I’ve been using the Peloton app since the start of 2021, before it was available in Australia (they launched here officially in June 2021). I loved the concept of it, and I bought a cheap exercise bike so I could try out the cycle classes.
It was great fun, and it got me back into regular high-intensity workouts, but I knew I wasn’t getting the whole experience without the Peloton bike…
Then for my 30th birthday in November, I finally got my Peloton bike!
As I’m writing this, it’s been exactly 1 year since I rode my first class on the ‘real’ bike, so it’s time for an updated review (my first ride was a Halloween ride with instructor Kendall, and I remember thinking holy crap, these classes are so much harder when you follow the numbers they are calling out!)
In this article I’m going to summarise my experience over the past year, and share a few things you might want to know if you’re considering getting a Peloton bike for yourself.
Is Peloton a high quality bike?
I’m not going to pretend I’m an indoor cycling expert, so I won’t be giving you many technical specifications here.
What I can tell you is that Peloton is certainly a high quality bike. It’s much better than the spin bikes I’ve ridden on in gyms over the years. There’s no denying that you get what you pay for.
Having ridden on a cheap bike for many months before investing in Peloton, my mind was blown when I got on the Peloton bike for the first time – the experience was completely different!
The bike was sturdy, I could follow the resistance and cadence the instructors called out, I could interact with other members, and I could monitor my heart rate on the screen. I also felt the difference in my muscle activation and power output when riding with clip in cleats compared to riding with regular sneakers in toe cages.
It’s a beautiful piece of equipment, it looks good, it’s sturdy, it’s quiet and it does exactly what you need it to.
If you want heavy resistance, you can get there on the Peloton bike. It has a magnetic resistance system that allows you to change resistance from 1-100. I’ve never needed to get anywhere close to 100. Most of the classes will have you riding from 30-60 resistance on average.
When I had the bike delivered, the delivery guys at Winning Services brought the whole thing in and completely set it up for me. They explained how to use it and were extremely helpful. 10/10 delivery service and even more than I expected for a premium piece of fitness equipment.
What is the difference between the Peloton bike and bike+
As far as I understand, the bike frame itself is the same between the Peloton bike and bike+. The difference lies in the technology and nice-to-have add-ons. And of course, there’s a pretty significant price difference.
Here are the major differences between the two bikes:
- The bike+ has a fully rotating screen, so you can swivel the screen and do a strength workout or yoga class off to the side. (I personally bought this swivel add-on instead so I now have this feature on the regular bike! I use this a lot so I think this is a good feature.)
- The bike+ has a bigger screen and better speakers.
- The bike+ has the auto-resistance feature, where your resistance will automatically adjust during the class instead of you turning the knob yourself.
- The bike+ is compatible with Apple GymKit. However, you can still pair your Apple Watch to track heart rate with the regular bike and app too.
I bought the regular bike, and it’s been fantastic so far. There hasn’t been one moment where I wished I purchased the bike+ instead.
In saying that, other Peloton members I’ve spoken with rave about the bike+ and say it’s totally worth the extra cost. So I think, when deciding on which bike is right for you, it depends on which features are important to you and how you’re going to use the bike.
Is it worth getting a Peloton bike in 2022?
The short answer is…absolutely.
Look, the bike is an investment. There’s no getting around that. $2k for an exercise bike was a huge investment for Aaron and I. But we’ve consistently used the bike for a year now, and even Aaron likes to use it too!
Many people think Peloton is just an exercise bike, but it’s much more than that. Along with the cycle classes, you get access to both live and on demand yoga, strength, cardio, boxing, running, walking, both treadmill and outdoor content, bootcamps, and even meditation classes.
Between the bike and the app (I particularly like the strength classes, yoga, and walk/runs), I get my money’s worth for sure.
I’ve tried a lot of fitness apps, and nothing has ever come close to the quality of Peloton, both in production quality, AND in quality and variety of the workouts. They’re not run-of-the-mill at home workouts, chucked together as a gym substitute, and they’re not boring cardio workouts like most other home workout programs I’ve tried.
Some of the best things about Peloton:
- Peloton gives you properly programmed workouts with good technique cues. This is important to me coming from an exercise science background!
- You get access to structured exercise programs if that’s more your thing, including cycling programs, strength programs, yoga programs, meditation programs, running programs, and even pre and post natal programs.
- They have awesome music in their classes, including a number of artist and genre themed rides (they are partnered with Spotify music, which makes a huge difference in my opinion). The music was something that always let me down in other spin classes (like Les Mills RPM…) so I was very excited when I discovered Peloton has great music! You’ll find everything from upbeat EDM and dance rides, to hip hop, classic rock, and pop punk, all the way to 60’s and classical…they have something for everyone.
- They have an amazing variety of instructors. This is one of the biggest things I love about Peloton – the variety of personalities the instructors have. I don’t think any other app/workout program comes remotely close to this. I enjoy working out with all of them because they each have their own unique take on working out and on life. If you’re new to Peloton, I encourage you to try all of them out at least once to see who resonates with you the most.
My favourite instructors have changed over the past year, but at the time of writing this I am enjoying riding with Kendall (high energy with a side of mental health awareness) and Camila (body positivity and fun dance vibes) and for strength my go-to is Jess Sims (feels like you’re training with a friend). - The instructors spread positive and uplifting messages. They’re not out there telling you to burn fat, or go hard or go home. Instead, they encourage you to do what works for you on the day, to support others rather than compare, and they always make some little comment that I want to write down and come back to later. They somehow say exactly what you need to hear at the time, and I always feel better after taking their classes!
