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Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

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Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#71

Post by joshgachnang »

sneak wrote: post #64
bruceb wrote: post #8

A friend of mine got a Peloton, and I as a good friend razzed him about it a couple times. Like a $2k stationary bike, come on! But now I get it. He is a busy professional who would not always have time to go to the gym. He is also a bit of a special case as he legally blind and could walk fast to exercise but could never ride a regular bike. This being said he has lost a decent amount of weight. Part of it is the in…

I had one, and I sold it. The music is abysmal and the video streams are low res. The classes and subscription offer nothing over free YouTube videos. All the bike’s electronics do is detect the resistance level (you have to set the resistance yourself, mind you) and the RPM. Combined with a bluetooth heart rate monitor, they give you some charts and graphs. You can do this all yourself with an app and a bike that co…

I'm doing just that (using a bike that costs a third as much), and I'm really happy to have saved like $1500. All you need is any decent bike ($200-$600), a bluetooth cadence and heart rate sensor ($70), plus their cheaper $20/mo app and you get most of the experience at a reasonable cost. I don't get the output number and can't compete on the leaderboard, but that's fine. If they keep supporting things non-Peloton bikes like this, I can see them making a ton of money. I wouldn't be surprised to see an entry level bike in the next year or two.

I personally love the music (classic rock and EDM for most of my classes) but that's personal preference, and haven't had any issue with video stream.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#72

Post by timdorr »

uptown wrote: post #68

We haven't bought the $2k bike yet, but did roll our own Peloton with a lower-end bike and their $11/month streaming subscription watched on an iPad. It gets you most of the value without the pricey bike, though you miss out on the gamification part of their platform. Both my wife and I are users - and may eventually jump in for the integrated solution. It's a pretty well done offering, particularly once you find a t…

I'm a bike owner, but I've done this as an alternative to the $4k (!) treadmill. I have a ~$900 treadmill with a tablet in place of the screen. It's not anywhere near as nice and you miss out on the leaderboard (a great motivator to push yourself), but I find it's a "good enough" option for my non-riding workouts.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#73

Post by wlesieutre »

jmull wrote: post #70
wlesieutre wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.runner…

It’s certainly possible to burn 800+ calories per hour for a couple hours. Normal, actually, for someone doing athletic training. (E.g., anyone training semi-seriously for any kind road race is doing this at least once a week.) But I’d pretty surprised if you did it without training to build up to it. You could have developed the aerobic capacity through other activities, but I’d have thought various muscles would be…

I exercise bike pretty much daily (typically 30-60 minutes), so my arms are flimsy but in terms of cardio capacity I'm not in awful shape. My arms are definitely sore today.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#74

Post by joshgachnang »

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'm using the Peloton iPad app without their bike and loving it so far. All you need is any decent spin bike ($200-$600)[0], a bluetooth cadence [1] and heart rate sensor ($90)[2], plus their cheaper $20/mo app and you get most of the experience at a reasonable cost. You don't get the output number and can't compete on the leaderboard, but that's fine for me.

[0] I went with: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07FCJH59R/

[1] https://www.amazon.com/Wahoo-Cycling-Cadence-Sensor-Bluetoot...

[2] https://www.amazon.com/Wahoo-TICKR-Heart-Monitor-Bluetooth/d...

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#75

Post by JumpCrisscross »

bruceb wrote: post #8

A friend of mine got a Peloton, and I as a good friend razzed him about it a couple times. Like a $2k stationary bike, come on! But now I get it. He is a busy professional who would not always have time to go to the gym. He is also a bit of a special case as he legally blind and could walk fast to exercise but could never ride a regular bike. This being said he has lost a decent amount of weight. Part of it is the in…

> Like a $2k stationary bike

For reference, a trainer costs about that much a quarter.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#76

Post by TomVDB »

spyspy wrote: post #6
codeulike wrote: post #2

When I see Peloton now, I always think of this twitter thread that critiques their adverts https://twitter.com/clueheywood/status/1089699762331217920

My sides. I have friends working there that have tried getting me to apply. Glassdoor reviews indicated their backend interview is unnecessarily difficult and I have little faith in their business model. How many people are willing to spend thousands on an exercise bike? Let alone one that requires a $40/month subscription? It feels the same as Blue Apron - the market is people rich and lazy enough that don't want do…

> How many people are willing to spend thousands on an exercise bike?

Tons of them.

I've had a bunch of setups where you could plug in your road bike into a stationary setup, with virtual screen and everything, but the hassle of setting it up was always just a little too much friction.

It'd be the logical N+1 addition to my stable of more expensive road, cross and mountain bikes.

You have no idea how much people are willing to spend on their cycling hobby.

If I want a one hour work-out, going to the gym adds 2 times 10 minutes to go back and from. The bikes may already be taken. Music is blaring out of loudspeakers. There's no training included.

This is not about being lazy, it's about being rich enough to trade time and convenience for money.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#77

Post by buckminster »

sneak wrote: post #64
bruceb wrote: post #8

A friend of mine got a Peloton, and I as a good friend razzed him about it a couple times. Like a $2k stationary bike, come on! But now I get it. He is a busy professional who would not always have time to go to the gym. He is also a bit of a special case as he legally blind and could walk fast to exercise but could never ride a regular bike. This being said he has lost a decent amount of weight. Part of it is the in…

I had one, and I sold it. The music is abysmal and the video streams are low res. The classes and subscription offer nothing over free YouTube videos. All the bike’s electronics do is detect the resistance level (you have to set the resistance yourself, mind you) and the RPM. Combined with a bluetooth heart rate monitor, they give you some charts and graphs. You can do this all yourself with an app and a bike that co…

> Their greyhat astroturfing campaigns on social media are second to none, though.

Yeah, it's noticeable on this thread that mildly critical comments (like yours) are being down-voted.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#78

Post by mikemac »

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.

Some of these instructors do a great job on social media too - promoting their rides on instagram, etc. It helps build the community aspect of it.

I actually think that's a small price to pay for how many people are taking their class. 1 instructor can draw 10k participants for a single ride.

Re: Peloton Confidentially Files Statement for Proposed IPO

#80

Post by matthewowen »

bluedino wrote: post #17
bruceb wrote: post #8

A friend of mine got a Peloton, and I as a good friend razzed him about it a couple times. Like a $2k stationary bike, come on! But now I get it. He is a busy professional who would not always have time to go to the gym. He is also a bit of a special case as he legally blind and could walk fast to exercise but could never ride a regular bike. This being said he has lost a decent amount of weight. Part of it is the in…

$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…

I don't think the target is serious cyclists: for those people a bike trainer plus trainer road is clearly a better fit.
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