Peloton/Swift HAcks

[dsimon]

Okay so lets discuss this also please show your setups as
well.
So my wife has been taken by the awesome job that peloton does for advertising there product. so we discussed it and we talk all the finance pieces. She also stated that it is a lot of money and she might not use it enough to justify it. so I researched. and figured a Craigslist Cycleops300 for 300 bucks a new Ipad because mine is so Old it wont run the Peloton app. and the App is way cheaper monthly than the actual Peloton?
Second Im trying to convince her to use a smart trainer she has a road bike get the Peloton App..... and then I get to use it with Sufferfest Still cheaper.
What are your thoughts.

[sloanfiske]

We have a Kikr Snap.

She uses the Peloton app via the AppleTV sharing from her phone.

I can use the Kikr with the smart integration for Zwift/Sufferist/Kinomap/etc.

Win Win. And I get to use my Campy ride, while she uses her Shimano.

Cheaper than a Peloton. I think they’d make a mint if they partnered with Zwift or someone. It’s a great spin bike, but I have no interest in having someone tossing commands at me that early in the morning.

[dsimon]

Great Thanks thats what im trying to lean toward. So when you wife uses the Peloton App how do you measure the metrics? does it display on Peloton or does she know what/where to be on revolutions. As my wife is not that into cycling so I would have to say stay between 80-90 rpms etc etc

[false_Aest]

3 people I know got Peloton set-ups for xmas last year. They're non-riders. Their "bikes" are gathering dust. Have been for over 6 months.

It boils down to this:

If you don't wanna do it you're not gonna do it. And it doesn't matter how bling-bling 'spensive the product is.

It's hard to treat your S.O. like a kid though:
"I'll buy you that super-awesome baseball glove/hockey stick/MTB/violin/etc once you prove that you're gonna stick with it."

"But dad, I'm not gonna wanna stick with it if I'm using POS equipment."

I did that with a previous S.O. (genetically talented AF but also lazy AF) it didn't end well.


----
FWIW, I like your idea of a smart trainer and the app.

[sloanfiske]

Great Thanks thats what im trying to lean toward. So when you wife uses the Peloton App how do you measure the metrics? does it display on Peloton or does she know what/where to be on revolutions. As my wife is not that into cycling so I would have to say stay between 80-90 rpms etc etc

My wife just wants the workout, so she doesn't bother with all the metrics. She does what feels right to her.

[AngryScientist]

for me as the consumer onlooker, one of the most attractive things about the commercials is the space where they have these machines set up.

my trainer is located in my cluttered dungeon of a basement, and my wife would never go down there.

i think any set-up that fits reasonably well and has a decent interactive user interface can work very well if it's set-up in a nice, clean, open, well lit space.

setting up a nice "studio" feel in the home creates an attractive place to go work-out, and that's a big psychological part of the battle, i think. for casual fitness riders, i think the actual hardware is less important as long as it fits OK enough.

[William]

for me as the consumer onlooker, one of the most attractive things about the commercials is the space where they have these machines set up.

my trainer is located in my cluttered dungeon of a basement, and my wife would never go down there.

i think any set-up that fits reasonably well and has a decent interactive user interface can work very well if it's set-up in a nice, clean, open, well lit space.

setting up a nice "studio" feel in the home creates an attractive place to go work-out, and that's a big psychological part of the battle, i think. for casual fitness riders, i think the actual hardware is less important as long as it fits OK enough.


While I agree with you for the most part, I personally don't care if my workout area is a dungeon, it's the workout I'm after. Heck, I could workout just about anywhere. I also realize I'm more like a 1%'er when it comes to training, I don't need bling bling atmosphere.

If it will work and you are cool with the price, what ever works for you/them is good.






William

[teleguy57]

for me as the consumer onlooker, one of the most attractive things about the commercials is the space where they have these machines set up.

My trainer is located in my cluttered dungeon of a basement, and my wife would never go down there.

I think any set-up that fits reasonably well and has a decent interactive user interface can work very well if it's set-up in a nice, clean, open, well lit space.

Setting up a nice "studio" feel in the home creates an attractive place to go work-out, and that's a big psychological part of the battle, i think. For casual fitness riders, i think the actual hardware is less important as long as it fits ok enough.

