amazon and they are fine.
Here is my referral link if anyone is looking to purchase a bike you get two months of the subscription free (and so do I :)
link to pelotoncycle.com
I’ve had a Schwinn AC Performance Plus Carbon Blue bike for a few years now and love it! It is amazingly quiet–but definitely not silent. Is the Peloton bike really silent? I have the console and upgrade for the Schwinn so I get power (watts), cadence, and both stage and overall averages of power, “distance”, and cadence. I played around with the idea of selling the Schwinn and getting the Peloton bike, but the idea of spending all that $$ on an Android tablet that can do nothing else except spin classes (and still have to pay $39 a month) seems ridiculous. I’d rather have an iPad that I can use for other things and upgrade it when it makes sense. Plus I’ve been able to mirror the classes from my iPad to my large screen TV–I don’t think you can do that with the Android tablet that comes with the bike. However, I’m not gonna’ lie, the idea of having the Peloton bike and being part of the “group” totally appeals to my competitive nature. :-) Also, i haven’t had the opportunity to try the Peloton bike yet–that might make all the difference in the world.
TR, the bike is completely silent and very comfortable. It is expensive for what it is. However, as I said in my comment it is a great spin class and having it at home is awesome. I do like the competitive nature of climbing up the leader board. Bottom line is if you are happy using the iPad and your schwinn I would stick with that and save the loot as you are basically getting the same out of it as everyone else.
Referral link. Looking to pick one up today or tomorrow
DG send me your eMail so I can get 2 mo subsc and I’ll send you mine…I’ve already got the bike. Luv it!
Referral link and email. Looking to buy tomorrow
Hi…wondering if you tried peloton yet? I am deciding now between the peloton and the Schwinn. I suspect the Schwinn is a better bike but I could be wrong. I tried the peloton in a store…loved it but its definitely not a commercial bike. in the end the Schwinn costs the same but the money is in the bike and not tablet in the peloton.
Does anyone know how to convert the Peloton app terminology to a Schwinn bike? They use terms like 30%, 40%, 50% resistance. Is there some trick to convert that in terms of watts, etc. – something measurable on the Schwinn console?
You can now post automagically to Strava. Once you enable, it automatically posts all your rides.
After many, many months of thinking about this purchase, I finally pulled the trigger and bought this bike. I’ve had it almost a month, and wanted to write a review for those thinking about buying it. This link is pretty prominent if you google ‘Peloton bike review’, so I expect some not regular readers landed here while researching this bike.
First, the target audience for this bike are people who enjoy studio spin classes. That’s a niche audience, but it’s a big niche, judging from the difficulty I have booking spin classes at the studios downtown. I’m a runner, not really a cyclist. I use spin classes for cross-training and for staying fit when I’m recovering from a running injury. I have a love/hate relationship with studio spin classes. I love the motivation, the energy of the crowd, that someone else has curated a playlist. They are better than spin classes at the gym (better bikes, better coaches, better music). I hate the popcorn jumps and arm workouts and other stupid moves that are a principal reason most real cyclists stay away from these classes. Good spin coaches stay away from this stuff, but there’s huge variation, and sometimes you’re just stuck in a class, ignoring the person you paid to tell you what to do, because you know it will put you at risk of injury (or just wasting your time). I hate that they are expensive – about $35 a class – which puts the price of the Peloton bike in context. For someone who wants to take these classes more frequently than once in a while, the Peloton bike can actually make financial sense. (I leave it to you to decide if someone who wants to take these classes frequently has a lot of sense – if you think this is crazy way to work out then you already know this bike isn’t for you.)
So if you are someone like me, the Peloton is a great purchase. I love it. It is an expensive one-trick pony, but it’s the best thing around if that’s your pony. The Peloton is the *best* combination of bike, convenience, and coach quality I’ve ever encountered, hands down better than the high-end cycling studio downtown where I had been taking classes. A little bit more about each of these things:
The bike: I highly recommend checking out the bike in person if there is a studio/store near you. For a spin bike, it is a thing of beauty. It’s also very smartly designed – the silent belt (my wife’s trainer is like turning on a generator, this thing is dead silent), the smoothly adjusting seat height (no pegs, so much better for getting the right fit), the gorgeous quickly responding tablet. There’s an ethernet port so my streaming quality isn’t affected by my lousy urban apartment wifi. When researching the bike, I was initially annoyed that the tablet only streamed Peloton content. That doesn’t bother me now that I have the bike. Why would I stream anything else? Because the best thing about this bike – other than the fact that you don’t have to bundle into a snowsuit to trundle out to a class at 6am – is the classes.
