PelotonIndoor Exercise Bikes, Original Peloton Bike and Bike+

The media could not be loaded. This is an honest review of the Peloton bike based on my experience after having it for 8 months.Pros:- High Quality and Durable - The Peloton is a very high-quality piece of exercise equipment. It is sturdy and durable from sweat. It also takes a beating in daily use, due to the weight of the user, the wheel, and the screen. I’m usually drenched in sweat after riding mine, and somehow it holds up day after day.- Culture - I like the culture and community in that you’re on a bike with people from all over the world working to be healthy while competing with each other in the leader board.- Daily Content + Reinforced Positivity - The daily content from instructors is not only engaging but also motivating and inspiring. I would say I did not expect it to have the positive effect on my mental health that it has had, which has been tremendous. Overall, I think they’ve made it engaging and addictive, which speaks to my inner gym rat.- Convenience - Owning a Peloton is like having a gym membership at your house that is always open. It makes it very easy to commit an hour a day (or less), which for me over 8 months has led to losing 30lbs!- Variety of Content - I also really like all of the options for content, whether it be music-based rides at all different timed intervals, different themes such as endurance or tabata, their game lane-break which is a lot of fun and engaging, the scenic rides all over the planet, or the artist series geared towards specific musicians, there is always something new to try.- Bonus - Once a member, you can also download the Peloton app on your TV, log in, and do strength, meditation, or yoga classes as well. I added a TV to my gym for this very reason.Cons:- Price - the Peloton isn’t cheap, but neither is your healthcare. When you invest in yourself in something like this, it’s easy to see the difference between the Peloton and a standard stationary bike, which is night and day. Also, what is your health worth? You can pay for good health now at a discount.- Monthly Membership - This was my main reservation. Do I really want another gym membership? Would I use it enough to make it worth it? The answer after all this time has been a resounding, YES. I’ve joined plenty of gyms in my life, and I hate signing new contracts. Luckily, there is no contract here, but the price is $49 a month. What that fee goes to is supporting so much on the platform from all of the instructors, to the design, build, manufacturing, corporate management, etc., that honestly, this may be the one gym I feel good about paying for. I’m paying for the platform to continue to be great.- Peloton Accessory Prices - I would say Peloton is on the more expensive side for accessories and clothing in addition to the bike.Overall, I had my doubts and had to think about it for a few months before I bought my Peloton, but I’m so glad I did. 8 months later, the Peloton has had a huge impact on my life, both physically and mentally.

I finally took the leap during Amazon Prime days. (First of all, the delivery and set up was absolutely seamless, and took about an hour. Plus they hauled all the boxes away. Wonderful. My communication with Amazon was easy and direct and the set-up folks absolutely knew what they were doing. ) What I've found, after setting my online presence to "private" is that the sheer variety of classes -- some as short as 5 minutes -- is a wonderful WFH break. Its pretty easy to commit to 20 minutes on the bike if all you have to do is put your shoes on and turn on the bike. So far, I've done bike workouts, walking (outside) workouts, weights and yoga. I have been a long time cyclist so I am comfortable with cleated shoes. There are lots and lots of after-market accessories for these bikes and I recommend a few: buy non-Peloton shoes for half-price. You can get them with cleats already installed for $55. You don't need $120 shoes for indoor cycling. Get a gel seat cover for a more comfortable ride. Get a small fan you can mount to your handlebars. And there are heartrate monitors for a more exact reading than your watch. Oddly, the Peloton monitor did not connect with the program, but a much cheaper monitor did. Connects just fine with my Samsung S25 phone and ring. The huge variety of instructors will almost guarantee that you'll find a good match, and the Peloton app has lots of other options for exercise, meditation, stretching, runs and weight classes. For all that, the app easily replaces my gym membership. For the shoes sceptics: it may take a few times to get used to clicking in and out of cleats, but they are really the best way to transfer power from your legs to the bike. They become intuitive quickly. ( Cleats transfer power on both the down stroke and the upstroke. Cages aren't as efficient, and "regular " shoes and pedals lose the upstroke power. You will get stronger using cleats )A year later (July 2025): The bike itself is still working great and I still think this was one of the smartest purchases I made all last year. At 72, I'm never going to top a leader board but I can definitely see a difference from a year ago. And while I thought I would set the bike on a program and then just watch a movie on television, I still find the classes entertaining and motivating.

My wife and I are both retirees but we have done Spin for years. We decided to purchase a Peloton partly because it is sometimes just not as easy or convenient for us to get to the gym for classes as it was when we were younger. This is a beautiful bike and we anticipate enjoying it for many years to come. As stellar as this bike is, however, we must offer even higher accolades to the delivery techs who brought the bike to our home, assembled and made sure that it was performing to our satisfaction. If the bike itself only turns out to be only half as awesome as these two techs, then my wife and I will be very pleased. OH, they also removed the packaging and heavy box in which Pelaton ships their bikes. That was a big help, too. Kudos to Amazon for making these beautiful bikes available at a very reasonable price point. Even more so given its seamless delivery and assembly by two highly professional yet very down to earth technicians. Thank you!