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Peloton Bike Review – 2022

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The Peloton is rated Top 3 for subscription-based home stationary bikes at Treadmillreviews.com. Peloton, as a company, seems to be just scratching the surface in the home-gym equipment industry but they’ve made a huge dent with their home exercise bike. Peloton focuses most on their software and subscription-based home-fitness service. Read our review to learn more about the Peloton Bike’s outstanding features, slight disadvantages, and other comparable home stationary bikes to consider.

Peloton Bike - Treadmill Reviews

Features

8/10

Tech Specs

10/10

Build Quailty

9/10

Treadmill Review

Last Updated: 1/11/2022

The Peloton bike is a home exercise bike that utilizes a subscription service for streaming live and on-demand spin/cycling classes. It’s a highly functional blend of exercise and tech, with perhaps more emphasis on the tech side. But overall, the Peloton Bike is a good piece of equipment.


Peloton offers four different packages when purchasing the bike.

  • Basics Package at $2245
  • Essentials Package at $2404
  • Works Package $2494
  • Family Package $2694


We Purchased The Family Package for $2694

It’s important that you know that TreadmillReviews.com doesn’t have any ties to Peloton. We purchased the Peloton at full price and zero disclosure that we review home cardio equipment. This allows TR to experience the purchasing processes and any other customer service scenarios the same way a traditional customer would.


It took 6 weeks from ordering our bike until we received it (bike accessories came a week prior to receiving the bike). Part of the problem was scheduling for delivery. We had trouble getting them to deliver it any day other than Saturday but we were ultimately able to schedule delivery on a weekday at our office.


Two delivery men brought the bike into our office (you wouldn’t believe how many companies refuse to bring cardio equipment through your front door without added fees). They assembled the bike for us. It didn’t take long because the frame and most components are pre assembled.



You’ll Love The Peloton If:

  • You enjoy participating/competing in group exercise.
  • You’re committed to using subscription-based home cardio equipment.
  • You’ve been looking for low impact, high-calorie burning cardio.
  • You’re floor space is limited.

Peloton Is A Top Contender For Home Exercise Bikes - Meet The Competition

 
Peloton Peloton Bike $2,245+
$19.49+/Month
NordicTrack S22i NordicTrack S22i Bike - Treadmill Reviews $1,999+
$15/Month
Echelon Echelon Bike - Treadmill Reviews $1,039.98+
$12.99+/Month

There are endless varieties of home exercise bikes out there. Peloton fits into a unique category of subscription-based home cardio equipment. Alone, the bike performs well but is not necessarily the best buy if you were to use it without the subscription service (Peloton Digital). So we don’t compare this bike against NON-subscription-based home exercise bikes. However, more companies are following the trend of integrating software and home fitness classes into their cardio equipment. Competing for the affection of home-athletes everywhere, the NordicTrack S22i and the Echelon Smart Connect bike have similar features and varying pricing options. All three exercise bikes are worth considering.


Why Peloton Ranks TOP 3 For Home Exercise Bikes

  • Peloton Digital is an awesome monthly subscription service for home-athletes.
  • The bike is well constructed, sturdy, comfortable, and virtually silent.
  • Bluetooth headphone connectivity (not available in competing home exercise bikes).

Peloton Build Quality


MODEL OVERVIEW

Item Weight: 135 lbs

Weight Capacity: 310 lbs

Footprint: 4’ L x 2’ W

Dimensions: 59" L x 53" H x 23" W

Drive: Silent belt drive

Crank Arms - 170 mm forged steel

Bottom Bracket - Industrial grade bearings with ISIS splined spindle

Pedals - aluminum/plastic, compatible with LOOK Delta cleats

Seat - Sport saddle with center channel

Frame - Welded steel, ED and powder coated

Resistance: Manual Resistance Knob
Magnetic Resistance
Unit of measure - percentage of resistance displayed on screen

Power Requirements: 100 V to 240 V
50 Hz to 60 Hz
1.2 A Max

Stand-Out Construction Features

Drive: Silent belt drive - The Peloton is quieter than most home cardio equipment. Even compared to the S22i and the Echelon, it’s impressively quiet. The drive is incredibly smooth and silent. The ability to pair headphones or plugin headphones to the audio jack adds to this exercise bike’s silence. You can channel all noise through your headphones.

