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Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

montemagno.com

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Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#21

Post by JamesMontemagno »

johnold wrote: post #7
robot12345 wrote: post #3

I wonder why author didn't just bought dumb trainer and put the daily bike on it getting same opportunities but riding the bike he has used to? Cyclists typically do that.

That’s what I don’t get about this whole peloton thing. Why aren’t people just getting bikes and then putting them on trainers? You can get the whole trainer workouts and still have a bike that you can ride outside.

I sort of consider it two different types of workouts. Trainers for sure are great if you are comfortable putting it on and off. For me this was an at home spin bike with a nice heavy flywheel for resistance. You can totally accomplish a lot of it with a trainer, but they can range in price, sometimes much more than just a indoor cycling bike like I put together.

You also put additional miles on your bike with a trainer. Kind of depends on what you are looking for. Totally viable.

Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#22

Post by JamesMontemagno »

daniellarusso wrote: post #20
platelets2020 wrote: post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

DIY project? He purchased a brand new, off the shelf spin bike and put a cadence sensor on it. I'm not sure when it happened, but the bar for saying things like "built" has become so low that we get titles and "projects" like these.

At least it was not a ‘life hack.’

Yeah, I don't consider my post a hack or constructing the bike from scratch at all. That would be super impressive IMHO. I just did a bunch of research, found the lowest minimal requirements in what I was looking for in a spin bike and wrote about it :)

Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#23

Post by JamesMontemagno »

mikestew wrote: post #12
wittyreference wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't know about what the Peloton experience is like, but: My bike is on a trainer, and I see the following down-sides: a) My bike on a trainer is really loud. Can't do it early; can't do it when the baby is sleeping, etc. b) It's a moderate pain in the ass to hook and unhook. Not a huge pain in the ass, but I certainly didn't do it any time of the year it was feasible for me to bike to work. c) It's dirty. I mean,…

Additionally, I think folks are assuming that you're the only cycling nut in the house. If there are two or more, then an easy-to-adjust bike is essential. If you think your non-mechanically-inclined partner is going to grab a hex wrench every time he wants to hit the "trainer", you will be sadly disappointed. Hell, if you think I , who used to be a bike mechanic in his misspent youth, am going to grab that hex wrenc…

That is a good point as well. My wife also uses the bike and this is a big benefit.

Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#24

Post by OJFord »

wittyreference wrote: post #8
johnold wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s what I don’t get about this whole peloton thing. Why aren’t people just getting bikes and then putting them on trainers? You can get the whole trainer workouts and still have a bike that you can ride outside.

I don't know about what the Peloton experience is like, but: My bike is on a trainer, and I see the following down-sides: a) My bike on a trainer is really loud. Can't do it early; can't do it when the baby is sleeping, etc. b) It's a moderate pain in the ass to hook and unhook. Not a huge pain in the ass, but I certainly didn't do it any time of the year it was feasible for me to bike to work. c) It's dirty. I mean,…

> a) My bike on a trainer is really loud.

Not that it's going to make (b) any better, but do you have purpose-made tyres on it? I've never tried with my road one, I heard it was loud and wore down extremely fast if you did so, so I just bought a smooth (and I think harder?) one designed for use on a trainer off the bat.

Could just be marketing and I fell for it, but seemed reasonable.

Re (b), and especially if you changed tyre, I suppose if you wanted to do that regularly you'd soon get a second quick-release rear wheel, so you didn't have to faff about switching skewers (and tyres!) - or better a 'direct drive' trainer (instead of running the bicycle wheel against another wheel, it comes off and you put the chain directly around a sprocket attached to the trainer).

Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#25

Post by pmontra »

wittyreference wrote: post #8
johnold wrote: post #7

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That’s what I don’t get about this whole peloton thing. Why aren’t people just getting bikes and then putting them on trainers? You can get the whole trainer workouts and still have a bike that you can ride outside.

I don't know about what the Peloton experience is like, but: My bike is on a trainer, and I see the following down-sides: a) My bike on a trainer is really loud. Can't do it early; can't do it when the baby is sleeping, etc. b) It's a moderate pain in the ass to hook and unhook. Not a huge pain in the ass, but I certainly didn't do it any time of the year it was feasible for me to bike to work. c) It's dirty. I mean,…

f) The super sweating because there is no wind. I bought a fan to throw some air to me.

About your point e, I exercise close to a table. I put a bottle of water on there, with the phone (also for the app of the cardio) and the tablet to watch something while I pedal.

Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#27

Post by randmeerkat »

wittyreference wrote: post #13
multjoy wrote: post #5

He stuck a cadence sensor on a spin bike... If you want a trainer hack, this is a trainer hack: https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/how-you-can-u...

A cadence sensor and an ipad holder.

A cadence sensor, an ipad holder, _and_ a seat cover.

Re: Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+

#30

Post by xwdv »

Peloton has 0% financing and now you can own the old version of the bike (which is more than adequate) for only $49 a month, which is similar to the price of a decent gym. Most software devs make more than that per hour.

There’s really no reason to be this cheap if you want to invest in your health.

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