Peloton Bike Is It Worth it

Our Take on Peloton

Everything else aside, Peloton has proven they designed and built a good, connected exercise bike. If you want a Peloton, there is no substitute – Addictive - Effective - Easy to use. Consider it an investment in your mental and physical well-being, with no regrets. It can be hard enough to find the motivation to work out, so if a Peloton bike is what you want or need, you can get one on Amazon with Prime delivery.

If cost is the key consideration point, we believe spending the extra money on an exercise bike you will use and enjoy is more worthwhile than trying to reproduce the experience with a lesser, inexpensive one. Sadly, this will not provide the same experience. This is an excellent piece of exercise equipment and will last – it is durable.

There are financing plans on onepeloton.com and Amazon to help fit your budget. There is a $44/month subscription fee for Peloton workout sessions. Without this subscription, the bike is not worth it – if you’re not going to use the membership content.

Rent a Peloton Bike

Another option, you can choose to rent a Peloton Bike ($89 per month) or a Bike+ ($119 per month); the rental price includes the membership. Renters pay a one-time $150 delivery fee and can cancel their agreement or buy their bike anytime.

Peloton 30-Day Trial

Peloton offers a 30-day trial where you can return the bike if you don’t like it and get a full refund.

Trust Our Fitness Equipment Review

When testing the Original Peloton Bike, we compared it to comparable models like the NordicTrack S22i and S27i Studio Cycle, Soul Cycle at-Home Bike, and others.

maybeyesno review team understands what makes good fitness equipment – indoor bikes, rowers, treadmills, ellipticals, and strength equipment. If it’s good, it’s good, if it’s bad – it’s bad – we will tell you.

For over 10 years, we have tested and published exercise equipment reviews. We get hands-on with gear and discuss overall design, tech and function, including the feel, price, and drill down on components such as the pedals, resistance, flywheel, the screen display (if applicable), subscription content, adjustment features, ease of use, noise levels, warranty, and durability.

Based on extensive use and testing, we discuss, summarize and compare equipment to help you determine if Peloton is the exercise bike for you.

Peloton Bike Experience – An overview

If you thrive on the competition and prefer/love studio cycling sessions, you will want to get a Peloton bike. It does a great job replicating the experience of a spin class at home, music and all. The classes are live-streamed or available on-demand, with selections that can include on-and-off-the-bike segments for a fuller body workout. Peloton has expanded its library of workouts to yoga, strength, boot camp, and more. There are meditation sessions and include celebrity visitors’ takeovers like Ashton Kutcher or Natalie Portman who can make it exciting and engaging. Peloton trainers are top-notch athletes who ride super-hard working out alongside you.

Will I like the Peloton Bike?

Similar to being in a studio spin class, the Peloton Bike experience offers a highly positive atmosphere and vibe, the big difference, you’re at home, and the convenience of exercising on your schedule is a big win.

Pretty much, for most people who hop on and ride a Peloton Bike (or Bike+) like it. Peloton's customer rating for the Bike is excellent overall, 4.8 out of five, across more than 30,000 reviews.

If you want a genuinely authentic experience, get a Peloton and ride to live workouts or on demand-anytime early a.m. or late-late at night. Best described, the Peloton indoor bike experience is comparable to a boutique studio where you can share a workout with friends and chat about the instructors and the latest classes. Taking a live session with family or friends is a lot of fun and can help keep you motivated, challenged and engaged. What also helps make each session feel unique is the competitive aspect encouraged by trainers and the leaderboard; either against friends, family, yourself, or the random Pelton riders in a class.

Peloton Content (workouts)

There are thousands of well-produced live-streaming and on-demand classes starring self-made celebrity instructors and celebrity visitors like Joe Jonas or Kim Kardashian. The Peloton Bike has a devoted following and a lively Facebook group. There is plenty of competition on the leaderboard if you like that or, you can select to swipe it away.

Physical Specifications

The Peloton Bike design is exceedingly well built, sleek and sturdy. It has a 21.5-inch HD touchscreen with a crystal-clear display that is quick and responsive to touch. It has a two-way adjustable seat and handlebars to accommodate riders from 4’11’ to 6’4 inches tall, we have even heard accounts of riders up to 6.7’ can use this Peloton model. The seat adjusts nicely in both height and depth, with settings clearly labeled on the seat and riding post. This is particularly handy if you have multiple people sharing, as you can easily adjust back to your exact favorite riding position.