Pedals - aluminum/plastic, compatible with LOOK Delta cleats. Some users have expressed disappointment in the pedals’ plastic component because, with heavy use or force, this piece has been known to break. However, in any instance where I’ve read or viewed this complaint, this does not seem to be a deterrent to purchasing the Peloton. The pedals are covered under a 12-month warranty. If they break within that time frame, Peloton will replace them for you. If they break after that time frame, we suggest purchasing your own pedals (not Peloton pedals) that are more durable.

Seat - Sport saddle with center channel. Compared to the S22i, the saddle on the Peloton is more comfortable. However, the saddle will always come down to personal preference. The Pelotons saddle has a narrow/shallow pressure relief channel and long rails for more adjustment potential.

Resistance: Unit of measure - percentage of resistance displayed on screen. A manual resistance knob is standard for home exercise bikes. But the Peloton has the added benefit of actually measuring your resistance level instead of just going by feel, like many stationary bikes you’ll find at a local gym class. You can view your resistance as a percentage on the display screen. Instructors on Peloton Digital will then lead you through a class and encourage resistance levels based on a percentage range.

Possible Peloton Adjustments For A More Comfortable Ride

Peloton Bike Movement

The Peloton has multiple points for adjustments to fit a wide range of body types and heights. They’ve made a helpful video for adjusting the fit of your exercise bike.

  • Seat height
  • Seat depth
  • Seat Angle
  • Handlebar height
  • Cleat adjustments are also optional and should be considered for more riding comfort. Below is a video to help you with that.

To better mimic a road bike for avid outdoor riders, we wish the Peloton had the following adjustments:

  • Handlebar width
  • Handlebar tilt

Features & Accessories 4.5/5

Display: 21.5” Full HD 1080p PCAP Touchscreen

Speakers: 2 x 10 watt stereo speakers

Fans: Not Available In This Exercise Bike

Incline/Decline: Not Available In This Exercise Bike

Heart Rate Monitor: Sold Seperately, Bluetooth Chest Strap

Hardware:
2.0 GHz Mediatek MT8173 quad core processor
2 GB RAM
16 GB internal flash storage
Peloton Cycle data connector

Other:
5 megapixel front‑facing camera
3.5 mm TRRS headphone and MIC connector
WiFi or 100 Mbps ethernet
ANT + Bluetooth Pairing

Additional Purchase
Cycling shoes $150
Cleat system $ 25
Urbanears Sumpan Earbuds $29
Water bottles $25
Weights $25
Bike Mat $59
Heart Rate Monitor $49

Stand-Out Features & Accessories

Display: 21.5” Full HD 1080p PCAP Touchscreen.
The touchscreen is incredibly responsive. Keeping it clean is important for better responsiveness. If I get too sweaty, the responsiveness of the touchscreen diminishes. But cleaning the screen or my hands before using it seems to do the trick.

We’ve noticed more pauses during video streaming in Peloton Digital than in iFit. This may be due to the hardware in the Peloton bike or an issue with Peloton’s servers, their ISP, the hardware in their servers…something on their end. We just can’t say. But we think it’s most likely caused by the live streaming. Even if you’re watching a pre recorded video, the app is still transmitting live feed on another section of the platform. Which in turn is causing glitches in the rest of the platform. While I might not know why it's happening, during a single ride, the video will cut out multiple times and that’s a bit annoying. Being a “media company”, I expect they’ll work these kinks out eventually so we’ll keep an eye on it.

It could be an issue of bandwidth. We’re assuming that watching netflix AND doing a Peloton workout video is out of the question.



