A MIX OF MIN READER’S RECEIVE $100 OFF ANY PELOTON ACCESSORY OR ACCESSORY PACKAGE PURCHASE WITH CODE ‘AESPEB‘ AT CHECK OUT. 

Lately on Instagram stories I’ve been sharing my work outs via my Peloton bike and have received an influx of questions about it! Ever since our Peloton bike was delivered, S and I have both been spinning 4-6 times a week. From this routine, we feel the healthiest we ever have and really look forward to working out. The peloton bike has been the best investment we have ever or ever could make for our health.

When reflecting yesterday about our Peloton, we both laughed about how usually this time of year, our avid outdoors runs have come to a halt due to the frigid New England weather. We drag ourselves to the gym for a dreadful treadmill run a few times a week and check off the work out box, but it’s not enjoyable. This year it feels so good to be on such a great workout routine that we actually enjoy! 

I’ve had questions about the Peloton bike lately – the cost, our favorite aspects, my schedule and more so today I’m reviewing it for you. Oh and I have a discount code for you – AESPEB! 

2021 edit: I never thought I’be be interested in the Peloton because I feed off in person spin studio energy, but this is not the case. The instructors push you past what I’ve ever experienced in class! Plus the leaderboard allows you to compete against your self and others. 

PELOTON BIKE REVIEW + DISCOUNT CODE

WHAT IS PELOTON?

Peloton is a private, indoor studio in your own home.

The Peloton spin bike is a stationary bike with a very large screen attached where you can stream and spin to live or pre-recorded classes. There are ~10+ new classes a day that are live that are then a new fresh batch of pre-recorded classes. If you tune in live, the instructors can see your name and your total output and lots of other data. They will often shoutout riders [especially hitting milestones like first class, century ride, etc] whether in the NYC studio or virtual!

WHAT ARE PELOTON CLASSES LIKE?

To start, you can ride two forms of classes: live or on-demand. Live classes are live streamed from their studios ~10 times a day. So during these live classes, you’re riding with the instructor and a group of riders that are in-person in NYC, London and Germany.

Each of these live classes then become an on-demand class you can take at anytime! The fun part is that when you take the classes on-demand, you can see the other people in class with you on the leaderboard [a ranking of performance by output]. So if you feed off others, you still can with on-demand classes.

It’s seriously like being in a live studio, but in my opinion better because you have real time data on your performance. All I had at my spin studio to rely on was my iwatch. With Peloton, you can see your cadence, resistance, calories burned, total energy output and more.. in real time! 

Since getting our bike, we also take all the yoga, weight lifting, meditation, barre and pilates classes! These “floor workouts” come with your bike membership.

Instructors have three data-filled screens in front of the instructors while they lead a class, one laptop for music control, a second screen running Peloton software, and another that the company says show more “in-depth” performance information. All of this is supposed to help inform the instructors so they can give shout outs to remote riders and try to keep them engaged.

WHAT’S OUR PELOTON SPIN SCHEDULE LOOK LIKE EACH WEEK?

2021 Edit: After having the Peloton spin bike for over two years, my husband and I both still take 5ish classes a week. 

As far as types of classes, I do a mix of 30 and 45 minutes each week 99.9% of the time with Robin because she motivates me the most.

I love the new ‘Bike Bootcamp’ classes which encompass working out on the bike and on the mat with heavy weights. During my 45 minute rides I burn 500+ calories and during my 30 minute class, I typically burn 250-300 calories.

For days that I’m looking for something more lighthearted, I like riding with Cody because he totally brightens your day. Denis is my other go-to for both spin and yoga. He is such a calming person and also talks you through your form for both practices. Before buying our bike, I did research on Peloton and quickly saw the riders are super passionate not only about their ride and fitness, but their favorite instructors. After being an owner myself, I totally get it! 

My husband prefers 30 minute classes so he does that length every ride. He primarily with Alex T 95% of the time, but will often mix it up with Ally Love, Ben or Denis. This is what is so awesome about the vast offering of classes… everyone is different and there is something for everyone!

DO YOU THINK THE PELOTON SPING BIKE WILL GET BORING?

2021 edit: Over two years later and I’m here to report – nope! This spin bike was 100% the best investment we have ever made for our health. For us, it will never become something that just collects dust. 

