Sal's ➶ ⋆˙⟡

Breaking news: Oregon man buys Peloton bike

I know I know, 2020 called and wants its exercise bike back.

I was about to buy one of these a year ago, but then I got a screaming deal on a different “smart bike” (a Stages SB20) that can send power and cadence data to apps like Zwift. So I used that for a good while, and I liked things about it, but I overcomplicated my setup in the hopes of outdoing the Peloton. I built a stand for a large screen in front of the bike so I could watch shows and movies while I rode. I hooked up my old Apple TV to that screen and wireless earbuds to the Apple TV. I used an iPad on the bike’s tablet mount to run Zwift, and a phone on the separate phone mount to run the Zwift companion. I used wireless headphones to connect to the TV.

You see where I’m going here. It was a lot of screens and cords and shit. Sometimes the Apple TV wouldn’t turn on, or the screen wouldn’t switch to the right input. All of the time my headphones would connect to the iPad, which was running Zwift audio, instead of the Apple TV, which was running Andor or whatever I was trying to watch at the time. This necessitated delicate swipes and taps on one of those older, obnoxiously skittish Apple TV remotes to get audio routing properly.

It was janky.

Switching to the software side, people (or at least Redditors) seem to agree that, if your goal is get better at riding a real bicycle, an app like Zwift or Trainerroad is superior to Peloton. Those apps are designed for cycling training.

I like riding a bike, but I’m not trying to be a competitive cyclist. I’ve had moments where I thought I might get into group rides and such, but it never took. At this point, I just want to get and stay healthy. And I want to do that in relatively tight windows of time — thirty minutes here, an hour there.

Most cycling-oriented workout programs involve long-ish rides because a lot of cycling training is about building stamina on a bike. That makes these programs challenging for me because I rarely have enough time to complete a full workout.

Also, Zwift felt kinda lonely. While there are plenty of other humans in the simulation, and there are lots of group rides and races and whatnot, it felt like I was interacting mostly with the simulation rather than the humans.

The Peloton, then

I was feeling unmotivated with my overly complicated and somewhat soulless rig. So one day I did a Peloton bike class on my Stages bike using the iPad app, and within a few minutes I knew that Peloton was a much better fit for me. A couple weeks later, I sold my Stages and ordered a Peloton, splurging on the new Cross Training Series Bike+ due to a promotional discount (looks like it’s still $900 off retail until May 26, btw).

I like the human element; there’s a person coaching and pushing you rather than a GUI. This is more motivating and fun for me.

I like the workout lengths. There’s an endless list of classes that fit into 30 minutes.

I like the workout variety, because I don’t just want to ride a bike. I want to lift weights, build core strength, and stretch, too. The fancier bikes have a rotating screen, so I can get off the bike, turn the screen 90 degrees, and do a floor class. The “bike bootcamp” sessions have me switching between bike, weights, and core intervals multiple times in a single class. And I try to follow my workouts with a 10-minute stretch class. I love how easy it is to get a holistic workout in.

Last but far from least, I like the simplicity. The Peloton bike does away with all my janky DIY rigging. It has one, large, nice touchscreen and pretty decent built-in speakers. I just push the power button, tap the screen a few times, and start riding.

The question of course is what happens after the honeymoon period wears off. I’ll keep you posted.