Heart Rate Monitor: Sold Seperately, Bluetooth Chest Strap.
Many cardio equipment manufacturers are supplying free chest strap heart rate monitors with their equipment. Unfortunately, Peloton does not do this. It’s an added expense ($49). I’ve had trouble with the chest strap connecting to (and staying connected to) the bike. After a month of riding, I’ve yet to have the bike automatically detect the heart rate monitor. I’ll go into the settings and manually search for the chest strap and establish a connection. But after only a few minutes, the connection is lost. Maybe I’m just not sweating enough? Most chest straps will direct the user to moisten the strap between the connector and your skin so the heart rate monitor can detect your heart beat. I’ve tried this to no avail. The portion of the strap beneath the heart rate monitor that touches your skin is fabric (not plastic, like NordicTrack, ProForm, Sole, Polar, and Garmin) which would require more sweat than I’ve been able to muster. Has anyone else had problems with this? Leave a comment below and let us know.

Peloton Heart Rate Monitor
Other: ANT + Bluetooth Pairing. I can connect my Bose headphones via bluetooth. From there, my ride is virtually silent. The only thing people around me can hear is my huffing and puffing. This is a feature other home stationary bikes are lacking. With other subscription style exercise bikes, the audio projects through the bike’s speakers and cannot be channeled through a pair of headphones.

Cycling shoes - Peloton has made a great cycling shoe. It’s comfortable and every bit comparable to an entry level Shimano bike shoe. Adjustments can be made to the forefoot with a classic Velcro and buckle fixture combination. However, I would say these shoes are overpriced considering you can buy something similar from an established cycling brand like Shimano for $60.

Peloton Bike Cycling Shoes

Cleat system - The Peloton pedals are compatible with the LOOK Delta cleat system (tri-bolt cleat). This type of hardware can be attached to any cycling shoe whether you purchase the Peloton brand shoe or something else. Should you choose to use a different cleat system (two-bolt), you’ll need to also replace the pedals that come standard on the Peloton bike. This is an easy swap.

Peloton Bike Cleat System

Headphones - The headphones that come with upgraded Peloton packages are decent. Comfort will depend on the individual ear. Personally, these headphones make my ears ache rather quickly, but they don’t fall out.

Peloton Head Phones
Water bottles - These water bottles are glass with a rubber sleeve on the outside. Twist off the entire top to drink. What I like about these water bottles is the rubber sleeve. The Peloton’s water bottle cage is actually more like a cradle. You can rest items in the cradle but there is nothing covering the top to secure the water bottle. The rubber sleeve clings nicely to the bike’s water bottle holder so it stays put during your ride.

Peloton Water Bottles

Weights - The weights are 3 lbs which is what also comes with the S22i. When you purchase the tread, you get to select which weights you’d like in the upgraded package and I wish they would offer a selection of sizes for the Peloton. Additionally, these are pretty traditional rubber coated weights (less durable) and the Tread comes with weights that are better quality which I think would hold up better over time.

Peloton Bike Weights

Bike Mat - The bike mat is “fine”. I don’t want to keep ripping on Peloton because I genuinely love Peloton Digital. But when it comes to a physical product, they’re cutting a few corners. For the price, I’d expect better constructed accessories. The reason I’m not too excited about the bike mat is that it’s very pliable and light weight. When it comes to a mat that you keep beneath a heavy piece of cardio equipment, a firm, more stiff, and slightly heavy mat is going to stay in place better and do a better job of protecting your floors. This bike mat from Peloton gets the job done but it has room for improvement.

Peloton Bike Mat

Subscription Service

Name: Peloton Digital

Brief Description: Large library of home group fitness classes. Instructor-led. Live streaming. Pre-recorded. Equipment is optional.

Cost: $19.49/month for on-demand exercise classes
$39/month for on-demand and live streaming exercise classes

User Profiles: Unlimited

Class Varieties: Cycling
Running
Bootcamp
Outdoor
Strength
Yoga

Community:
Social media posting. Group exercise. Group encouragement and interaction. Public and private competition.

Subscription Limitations:
Only one user profile per subscription. To track additional household member exercise stats would require an additional membership starting at $19.49 per month. Peloton Digital does not offer fitness or activity tracking.

Other: Filter classes by music genre, time, equipment requirements, instructor.
Live classes (14-20 per day).
New classes/fresh content daily.