- The community, even without being face-to-face, you still feel like you’re part of something. On the bike you can see hundreds (or thousands) of other people riding with you. Even if the ride isn’t live, there are always other people on! You can give out high fives and see other people riding on the leaderboard. You might even get a shoutout on a live ride from an instructor if it’s your birthday or a milestone ride!
You can connect with others through hashtags, and when you’re on a ride you can see and support others with the same hashtag as you if that’s your thing (I’m part of the #PelotonAussieRiders Facebook group, and it’s awesome when I jump on a ride and see members from the group riding alongside me!)
What you pay for in getting a Peloton bike is not just the bike itself, but the whole “Peloverse” experience.
The Peloton community is something else.
I know there has been some negative press around Peloton as a company recently, and some people have been concerned this might affect members. But to be honest, I feel like their product is still as good as ever, their community is incredibly strong, and I don’t think the company will be going anywhere anytime soon.
What are the negatives of Peloton?
Like anything, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows over here. Although to be honest, I really struggled to come up with legitimate negatives!
Here are some things to consider:
- The price might be a negative to some, while to others it’s not a worry at all. In addition to the price of the bike, there is a monthly subscription which is required at $59 AUD per month. I use it enough for this to be worth it (to put things into perspective, I used to pay for multiple different fitness apps each month, but now I can get everything plus more on Peloton, so I actually pay less now than I used to! It’s much less than a gym membership too…)
You can also add up to 20 “family members” to offset this cost, so they can use your bike or the Peloton app for free under your membership. - There are less live rides for us in the Aussie timezones. This is something I thought would bother me, but I’ve literally never thought twice about it. The on-demand rides are fantastic and I usually still hop on to one or two lives a week.
- The seat is kind of uncomfortable and takes a while to get used to it. This is common with most bikes. Ways around this are buying a seat cover, getting a pair of padded cycle shorts, or I’ve even seen some people swap out the seat for a more comfortable one. I just ride on the regular seat and it’s fine.
Is it worth getting the Peloton app without the bike?
If the price of the bike is a bit steep for your taste, I recommend getting the Peloton app anyway! The app alone (without the bike) is only $16.99/month and you get access to all the classes. I used to prop my iPad up on my cheaper bike to follow the cycle classes.
Not to mention all the other classes available on the app – it’s 100% one of the best fitness apps on the market (coming from someone who has tested nearly all of them!)
Everything you need to know before you order your Peloton bike
- Before you buy the bike, get a referral code! Find someone who already has a bike and use their referral code (or jump into the Peloton Aussie Riders Facebook group and support someone there.) You will get $150 AUD off accessories when you buy the bike (this is only valid when you’re buying a bike), and they will get a $150 voucher for apparel. When I bought the bike, I got a reversible yoga mat (super high quality!), yoga blocks, and a water bottle and only paid $20 for all of it!
- Get a bike mat to put under the bike. If you’re using the bike on carpet, the mat will help with stability and catch any stray sweat droplets. If you’re using the bike on wooden floors or tiles, the mat will protect the floor. I got mine off Amazon and I bought the 24″ x 48″ size. It fits under the bike exactly. If you want a bigger surface area, go a size up. We had the bike on carpet previously, but now we have it on our floating floor in the living room and we use the bike mat plus an old yoga mat under it just in case.
- A mini bike fan is a must-have! I bought this bike fan off Amazon and it’s a life-saver when you’re halfway through a class and sweating like a mad person.
- If you want to track your heart rate, check compatibility. I know Apple Watch works with the bike, but I have a Fitbit and it’s not compatible with the bike. I bought this heart rate monitor to see my stats on the screen (this one was recommended over the Peloton branded one) and it’s been great so far.
- If you’re in Australia, join the Peloton Aussie Riders Facebook group! I’m not affiliated, I just think the group is a great community where you can ask questions and hear from others who are riding in Australia.
Do you have to use bike shoes with Peloton?
You’ll need to buy SPD-SL or Delta cleats and cycling shoes to use the bike as it comes. You can buy toe cages separately for use with regular shoes, but I don’t recommend doing this unless you reeeeaaalllyy don’t want to get cycling shoes and cleats. The reason for this is it changes the biomechanics of your ride, so you’ll have a better experience using cycle shoes with cleats.
You can buy cycle shoes from Peloton, but the Peloton branded shoes don’t come highly recommended, so I bought Nike SuperRep cycling shoes (which had the best reviews). They’ve been fantastic so far, but make sure you size up as they are a tight fit.
You will need to buy cleats separately and attach them to your shoes. You can buy your cleats from Peloton, or buy them elsewhere a bit cheaper like I did.
In summary, the Peloton is a fantastic investment that will pay off for years to come. Of course, this depends on how much you use it, but I’m still going strong after a year which says a lot (I love to change my mind and try new fitness programs, but this one has me sticking around!)
After a year, I still get excited to jump on the bike and do a ride, and recently I’ve been swivelling my screen and doing more strength and yoga classes to build my strength back up.
If you want to see my Peloton bike in action, check out this video that I filmed 6 months ago. I also go into detail on a few things like PowerZone training that I didn’t cover in this post.
I am sharing this review because the Peloton bike really has changed my life in the best way.
If you do buy the bike after reading this review, please comment below and let me know! I’ve had so many people message me through the Aussie Riders Facebook group saying they watched my video and bought the bike – it brings me so much joy to hear this!
Get your Peloton bike here!