The saddle is a reasonable sports-series quality bike saddle, but for some people this type of seat is initially too hard and uncomfortable. This being fairly normal with most exercise bike seats. Any initial soreness will disappear after one of two weeks - you will get used to it.  

If not, you can easily replace the seat if you choose to. You can find a variety of many good replacement saddles with varying degrees of comfort and width. Follow this link to see seats we recommend, available on Amazon with quick delivery. However, you may be better off just buying real cycling shorts with padding built into them if that’s a direction you would prefer to go in.

User Weight maxes out at 297 lbs. The pedals and flywheel spin smoothly and are extremely quiet.

Peloton Cycling Shoes and the pair of dumbbell weights have to be purchased separately. The pedals that ship with peloton bikes only support Look Delta cleats, compatible with Peloton’s cycling shoes, or you can purchase other clip-in brands. Follow this link to learn more about the best cycling shoes and Delta vs. SPD cleat systems.

Space-wise it is a good size that fits into small spaces. The bike footprint takes up 4 x 2 feet on the floor. The Peloton bike has Bluetooth connectivity for headphones, heart monitors, and smartwatches. There is a water bottle holder and a place for your phone. The electromagnetic resistance on the bike’s flywheel is increased or decreased using the well-positioned, prominent orange knob. Turn the resistance knob to the right to increase resistance and turn it to the left to reduce resistance.

Resistance on a Peloton counts in increments from 1-100 levels. While this may seem like too many resistance levels to go through. Peloton instructors typically cue you to or within a range of 10 levels. If you are comparing the Peloton Bike to a Nordictrack S22i or S27i Studio Cycle, 90 to 100 on a Peloton is comparable to 22-24 on the Nordictrack bikes.

Peloton Stats and Leaderboard

As we mentioned, the competitive nature of Peloton is fierce, and the stats make it possible. The screen displays all sorts of data with real-time statistics: ride time (elapsed and remaining), current speed, distance covered, cadence (how fast you’re pedaling, in revolutions per minute - RPM), resistance intensity (the percentage of tension from the magnet controlling the flywheel), and calories burned, which is calculated by your body size, effort level, and heart rate (if you’re wearing a heart-rate monitor). You can use the Peloton heart rate monitor or any compatible one like the Garmin. You will also see output on the console which is the wattage of energy (WATTS) you are expending in the moment, on average and total.

The WATTS calculation is a key number the competitive types take to heart and compete on. For the less competitive type of riders, you can use the other metrics to maximize what you get from a session. Trust us you don’t have to worry about the leaderboard to enjoy your Peloton bike.

Live and on-Demand Classes

When you choose a live class, you can see how many other riders are in the same session. The leaderboard populates with screen names, gender, age bracket, and location. On-demand classes display the screen name of everyone who has ever taken a selected ride workout. As you pedal, you will see your name moving up or down the leaderboard. You can also filter to ride only against yourself (from previous workouts) or select an age or gender category.

The Peloton trainers have big personalities and have all made themselves into celebrities, using social media. Robin Arzon on of the favorites has over 1 million followers on Instagram. There are about 50 different trainers, so you are sure to find your own favorites. They each have a unique style and energy levels. Some workouts use weights, you can choose ones that don’t if that is your preference. Class lengths range from 5-minute warm-ups and cool downs, and sessions from 15 to 90 minutes. Expertise levels range from beginner to advance to match your capabilities.

All Peloton App classes, cycling and on the mat workouts, are viewable on the Bike’s touchscreen; or on any television via Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Roku, Android TV, Chromecast, and using AirPlay; or on any smart phone or tablet, supporting IOS or Android.

Can I Pause a Workout?

Yes, there is a Pause Button in case you need to dismount from your bike to attend to a call, child, pet or doorbell. You can re-start where you left off.

Apple Watch and Peloton

Peloton has the capability to connect to your Apple Watch. You can sync the watch and bike and automatically track your heart rate, displays it on-screen and record workouts. With a quick glance at your watch, you can see how much time you have left to go in a session, even adjust the music volume. Follow this link to see lots more Peloton Bike Specific Accessories such as recommended pedals, seats, heart-rate monitors, and mats and more.

CONS with Peloton Bike

■ PRICE: The first-year total cost of ownership is $2,023. The Bike price $1,495 plus add $528 for Peloton membership subscription (paid monthly)
In addition to the base price, incidentals you need such as cycling shoes, a Peloton mat, and dumbbells are extra, as any other Peloton accessories like a heart rate monitor or mat.

