Forum Bike Guy here. I currently work for a large local bike shop.

Peleton's are nice
- A big heavy piece of equipment
- High Cost
- Small screen
- A monthly subscription to have someone coach you through a spin class. Compete with others etc..

Alternative:
- Get a Smart Trainer.
You can use one with your existing bike or buy an inexpensive bike to use with it.


, there are several good ones. My preference right now is Wahoo KICKr

https://www.wahoofitness.com/devices/bike-trainers

- Use it with Zwift App. Or any other app that you would like to.



The following is a right-angle turn really big deviation from the original question.
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A Schwinn branded trainer is a Nautilus.

A Schwinn branded bicycle is made by and is a sub-brand of"Pacific Cycles" which is owned by the multi-national conglomerate Dorel Industries.

There is no Schwinn Company in existence. There are products branded as Schwinn. Rights to the brand are owned by 2 or maybe 3 companies. Schwinn the company you remember from your youth went through its final bankruptcy in 1992 after multiple bad decisions made by family members who weren't business people, its a long story....


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If you want an American made bicycle there are a few companies making American bikes. One of the good ones is in Waterford Wisconsin. The owner Richard has two brands, Waterford Cycles, and Gunnar Cycles, both are outstanding. If Richard signed the bike then it would have the name Schwinn on it.

There are a few other American made bikes out there, here are the few that come to mind. .
Co-Motion in Oregon
Shinola in Detroit (it i's a Waterford/Gunnar manufactured frame)
Lynskey (I believe they are made in USA

I have a Co-Motion.

Purchased -

To be delivered on Tuesday - I’ve got 30 days to keep/return with no out-of-pocket expense.

Review/results to follow.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Purchased -

To be delivered on Tuesday - I’ve got 30 days to keep/return with no out-of-pocket expense.

Review/results to follow.

Awesome good luck. Please keep us updated - I am super tempted to buy one. I used to love spin class but I just don't have the time and my gym has drastically reduced the number of spin classes they offer. The "live class" feature is what makes it for me - so much better than some app IMO.

I hope you like the Peloton. I looked at them really hard before passing. I don’t like the idea is a spin class. I tried spin bikes at the gym and couldn’t get past the feel. If you don’t like the Peloton I would second the smart trainer. I have a Wahoo Kicker Core and I use the Zwift app. I have over 600 miles on it since Thanksgiving and there are tons of training plans and rides to do. It is also like a community as people tend to ride at the same times and days so pretty soon you start recognizing names.

quote:

Originally posted by Ronin1069:
Purchased -

To be delivered on Tuesday - I’ve got 30 days to keep/return with no out-of-pocket expense.

Review/results to follow.

The 30-day no-expense trial is what convinced me to pull the trigger back in Nov, and now I'm on the bike 4-5 hours a week. 0% financing for up to 39 months made it even easier to pull the trigger.

Because of a work commitment I had to reschedule delivery until tomorrow. (Wednesday).

For those interested, I’ll do my best to put a review together, but here is the more professional review I saw that caused me to pull the switch.

I’m not sure what the guy above means by small screen. I can’t imagine needing or even wanting the screen to be bigger.

Bottom line, if you hate spin class you will hate peleton. If you enjoy spin class you will love the peleton. Following around a cgi bike rider is not my cup of tea. Full disclosure, spin class has always been my favorite gym “class”.

quote:

Originally posted by pedropcola:
I’m not sure what the guy above means by small screen. I can’t imagine needing or even wanting the screen to be bigger.

Yeah... It's plenty big.

Since it's so close to your face, the screen appears the same relative size (or larger) than the big screen TV in your living room that you're sitting 10+ feet from.

UPDATE 1 - Setup

The guys called 20 minutes before arrival and asked that I have my log-in and WiFi info available when they got here. They arrived in a large Peloton van...no hiding this from the neighbors.

I was pleased that it was 2 professional looking guys who got out of the truck; when I asked if I could do anything to help they said “yep, just tell us what you need from us, we want this to be a great experience for you.”

They set up where I wanted it and I told them that I had forgotten to buy a mat to put the bike on; of course they had an extra in the van...for a price...but they had it.

After setup one guy went back to the truck to set up the next delivery while the other one stayed back and gave me the run thru.

- The screen is plenty big enough for as close as I will be to it.
- I won’t have to use a chest strap for heart rate, it will sync with my Apple Watch
- Even if there was never a live class again, there is so much content of pre-recorded classes I would not care.
- There is a whole section of videos on how to adjust setting, program the screen, etc for the bike.
- I can add both of my kids and my girlfriend as users on the bike so that they can track their own stats.
- You can literally check the calendar for upcoming live classes and sign up ahead of time. You’ll get a reminder about 15 minutes before class to get your shoes on and water ready.

The only thing they could not do for me was put my new pedals on. Peleton uses a “3 screw” pedal while my road-bike and shoes are set-up with a 2-screw. I’m sure there are more technical words to use, but you get the idea if you use clip-on shoes. They are not permitted to put any ‘non Peleton’ equipment on the bike.

