Which Peloton bike to buy? I think I have been asked that question a dozen times this past few weeks. The weather is getting cold and people are looking for alternatives to stay in shape at home.
But do you really need a Peloton bike to have a Peloton experience? No. There is a much affordable way.
For the Peloton “Hack” you will need:
- Spin Bike
You can’t get away of this! You do need a bike. A good old traditional spin bike – There are many bikes available in the market. The most popular and affordable one is the Sunny Health Cycling Bike. This brand has great reviews and yes you can go cheaper but this one in particular has 2 extra gadgets that will make your Peloton Experience great. It has a digital monitor for you to keep track of speed, distance, time, calories, odometer and RPMs ( cadence ). Peloton instructors will often reference resistance and cadence (RPMs). You will have to play with the resistance since this monitor won’t track it, but with the RPMs you will figure it out quickly what resistance you should be. On average one turn on the dial measure 10 points on the cadence. Price: $380.99
- Phone or Tablet
You will need a Peloton App with a monthly subscription. You can use a phone, tablet or TV. The bike above comes with a tablet holder. The app won’t display your cadence, resistance or calories burn. With the new software updates you can now get shout outs being in he app on live classes. I find that cool! Nothing like a shout out to motivate you to work harder. Price for digital membership: $12.99 a month.
- Dumbells
Peloton offer many classes from Yoga, to Bootcamp, Core etc. Some of the cycle classes also offer arms workout. If you choose those classes then you would beed some light dumbells. If you already have dumbells then skip this purchase. I would suggest using the 2-3 pounds. The Sunny bike doesn’t have a weights holder but you can set them aside on a little table by your bike. Price: free if you have them or $50 if you don’t have them.
- Mat
If you want to set up your spin area by your bedroom, office, living room I would suggest a cheap yoga mat from a dollar store. In my case, I have my bike in the basement and added foam interlock tiles. For me that helps me with other type of exercises so I don’t have the need of a mat. Price: Free if you already own a mat. $5 from dollar store or $30 if you chose tiles.
- Clip in shoes
The sunny bike listed here already comes with pedals for clipping shoes. These the ones I recently bought. You don’t have to get clip in shoes but they do make the quality of ride better.
Now, what if you are set you on a Peloton bike with all the metrics that come with it which one to get? The original bike or the Bike +?
Peloton Bike vs Peloton Bike +
In a high level, the Peloton Bike is pretty much a spin bike connected to a small TV. The software sends and receives data about what are you doing in the bike during a class. There is a leaderboard where every peloton member attending the class sits within a rank. You can high-five another member, you can do video camera with another member.
The Peloton Bike + is all of the above plus some extra things you get for $600 more of the Bike Original. What are those things?More data analytics about your performance, integration with the apple watch, Apple GymKi, so you can use it like a heart monitor, the resistance will automatically change on the On Demand classes and the monitor turns around so you can take other classes that does not involve the bike. Of course, they improve the software, sound system, networking, etc. NOW – can you hack all those perks in the bike original? Absolutely!
The only 2 things that interests me in the new bike is the monitor that moves and the iwatch integration for heart monitor. Mainly because sometimes I want to ride on a specific zone. I think the current bike is good enough to keep it for many years to come. When it starts to cripple down, because that will eventually happen like it does to all technologies, then I may upgrade.
- Pair Apple Watch with Peloton Original – you will find here the app to synch Peloton Original with Apple Watch.
- Pivot Peloton Monitor – find here the pivot with instructions that you can apply on your original bike to pivot the monitor.
Bike Original Price: $1,895
Bike + Price: $2,495
Note: when acquiring a peloton, you can save some money by getting the shoes, weights and mat using the links above.
I hope you found this post useful to assist in making a decision on which bike route is the best for you!
Enjoy!
Leave a Reply