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Decoding the Peloton

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Re: Decoding the Peloton

#11

Post by matsemann »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

Yes, there are so much incredible bike-software out there. TrainerRoad is fantastic (and check out their podcast!), Zwift is fun (races, group rides), also Sufferfest, Rouvy and others. However, since the resistance of the bike isn't readable or controllable by other software, the Peloton is just for all other usage than the Peloton app just a dumb spinning bike. Instead I'm using a Kickr Core and my normal bike, no lock in there, and much cheaper.

Someone has also now made a physical device to adjust the resistance, so it can be used with other software [0]. I think Peloton really should use ANT+ and open up, would make the bikes usable for many more people. Of course, maybe it's the subscription Peloton wants to make money on, not the bikes?

[0]: https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2020/12/shift-smart-trainer-firs...

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#12

Post by ramphastidae »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

Peloton is a fad and will be dropped for the next exercise fad in 2-5 years, just like SoulCycle was. For now, they are feasting.

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#13

Post by cerebellum42 »

karosass1 wrote: post #7
pkulak wrote: post #5

Wonderful! I've got one of these things and love it, but hate the classes and never do anything but Just Ride while I watch the news. Seems silly to be paying $40 a month, so at some point I want to find a way to get my stats without a connection to a Peloton server.

This is probably too late if you have already invested into getting peloton bike, but at that price and considering you don't use classes, I'd rather get decent entry-level road bike and a turbo trainer. So I could train on Zwift, which is 20$ and imo is more fun freeriding experience. And then for data, connect Zwift with Strava so all of it would get uploaded there for tracking the progress. Sorry, this kind of tur…

Agreed, the prices are crazy.

Quick comparison: Peloton bike EUR 2145 + EUR 39/month - gets you courses and indoor riding

or: Canyon Endurace AL Disc 6.0 as an example of a very solid entry level road bike - EUR 1299

Kickr Core direct drive turbo trainer (good turbo trainer, there are cheaper ones if you go without direct drive) - EUR 799

Combined EUR 2098 + EUR 15/month for a Zwift membership or something comparable. Gets you excellent indoor training AND now you have a bike you can use when the weather gets better! Spend the rest of the up front money on a big fan for indoor training or clothing for outdoor riding.

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#14

Post by rkangel »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

I'd guess that it's actually a classic razorblades model - the real product is the classes and the bike is just a way to be able to do the classes from home.

It's probably not surprising that a group of tech people tends more towards introversion and exercising alone, whereas the general population likes the group aspect for motivation.

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#15

Post by rkangel »

cerebellum42 wrote: post #13
karosass1 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably too late if you have already invested into getting peloton bike, but at that price and considering you don't use classes, I'd rather get decent entry-level road bike and a turbo trainer. So I could train on Zwift, which is 20$ and imo is more fun freeriding experience. And then for data, connect Zwift with Strava so all of it would get uploaded there for tracking the progress. Sorry, this kind of tur…

Agreed, the prices are crazy. Quick comparison: Peloton bike EUR 2145 + EUR 39/month - gets you courses and indoor riding or: Canyon Endurace AL Disc 6.0 as an example of a very solid entry level road bike - EUR 1299 Kickr Core direct drive turbo trainer (good turbo trainer, there are cheaper ones if you go without direct drive) - EUR 799 Combined EUR 2098 + EUR 15/month for a Zwift membership or something comparable…

I really struggle to justify EUR 1300 as 'entry level'. It might be entry level for being competitive, but if you just want exercise on something decent you can get road bikes for half of that. I have bought (good) cars for less than EUR 1300.

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#16

Post by breakfastduck »

cerebellum42 wrote: post #13
karosass1 wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is probably too late if you have already invested into getting peloton bike, but at that price and considering you don't use classes, I'd rather get decent entry-level road bike and a turbo trainer. So I could train on Zwift, which is 20$ and imo is more fun freeriding experience. And then for data, connect Zwift with Strava so all of it would get uploaded there for tracking the progress. Sorry, this kind of tur…

Agreed, the prices are crazy. Quick comparison: Peloton bike EUR 2145 + EUR 39/month - gets you courses and indoor riding or: Canyon Endurace AL Disc 6.0 as an example of a very solid entry level road bike - EUR 1299 Kickr Core direct drive turbo trainer (good turbo trainer, there are cheaper ones if you go without direct drive) - EUR 799 Combined EUR 2098 + EUR 15/month for a Zwift membership or something comparable…

1299 is not an entry level price for a bike, goodness me.

Unbelievable that the peloton costs that much, what benefits do they actually offer over any alternative?

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#17

Post by chrisseaton »

hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

> I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me.

I don't understand what you thought the product was? It's an exercise bike. You do exercise classes on it. It's not a games machine. What were they thinking? They were thinking it's an exercise bike.

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#18

Post by hedberg10 »

ramphastidae wrote: post #12
hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

Peloton is a fad and will be dropped for the next exercise fad in 2-5 years, just like SoulCycle was. For now, they are feasting.

You can ridicule fads, but I think it's interesting. I know people will pay a reasonable price for a product they might not even need, but an unreasonable price? How the hell does that happen?

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#19

Post by matsemann »

rkangel wrote: post #14
hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

I'd guess that it's actually a classic razorblades model - the real product is the classes and the bike is just a way to be able to do the classes from home. It's probably not surprising that a group of tech people tends more towards introversion and exercising alone, whereas the general population likes the group aspect for motivation.

It's not about introversion, it's the format of the workouts. There are so much more that could have been done with the hardware, instead of limiting to this small use case. For instance I bike with my club on Zwift using Discord in a group setting. I participate in Zwift races against others. All social stuff, just different.

Re: Decoding the Peloton

#20

Post by cowsandmilk »

chrisseaton wrote: post #17
hombre_fatal wrote: post #6

I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I'd ask "what were they thinking?" but it apparently sells like hotcakes, so it's me who's out of touch.

> I was floored when I realized the Peloton has no games and it's closed to third-party developers. It seems to just have group classes which couldn't be less interesting to me. I don't understand what you thought the product was? It's an exercise bike. You do exercise classes on it. It's not a games machine. What were they thinking? They were thinking it's an exercise bike.

By games, I assume parent was talking about things like zwift, which is even called out in the article. Most exercise bikes that cost similar to peloton support working with external software so you can do things like race on a virtual course. And gamification through badges is pretty standard exercise fair. My parent’s senior community even has gamification via small prizes for how many days you go to the gym.
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