Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO • Hacker News Board

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#51

Post by __comrade__ » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:27 PM UTC

KFC_Manager wrote: post #3

They've executed so we'll on selling a $2000 exercise bike that locks you into their subscription content. Anyone who has bought one can comment on what the alternatives we're when you purchased? The way they position the financing makes it feel like a monthly membership fee to a gym or something.

If you have a road bike already look into buying a trainer (I have a Cycle Ops Hammer) and use it with a program called Zwift. You can ride around a virtual world while watching Netflix or something.

I got hit by a car training for triathlon outdoors and now I do basically all my cycling indoors.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#52

Post by rchaud » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:31 PM UTC

wlesieutre wrote: post #34

bstar77 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This bike is for people that don't want to go to a gym and/or don't have lots of time to leave the house on a daily basis. You can also finance the bike so the hit isn't so bad. Additionally, there's no extra charge for multiple accounts (up to 10), so if everyone in the house uses it, the cost makes more sense. I work out of home and this is the only way I get consistent exercise. My fitness has gone up tremendously…

Semi-related, I just got a $400 Oculus Quest and burned 1900 calories playing Beat Saber yesterday (as calculated by Apple Watch's "Other" workout type). Much cheaper purchase and fun enough that I can enjoy playing it for hours a day. I have an (admittedly shitty) exercise bike, and will probably be using that a lot less now. If anyone's looking for a home fitness gadget, give that a look. I'm told BoxVR is a better…

1lb of fat is approx 3500 calories. How realistic is it that you dropped over half a pound of fat playing a VR game?

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#53

Post by bstar77 » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:32 PM UTC

sojournerc wrote: post #36

bstar77 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This bike is for people that don't want to go to a gym and/or don't have lots of time to leave the house on a daily basis. You can also finance the bike so the hit isn't so bad. Additionally, there's no extra charge for multiple accounts (up to 10), so if everyone in the house uses it, the cost makes more sense. I work out of home and this is the only way I get consistent exercise. My fitness has gone up tremendously…

I don't understand how you save time not leaving the house... Doesn't it take just as much time to go on a ride outside?

Closest gym with spin classes is 30 minutes away. I also tend to do my classes between 11pm and 12pm, something not possible at any gym. The sessions are tightly controlled so I'm getting the workout I need. I don't have to deal with cars, humidity or any other variables riding on the road. To be honest, I don't understand why people bring that point up so much.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#54

Post by bstar77 » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:43 PM UTC

spyspy wrote: post #40

japhyr wrote: post #20

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I know people who love spin classes. They're not just buying an exercise bike. They're buying a really nice bike, and membership in a global community of people who also love spin. It really does seem like getting to go to a spin class any time you want, in the privacy of your own home. I have way more than $2k in outdoor gear, because my favorite exercise is trail running and climbing mountains. If riding an indoor…

I didn't say there was zero market. Obviously people are buying the things. But this is an IPO we're talking about. I'm questioning the long term growth of what I see as an expensive niche product.

You made a pretty inflammatory comment: "the market is people rich and lazy enough that don't want do the first half of the work".

He's just explaining that there is a market. It's probably an enthusiast market as well as wealthy people that can make this an impulse buy, but the opportunity for growth is to convince a much more general market to finance the bike and justify the monthly costs like they do their cable/streaming bills.

I understand you didn't want to interview for the job, I get not wanting to work on a product you don't care for... I just think your other comments made little sense and seemed more inflammatory than anything.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#55

Post by ygjb » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:43 PM UTC

wlesieutre wrote: post #34

bstar77 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This bike is for people that don't want to go to a gym and/or don't have lots of time to leave the house on a daily basis. You can also finance the bike so the hit isn't so bad. Additionally, there's no extra charge for multiple accounts (up to 10), so if everyone in the house uses it, the cost makes more sense. I work out of home and this is the only way I get consistent exercise. My fitness has gone up tremendously…

Semi-related, I just got a $400 Oculus Quest and burned 1900 calories playing Beat Saber yesterday (as calculated by Apple Watch's "Other" workout type). Much cheaper purchase and fun enough that I can enjoy playing it for hours a day. I have an (admittedly shitty) exercise bike, and will probably be using that a lot less now. If anyone's looking for a home fitness gadget, give that a look. I'm told BoxVR is a better…

Everyone else is saying how absurd the 1900 calorie claim is, and comparing it to other types of exercise, but even if it is the much lower 360 calories, most sedentary gamers are more likely to do this multiple times per week than say, run a marathon, or even start doing a program like C25K. That's a huge win in my book...