The classes/coaches: This is surprisingly my favorite thing about having the bike, which I did not anticipate. In the studio cycling world, each studio has a theme, a philosophy, and a set of coaches. You find a studio you like and an instructor you like and then you try to take most of your classes with them until they leave or start only teaching at a time you can’t attend. Peloton is a major improvement on this. There are so many more choices. There appears to be no overall philosophy other than hiring the best at what they do. Each coach is different and comes with different teaching styles. Some are SoulCycle type instructors, others are professional cyclists, others are more classic trainer/coaches. Classes have themes: endurance rides and rhythm rides and fun rides. You can join a live class or if your favorite instructor isn’t teaching that second, you can join a class you missed with them earlier in the day or week. This I find unbelievably awesome. That is is actually cheaper than schlepping to classes I like less at the studio nearby is even more awesome.
Convenience: The bike lives in your house. You can pipe a feed of a trainer coaching you through a workout at the touch of a button. You never have an excuse to work out again ever. Unless you overtrain on the thing and give yourself an injury, which I have to say is a distinct possibility. I have to force myself to take days off.
So, to sum up – this bike isn’t for everyone. But if you like spin classes (but wish they were better) and you are considering this bike, you should pull the trigger. It’s really great.
After using the Peloton app and my ipad I could not be more happy. I can train with a live class at 5 am even though I am not on the Pelolton circuit I am using a Garmin cadence sensor and a speed sensor. They are not accurate to the numbers the teacher says but I have figured out what 50% feels like to me. I am engaged during the rides, focus on cadence and very rarely get bored. It is really helping me strengthen my legs and improve my cardio. And for only 14.00 per month.
Here’s my conundrum and I’m really at a loss. I have limited time during the day to get outside. I can hop on my trainer and bust out an hour lunch ride without having to worry about the 10-15 minutes to get out past the neighborhood hills to my preferred training grounds.
Indoors my bike with a quarq and Zwift is great — for me. I want my kids to get on a good summer exercise program and due to the heat here in GA riding during the day ain’t fun. The adjustability of a stationary bike would be great for all four of us in the family. But loosing Zwift and Strava is just about a deal breaker for me.
And the fact that the Peleton doesn’t auto adjust the power to simulate hills or control workout intensity doesn’t really appeal either.
BUT with a 9 year old and 12 year old swapping bikes on a Kickr would be a chore for them. My 12 year old bike would work with 10 speed but my 9 year old would be left in the cold.
Arg. Is there anything on the horizon that is a smart indoor bike with the adjustability of a spin bike with the brains and features of a smart trainer? I’d even take a frankenbike on a Kickr.
Jed,
The peloton does actually connect to Strava now. Not auto adjusting for intensity is not terrible, as the control knob is very fluid, and the display gives you an accurate reading on the difficulty.
It’s too bad that Wahoo hasn’t used their Kickr platform to make an adjustable exercise bike. I found out the hard way, that there’s a downside to putting your expensive carbon bike in a trainer….especially when you don’t get the skewers tightened down all the way. A smart exercise bike would keep your nice bike out of the trainer and would give you the adjustablity so that mulitple members of your family could use the bike. I’m sure it would be expensive but I imagine you’ll see it sooner than later.
I also use the app on my iPad. Really happy for over a year now. I use the Wahoo app to record cadence. Just wish my bike had an electronic reading on resistance for Metrics classes. I always say if they eliminated the app, I’d buy the bike. I’m that hooked.
I am still using the app with my old Schwinn spinner and it has made a huge difference in my endurance and riding. I like only paying 14.00 per month. I am saving up because I know this is a bike I would really use and I enjoy spinning classes, but not the newer ones with loud music and a 30 dollar and up fee to ride in one class. This is a great solution. I have a friend that bought the Peloton bike and the entire family enjoys it.