I’m going to play with it today and then do my first workout tomorrow morning. There is a beginner series of non-live classes to start with....I think it is 10 rides worth.

I won’t post a review everyday, but I will for sure tomorrow after I get my first real ride in.

^^^^^
Are you talking about the "3-point" vs. "2-point" CLEAT? Thing that screws to the bottom of your biking shoe? If so, here's what I got for spin class, which I'll probably never attend...

https://www.amazon.com/SHIMANO...porting-goods&sr=1-4

Check fit for your specific shoe. There are plenty of really inexpensive biking shoes on Amazon that you can get just to pedal indoors. I save my money for the better shoes for outdoor riding.

This:



versus

This:

quote:

Are you talking about the "3-point" vs. "2-point" CLEAT? Thing that screws to the bottom of your biking shoe? If so, here's what I got for spin class, which I'll probably never attend...

Yes. Peleton comes set up with a 3-point, but my road-bike and shoes are set up with a 2-point.

I bought new 2-point pedals yesterday and installed them on the Peleton.

That was my one real complaint. SPD clips, the two holers, are probably the most popular out there. You go to a spin class you got spd clips and cages. I had to buy their shoes (actually my wife did, mine came free) to go to the 3 hole system which I still don’t know what that’s called. As a plus though, I regularly tighten my spd clips. They loosen a bunch, maybe I’m doing it wrong. These new ones I keep checking but they are tight still. Spin shoes basically
last forever too so one time cost realistically.

The "3-holers" are called "LOOK" cleats, for some reason...

quote:

Originally posted by erj_pilot:
The "3-holers" are called "LOOK" cleats, for some reason...

Two hole are SPD if made by Shimano, their are other brands out there.

The three hole could be Look, but also if made by Shimano are called SPD-SL

Look cleats won't fit a Shimano pedal and vice versa.

I ride a spin bike at the gym all the time.

So I've been considering a Peloton for quite a while, but this thread convinced me to pull the trigger.

Delivery is scheduled for 3/6.

If you know someone with a Peloton bike, they can send you a referral code which will get you a $100 discount off of accessories.

UPDATE 2 - First Ride

Why did I wait so long to buy this!?!

Did the first 20 minute beginner ride with Robin.

We tackled 3 hills and hit cadence as high as 90RPM's at one point.

At the beginning during the initial warm up I was holding my cadence around 70, I played with the resistance a bit and found that at '20' I could get to 90. She wanted us between 20-30 cadence.

I've always been good at hills on my road bike and for these beginner hills she wanted resistance 30-40, I had no problem holding the desired 80 cadence at 35 resistance.

About 10 minutes in, coming 'down' a hill, she was singing along to some Latin song and I found myself at 93 cadence at 25 resistance.

We did a final sprint to Dolly Parton's 9-5 and At one point I was INCREASING the resistance because I was going faster than she wanted (don't get cute with that!)

Learnings -

My ass hurts; even with padded pants. I'm guessing it won't hurt as much after a few weeks; especially after I remove some weight of the natural padding I've sadly added.

I have the leg strength and endurance to keep up with this instructor, I just need to find the right resistance range.

This was FUN! I was glad the 20 minutes was over because my ass hurt, but I am already looking forward to tomorrow morning and will likely do a light treadmill workout tonight to keep the blood flowing.


I'm still trying to figure out how the App on my phone and my watch are useful.

All for now. I'll send another update in a week or so with any significant progress.

Two weeks in you won’t have any ass issues. Peloton has some easier rides. When you amp it up though they will kick your ass. Easily the most quality, across the board, spin classes I’ve ever taken. I’ve taken a bunch. I have only used the women instructors and they crush you. Try Olivia Omato (I think that’s tight). Her classes are insane and awesome.

Robin is awesome if you can get past her NYC/Brooklyn swagger.

She has quite a life story. She is one of the founding instructors at Peloton and is currently their VP of fitness. She was a corporate attorney previously. She was victimized in an attempted armed robbery where the perp held a gun to her head while negotiating with cops. Realizing life is short and uncertain, she left the law and decided to pursue her passion -fitness. She has become an accomplished, recognized runner and has several endorsements. She is also a type 1 diabetic.

I find her her to be very motivating and inspiring. It's hard not to give it your all in her classes.

Just came across this thread after ordering my Peloton today. Delivery set for Sat 3/7.

Been thinking on one for awhile, also looking at the other options (almost went with the Echelon).

I enjoy bike riding more than any other exercise, Elliptical second choice.

I need to do something to get in better shape and lose weight, figured to give it a try healthy “investment” should help me stay motivated to get my money out of it.

Going to start with walking, stretching, and other workouts on the app while waiting for the bike to arrive.

quote:

Originally posted by lizardman_u:
My thoughts on the Peleton Bike is that it would be money wasted. <SNIP>

Nope. Definitely not money wasted!