You nailed it, a@angryscientist. +100

[dsimon]

Its always about the price with me and im trying to sway her toward an etrainer because if she doesnt like it I still Will win win... Right? Maybe not I dont know

[benb]

If there is a delay the indoor spin cycle bubble is bound to burst and the decision can be put off indefinitely.

Not sure what the half life is on fitness fads but this one is a few years old so it can't be long before the masses declare it to not work and the serial fitness entrepreneurs move onto something new.

If you add up the cost of the Peloton Bike + the subscription it should be enough money to just go to a local studio for a year or two till the next big thing happens.

From my office I can walk to 3 spin studios in < 10 minutes/less than 0.5mi. A local non-chain one, a "Rev X" one, and a "Cycle3" one, along with an Orange Theory Fitness (which includes spin I think), a Pure Barre, and a Crossfit gym.

Most of these can run you $200+ per month for unlimited memberships, I don't believe for a minute they are all going to survive. Probably only the Crossfit one will, that's the only one that's more than 2 years old.

edit: Amazing how hard it is to get the straight answers on the Peloton fees on their website... the reviewers complain about fees that are not mentioned on the website.

[ScottW]

Not sure what the half life is on fitness fads but this one is a few years old so it can't be long before the masses declare it to not work and the serial fitness entrepreneurs move onto something new.


I remember when NordicTrack was all the rage. My parents had one. Today people are (PSA alert!!!) giving them away (https://washingtondc.craigslist.org/mld/hsh/d/free-nordictrack-sequoia/6744023259.html).

I did a few spin classes at my gym earlier this year when weather was crappy, got some good workouts but the scenery never changed. Wouldn't feel like spending "real bike money" on a Peloton just to bring that experience into my living room. Especially if you already own a road bike, I'd think a smart trainer should get you working out for a lot less money.

[cinema]

zwift will probably be a lot more fun with the trainer, though i've never tried it. peloton looks like a fad/marketing gem.

on a semi tangential note, last year after i quit my job and subsequently my long commute, I did do some indoor cycling to maintain my fitness that i lost from commuting as well as not going outside for a couple months due to fires around here. one thing that totally threw me was the amount i sweat indoors. there's no wind! it's like a car revving in park. watch that temp needle creep up. totally forgot about that. super uncomfortable. could never 'spin' cause of that. and i don't sweat all that much.

[benb]

The first wave of spin popularity back around 2004-2006 that I remember was so different, the fitness business people hadn't figured out the "studio" model yet. It was just another thing at the gym, I used to go and didn't have to pay anything beyond my normal gym fee. At some point interest died and the classes disappeared but the bikes stayed around.

I listened to an NPR show last week with the founder of Barre3/Barr3 however you say it. I am guessing she & her husband are the founders of Cycl3 as well.

What was so interesting was they had no ballet background. They are/were serial fitness entrepreneurs, they had owned a gym chain before that was in one of the older models.

The Studio model seems to really rack in the $$$$. I'd be real interested in the history of it and when it first started. I would guess technically martial arts was probably the first since that is the traditional model for martial arts.. lots of money and you have to go at the assigned time, not whenever you want like a weightlifting/fitness gym.

[echappist]

If there is a delay the indoor spin cycle bubble is bound to burst and the decision can be put off indefinitely.

Not sure what the half life is on fitness fads but this one is a few years old so it can't be long before the masses declare it to not work and the serial fitness entrepreneurs move onto something new.

If you add up the cost of the Peloton Bike + the subscription it should be enough money to just go to a local studio for a year or two till the next big thing happens.

From my office I can walk to 3 spin studios in < 10 minutes/less than 0.5mi. A local non-chain one, a "Rev X" one, and a "Cycle3" one, along with an Orange Theory Fitness (which includes spin I think), a Pure Barre, and a Crossfit gym.