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#56

Post by wlesieutre » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:47 PM UTC

__comrade__ wrote: post #48

wlesieutre wrote: post #34

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Semi-related, I just got a $400 Oculus Quest and burned 1900 calories playing Beat Saber yesterday (as calculated by Apple Watch's "Other" workout type). Much cheaper purchase and fun enough that I can enjoy playing it for hours a day. I have an (admittedly shitty) exercise bike, and will probably be using that a lot less now. If anyone's looking for a home fitness gadget, give that a look. I'm told BoxVR is a better…

You burn 1900 calories running 2/3 of a marathon. I hardly think you were able to achieve that in an hour playing a VR game.

More than two hours. Looking at the Runner's World calculator for a comparison:

Inputs are: 1 mile, 11:30 minutes/mile, 210 lbs weight

Gives back 159 calories for a 1 mile run, 829 calories per hour.

My Beat Saber workouts yesterday tally up at 830 calories per hour and the amount of sweating felt in the ballpark of running an 11 minute mile. I don't think the watch's estimates are that outlandish.

https://www.runnersworld.com/training/a20801301/calories-bur...

Again factoring in that I weigh 210 lbs, their calculator also says a marathon would be upwards of 4100 calories for me. 1900 calories clocks in at less than half of a marathon.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#57

Post by bstar77 » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:47 PM UTC

pja wrote: post #23

bluedino wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

$2k isn't absurt for an exercise bike once you think about it. These are the same people who buy a $10,000 bike for recreational riding, remember. You are dead on with the point about the instructors. My wife hated biking but they have Pelotons in her work gym, and she loves them, and talks about the instructors like they are real people. People are fitness crazy right now. Crossfit gyms are $100-200 a month, Rogue h…

talks about the instructors like they are real people That’s because they are real people! Working people who are doing a job, not actual friends of course. But still: real living, breathing, actual human beings. Although I do wonder if buried somewhere in the business plan is the expectation of replacing them with AI-equivalents that don’t cost as much & don’t require pesky things like holidays or sick pay.

Never thought I'd read exercise bike FUD. So much misinformation here. Thanks for clearing it up.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#58

Post by crispwafer » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:47 PM UTC

subpixel wrote: post #24

KFC_Manager wrote: post #3

They've executed so we'll on selling a $2000 exercise bike that locks you into their subscription content. Anyone who has bought one can comment on what the alternatives we're when you purchased? The way they position the financing makes it feel like a monthly membership fee to a gym or something.

I did not buy a bike, but for a while I used the app on a spin bike at the gym. I can attest to the experience being pretty great. I wound up recording a dozen or so of the workouts so I can watch them on my phone without a subscription. The bells and whistles of heart rate and pace are meaningless to me.

I love this comment for showing me exactly why there's such a big split in reaction to the Peloton bike and similar products.

To me, heart rate and pace are the whole point and the music and instructor are the meaningless bells and whistles.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#59

Post by kevin_thibedeau » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:50 PM UTC

rchaud wrote: post #29

kevin_thibedeau wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

People pay for gym memberships that they never use. They also buy home exercise equipment that collects dust for most of its life. Then you have active cyclists that will splurge $5K+ on a real bike and want a way to ride when the weather makes it troublesome. There is a market.

You could not go to a gym for 3 years and your membership fees would still cost you less than the $2000 bike, let alone the monthly subscription.

People are paying over $100 per class for yoga and spin classes in major cities.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#60

Post by bstar77 » Wed, Jun 05, 2019, 5:50 PM UTC

rchaud wrote: post #31

inscionent wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The instructors aren't real people?

They're real in the sense that the dude in the P90X videos is real. There's a difference between a personal trainer who works with you, and a remote team of drill sergeants relaying instructions to an indeterminate number of strangers following them online.

Have you ever tried a spin class at a gym? No one goes in with the expectation that it should be an experience like working with a personal trainer. So many absurd comments here, my head is starting to spin. (pun intended)

The whole point of the instructor is to instruct you and encourage you to work harder. They are there to keep you focused on the task. Never once felt like these people are virtual drill instructors, which insinuates a demeaning, impersonal experience.