Just received my bike last week and have logged 4 rides so far. Agree, fairly silent and really like both the live and pre-recorded classes on demand. It’s a schedule thing for me.
Referral code if anyone is interested:
link to pelotoncycle.com
Pulled the trigger on Peloton and received my bike a couple of days ago. I really like the bike. It’s certainly the best spinning bike I have ridden – completely silent, good adjustability, good to ride and aesthetically pleasing. As a long time spinner who considered himself in shape, I was surprised how hard it was to get to the front of the leaderboard. I finish in the top 10% but it takes work. The leaderboard is a great motivator. Nothing kicks you in gear more than seeing HotMamma70 or MamaBoots creeping up on you.
I still spin at my gym twice a week but the ability to spin on demand and eliminate the trip to the gym for live classes makes spinning really convenient and accessible when you’re balancing work and home life with staying in shape. The instructors are great and the classes are really immersive. I find that I am getting a better spinning workout at home than at the gym.
I bought the bime last week and i just had referral link.
Since i bought it at the store and not online.
I need name and email for both to get credit.
Please respond with both. My direct email is phantom69kirk@aol.com
Ty
Kirk
Curious if there are any promo codes going on with the bike at this time? My wife and I are going to purchase. Thanks
Unfortunately there are no discounts or promos being offered except for the referral type where you get 2 free months after the 1 year mandate. I’ve heard the bike is basically being sold at cost so would not expect to see any promos in the future either.
My referral link is below if you’d like
link to pelotoncycle.com
I have been waiting and checking in any deals and have talked with several people and according to peloton, the only deal they will have will be the free 2 months of classes when you said you were referred bysomeone.
If you buy and want to use a referral name, you need name and email.
My name is kirk domines
Phantom69kirk@aol.com
Good luck. It is a great bike.
Hi Kirk – You just got 2 free months from me! Bike is on the way. Soooo excited.
thanks for the referral, just sent you another 2 free months :)
Thanks Kristin! Appreciate it. We’ve had our Peloton bike for a week now – my husband is on it right now – and we LOVE it. 10/10 … and the community is the icing on the cake. See you on the leaderboard. I’m mtbKelly.
I just bought one today. I am super excited to get it. I used your name Kirk for a referral. Thanks for your input on it.
Denise Correia
dnscorreia@yahoo.com
As usually, when I bump in to something new (for me) and relating to cycling-running-swimming I go to Ray’s site and found a solid review of this new thing here. The same happened with Peloton, Ray, thanks again for all the details.
The only thing missing is just you on this Peloton bike :)
BTW, has anybody tried the sync Peloton says they have with Strava? And how it works?
link to cadence.pelotoncycle.com
The strava sync is pretty straight forward. You log in on bike and it will auto sync after every ride automatically if you choose. Syncs all pertinent info including cadence, hr, etc
If anyone needs a referral link for 2 free months, you can use the below:
link to pelotoncycle.com
Thanks for the review of the bike. I just purchased one on 6/26/16 and my referral code link is
link to pelotoncycle.com
then click on the hot pink banner near the top and we both get 2 free months!
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As a mother of a 5 year old this product has changed my life. I am on it about 5 times a week when ever I can fit 20, 30, 45 or 60 minutes in. I walk in, get on, clip in and burn 500+ calories while sonny has a snack or snaps legos together. I don’t care about my heart rate, I don’t care about the energy output accuracy, I care that it is FUN and fast and convenient. I’ve done almost 100 rides and almost every time I live ride the coach gives me a shout out of encouragement…. its a thrill… heck yeah I can go faster!
Highly recommended for busy moms that want to sweat it out.
Peleton connects to strava now. Super easy/convenient. Bought this for my wife as a pre-order in 2013/2014. I ride it more in the winter than my wahoo kickr!
This was a really helpful article, especially with so many gadget-type exercise tools its really helpful to get this much detail in reviewing a product! Great post.
I’m late to the party, but we bought one in January of this year, primarily for my wife.
Since I can’t ride outdoors during the week due to my work schedule, I’ve gone to daily early morning spin class for the past 15 years. I use the Peloton bike 4-5 times a month when I can’t make it to the gym, or to squeeze in an extra workout.
