Talk to me about home spinning

[Secretsout]

Hi all, looking for advice.

Previously done a fair bit of gym spin but nothing for 2 years.

Looking to get back in to it and I'm thinking I'm not going to join a gym after this lockdown ends.

I've been looking at new options and I'm currently doing Courtney Black (once a week because it's killing me) and Yoga with Adrienne.

So I'm now looking at online/on demand options.

I'm thinking of Les Mills on demand due to the variety or spin specific options.

So firstly, bike options. I really can't stretch to a Peleton or Eschelon and my budget would be approx £500. I know I need a decent flywheel and I want it to be quiet.
Do I need something to rest my iPad on? Does it need connectivity? I have a fit bit and iPhone and iPad. Potentially, could connect to a TV that uses a Now TV stick (it's an older smart TV)

In terms of class options, how do they work? Is the set up easy?

I guess I'm just looking for a 'heads up' on how easy this is and how I go about it - and bike options.

Many thanks.

I have a JLL bike. About £300 from amazon. It’s good enough. Think it’s a 20kg flywheel. It’s quiet and compact.
I was using Les mills but quickly got bored, there’s not enough content.
I’m using the peloton app now. Absolutely loads of content, new spin classes every day. I’m loving it.
I just use my phone and put it in a nearby surface.

With headphones.

Thank you thorfull

I think the appeal with Les Mills is the option for other, non-spin workouts.

Do you find you get the 'atmosphere' from it being on your phone? And I guess the sound/music only comes through the phone so it's not very loud?

Does that bike cope with standing spin? Is it sturdy and the resistance decent? I also want to use cleats rather than normal pedals. Can you do this?

We’ve got Apex, my first go at spinning. No live classes at the moment but I enjoy the recorded classes. I wear normal trainers.
The other non-spin classes are coming soon I’ve read.

I use the Les Mills on Demand for spin - The Trip being my favourite and there is also sprint and rpm spin classes. I have a 2nd hand gym quality spin bike (ebay bargain), solid and smooth and has spd pedals, but no cycle computer for metrics - not worried about that as I don't feel I need it. I have a clip on mount for my ipad and I use headphones (aftershokz titanium) as I like my music loud. I also love Les Mills for the other classes - particularly pump and combat.
I had a free trial of the Peleton app - great classes on there too, but chose to stick with LMOD for the other classes.
Once you have a bike I'd suggest trying a free trial of both to see which one you use the most.

Thank you nbee84 you're right, I don't think I need the metrics. The Fitbit and bike will give me the basic stats I need.

I've only ever done RPM. Not heard of trip and sprint.

I think the bike selection is the biggest challenge. 😩

We've got a Life Fitness spin bike that DH picked up secondhand on eBay years ago for a good price (unfortunately, the demand for home equipment now is so high, I don't think there's many bargains to be had at the moment). I have access to the Peloton app for free at the moment through my health insurance, but I think it's well worth the £12.99 monthly subscription as there's so much content, and includes running, yoga, strength etc as well as spin.

I've no idea on how heavy the wheel is, but it does have a small console that shows resistance and rpm, which I find really helpful when trying to match what I should be working on from the instructor's lead, and yes, it's sturdy enough for standing.

If you think you'll use it beyond lockdown, I think it's worth paying what you can for a decent piece of equipment. I'm definitely tempted by the Peloton itself, but can't justify the bike cost and then the increased monthly subscription on top - I don't need the leaderboard etc that much!

I've not tried LMOD, so can't comment, but DH and DS have tried a few Apple Fitness workouts and quite like them too. There's so many options available now, I think gyms will feel it when they're finally able to reopen.

Spin classes are a very effective way to lose weight because you burn a lot of calories per workout.

Thanks for the tips so far everyone.

From the responses, I can see that there's a good few online workout options and good that Peloton and LM have such variety.

EmmaStone I'll definitely use it after lockdown. I'm planning that this will be my new regime and I aiming to not rejoin the gym so the monthly subscriptions are a massive saving for me.

I think I've decided I don't need a bike with connectivity as such but it would be nice to be able to have the workouts streamed to a TV so I can recreate more of a 'gym' experience of loud music etc.

