Why is Peloton so great?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another convert who didn't use to spin. It's the instructors, the variety, the community, the feeling it inspires. I know it sounds cultish but it's hard to explain until you get into it.

Agree with this - it just seems so DOABLE, too. It's right there, you can get a good workout in during a thirty minute block of time and be right back at your desk. I also find that the instructors distract me from realizing I am actually working out, and I am much more likely to keep up with the instructions on cadence/resistance.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another convert who didn't use to spin. It's the instructors, the variety, the community, the feeling it inspires. I know it sounds cultish but it's hard to explain until you get into it.

Totally agree. I never did spin classes, or even regularly worked out until I got a Peloton. I was having my daughter and knew I would never make it to a gym or be able to commit to a class at a particular time.

I love the social aspect of it — the hashtags that correspond with Facebook groups that I’m in with other Peloton riders. The competitive aspect is great for me, since I’m a competitive person. The challenges also play into that.

DH also rides, so we compete on things, though since he’s taller and heavier than me, he can naturally put up higher outputs, so we more compete around who can use it the most.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Another convert who didn't use to spin. It's the instructors, the variety, the community, the feeling it inspires. I know it sounds cultish but it's hard to explain until you get into it.

Agree with this - it just seems so DOABLE, too. It's right there, you can get a good workout in during a thirty minute block of time and be right back at your desk. I also find that the instructors distract me from realizing I am actually working out, and I am much more likely to keep up with the instructions on cadence/resistance.

Totally! Cody is the best for that, IMO. When we’re in a really tough part of the ride, he’ll start talking about some random hilarious thing, and I’ll just forget about my legs burning.

[Anonymous]

Not interested in the bike (and can’t afford it), but curious about the non-bike options. Is just the app worth it? And what approx cost? Also I am not on Facebook or Twitter.... still with it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not interested in the bike (and can’t afford it), but curious about the non-bike options. Is just the app worth it? And what approx cost? Also I am not on Facebook or Twitter.... still with it?

The app has a lot of strength/yoga/pilates classes in addition to guided running on treadmill or outside. It is good, and I think its only like $12 a month. I don't know why Facebook or Twitter is relevant, you don't need them to do squats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not interested in the bike (and can’t afford it), but curious about the non-bike options. Is just the app worth it? And what approx cost? Also I am not on Facebook or Twitter.... still with it?

There is an unbelievable amount of high quality content on the app, for all types of exercise (from yoga/pilates to outdoor running and everything in between). I have the bike and I'm not sure of app-only pricing, but I think it would be well worth it without the Peloton equipment. They offer a free trial if you want to give it a try.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Another convert who didn't use to spin. It's the instructors, the variety, the community, the feeling it inspires. I know it sounds cultish but it's hard to explain until you get into it.

Yes, exactly. I never took a spin class in my life either. I can't compare to other spin bikes, but the bike itself is a solid piece of equipment and it's quiet when you're spinning. This is going to sound so cultish like the PP but this is more than a bike. It's a community and the instructors are like therapists. You get an excellent workout in just a half hour or however long you choose to ride, but instructors are so motivating and inspirational that sometimes it feels like you got a therapy session along with your workout. It is kind of like having a personal coach motivating and inspiring you, not just in terms of the workout itself, but in life and making time for yourself, treating yourself well. The community is great--I'm in a few different Peloton FB groups for my favorite instructors and it's a fun way to connect with others over you love of this bike, and you can ride with friends, family, etc. and give each other high fives along the way. The music variety is incredible and the instructors tailor their rides to the music, so I've taken rides where the music just builds and builds until the final stretch and you just want to give it your all in that last song. I love that I can workout from home on my time and get in an amazing workout, and the rest of their content is excellent, as well. I usually stack rides with strength and stretching, and it gives me the structure to get these workouts in. As the PP said it's all hard to explain until you get it, and you'll see.

[Anonymous]

I've had my Peloton for 3.5 years and it still is used nearly every day by someone in the house. We also use the off-bike content. On cost, our per-class cost is under $1.00/class now.

[Anonymous]

Sometimes I believe these threads are some type of advertising. There is nothing amazing about the peloton app. There are better apps or even workout on you tube for free. I have tried the strength training classes and yoga and I get bored with both of them. I also like variety on my workouts so I know that I will get bored doing mainly spinning as cardio.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Not interested in the bike (and can’t afford it), but curious about the non-bike options. Is just the app worth it? And what approx cost? Also I am not on Facebook or Twitter.... still with it?

The app is 12.99/month. I use it with a cheaper bike. I love the spin classes but can’t get into the yoga, so it wouldn’t be worth it to me. They do a free trial (like two months) so give it a shot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I believe these threads are some type of advertising. There is nothing amazing about the peloton app. There are better apps or even workout on you tube for free. I have tried the strength training classes and yoga and I get bored with both of them. I also like variety on my workouts so I know that I will get bored doing mainly spinning as cardio.