Overall, I really like the bike. It feels more smooth and solid than most of the spin bikes I’ve rode at various gyms over the years. On my bike, making adjustments is a little clunky, but its not a big deal.
Sometimes, I can’t believe some of the stats of fellow riders on the leader board. Either there are some exceptional athletes that ride these things or some of the numbers are a little suspect at times.
Also, you’ll occasionally see George Hincapie and Christian Vande Velde teach a class. A few weeks back George H taught and Cadel Evans was in the class. George recounted the 2011 TdF and Cadel’s win. (Which was fun for me, since I was at the 2011 Tour.)
Overall, if you are like me and have to rely on spin, I think it’s a great option. I tend to work my butt off in Peloton classes, much harder than when I’m at the gym, since I see all of the stats. I’ve been so pleased thus far, that when I went to Manhattan a few weeks back, I did a class at their studio.
Hopefully, their model continues to work.
Nice post .Thanks for giving us such a nice stuff.It is very helpful for biker.It improve our health & fresh our mind.
I have a question for those of you who own a Peloton – has it required service at all. I’m asking because after all their email marketing to me, I put it in the cart on their website only to find out they don’t ship to Canada. But they did say I could ship it to the border (45 minutes away) but I’d have to go without the warranty. (So disappointing.)
Yes 12 month subscription required
Thanks for such a thorough review of this bike and exercise platform. This is really helpful since I’m considering purchasing the bike now. My biggest concern is that the company will go out of business in a year or two and I really wouldn’t be interested in the bike if I can’t access all the videos/classes.
Thanks for the great and reliable review, Ray. As of today, I have pulled the trigger. This is no small feat as I live in Canada … less than an hour from the US border … but they don’t ship to Canada. So if there are any Canadians that just can’t wait – get in touch. I’m happy to share how to make it happen for you too.
And anyone who’d like to get 2 FREE months of classes, use my referral link – it’s a win-win! Click here: link to pelotoncycle.com and if you’re ordering online you just need my name (Kelly Patchet)!
Just used your promo code. Thanks for putting it out there!
Thanks, Heidi! Have you got your Peloton now? Every time friends come over I march them right into my office and show it off. Best. Purchase. Ever. My 50th ride anniversary is tomorrow.
Kelly, did you have to drive to the US to get it? A residence there? Also how much was the duty?
Yes, I did drive over the border. I think I was in the US for all of 15 minutes! There’s a business called Kinek – they exist to receive packages like this that you pick up. I sent it there. I think it was something like $25 and drove it across the border. There’s no duty but you will have to pay the HST at the border. You also have to pay the NY state tax (which is annoying and about $125). But … would I do it again. In a heartbeat.
One other thing … if you think you’re going to want any accessories, get ’em all at once so you don’t have to go through this again. We have the mat, HR monitor and weights.
Hope this helps, Greg!
Hi Kelly: I live in Canada and am looking at buying the Peloton bike. Question – did you use a US credit card? I don’t have one and may have to ask a friend – just wondering if there was a workaround.
Also, was it easy to hook up to the streaming service? I’m looking at buying for the whole year but want to make sure it actually works in Canada. Dumb question I know, but you never know with US companies who are not quite sure Canada exists. :-)
Thanks much,
Andrea
Hi Andrea – You can use your regular Canadian credit card. The only thing Peloton doesn’t do is ship it over the border. I can give you the cell number of Rita at Peloton if you want – she’s dealt with a lot of Canadian buyers. She made it super simple. If you want to email me you can use the Contact us form on my website http://www.quarterbackdigital.com (my company) and I’ll hook you up!
The streaming thing is no issue. The whole setup of the bike and connecting it to our network was slick. (It’s heavy though so take someone with you to pick it up and get it in your home.)
I was actually quite amazed at how easy it was to go get it, set it up and get riding.
You do need to have a US addressed credit card and ship to the US to purchase one. They are working on shipping to Canada but not for a while yet. Until then they’ve cracked down.
Hi Kelly,
I also live in Canada and I’m looking at purchasing a Peloton bike. How is everything going? How did it go at the border?