■ The Warranty is shorter than many competitors. The included limited warranty covers the touchscreen, mechanics, parts, and service for issues related to normal wear and tear for one year. The bike frame has a five-year warranty.

An additional extension of the limited warranty for 48 months of warranty coverage costs $199 and can be purchased from Peloton, within the first 12 months of ownership.

■ Peloton bikes is limited in its use without the App membership active.

■ The Bike Console does not allow it to be rotated or swiveled for the best off-the-bike-viewing angle when doing cross-training workout segments. Again, there are solutions to this in the Peloton Bike Accessories guide.

■ The included pedals that ship with a Peloton are only Delta Cleat compatible and do not support SPD cleats, which are the more popular clip-in system. You can easily switch out the pedals to use your favorite cycle shoes.

Alternatively, you can convert the existing Peloton Pedals to become dual-sided pedals, that will then be compatible with SPD and Delta cleats, by using a converter. We recommend the Venzo SPD Adaptor Converter. Check it out at Amazon or get more the pedal options in the Peloton Bike accessories guide.

■ You have to agree to a digital privacy policy that essentially hands over all you work out data to Peloton.

■ The console is basically a smart tablet that will have an end of life. Eventually It will need to be updated at some point with additional cost – based upon the past, three to five years has been our experience – Just good to know.

Recent Changes at Peloton

The pandemic caused a massive demand increase for Peloton bikes and the company struggled to keep up. There is new CEO and management team with a new direction for Peloton that will focus more on the Workout app over the equipment.

We imagine the new management will keep the heart of Peloton intact and respect the love from the community. We would like to see Homecoming weekend continue where the company highlights the trainers, introduces new products like Peloton Row, content and celebrates the Peloton community.

The Peloton bike is now available at Amazon and Dick’s Sporting Goods For the first time, there are discounts during sale events on the bike which is good to see as now more people can buy one of their own.

Lanebreak

For those who Enjoy Games

Fitness Meets Gaming. In 2021 Peloton introduced its first game workout called Lanebreak an immersive, gaming-inspired workout to push past your limits—and help you have fun in the process. You will find Lanebreak under the More Rides menu at the bottom right of a Peloton bike’s display. You switch between six virtual lanes by turning the bike’s resistance knob. The farther right you go with the resistance knob, the higher the resistance.

The game has three challenge types called Moments that relate to your resistance level and cadence (how fast you are pedaling or RPMs).

Beats are blue bars that give points for being in a particular lane. Breakers are orange sections where you pedal faster, and Streams are green sections where you stay within a specific cadence range. The idea is to move between lanes to hit as many Beats as possible. The higher the resistance lane you're in, the more points you get for each Beat you hit.

There are music playlists you can choose from and some artist themes from David Bowie and David Guetta. This game focuses on shorter-length rides from 5 to 30 minutes, with the bulk of options under 15 minutes. There is beginner to expert levels to select from when starting, with a leaderboard just for Lanebreak to use your competitive side for an added edge.

NOTE: Peloton Lanebreak is not available on the Peloton App – it is only available on the Peloton Bike or Bike+.

In the End – Final Thoughts

After years of surveying owners and perspective riders, we’ve concluded that if you have your heart set on a Peloton Bike and all that comes with it, you’ll be happiest with a Peloton Bike.

Overall, we think the Original Peloton Bike is a recommended buy. The bike is sturdy and durable with fast-moving, fun, but effective workout content. The sweat resistant touchscreen is responsive and great for viewing workout sessions. It is easy to see your stats as they are well organized and clearly laid out. This only major gripe we have on the physical side is that you can only pivot the display up or down but cannot rotate the console. We did find a solution to this in our Peloton accessories guide.

The community and Peloton Instructors provide a good match for reaching both beginners and the competitive types. The music syncs to the intensity of each class as the instructors keep it moving. If you like “the latest thing” and want to get into an exercise routine, Peloton is a very good option.

Peloton is a community, so you will find a group that matches the vibe you like. There are over 300 Facebook groups for Peloton riders, so you are sure to find one that has similar goals as you do. The groups ride together and meet up for live and on-demand classes – If you like the energy of a group but prefer to exercise at home, you will quickly feel connected and part of the Peloton community.

The price is considerable, but the financing options to buy on Amazon. Peloton workouts will keep you coming back for more – how many exercise programs can say that? So, ride and enjoy!