The Peloton Bike: Is It Worth It?
Is it Worth It? The Peloton Bike
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Welcome to GetMojo, where we do the research, so you don’t have to! In this video, we’re deep diving into the pros and cons of the Peloton Bike to determine whether or not it’s worth the seemingly astronomical sticker price. After launching in 2012 the Peloton brand quickly began building momentum, but it wasn’t until the 2020 pandemic that they really started to pick up steam. According to 2020 web traffic, Peloton is one of the 15 fastest growing direct-to-consumer brands around. And if you’re going by their 2020 stock price, which is up over 400% when compared to the previous year, it’s clear that Peloton is capturing hearts and minds. A huge part of that success is down to its famed Peloton Bike - the at-home exercise bike that allows you to take part in immersive spin classes with friends, and strangers, from around the world. An expansive and expensive offering, the question of whether the Peloton Bike is worth it has become the talk of many a gym class, locker room and board room. So, to help you decide for yourself, we’ve done some digging to uncover the important facts and figures. Okay, let’s do it!
Pro - The Classes (And Convenience)
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The biggest selling point of the Peloton Bike is undoubtedly its class availability, with its cycling-based spin classes being its biggest draw, followed by its yoga classes. Of course, Being able to attend a gym class in the comfort of your own home will be a gigantic convenience for most. And thanks to the flexibility of said classes, you should easily be able to find a live, or prerecorded class to suit you. Alongside the spin and yoga classes, you also have access to things like meditation, stretching and strength sessions. Peloton broadcasts around 10-14 live classes each day, giving you plenty of opportunities to join others for live sessions. There are thousands of on-demand classes to choose from too, and you can filter these by things like difficulty, instructor, music choice and length. Speaking of length, the classes range from 5 minutes to 90 minutes - with the sweet spot for most Peloton yoga and spin class users being 30 minutes - according to user figures from September 2020.
Pro - The Community Aspect
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Many people go to the gym to socialise and immerse themselves in personal trainer classes, and Peloton aims to recreate that with its live and on-demand sessions. During live sessions, instructors will talk to you and try to pump you up, inspiring you to push yourself. Although Peloton doesn’t give exact figures, it says that there are around 1 million Peloton community members, of which can join classes and compete with others thanks to the live, on-screen leaderboards. Alongside these leaderboards are performance metrics, so you can keep an eye on how well you’re doing and how your performance differs class to class. And if you don’t feel like taking a class with tons of other people, you can connect with friends and go on a one-on-one ride together through virtual on-screen streets.
Con - The Community Falseness
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Although the personal trainer aspect of Peloton is a biggie for some members, it’s been criticised by other members for offering a false, impersonal feel. Scouring the Peloton forums, we saw people complain about the frequency in which the instructors talk, and the inauthentic language they use throughout. Instead of feeling involved in a community, some people simply feel frustrated and isolated. The social media sharing aspect may have something to do with that too. Although some will be taking part in classes and trying to better their previous ride times, others will purposely be adjusting resistance settings on their own bikes in order to top the leaderboard tables, just so they can boast about it on social media. That kind of approach totally undermines the idea of Peloton and its community.
Con - The Price (short term)
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Okay, so let’s acknowledge the elephant in the room. The Peloton bike is expensive. But let’s talk about specifics. As of the publishing of this video, for the most basic Peloton Bike package, you’re looking at $1,895, as well as a $39 a month membership. That means that over the course of 12 months you’ll have paid $2,363. It is worth mentioning that you get a 12 month warranty with the bike too. If you’re wanting to take things up a notch and invest in a Peloton Bike+, which is a slightly bigger version of the standard bike with things like improved audio, a bigger, swivelling screen, auto-follow resistance features and greater connectivity, you’re looking at a $2,495 list price, and the same $39 a month membership. So over 12 months, it will cost you $2,963. As a quick comparison, if you’re looking to purchase an offering from one of Peloton’s key subscription-based competitors - such as Nordictrack, MYX fitness and Nautilus - you will be looking at an annual cost of $2,467, $1,847 and $1,939 respectively. The bottom line with all of these bikes is that it is a huge investment. And if you’re just wanting to dip your toes in the exercise world, with some occasional cycling - we wouldn’t recommend buying one. Simple as that.
Pro - The Price (long term)
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But maybe you’re an avid fitness fan, and you don’t just want to dip your toes. What if you’re ready to take the plunge and jump in with both feet? Okay - so let's talk about the price. As previously mentioned, the big selling point of the Peloton bike is its class availability - specifically its spin classes. So, worst case scenario - cost wise - if we assume that the average gym goer attends three spin classes a week, at a cost of $32 a pop, you’re looking at $96 a week. Over the course of a year, that equates to $4,992 in spin classes alone. Okay, okay, so that probably is the worst case in terms of cost. Instead, let’s assume that you have a gym membership already - which has free spin classes - and costs you around $58 a month, which is around average according to the Statistic Brain Research Institute. That means you’d be looking at $696 a year for spin class access. But this is where it gets tricky. If you start to factor in travel costs too and from the gym, the price of convenience, and whether there is more than one person in your household who has a gym membership, you soon start chiseling away at that $2,400 price tag we mentioned earlier. Just looking at cost, if you’re serious about your workout routine, and perhaps you, your partner, or any other people in your household are going to make use of it, the Peloton Bike likely is worth it, provided you’re going to stick at it. And the longer you do stick at it, the more worthwhile the Peloton Bike purchase will be.
The Verdict
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With the Peloton Bike, there are seemingly two ways of looking at every pro and con. The way you view these pros and cons will be very much determined by your own unique lifestyle. In other words, if you’re the kind of person who sticks to a strict workout schedule, and thrives in a competitive gym atmosphere - even if that atmosphere is slightly flawed - then you can definitely make a case for the Peloton Bike, especially if you have multiple people in your household who are going to benefit from using it. And if you do want to fully embrace the Peloton lifestyle, its reach goes far beyond the at-home Peloton Bike, with its own clothing line, studio sessions you can attend in person, and even a Peloton Treadmill. However, if you’re not committed to a workout routine, it’s hard to recommend it, as there are tons of alternatives that will leave you, and your bank account, better off. Stay tuned to GetMojo for the most complete video product reviews!