Kelly,
Did you have to pay the $250 Shipping Fee, since you were just sending to kinek? I’m also Canadian and will be sending it to a spot like kinek
This looks like a really nice product for those of us who prefer spin class type workouts over simulated road ride workouts. And this format is more convenient for multiple different riders as opposed to swapping bikes off and on to a KICKR or similar.
For the cheapskates among us who don’t want to cough up $2k for the Peloton and can live with a little less quality (and maybe some noise), can anyone recommend a decent standalone spin bike (to pair with the iPad app) for under $1000, or even under $500? Virtually every “review” that I see on the www is by folks that seem to know nothing about cycling.
Thanks!
I got really excited when I saw the commercial for Peloton, I’ve always had a hard time motivating myself to do cardio, and I thought this might do the trick. When I actually saw the actual price of ownership, I was a little shocked, I like Kelly, live in Canada and with our sucky dollar, were well over 4 grand for this baby. I hit kijiji (our version of Craigslist) and found a beautiful Kieser M3, then purchased a polar HR monitor, a very sturdy gooseneck IPAD holder, and I’m off to the races for under $500, with $18 CND a month. I know it’s not the complete experience, but the kieser gives me cadence, power, and HR, so I have no issue following the instructors direction. I’ve added these classes to my weight training and twice a week hockey, and the improvements in my stamina on the ice were almost instantaneous. Very satisfied.
Chris
I am a new mom and can’t find time to get to the gym anymore, but needed a way to get back in shape. Peloton has been an amazing investment. I can get in a quick workout when my baby is sleeping without having to find childcare, travel to the gym, and get there early to make sure I get a spot in class. I used to love SoulCycle and Flywheel and this gives you the same high quality experience right at home. I darken the room and put on headphones and it feels like I am really in the class. If you went to one of these boutique classes only 2X per week at $35 per class, that’s $3,500 in just 1 year. With Peloton, although it’s a large upfront investment, it actually can save you money over time, especially since you can have unlimited riders in your household (my husband and I both cancelled our gym memberships). The iOS app is included with your subscription, so when I travel for work I can still do a class in my hotel gym. They also now have Beyond the Ride workouts like Yoga which you can cast to your TV if you want a break from spinning one day.
I researched buying a cheaper bike and just using the app, but if you want a high quality, quiet stationary bike with magnetic resistance (which gives the smooth, quiet ride), you will end up paying $2K anyway and that doesn’t include the giant tablet that the Peloton bike comes with. If you ever decide to cancel the subscription, the tablet still has a few demo rides and still tracks your metrics.
If you pay for 2 year subscription up front, you get 3 months free, and if you use a referral link you get another 2 months free on top of that. Here is my referral link: link to pelotoncycle.com
Here’s a referral link to get two months free:
link to pelotoncycle.com
Just an FYI, I just purchased a Peloton (thanks for the review and all the comments) but, all your referral links are useless without your name and email address! I used the only name and email in the comments, Kirk got two free months!!
Is that right, Michael? I used Kirk’s name too – but all I needed was his name to get the win-win referral.
Congrats on the purchase. I never thought I’d look forward to working out this hard this much. I LOVE this bike.
This thing is awesome. Here’s a link for a couple of free months!
link to pelotoncycle.com
Loving my Peloton bike!! Use below link for 2 months free!
link to pelotoncycle.com
Best purchase of my life. Here is my referral code to get a two month subscription for FREE!
link to pelotoncycle.com
Hi all,
slightly off-topic, but does anyone know of a similar iPad app as the Peloton app but for running instead of cycling, meaning an app where you have similar training engagement (intervals, pushing you, etc.) as a spinning class but for use on a indoor treadmill iso an indoor spinner?
I travel extensively and due to schedule use hotel treadmills a lot, it does get boring and so having some kind of “spinning class” session applied to running on the treadmill might make this all much more fun?
thanks a bunch in advance
I know Zwift is adding running. You can check out these links:
link to dcrainmaker.com
link to zwiftblog.com
I can’t say enough about this bike and the classes that are offered. This is the smoothest and quietest bike on the market, period. I am saving so much time and money as I no longer waste 2hrs of my time driving back and forth to the gym for a 40 min workout. Nor do I have to pay the $25 per class fees anymore.