Peloton Digital provides a really great home spin class experience. As a lover of energized gym spin classes, I’m really disappointed when an instructor is boring or the playlist is too mellow or calm. Peloton digital meets my personal standards for both of these issues. The instructors bring variety to the class that keeps the user engaged and entertained. You have more control over the music playlist with Peloton Digital than you do on other home exercise bikes with monthly subscriptions to virtual spin classes.

Peloton Digital has a really cool and unique feature that lets you sort through the classes. Filter options include music genre, instructor, with or without weights, the length of the class, and the class type. You can also sort filter results by different options like newest, most popular, or top rated classes. This is a feature unique to Peloton Digital and I like it a lot.

Peloton Leader Board

Peloton Home Delivery and Set Up

Peloton includes a $250 fee for delivery and set up when you purchase the bike ($1,995.00) which brings the total to $2,245.00. Our Peloton Bike took about 6 weeks from the purchase date to be delivered. They prefer delivering only on Saturdays but we were able to get them to deliver the Bike to our office on a weekday. The bike was carried in, mostly pre-assembled, and set up where we wanted it. Accessories for the bike came prior to the bike frame delivery.

Peloton Financing

Peloton financing is offered through a third party provider, “Affirm”. It is based on credit approval. You can choose your repayment plan term of either 12, 24, or 39 months. Based on your credit, the Peloton can be purchased with $0 down. Your loan term is 0% APR and no interest is paid as long as the full amount is paid in full before the end of your loan term.

Should you still have a balance at the end of your loan term, a high interest rate is applied to the entire loan amount (not just the remaining balance) and you’ll be required to pay the additional interest on top of your remaining balance.

Peloton Customer Service

You can contact Peloton by calling their customer service line or a cycle/tread studio in NYC. Emailing them. Using their live chat feature. Or request for Peloton to call YOU for support.

I had a bit of trouble using their live chat feature. The employee was not able to answer a pretty simple question pertaining to the Peloton Tread warranty. But these guys are fairly new so I would have been really impressed if our experience with their customer service was flawless. Fingers crossed they’ll get it together and provide their customer service reps with the tools they need to support their customers.

Peloton Return Policy

You can return the Peloton bike within 30 days of receiving it. They will refund the cost of the bike but not the to/from shipping fees.

Peloton Warranty

Extended warranties are available for purchase. But the Peloton bike comes with a 1 year warranty.
HD Touchscreen: 12 months
Frame: 5 years
Bike Components: 12 months. Includes belt, brake resistance, crank shaft, seat post, handlebars and water bottle holder.
Bike Pedals: 12 months
Labor: 12 months

Final Thoughts On The Peloton Home Exercise Bike

If you’re looking for a home exercise bike, the Peloton is overpriced and underwhelming. But if you’re looking for a home exercise bike and a service that’ll teach, motivate, and inspire you to use it, the Peloton paired with Peloton Digital is a great home cardio solution.

Whether or not the Peloton is a smart buy for you is really going to come down to personal finances. Peloton gears their products towards higher-income households. If it makes sense to you to purchase their bike and monthly subscription, do it! You’ll love it. It’s a great service. But if you’re not comfortable with the price tag (I’m definitely not), you have other options. You can view the subscription service on a smart device and ride along with any home exercise bike. Or, take a look at NordicTrack’s studio bikes.

TreadmillReviews’ personal trainer, Rachel, has some final thoughts on the Peloton as well.

“The Peloton is a great tool for exercising at home, especially if you’re having a really hard time getting to the gym. You can do quick cardio workouts that keep you active and moving each day. It also doesn’t hurt that they’re pretty fun! But if you were hoping the Peloton was a one-stop-shop for fitness, you might want to reconsider. While cycling is a great exercise, building length strength, stamina, and cardiovascular health, look for more forms of equipment to pair with the Peloton to ensure your entire body is being put to good use, for more well-rounded strength and physical ability.” - Rachel

Rachel and I agree that the Peloton Digital subscription service is really pretty remarkable. A full-length review of this service is in the works and we’ll be publishing that soon. So stay tuned!

Check out the review for our Best Buy in subscription-based home exercise bikes here:
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