To peloton or not to peloton?

That was in response to evilharpy
I can't get used to this new format!

This is what I've done and I love it. I invested in a decent spin bike which wasn't cheap but still a lot cheaper than the peloton bike. I do bike and strength classes at home and use the treadmill at the gym to do tread classes.
You have to figure out your own speed/cadence but you know if you're pushing yourself or not!

I have a non-Peloton spin bike and just pay for app membership at £12.99pm. I'm not bothered about stats and leaderboards but I do love the variety. I do bike, strength, yoga and pilates classes. The choice can actually be a bit overwhelming but if you're someone who's music-driven you'll love it as every genre is catered for, and there are so many instructors you're sure to find some whose style you click with.

Maybe you could borrow or rent a spin bike for a month and use the app on the free 30 day trial to see how you get on before committing.

I considered it and concluded that I’d sooner pay for a gym membership at a nice local (chain) gym that offers loads of spin classes, both instructor led and virtual, plus other stuff.

it wasn’t much more expensive than the Peleton membership and meant that I had a bit of separation between where I live and where I exercise. And I didn’t have to have a big bike in the conservatory, and I didn’t have to clean up sweat from the floor every time I used it.

I got the tread instead of the bike as am still entertaining the fantasy of running the london marathon one day, and I really like it. I've had it six weeks now and I've gone from struggling with a minute run to running 20. Instructors are definitely good at distracting/motivating you so the time passes quicker than just with music.

They have just put the price of the membership up and the price of the bike down in the states though, so careful that this doesnt happen here.

I absolutely love mine

I got it while I was pregnant with DC2 to try and stay a bit more active during my pregnancy but very soon, my bump was too big for me to be able to use it which kneeing myself

but since DS arrived, it’s been a game changer
Im the fittest I’ve been in years and genuinely look forward to using it, and I don’t have any other gym of studio memberships now because I can do it all through the app (although I treat myself to an occasional Pilates reformer class)

The app is re ally good at gamifying the workouts with the achievement badges, plus it sends you a notification if you haven’t worked out for a few days so you do lose your ‘streak’

and the stretching and core workouts are great. You can either do them next to the bike if you have space, or use the app on your phone
and if you’ve got Sky, you can log into your account through the sky box and use your TV as a peloton screen

i disagree with pp that the instructors are too American
Some of them are definitely just give you 30 mins of insta-worthy philosophy but there are loads that either just yell and swear at you to work a bit harder, or others that are gentle ‘you got this!’ sorts of motivation
Cody Rigsby just chats away about Britney Spears and his latest night out, while asking you occasionally add resistance and before you know it, you have set a new PB
I think there is a style of instructor (and music, and class length and type) for everyone and every mood

I had an awful night with the baby last night so did a 45 min hip hop ride this morning and I now feel fantastic!
But I would ordinarily I would do a 90s pop ride with Leanne when she asks if you like how she matched her leggings to her lipstick

it’s definitely worth trying it. If you don’t like it, you can send it back, or send back the bike and keep the app

I recently sold mine because I found I was using the bike less and less in favour of the classes for strength etc which I could access far more cheaply on their app rather than through the bike.

I did like the bike classes and the instructors are really motivational when you find the ones you gel with.

I couldn't justify the cost of the bike membership with ongoing cost of living hike and decided to recoup as much as I could by selling the bike and downgrading my membership. But otherwise I did really like it.

Fitness wise I should add, this is just 8 weeks difference

We got a bike about a year ago, and I LOVE it.

We were paying £££ for gym memberships that hardly ever got used (I hate the gym), so this is much cheaper.

A 30min workout only takes 30mins - there's no travelling time to/from the gym or waiting for a machine to be free.

I'd never done a spin class before, so wasn't sure that I'd like it. But clearly I do, as I'm still taking classes 3-5 times a week. I usually do a bike class followed by an arms/light weights workout.

You might as well take advantage of the 30 day trial and see how you get on.

Ignore the strikethroughs in my post. MN new formatting a bit overzealous with my habit of using double hyphens as dashes!

We've had ours since early 2020. It still gets used a lot, although I found that I went through a sort of fallow period after the novelty wore off. I had to really motivate myself to get back in the saddle again. I'm really enjoying it again though.

Positives
-- the class selection is fantastic, not just for cycling but also running, yoga, strength training and bootcamp. You can join classes live, jump into a catch-up session, or pick the class on-demand (like streaming a Netflix programme)
-- the instructors are genuinely world-class (I especially love Christine, Ally Love, Hannah F, Matty Maggiacomo for strength and Ross on yoga) and there's enough variety that if you don't personally chime with one particular instructor, you can try another one
-- it's handy and motivating having your workout equipment right there in your spare room
-- as well as the bike itself, once you're subscribed you can run the app, which has all the classes on it too. I do yoga with my iPad propped up in front of my mat, for example
-- the way it helps you grade your own fitness level, and challenge yourself, is sound and quite clever considering its all done digitally (DOI: I'm a personal trainer)

Negatives
-- the bike is quite bulky and you need the room for it, plus a good and reliable wifi connection
-- they've been piling on the 'innovations' lately, including this Tron-esque thing called Lanebreak which feels like tech people competing to dehumanise the entire platform, which is against what Peloton stands for IMO
-- if American-style affirmation isn't your thing, you won't get on with it. Even the British and German instructors (of which there are several) do this, to an extent. I quite like it (yes, Robyn, I do only ride with royalty, and here is my crown ), but some don't, and if it isn't your thing, you might struggle to find an instructor you like
-- if you fall out of the habit of using it, it becomes expensive quickly
-- it doesn't replace the gym in some ways (weight training, for example)
-- there are ongoing costs; you have to replace the shoes every so often, and the pedals/cleats. And there's a bit of ongoing adjustment/lubricating to keep the thing running smoothly
-- I've found I have to clean it/wipe it down after every session, otherwise sweat dries on the frame and it starts to stink
they have a ruthless approach to getting rid of older content. For example there was an instructor called Jennifer Jacobs who was on the platform for a long time, whose bike classes were brilliant. But she left Peloton, and after a while, all her old on-demand classes got wiped

I love it. This is how often I've used mine and I've had it a couple of months
So easy to finish WFH, and be on the bike in 10 mins

It is if you think you will commit to using regularly. & if you love spin! I'd recc getting the free trial for 30 days and seeing how much you use it. I tend to get bursts of motivation for a few days & then not use again for weeks. It's become a bit of a coat hanger unfortunately, so will be selling mine soon (just hoping to get into something else first before I fully comity to getting rid lol
:( it's a beautiful bike with lots of good classes & music & the fact that you can jump on whenever you want & do live or pre recorded classes is brill ... if you'll use it enough to make it worth the £39pm.
Good luck deciding!