Peloton charges $39 a month for unlimited live classes and thousands of on demand rides, which is less than 2 classes at my local gym. I now ride everyday for a fraction of what I paid at the gym, but I still get the competition feel that pushes me. The screen is huge and makes you feel like you are in a real class with the leaderboard and all.
I have convinced all of my friends to purchase one and wish I had come up with this idea myself. The only downfall is the price, but you get what you pay for. Final delivered price comes out around $2500.
I searched the internet for discounts and coupons and found nothing. The only deal is getting 2 months of subscription for free if you are referred by a current Peloton user and use their link to purchase the bike. Basically a $78 savings. Lucky for you guys that link is below.
link to click.e.pelotoncycle.com
My wife and I just purchased one and used a referral code that got us $100 off accessories, seems like its the only discount code out there as Peleton doesn’t really do sales or promo’s. Code was JBDSH2
The discount code will bring the price of shoes down from $125 with cleats, to $25. Thats pretty great for shoes made by Shimano.
Peloton’s ride metrics don’t match what the bike uploads to Strava: for every metric. Cadence, Output, Distance and (I guess understandably) Calories burned.
It’s not a one-time thing either. It’s every single bike. I hope Ray or someone can get to the bottom of it. Peloton and Strava are notably silent on the issue.
If you need a discount/promo/referral code for the free $100 accessories or 2 month subscription discount (discontinued, but I can tell you how to get it – legally and through Peloton), the code is “CFQJVE”.
I’m the moderator of the Peloton Cycle Rider Community on Reddit (google “reddit peloton”, my username is “ClipIn”), and happy to answer replies to this post or even PM’s through reddit.
It would also be good to see another in-depth, hands-on review from Ray on the bike, its software features, integration of the cadence/resistance sensors, and the app’s power and calorie calcs vs Strava and Garmin. As a fellow rider (not employed by the company), with a combined 100+ rides between myself and wife in just a few months, I’d even be happy to help provide any rider-data Ray needs for a future review. Few guys like him are writing honest, unbiased stuff and it’s great to see this one here, just wish we could have another!
Thanks for stopping by.
I reached out to Peloton about getting a loaner bike to put together an in-depth review and was informed they don’t do media loaner bikes. Thus…unfortunately pretty unlikely I’ll do at review at this point.
Wow, thanks for the quick reply. Disappointed to hear they don’t do media loaners. Especially because – without saying it – that’s what The Verge alluded to in their review.
Their review comments that implied it was a loaner were:
“I ended up trying 18 Peloton classes in the eight weeks that I tested it.” and “Peloton may just be the Next Big Thing in fitness or it could end up being a fad, but I can say this for sure: I kind of miss that bike now that it’s no longer in my living room.”
That said, if you’re in NYC or CT area, drop me a line. I’m happy to set you up on mine. Or, you can ask on our Reddit forum, there’s always an off-chance there’s someone internationally with one would let you try it out (involves ship forwarding, so fewer int’l users right now)…you’re a bit of a legend in the cycling space Ray.
I can also ping my contact at Peloton (works with us on the social community), see if we can push for a loaner for you.
Yeah, I know Lauren from the Verge pretty well (and also knew about the rental) and we chatted about it one day.
I’d love to test one, since I’m testing other stationary bikes like the new Wattbike Atom. And I think while they are similar in some reasons – the Peloton app is what’s a key differentiator for this specific target market.
Happy to have an assist though!
The code I posted above won’t work until 2018, but for now “8BJNQ7” will work.
If anyone has more Peloton questions or wants to meet the community, the link to reddit.com page has a TON of resources and over 1,000 members. I moderate it and happy to answer questions, either here or there!
