Feb 23, 2021
Five Reasons Why Peloton Bikes are Worth the Price
One Year of Riding a Peloton Every Day
I have ridden my Peloton bike for an hour a day since May 2020 and it is the best piece of fitness equipment I have ever owned. Before purchasing the bike, I deliberated for several years over whether it was worth the price, but I wish I had gotten it a lot sooner. If you love spin classes but are on the fence about whether to buy a Peloton, here are my top five reasons why you should bite the bullet and use my $100 off referral code (JXHSKK) to get one.
1. Metrics
Peloton records metrics for every workout completed through the Peloton app. These metrics enable riders to compete across a live leaderboard and track improvements over time. If you take Power Zone training classes and complete FTP (Functional Threshold Power) tests, you can measure your ability to hold high resistance for sustained periods of time. You can even follow professional athletes and celebrities on Peloton and race against their output scores. To compete against the pros, see Pelobuddy.com’s list of famous Peloton user names. (Former NFL player Booger McFarland (booger9494), for instance, is a known Peloton enthusiast.)
Peloton creates a personalized dashboard that shows workout history over time and output graphs.
In addition, when you make an account on OnePeloton.com, you can download an Excel spreadsheet containing the full details of your workout history. You can then use that data to view your performance over time, create custom dashboards, and plan out fitness goals.
The metrics also integrate automatically with iOS and Android and store data to the default health applications on these devices.
“Count something. Regardless of what one ultimately does in medicine — or outside of medicine, for that matter — one should be a scientist in this world . . . If you count something you find interesting, you will learn something interesting.”
– Atul Gawande, “Better: A Surgeon’s Notes on Performance”
2. Fitness gains
Over the course of 10 months I have lost 30 lbs by making Peloton a part of my daily routine. Without needing to change my diet or plan a complicated workout ritual, I have also improved my cardiovascular endurance (shoutout to HIIT classes by Tunde Oyeneyin, Hannah Frankson, and Alex Tussaint) and grown stronger in my core and arms (shoutout to strength classes by Andy Speer, Emma Lovewell, and Tunde Oyeneyin). The combination of longer training programs and à la carte classes make it easy to stick to a schedule, and the app releases so many new classes each day that it’s difficult to stagnate or grow bored.
The Peloton comes with live and on-demand strength, running, yoga, meditation, boot camp, and stretching classes to meet a wide variety of fitness needs. These classes are also great for traveling because there are plenty of equipment-free and outdoor workout options to choose from. Since my Peloton arrived I have averaged 73 minutes per day of combined cardio and strength training workouts. Even though I worked out consistently in the past, my weight rarely fluctuated, but since getting the Peloton I have consistently lost weight each month.
3. Time savings
A commute to a gym or spin studio can be a bigger time investment than an actual workout. In the past I used to commute 50 minutes round trip to take a 45 minute spin class. Now, instead of commuting, I devote my extra time to longer daily workouts. Even a small commute to an apartment gym can mean time spent in an elevator and gathering up workout equipment, and I’ve found that having an in-home Peloton removes any excuse to miss or shorten a workout. It also allows me to squeeze in workouts on my own schedule. If I have time on my hands while waiting for the oven to preheat, I can put on a 10-minute arms toning class.
By looking at my records of trips to the gym and spin studio in 2019, I calculated that I spent 168.9 hours (7 full days) commuting to my workouts that year. Now, I devote my extra time to longer workouts and other activities.
4. Cost
If you are someone who takes fitness seriously, chances are you spend more than $20 a month on fitness-related fees (especially if you already take spin classes). Peloton CEO John Foley has said that his goal is to make Peloton cost less than $20 a month per person, a rate that is comparable to budget gyms such as Planet Fitness. While the bike itself is an expensive $1895 + a $39 per month subscription fee, the cost of the bike can be financed interest-free over the course of 39 months for $49 a month. The sticker price seems high at first, but the cost can be spread over time and shared between two people or even across a larger household (as up to 50 people can have an account on one bike). Between two people, the bike and subscription combined would cost $44 per person with the financing option, or $18.50 per person for just the subscription with bike paid for upfront.
When compared to boutique spin studios such as Soul Cycle that charge a whopping $36 per class, Peloton is a bargain. But even compared to budget gyms, the cost over time ends up being about the same.
5. Fun
One thing that has always set Peloton apart from its competitors is the quality of instruction and variety of classes. The instructors are notably engaging and there aren’t really any “bad” ones. I’ve never thought to myself after taking a Peloton class, “I would never take a class from that instructor again” — and I can’t say the same for my experience at live spin studios. From hip hop to EDM to Broadway-themed classes, there are options to suit a wide variety of musical preferences. The app publishes new cycling, strength, running, yoga, stretching, meditation, and boot camp classes every day so it’s hard to get bored.
There are also a variety of interesting bonus features in the app that add fun and flare to workouts, such as:
- A video share option that allows you to take rides with friends while chatting on video
- Weekly artist-themed ride series
- The ability to send and receive high-fives from other riders and instructors
- Group hashtags for riding with friends and colleagues
For people who like spin classes and already spend at least $44 a month on fitness fees, the Peloton should be a no-brainer.
To save $100 at the Peloton store, use my referral code: FTTGW7