If anyone has bike tips for bikes currently available then that would be great.

I'm currently looking at the JLL IC300Pro or a JTX.

The JLL spin bike is a proper spin bike. For standing. It has a good resistance for the price.
I always use wireless headphones. I need loud music in my ears.
There’s weights and yoga and running and boot camps on peloton. I loved Les mills but really prefer peloton.

ThorFull I'm definitely getting that JLL bike when it comes back in stock (mid March). Really looking forward to getting back in the saddle and trying out lots of new workouts.

It's jumped up in price though - it's now £439 but I think it was £300 a year ago 😩

looks great

It’s still worth the extra.
No gym membership and convenience of being able to work out while home with kids and not making it on time for real classes.

I have a keiser m3000i bike. It’s fab. I started out with Les mills but switched to Peleton which is far better. Loads of different types of classes and really feels like you are in the gym. I like how you can filter the classes to the time length you have available and then further by music or if a strength class by body area.

@QuiteGood where did you get your keiser from and do you mind me asking how much you paid?

I se the Peloton app, I like the live classes because it makes me make time and plan to fit exercising in. I didn’t enjoy Les Mills spinning, nowhere near as many instructors or choice of music. With Peloton I can check the music playlists and choose a class to match how I feel/what I need. They also have great stretch workouts which I have really needed to build up my number of exercise sessions and recover slightly more quickly. May be worth looking for dumbbells too for some classes, some spin classes include weights or you can do boot camp with weights too where the class is split on and off the bike.

@Secretsout I bought a spin bike (Sportstech 200) at the start of the year. I paid £500 for it on eBay. It was nearly new. I absolutely loved it. I was using it 4 times a week and then the tension knob broke. The customer service team were next to useless. Reading the reviews of the JLL bike I can see people had similar experiences. I'm just telling you this as a word of caution. I don't want you to waste your money.
I always said Peloton was out of my budget, but now I think I'm just going to do it. It comes with guarantees and doesn't seem to have so many problems.
My suggestion is read the reviews very carefully. I thought I'd done thorough research and was gutted when it broke. Such a waste of money. I was able to resell on eBay but for less than half of what I paid for it.

I thought this thread may have people who already know

Are there any useful You Tube videos to workout for home exercise bikes?

Hey OP I know you said budget doesn't stretch to Peloton but have you looked in detail into this? Not sure if it would just be you paying or a partner too, but we pay 50 quid a month for the bike (interest free) and 39 for the app. So 90 quid a month split between me and DH = 45 quid each which is a fairly standard gym membership price where I live. And I bloody love it.

The bike is amazing quality as are the classes. Lots of different classes too such as strength, yoga, cardio, pilates, bootcamp which is half spin half strength. Even audio only running classes for coaching on an outdoor run. The screen is large and really good quality and I bought a pivot thing for 70 quid which allows you to swivel the screen so when you move from the bike to the floor you can move the screen accordingly. I've never been a sucker for expensive premium or designer products in my life but we took a chance on the Peloton last year and haven't looked back.

Personally I find LMOD so cheesy I could almost cry.

@FlatEarthling - exercise bike or spin bike? If the latter then studio sweat have some really good free spin classes on YouTube.

Thanks for all the help and advice everyone. Just wanted to come on and update

I bit the bullet and bought the JLLIC30O PRO. Read lots of reviews and just felt it was enough for what I wanted right now.

It arrived on Monday and was really easy to assemble. It's sturdy and so far, meets my needs - resistance is adequate for my needs.

I also signed up for LMOD as I'm familiar with their programs from being a member of David Lloyd in the past. It's cheap as chips at less than £9 per month so definitely what I need right now.

I'm on my own so no one to share the cost with or for anyone else to use it.

I just couldn't justify buying a Peloton bike in case I decide that home workouts are not my thing. I've been a gym member all of my life so this is a big change for me and although I've spent £500 on bike and other bits and pieces I know this will be recouped within 6 months.

If LMOD doesn't work for me I can join the Peloton app (think it's around £10) so I've got lots of options for now.