I, and obviously thousands of others, disagree with you. I’ve used Les Mills for spinning. They have such limited content compared to the peloton app. Peloton has a huuuuuuuge amount of content to access.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta ask - is it really the software that is the big seller? And not so much the bike itself (although it seems that is a pretty decent exercise bike).

There are a ton of options out there for an exercise bike, no? BUt paying a premium for Peloton gets you all the fancy bells & whistles of the software for your stats, videos, access to a variety of instructors, and other options, no?

A home exercise bike is nothing new. We all agree on the pros of having it in our room/basement/wherever for anytime exercise. So that in itself is nothing novel, but the software capabilities are a new trend and that has become a huge selling point.

It’s not only the software capabilities. It’s the fact that the bike allows you to track cadence and resistance. My understanding is most exercise bikes have a resistance knob, but there’s no way to precisely measure what your resistance is.

During a Peloton spin class, the instructor will give you cadence and resistance instructions. They’ll say something like “we’re going to warm up with a cadence of 80-100 and a resistance of 25-35.” Of course you can deviate from those markers, but it allows there to actually be structure to the class, as opposed to guessing as to where you’re supposed to be. Then the cadence and resistance are combined to form output, which is what tracks you on the leaderboard. More cadence + resistance = more output. A higher output = a higher place on the leaderboard.

So while you can use the bike with just the app, you can’t really get the most out of the classes unless you can actually control your cadence and resistance precisely.

The resistance doesn’t exactly line up with the peloton on other bikes, but you can guess at it. You can buy a cadence monitor (wahoo makes one) for $40ish to attach to any bike. peloton has an output number that’s harder to figure out, but apparently you can also buy special pedals that measure that. You can get 95% of the peloton experience using a cheaper bike.
The real peloton let’s you do live classes and be in the leaderboard and it also allows you to set up profiles for each user (my family shares the peloton app and you can’t do this - all our workouts are lumped together). The app is cheaper at 12.99 even if you purchase the bike. There is still a $40ish fee per month with the peloton bike.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I gotta ask - is it really the software that is the big seller? And not so much the bike itself (although it seems that is a pretty decent exercise bike).

There are a ton of options out there for an exercise bike, no? BUt paying a premium for Peloton gets you all the fancy bells & whistles of the software for your stats, videos, access to a variety of instructors, and other options, no?

A home exercise bike is nothing new. We all agree on the pros of having it in our room/basement/wherever for anytime exercise. So that in itself is nothing novel, but the software capabilities are a new trend and that has become a huge selling point.

It’s not only the software capabilities. It’s the fact that the bike allows you to track cadence and resistance. My understanding is most exercise bikes have a resistance knob, but there’s no way to precisely measure what your resistance is.

During a Peloton spin class, the instructor will give you cadence and resistance instructions. They’ll say something like “we’re going to warm up with a cadence of 80-100 and a resistance of 25-35.” Of course you can deviate from those markers, but it allows there to actually be structure to the class, as opposed to guessing as to where you’re supposed to be. Then the cadence and resistance are combined to form output, which is what tracks you on the leaderboard. More cadence + resistance = more output. A higher output = a higher place on the leaderboard.

So while you can use the bike with just the app, you can’t really get the most out of the classes unless you can actually control your cadence and resistance precisely.

The resistance doesn’t exactly line up with the peloton on other bikes, but you can guess at it. You can buy a cadence monitor (wahoo makes one) for $40ish to attach to any bike. peloton has an output number that’s harder to figure out, but apparently you can also buy special pedals that measure that. You can get 95% of the peloton experience using a cheaper bike.
The real peloton let’s you do live classes and be in the leaderboard and it also allows you to set up profiles for each user (my family shares the peloton app and you can’t do this - all our workouts are lumped together). The app is cheaper at 12.99 even if you purchase the bike. There is still a $40ish fee per month with the peloton bike.

$40/month for all of those classes is well worth it, IMO.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I believe these threads are some type of advertising. There is nothing amazing about the peloton app. There are better apps or even workout on you tube for free. I have tried the strength training classes and yoga and I get bored with both of them. I also like variety on my workouts so I know that I will get bored doing mainly spinning as cardio.

I, and obviously thousands of others, disagree with you. I’ve used Les Mills for spinning. They have such limited content compared to the peloton app. Peloton has a huuuuuuuge amount of content to access.

Right. It may just be that this is a high-quality product that most customers like.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sometimes I believe these threads are some type of advertising. There is nothing amazing about the peloton app. There are better apps or even workout on you tube for free. I have tried the strength training classes and yoga and I get bored with both of them. I also like variety on my workouts so I know that I will get bored doing mainly spinning as cardio.

I, and obviously thousands of others, disagree with you. I’ve used Les Mills for spinning. They have such limited content compared to the peloton app. Peloton has a huuuuuuuge amount of content to access.

Right. It may just be that this is a high-quality product that most customers like.

+1. Although I was just like pp a year ago. I was super super super turned off by that christmas commercial they had and thought that it was a weird cult and ridiculous. Now I'm the person talking about powerzone training and beating my PRs. C'est la vie. Thanks covid!