The Takeaway: The most entertaining and addicting way to ride inside

  • Who Should Buy This: Someone who is motivated by group workouts but wished they didn’t have to leave their house to do them.
  • What We Love: The wide array of energetic live and prerecorded workouts available whenever you’re ready, and a high-quality bike to do them on.
  • Something We Don’t: It’s definitely not coming with you for your warm-up at a cross race.
  • Price: $1,895 (Basics Package) + $39/month for the subscription; financing is available if approved.
    Buy Now More Images Full Review of the New Bike+

Take everything you love about spin class, make it more convenient, and subtract any sort of self-consciousness from sweating in a crowded room: That’s the Peloton bike. With the bike and subscription, you have access to thousands of pre-recorded classes with high-energy instructors that will inspire you to do the work. And if you follow their cues, you will most definitely get a good workout, whether you choose a 20-, 30-, 45-, 60-, or 90-minute ride. The classes vary in difficulty, music choice, and style (think tabata, power zone intervals, hill climbs, or easy rides), so you can select one based on how you’re feeling or remotely join a live-streaming class. The software displays your resistance, cadence, and wattage to keep you in sync with the instructor as well as keeps track of your mileage and ride achievements so you can track your progress over time.

Peloton Bike
The iconic program has a cult-like following.
Trevor Raab

The Equipment

Like most other indoor bikes, the red knob in the center adjusts the resistance, which is displayed on the screen, making it easy to add on incrementally. The handlebar height, seat height, and fore-aft of the saddle are all adjustable, which allows the bike to accommodate anyone with a height from 4’11” to 6’5”, according to Peloton. A rack attached behind the saddle holds your hand weights within reaching distance when you need to grab them for a segment of your workout. The sweatproof touchscreen is 21.5 inches and high definition.

Peloton Bike
Choose between 1-, 2-, or 3-lb weights when you order.
Trevor Raab

Peloton brand cycling shoes are available to order with the bike in sizes 36-48, (or you can use your own—you just need Look Delta cleats for the Peloton’s pedals). A set of hand weights are available in one, two, or three-pound dumbbells. Other accessories are available as a package with bike purchase, an aftermarket package, or as individual items on the website. If you prefer to only spend a budgeted amount on fitness each month, the company also offers the Essential Package for a payment plan at $62 per month for 39 months.

For a $250 flat fee, a concierge will deliver the bike to your house and assemble it, and won’t leave until it’s working properly, the Peloton site claims.

Most Bluetooth headphones are compatible with the bike so you can ride without the rest of the room hearing the instructor shouting motivation and cues at you. The bike plugs into the wall, and adjustable pads screw in and out in each corner on the bottom of the frame allow you to level the bike on uneven surfaces. The belt drive system is so quiet, you can get up early to ride and not wake anyone else. It only takes up a 4-foot by 2-foot section of the floor, and has wheels so you can roll it and tuck it away to keep it somewhere out of the way (unless of course, you’re one of these people).

Peloton Bike
Adjustable Cockpit

The Peloton bike can accommodate any rider from 4’11” to 6’5”.

Trevor Raab
Peloton Bike
Signature Shoes

Buy the matching shoes, or get some Look Delta cleats and use your own.

Trevor Raab
Peloton Bike
Resistance Knob

Turn to adjust resistance and intensity at the instructor’s cue.

Trevor Raab
Peloton Bike
Flywheel System

There's no coasting on a Peloton, which makes out of the saddle efforts smoother.

Trevor Raab
Peloton Bike
22-inch screen tablet

Zone in to your workout with all your stats visible on screen.

Trevor Raab

The Workouts

You can choose your ride based on length and category. Each instructor offers beginner classes, as well as ones focused on climbs, intervals, power zones, low-impact rides. If it’s more about the experience than the workout for you, you can choose between Live DJ rides, themed rides (think, hip-hop, 80’s rock, disco, Motown, holiday, movie-lovers), and rhythm rides, which are focused on matching your cadence to the beat of the music.

Peloton Bike
Over 4000 different class options
Trevor Raab

As you ride, there are three main metrics at the bottom of the screen: Your resistance, displayed as a percentage and cadence in revolutions per minute—both cued by the instructor—and your power output, which is measured in watts. The program tracks your numbers in real time, as well as your best and average of all three metrics. It also displays your projected speed, distance, total output in kilojoules, and calories burned.

The real reason you’d want this bike over any other indoor bike, however, is the instructors. Each ride is recorded live in Peloton’s studios featuring one of many instructors based around the world (London, Germany, New York City). They have guest instructor videos from pro cyclist Christian Vande Velde as well. Throughout the day, instructors host up to 14 live rides you can join, or you can choose from one of thousands of pre-recorded options.

The classes vary in time from 20 minutes to 90 minutes, and there are also five- and 10-minute warm-up and cool-down options. There are Peloton 101 demonstration videos that instruct you how to set up the physical bike, and how to use it during a workout. As part of your subscription, you can download the videos to a phone or iPad with the Peloton app, which includes yoga and strength sessions as well.

Peloton Bike
Choose the ‘scenic ride’ ‘just ride’ option to ride your own workout.
Trevor Raab

The Membership

Peloton membership is an additional cost: It’s $39 per month for unlimited streaming of the live and prerecorded library of classes. If you spread the cost of the Basics package ($1,895), and 12 months of membership ($468) over a year, it comes out to $2,363, or about $197 a month for the first year.

If you ride the Peloton bike 20 times month, that’s just under $9.85 a class for the first year. (The cost drops even lower after you pay off the bike.) Most boutique spin classes are $20 or more a pop (SoulCycle is $36, Cyclebar is $25), or you buy a 20-class package from Soulcycle for $600. So the Peloton is definitely a deal even with the up-front cost of the bike.

And once you’ve paid for the bike, you’re just paying the monthly membership fee. Granted, $39 a month isn’t nothing—especially when competitors like Apple offer a comparable service that can be used on any indoor bike with Fitness+—but it’s a lot cheaper than dropping in on a handful of spin classes a month. And let’s be real, you’ll use this bike more than you’ll get yourself out of the house for a class. Plus you’ll own the bike—so you're not sharing a sweaty seat with anyone else.

And if you take a break from the subscription, the Peloton will still work as a normal indoor bike.

No matter what you need to improve in your riding life, find it with Bicycling All Access!

The Community

Another cool thing that creates a community among Peloton riders is the scrolling feed of rider rankings on the right side of the screen during each class. You can see your ranking as far as all-time, anyone who’s ever taken the class, and in real-time, with just the people you’re riding with currently. The program records all your activities and when you reach a milestone like 100 cumulative miles or 50 total rides, the instructor has this information on their screen (if you’re riding their class in real-time, not just following a recording) and might give you a shoutout.

Peloton Bike
Every instructor
Trevor Raab

This bike might not replace the Sunday morning spin-and-brunch tradition with your crew, or your mid-week group ride throwdown, but the Peloton experience helps you get in motivating group workouts, any time and without ever leaving your house, keeping you in top shape for the rides that matter to you most.

Essentials Package

Essentials Package

Essentials Package

$1,645 at Peloton
Credit: Trevor Raab
Headshot of Riley Missel
Riley Missel

Riley Missel is an experienced road racer, mountain biker, national champion on the track, and a former Bicycling editor. She is a USA Cycling-certified Level 1 coach, a loud and very stoked Spin instructor, and she will definitely stop the ride to pet that dog.