Another reason I don’t get bored? The class selection. It’s so vast. There are live work outs constantly throughout the day at all varying times, music genres, spin types [HIIT, beginner, climbs, etc]. All these live classes are converted into replays you can then complete on your own schedule so that means there are ~10 new classes every single day. I don’t know about you, but I dread work outs if I know what’s coming. That’s why I hated the BBG program. It’s just not the work our for me [I love spinning!!!], but with BBG I knew in 7 minutes, I’d have to repeat what I just did which was dreadful. With the Peloton classes, every ride is new and fresh.

And class variety. They constantly pump out classes in varying lengths [20, 30, 45, 60 or 90 minutes] genres [anything from 80’s rock to Greatest Showman theme or pop to alternative] and instructors [ each has their own personality and style. You’ll find the ones you love quickly].

Plus, you have the digital app for stretching, yoga, meditation, barre, toning, strength training and more which is all included already in your monthly subscription with the bike. 

HOW MUCH DOES THE PELOTON SPIN BIKE COST?

Okay to start, here is the short list. Below I go into each in more depth!

1. Up Front Expenses
The bike: $1,995
Delivery fee: $250
Cycling Shoes: $125 [USE MY CODE “AESPEB“ FOR $100 OFF]

2. Recurring Expense
$40 per month

A MIX OF MIN READER’S RECEIVE $100 OFF ANY ACCESSORY OR ACCESSORY PACKAGE PURCHASE [WHILE BUYING A BIKE] WITH CODE ‘RGBPMX‘ AT CHECK OUT. 

I’m always asked if you can somehow waive the delivery fee and the answer is no. Peloton [or a third party delivery service] delivers your bike with white glove service, sets it up and calibrates it.

So even though there are two Peloton showrooms right near us in Massachusetts, there is no option to buy in store and take it home or deliver in store and pick it up yourself.

You’ll need to budget in for some accessories too! You’ll need cycling shoes, a heart rate monitor [we use our iWatches] and 1-3 pound weights.

You can get cycling shoes off from Amazon or potentially use a pair you already own as long as you have the correct type of clips. They weren’t all that much cheaper on Amazon, so we just got the Peloton shoes.

You’ll want 1-3 pound weights because many of the classes have an arm circuit or two. That weight may sound like a breeze, but your arms will be burnin’.

We didn’t need heart rate monitors since we wear iWatches [works for FitBit’s too]. Knowing your heart rate throughout your class is important to understand how your body is working, how you’re performing and how hard you’re pushing yourself.

Peloton offers accessory packages or a la carte shopping HERE.

A MIX OF MIN READER’S RECEIVE $100 OFF ANY ACCESSORY OR ACCESSORY PACKAGE PURCHASE [WITH THE PURCHASE OF A BIKE] CODE ‘RGBPMX‘ AT CHECK OUT. 

That code will cover almost your entire shoe purchase or a large chunk of your accessory package of choice.

The streaming app that houses all the classes is a $40 a month charge for your entire household. So you have one $40 charge. You aren’t charged $40 per person. This fee is what powers your TV content and what makes the Peloton different than any exercise bike out there so definitely factor in that this is a monthly, need-to-have expense.

This is less than one membership at our last gym, so we were okay with the $40 rate. 

One cool thing is that Peloton offers more than the vast selection of cycling classes for this monthly rate. They also have bootcamp classes for arms, legs, abs and more. So you get another set of constantly new work out classes with that membership price.

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOURSELF BEFORE BUYING A PELOTON

• Are you self-motivated?
  Being a self-starter and self-motivated is what will turn this from being a clothing rack and a waste of $40 to the biggest fitness game changer!
• Are you competitive with yourself or others?
  Both work for this. You can compete against others on the Leader Board [live and on demand class ranking] or compete against yourself. You are showed your PR while riding which pushes myself to at least TRY to beat it each time.
• Do you like spin classes?
  If you haven’t tried spin, I highly suggest taking a local class at Rev’d, SoulCycle or another studio prior. I am obsessed with spinning and S has taken a bunch of classes with me as well, so we knew we’d both use it! I don’t think we would have taken the chance buying this and it probably wouldn’t have even appealed to us if we hadn’t already really enjoyed spin classes.

As you can tell, we love our Peloton! The only con I have is the price. I read online that they sell their bike for close to no profit and make the chunk of their revenue off the streaming service.

I hope this was helpful and leave any additional questions in the comments below! Xo Mindy

READY TO MAKE THE INVESTMENT? A MIX OF MIN READER’S RECEIVE $100 OFF ANY ACCESSORY OR ACCESSORY PACKAGE PURCHASE WITH CODE ‘AESPEB‘ AT CHECK OUT. 

PS – Read about my bridal fitness routine here and my full iWatch review here.