By David Stenhouse, Data Mutz

This bike makes me sweat. An incredible amount of sweat.

I have been on the Peloton since the beginning of December 2019. The initial cost to my household was $2,945.00, while carrying a $43/month subscription. When December arrives, the total first year cost will be roughly $3,500.00.

In my humble opinion, it is worth every penny.

If you like to be challenged physically, this bike is for you.

Windows must be opened throughout the house and fans turned on for air flow, because the house will take on a locker room aroma if I am not careful. The Peloton bike is the best piece of exercise equipment I have ever used, and the workouts are extremely hard. For me, the results are worth it all the effort it demands of you. Did I mention that it makes me sweat?

“It’s just a spinning bike” may run across your mind when first seeing the Peloton on TV or while walking by one of the stores planted throughout the world. It’s not. This bike comes with the ability to workout live or on-demand with instructors that work you in progression, winding you up and then bringing you back down to a cool down phase. I enjoy the instructors and their energy. How each can drench themselves in perspiration yet keep a smile and talk to you through a 45-minute ride is simply impressive.

My personal fitness history has been overall consistent since high school with a few periods of laziness thrown in. As I grew older with more work, family, and projects responsibilities, I found out how time is truly a vital commodity. The Peloton solves the issue of cardio workout efficiency, maximizing each minute with the heartbeat in zones needed for me to achieve my goals. I want to burn off unneeded weight and build up my stamina in the shortest amount of time. This system will help me accomplish that goal quicker.

The instructors challenge me to make myself stronger, while building confidence in my cardio abilities.

If you have limited space, this bike is for you.

The bike’s footprint covers approximately a 2x4 foot floor space. Of course, you will want a bit more room around it, but that should give you an idea that a designated room is not required. You do need an outlet nearby and as noted above it would be wise to have adequate airflow, such as window openings.

I do find it a bit amusing seeing photos of the bike in areas you probably wouldn’t want somebody flinging sweat all over the place. If you are using the bike correctly and following your instructor, you will make a mess of the floor beneath you, and probably around you. Keep a towel with you during your workouts and I would warn to keep the bike off of carpet.

A fast Internet connection with a strong WiFi signal is highly recommended with the amount of video and information streaming to you screen.

What the bike has done for me

Nothing. It does nothing but sit on floor and stare at me, beckoning me to jump on and go. But until I do that, it does nothing. However, when I get on it and take a 45-minute class, the improvements begin, providing a path to better fitness.

The days of being a 23-year-old right out of college are long past. I’m in the age group that seems to be commercially targeted as those who are now battling fatigue, a higher body fat percentage, and a greater difficulty at losing weight than people much younger. And although I have kept in decent shape throughout my life, I have seen a rapid improvement in my fitness levels since purchasing the bike only ten months ago. It makes me realize how I was not pushing myself as hard as I should have for many years of cardio. My body is now improving at a great rate.

So, now:

My legs top to bottom are in much better shape and I am spotting veins that I have never noticed. While my weight has not decreased, it seems to have changed locations for the better.
The bike gives me confidence in my cardio abilities. I get to points where I want to just fall behind the instructor’s class, and then a great song comes on and fully recharging me mid-ride. It pushes me in so many ways—many times beyond where I thought I would stop.
It gives me a workout that I enjoy. I sometimes ride twice a day. For 30-45 minutes worth of work, the bike clears my mind and reboots my system.
My pores are routinely cleaned out. I should mention how much this bike makes me sweat.
I enjoy something about each instructor as Peloton picks the right people. They are individuals who inspire me to become better at the bike and to improve my self image. This system makes me want to keep up with those younger and fitter than me and I am up for the challenge.
The bike pushes me harder than I have experienced in years, and my body is showing the results. I am enjoying the payoff.

I did experience an item I never expected that should be forewarned to those considering a purchase: prepare for the saddle sores. I have heard cyclists talk about this soreness generated from long rides, however I just didn’t think about it when I started riding that first day. On Day 2, I thought about it. This soreness completely went away after a couple of weeks, but it did surprise me. That is now a distant memory to this rider.

