Peloton Review: Is the Peloton Spin Bike Right for You?

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A few years ago, my husband bought me a Peloton. It was a complete surprise. I had spent months pouring over Peloton review after review online and dropping hints. He had even let me drag him to the Peloton storefront in our mall so I could just gawk over it, all the while not knowing he had already put in the order for one to be delivered to our house.

He is pretty great at getting gifts. On the other hand, my return gift to him was three shirts from Target and two were in the wrong size. Clearly, my husband is a lucky man.

I had just started taking spin classes a few months before the Peloton made it to our house and I fell in love with them. It is such a great workout and every class/instructor is different so you aren’t likely to get bored.

Now, we have several hundred rides in on the indoor exercise bike adventure and I wanted to share with you my Peloton review and experience of what all I have gotten out of my bike to help you in your own purchasing decision!

MY PERSONAL PELOTON REVIEW

How are the Peloton Classes?

First off, the class selection with Peloton is amazing. When you buy your Peloton, you have to also purchase a $54/month subscription to get the Peloton classes. Which I was ok with because this was replacing our gym memberships so the cost is actually a bit cheaper than monthly gym fees for two people (which we didn’t use).

There are thousands of classes that you can take on demand at any time, which is wonderful if you are a working mom like me who really can only fit in classes at 8:00 or 9:00 PM.

Peloton also breaks their classes out so you can search with a lot of filters.You can search by length of time, which is great if you only have 30 minutes (or even 10!) to squeeze in a workout. If you are really feeling a certain style of music that day, you can search for classes with 80’s tunes, country jams or pumped up pop.

There are multiple live classes a day so you can make those work as well. They start really early in the morning but wrap up just before 8:00 PM usually, so I haven’t taken too many live classes. But the live classes get put on demand the next day, so you don’t have to miss out on a class by your favorite instructor.

Peloton Classes vs Studio Class

The Peloton team set out to work to bring the feel of a studio spin class to the convenience of your living room. And while they have done a great job with the convenience, there just won’t ever be the replication of being in a studio with other riders right next to you and the music blasting to keep up the energy in the room.

But for me personally, we moved out to the suburbs and the nearest spin studio is 25 minutes away, so finding 2 hours to drive to and from and take a studio class, was just not going to happen. This is why the Peloton has been so great for me since I can just go upstairs to our home gym and ride whenever I have the time.

I do feel like the Peloton classes are lacking some of the energy that studio classes often have. I wish there were more classes that had more full body type stuff that studio classes are more known for. Like posting to the beat or doing push-ups with your handlebars. Peloton classes do have arms intervals worked it like most all spin classes, but there isn’t any replicating the feel of being in a studio.

The other side of the coin here is that I can use my Peloton while my baby is asleep in the next room over. I can still hear my music and the instructor well enough to get into it, but it doesn’t interfere with anyone else in my family!

You do have to have a little more self-descipline when riding by yourself as opposed to being in a studio class. Feeding off the energy of keeping up with everyone in the room around you is easier to do in the studio.

Peloton has created lots of ways for you to recreate that same competition at home, with their Leaderboard, which shows how you are ranking compared to others who are in the class with you of who have taken it previously.

However, the thing I have found most motivating while pushing myself to maximize my workout, is seeing where I compare to myself. I do most rides just trying to beat my own Personal Records, and that does push me to workout harder than it does just watching strangers pass me up on the Leaderboard.

If you are looking for a workout buddy on the Peloton, you can friend me! My Peloton username is @mattiegtx

See you on the Leaderboard!

Peloton App

On top of all the spin classes you get with your Peloton membership, you also get access to tons of fitness classes that can be done off the bike. Strength, Yoga, Toning and Dance Cardio are some of my favorites.

You can watch these on the screen of your Peloton bike, or download the Peloton app on your TV, iPad or phone and do the classes wherever.

There have been a BUNCH of new additions to the off-bike classes in 2020 and I have actually been doing more of those classes than I have been riding the bike. My favorites have been the Dance Cardio classes.

If you don’t want to buy the bike just yet, you can subscribe to the app for just $12.99 per month! Click here to get a 30 day Free Trial of the Peloton Digital App!

Who are the Best Peloton Instructors

There are some great Peloton Instructors and they all have a way of making classes feel really different.

My favorite Peloton instructors are:

Emma Lovewell – She is very encouraging but also tough as nails. I am always drenched in sweat when I finish one of her classes.
Cody Rigsby – He is so energetic and uses to be a professional dancer and his classes definitely focus on rhythm, which is my absolute favorite.
Ally Love – I feel like we would be friends, but Ally would be the relaxed cool one with loads of style. Her classes have great music and I am always jamming the whole ride.

What Cycle Shoes Do You Need for Peloton?

If you have spin shoes that you have used for studio classes, they likely don’t work on your Peloton. Peloton sells its own brand of cycle shoe, but you can get different shoes and cleats from any sporting goods store or even on Amazon.

For Peloton, you need shoes that are compatible with Look Delta cleats. I got some pretty nice shoes because the guy at the bike store up-sold me big time, but they are really comfy and I am getting a lot of use out of them.

If you don’t buy the Peloton shoes, you can buy them from Amazon, just know that the cleats are usually sold separately. And if you don’t buy the cleats from a store, you are going to have to attach the cleats to the shoes yourself. There are YouTube videos out there that will show you how to do it, but I am a big fan of getting other people to do things for you. We can call it “delegating”. My recommendation is to delegate someone else to attach your cleats for you.

Since you are currently listening to my recommendations, I plead with you – don’t use your normal tennis shoes to ride the Peloton bike. Your shoes will likely slip off the pedals and the pedal will continue rotating directly into your shin. And you will whine about it for days while your husband comments “You really do bruise like a peach” while not actually being sympathetic to your pain.

That is just my guess as to what would happen if you used tennis shoes with your Peloton.

The Peloton has been a great addition to our family and I am really hoping my husband will get more into it. Since the Peloton will allow unlimited user accounts on one bike (with the purchase of just one subscription!), it is much more cost-effective than paying multiple gym memberships!

I also used the Peloton all throughout my pregnancy and it was a great way to stay in shape (as much as is possible when you are growing a human).

If you are interested in trying it out but don’t want to make the investment in the Peloton bike just yet, I found this really neat post on how to make your own Peloton bike!

Need to refresh your work out wardrobe? Linking some of my favorite workout tops and shorts that help boost my Peloton workouts!

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