Matt
It is an old thread – but i still keep my Kettler Ergometer X7 alive and myself sweating …
After i last year dropped kettler world tour for Virtual cycling (now https://rouvy.com ) i found out that i could actually also use it with swift trough some clever sw on an android tablet. See link to ergo.ub-online.de
So i’ve now canceled my Rouvy account and will be using the old X7 on swift. Its limit of 400W is a small issue on sprints and on climbs, but since i can’t hold 400W for more than a few minutes anyway not a real problem – But i’m actullay looked at used keettler ergoracers that supports 600-800 or 1000W. Might be able to get one cheaper than a trainer and then i don’t have the mess of taking my bike indoor …
Hi all, blowing the dust of this thread. Im in the process of doing some research of DIY Peloton “hacks” using a stationary spin bike such as Schwinn Carbon Blue & echelon monitor and have been back & forth reading between this review an another (older) post link to dcrainmaker.com
Curious if anybody else has configured their home spin regime similarly and their experiences with the Peloton app? I should add that while I know there are plenty of stationary trainers available to use, I’m opting for the spin bike as an option for my wife (who does not cycle) to also get in a workout at home. Thanks for the feedback.
Ray I use an old Schwinn Johnny G Spinner, airplay the app to my TV with Apple TV, use Garmin sensors on spinner (speed and cadence) and use my Wahoo Elemnt Bolt on the spinner. Works great and I love the app on demand classes. The app keeps a calendar of every ride, but the Wahoo uploads my indoor ride to Strava and then My Fitness Pal. I am not only really enjoying this but motivated to ride almost every night. A group of us app users want to set up a Strava Group to compete and follow each other and there is a FB page Pelolon App Users Unite. Many people have Sunny spinners. I have more than once mentioned your website for those asking about what is compatible with what.
Hi there! Do you have any thoughts on the FlyAnywhere (Flywheel brand bike) compared to the Peloton? TIA
FYI, a couple Flywheel Anywhere users have posted at link to reddit.com. It’s the only Flywheel Anywhere community I know of. There’s not a lot of posts, but the people that did are all long, comprehensive, in-depth.
+1 vote for Ray doing a Flywheel Anywhere bike review. I’m especially curious what he thinks about the quality of the build vs Peloton, which has had a lukewarm reception from cycling circles.
Yeah, I think my rough line in the sand for doing any indoor bike type review is mostly whether or not it can be controlled by apps (i.e. ANT+ FE-C or Bluetooth Smart FTMS). So like we saw with the Wattbike. Which is a bit different than typical spin bikes which have a giant flywheel and a resistance knob.
I could see an exception down the road for the Peloton specifically, only because there’s so much interest there – primarily once they start to move overseas.
Thanks, Matt!
Makes sense to me. Thanks for the follow up :)
Just an update: Peloton is officially shipping to Canada and the UK this fall (2018). I went to great lengths to get mine and SO many Canadians have hit me up for tips on how to get theirs. It won’t be an issue in a few months.
Also @Matt, I would consider myself part of cycling circles as an avid mountain biker who will even extend an olive branch to my lycra-wearing roadie friends and I will say that anyone who sees my Peloton, wants it. (Even the ones that ride like they’re training for the Tour.)
Thanks Ray. Helpful info.
Here’s to hoping these companies open up their platforms to apps.
I used a Peloton trainer for about 3 months before it vanished (along with my house) in last fall’s Santa Rosa, CA firestorm. I did a few of the live classes and found them pretty rigorous (I’m a decent, but old, road cyclist). I’ve done only one other actual live SPIN class, and that was in Kona, with an instructor who does the Ironman, and THAT was REALLY tough!
My biggest complaint (made to the company at their sales emporium in Marin County) was the way they’ve recorded their “scenic rides.” They’re not as interesting as they might be because of the camera they use to record them (one would think they’d use a GoPro, but they use a very narrow angle field of view on a drone. You can be riding up Highway 1 in CA (that’s the PCH to SoCal natives) and not know that there’s an ocean next to you because the display on your 1080p monitor has such a narrow field of view.
So, as we replace all the “stuff” in our lives, I’m now considering another Peloton or perhaps a Kicker trainer. I’m looking here for a few votes :-)
Not sure what you decided on, but we have one of each. :) My wife tried a Kickr for a bit with Zwift, but really wanted a Peloton (coming next week). Not sure what you ended up with, but the nice thing is there are many options now. I took her Kickr (newer than my 3 yr old version and quiet), and she’ll have what she needs (likes spin bikes/classes, but not outdoors).