What about the tech?

Ah, yes. The most important part to a techy. An enjoyable aspect of the bike is how it allows you to take live or on-demand classes while tracking heart rate and wattage output. This information is pumped up to the Cloud and stored for to you to view on Peloton site or the mobile app. You can share your rides with others and follow fellow riders (many famous athletes ride and you can ride in the same class if you know their screen name). Hundreds if not thousands of classes are at your fingertips. Pick the instructor, music genre, length of time, etc.. It is all there at your disposal.

Filter and find the best ride suited for you.

While Peloton has a library of workouts that do not require the bike: yoga, running, weightlifting, and stretching, I purchased this system for the bike only. Those are nice to have for me if needed, but the cycling was my main challenge.

Your workout history and statistics are available anytime.

A few times a month Peloton will provide challenges to join if you would like to set a goal. While I have been working on “The Annual” challenge that initially sets out a goal of 5,000 minutes of riding, I have also joined monthly goals of a specific number of miles for that specific month. These challenges are nice for me to check my monthly effort.

Compete against your family, friends, or even famous people.

I do not want to forget to mention the live classes you can take, and if you are on your 100th, 200th, or higher milestone, you may receive a “shout out” from your instructor (including your birthday!). Of course, I forgot to ride a live class on my 100th ride, so off to new milestones and hope for the best!

I compete with a family member, checking their statistics after I am done with a ride and jabbing them with a text message—a friendly poke and letting them know I am catching up, or congratulate them on passing me. It is all in fun and the competitive nature that keeps me interested in this bike. I love statistics and I truly enjoy changing them for the better through harder work, which keeps me wanting more. The Peloton’s statistical tracking of my time, output, and heart rate is all I need to fine tune my workouts to get better. During the ride, the numbers are all displayed right on the screen if so desired.

The instructors – Peloton’s Top Benefit

Peloton has picked a group of instructors that are not only perfect fitness examples but come across as people who are genuinely wanting you to get better, even though you may never meet them. Each is a great representative of the company and its goal to make you more fit and confident. The more classes I have taken, the more I have appreciated their individuality. While all seem to be encouraging, extremely fit, fun, and probably good people to converse with, they come across differently in their workouts. I have discussed this with other riders who have found their favorite instructors. Myself, I go in phases from one instructor to the next.

The instructors will provide you a range of tension to be applied at intervals during the ride, increasing or decreasing depending if you on a hill or a recovery from a hill, or speed or slowing down from a sprint. Increasing/decreasing the tension is very easy and gives you control how serious you want to follow the class. Some days, I just do not feel it and I trail behind. And then some days, I want to beat down everyone on the leader board.

The Tension Knob

That brings up the subject of the tension knob. This is the red knob you see on the bike just below the handlebars that controls how difficult it is to cycle. The adjustments are done manually. When I was looking into the bike and knowing classes were taken live with technology, I figured the tension was automatically changed while riding. The instructor would let you know the next level and the cycling would just get more difficult. No, that is not how it works with my bike, and I realized how I would have never enjoyed that scenario if it had.

Please note - as I write this Peloton has come out with a new bike featuring an auto follow feature that adjusts automatically when the instructor calls for a tension change.

Final Thought

I cannot in a single writing describe all the benefits that I have enjoyed since purchasing the Peloton bike, so I will leave you with this: The Peloton is expensive up front through the first year, but I have never reconsidered the purchase. My mind and body thank me every day.

If you are a Peloton rider, follow DataMutz on the app and I will follow you back!

Quoted in Computerworld, Laptop Magazine, Businessweek, and numerous other print and online news outlets, David Stenhouse brings 20+ years of computer forensics experience working with law firms and corporate clients. He is currently President of DS Forensics, Inc..

A former Special Agent in the U. S. Secret Service and Trooper with the Washington State Patrol, he is now so blessed to spend each day running a business with his best friend—high school sweetheart and wife, Shay.

You can follow David on Twitter @datamutz.