Most of these can run you $200+ per month for unlimited memberships, I don't believe for a minute they are all going to survive. Probably only the Crossfit one will, that's the only one that's more than 2 years old.

edit: Amazing how hard it is to get the straight answers on the Peloton fees on their website... the reviewers complain about fees that are not mentioned on the website.

i remember we shared our similar views on this topic in a particular thread, how it's just all a fad

a few months after that initial thread, I came upon this article (https://www.phillymag.com/be-well-philly/2018/09/15/philadelphia-fitness-instructors/). Basically, few are surviving past three years, with very few doing well. Lots of hustling needed in what appears to be a dog-eat-dog business

I don't like glossy lifestyle magazines like this, but I was looking for their Cheesesteak guide but instead saw this article. This particular reporter writes about all things exercise-related, or should I say, all things re: exercising fashionably. Seems like new ones are still sprouting up, but i really doubt if the new owners have done proper feasibility studies. Somewhat of a coincidence, the instructor whom they profiled was in my French class back some 15 years ago

[Dekonick]

Pick up a used computrainer on the cheap. Sure, the graphics suck, but lots of courses to pick from.

[adub]

My wife uses the peloton app with my smart trainer. She uses an iphone to control the kickr (kickr app) and follows the instructions that the video gives her. She see's cadence, power on the app. Works for her.

[93KgBike]

So this thread is not about the magazine?

[Wayne77]

I like having an unfinished semi cluttered Zwift space in the basement. It means I can sweat all over the place, listen to the music I want, and no one really bugs me because it’s just not an aesthetically pleasing place to hang out. All I care about is a bike and trainer combo that works flawlessly, a big screen to make the experience more engaging, a decent graphics engine so the Zwift graphics aren’t jittery, and good music. I use a Kickr with Zwift or Rouvy running on a stand-alone PC that someone built for me with a super nice graphics card hooked up to an old Panasonic 50” plasma TV. Love it. The space has its own charm for me. But it’s my little ugly man cave space and damnit if my kid comes and borrows the mouse or iPhone cable or moves Dads stuff I get cranky...in a good fatherly way. :-)

[cmg]

screw the trainer and the never ending fee, buy her a bike and go outside......

[justindcady]

...and I'm just over here using The Sufferfest Training app for $100USD/year having a blast with my bike and a KK Road Machine...

Cycling sessions/videos
Yoga Sessions
Mental Training Programs
Strength Training sessions just added.
Access to a couple dozen structured training programs created by ApexCoaching via Training Peaks.

More power to those who like the shiny "cool kids are doing it" factor that Peloton provides. For my money, it's HARD to beat what SUF has going on if your a cyclist looking to supliment your outside riding with some structured indoor work, or just somebody who wants to build fitness using a bike.

[benb]

I'm so old school I guess. I watch that old video of Eddy Mercx on the rollers. He didn't even have music.

I can just get the trainer set up and stare at the wall and do intervals.

The last few years I have started to watch a video. Usually not even cycling related. But I won't remember a thing that happened in the video for any portion of the workout I go above tempo. I'll literally just put on some TV/Documentary or something I'm interested in.

[Spaghetti Legs]

If I remember correctly the Peloton is the one where an instructor in a cycle studio yells at you to go faster. OP - is that the experience (spin class) that your wife is looking for or does she just want to get some good exercise? Zwift is good in that there is that social component and also structured workout groups, races, etc. I generally just ride and only use it a few time per month over the winter. You can turn it on and off, $15 per month so it basically costs me $45/year. The app works fine on my 2011 iPad mini and I mirror it to the TV using an Apple TV. I’ve found that I ride harder on Zwift than when I just used to pound he indoor trainer. There are KOM climbs, sprints, etc and usually somebody up the road to catch or someone to try to ride off your wheel if you’re in that mood.

I use a Kickr Snap and got it precisely so my wife can put her Shimano equipped bike on it. I use my old TT bike with Campy 10s.

[Wayne77]

screw the trainer and the never ending fee, buy her a bike and go outside......

Outside is ALWAYS better than inside. When this subject comes up, there are always the comments that one should just ride outside..totally agree! That said where I live at least the winter makes it harder to get out regularly. I have no problem riding in extremely cold temps but for a regular training block before work, it’s MUCH easier to sustain the outside training patterns I follow Spring through Fall with an indoor setup.

A smart trainer has been a total game changer for my offseason training. If I lived down South where I could probably ride outside year around, a smart trainer wouldn’t be as compelling, but I would probably still get one for those times I have a very short window to squeeze in an interval session before work.

**For those that shun the whole idea and haven’t at least tried it, I’d recommend trying it at least if you have a friend with a Zwift setup. It’s surprisingly engaging, very realistic, and you can do some very hard rides. (I am NOT a gamer, and resisted the Zwift thing for several years...hated indoor training on my fluid trainer)