An Honest, Unbiased Review of the Original Peloton Bike

A Year on the Saddle: An Honest, Unbiased Review of the Original Peloton Bike

It’s been a full year since we brought the original Peloton Bike home. Forget the jokes about showing off to the neighbors—this review is about performance, value, and whether this expensive piece of equipment is actually worth the investment for an average fitness enthusiast.

I want to be clear upfront: I’m not a triathlete or a hardcore cyclist. I don’t cycle outside the home. I’m just a regular person who is generally into fitness. This review is from the perspective of an average user who owns a Peloton Bike, not an expert.

Our Usage Over the Last Year

My wife and I have put the bike to good use over the past twelve months. I’ve logged about 120 rides, and my wife has done just about 100 rides. That’s a combined total of over 220 sessions.

Our average usage was solid: I was on the bike roughly three times a week, and my wife was on it two to three times a week. We both had interruptions; I took two months off for an unrelated injury, and my wife took time off after giving birth to our daughter. Considering those breaks, we feel we got some decent use out of the bike.

When we bought the machine a year ago, only the original Peloton Bike was available. Now, of course, there is the Peloton Bike+, and I’ll compare the two later in this article. It’s important to note that this is a completely unbiased review; we bought the bike ourselves, and we pay the monthly subscription fee.

The Pros: Where the Peloton System Excels

Overall, we have been very happy with the Peloton Bike. It’s held up well, it’s super smooth, and it’s undeniably a very good, albeit expensive, piece of equipment.

1. Exceptional Hardware Quality

The hardware itself has held up exceptionally well. After over 200 rides, the bike is still rock solid and completely silent. I haven’t had any issues with the mechanics or the build quality whatsoever. We are extremely impressed with how durable and well-built the bike is.

2. The Unbeatable Content Catalog

The classes are the heart of the Peloton experience.

• Tons of Instructors: There are a huge number of instructors to choose from. You can easily find the exact style and personality that you like, and then you stick with those classes. Both my wife and I have instructors we love and go back to consistently.
• On-Demand is Key: We quickly learned that we rarely use the live classes. Almost all the rides we do are on-demand. Once a live class finishes, it goes immediately into their extensive library, which is a massive pro for scheduling flexibility.
• Workout Variety: The catalog is massive and goes far beyond cycling. The app includes classes for abs, yoga, strength training with weights, and even treadmill and outdoor running using their app. My wife utilizes the non-bike content much more than I do, but we both agree the vast catalog is a huge benefit.

3. High Motivation

The classes are simply super motivating. Both my wife and I genuinely enjoy getting on the bike. Even when you aren’t feeling up to exercising, the instructors do a great job of pushing you. However, it’s important to remember that the bike is not magic; it won’t motivate you to get onto the bike—that part still has to come from you.

4. Life Convenience

For us, the convenience factor is a huge pro.

• Weather and Time Agnostic: It’s great on super hot or super cold days.
• Easy and Quick: For me, it’s much easier to hop on the bike for 20-30 minutes than to set up all the weights and equipment for a full CrossFit-style workout. My wife loves being able to use it for a short burst while our daughter is napping. You can hop on, find a class, and be done exercising any time of day.

5. Training Flexibility (Muting the Instructor)

A feature I use much more than my wife is the ability to mute the instructor and listen to a podcast or watch a TV show. The screen still displays the necessary metric ranges—the cadence range and the resistance range—so I can follow the structure of the class visually. This gives me the motivation of a structured workout while listening to what I want.

6. Social and Competitive Element

Being able to exercise with a friend who may live miles away is a huge motivator. You can add friends in the app and take the same class together. Chasing someone on the leaderboard led me to achieve my highest ever personal record in a 30-minute class.

7. Postpartum Fitness

My wife found the bike invaluable for riding through pregnancy. She was able to exercise up until just two days before giving birth, and then hopped right back on six weeks later, easily finding classes that fit her postpartum fitness level.

The Cons: The Drawbacks of Ownership

While we highly recommend the bike as a great product with an excellent catalog, there are absolutely some downsides.

1. The Price and Perpetual Cost

The price is very expensive. The original Peloton Bike is currently around $1,895, but you also have the recurring $40 a month service fee. While there is a $10 app version, to get the full effect of the bike, you must pay $40 a month. This seems like a constant financial tether.

2. Technology Obsolescence

I worried about spending $2,200 (what we paid a year ago) only for a new model to be released soon after, making me miss out on new features. This came true with the release of the Bike+. There is a worry that your individual bike will eventually become unsupported as Peloton releases newer versions.

3. Questionable Metrics Accuracy

This con comes from a place of ignorance on my part, but I must raise it: I have no real way of knowing if the metrics on the bike are accurate. Peloton claims the bike is calibrated when you get it, but I don’t know how long that lasts. I am not training for a triathlon based on power output; I just train based on how I feel for that specific class. However, I have read that the Peloton Bike is not very accurate in its power metrics. Peloton does not want you recalibrating it, which is frustrating if you need precise data.

4. Poor Speakers

The speakers on the original Peloton Bike are truly garbage. For a piece of equipment costing nearly $1,900, you should get decent speakers, but these are really “tin-can sounding.” I’ve had to start using headphones to enjoy the classes properly.

5. The Convenience Curse

This is a slightly ridiculous con, but it’s real: I find myself doing just the Peloton Bike instead of my other, varied exercises. It’s so convenient that I get naturally lazy and hop on the bike three, four, or five times a week, which is not what my personal fitness goals require. I bought it as a supplement, but it’s becoming the primary workout.

6. Size and Weight

If you live alone, the bike is quite heavy. While it has wheels, it’s not the easiest thing to move around. It also takes up a significant footprint, about a four-foot by two-foot space.

Comparing the Original Bike vs. Bike+

As of February 2021, the cost for the Peloton Bike is $1,895, and the cost for the Peloton Bike+ starts at $2,495. You have to decide if the $600 price difference is worth the upgrades.

The Auto-Follow Resistance is arguably the best new feature. You set your resistance within the instructor’s range (e.g., you pick 45 if the range is 40-50), and the bike automatically adjusts the resistance up or down when the instructor changes the target range. Crucially, I have read that this feature also makes the metrics much more accurate on the Bike+ than on the original.

The swiveling screen is the other big benefit. If you’re doing ab work, yoga, or strength training next to the bike, you can just swivel the screen around instead of needing to use your phone or TV.

Final Thoughts and Fit

We have been extremely happy with the Peloton Bike. It’s a great product, and we’ve utilized it a lot.

A couple of final notes:

• Heart Rate Monitor: The one from Peloton is trash. Get one from Polar instead.
• Setup: Peloton does set the bike up for you upon delivery.
• Fit: According to Peloton, the bike fits riders from 4’11” to 6’4″ and up to a maximum weight of 297 pounds. My wife and I have a six-inch height difference (I am 5’10”, and she is 5’4″), and we find it very easy to adjust and comfortable for both of us.

We are currently debating upgrading to the Bike+ (selling this one and buying the new one). We haven’t decided yet, but if we do, I’ll be sure to share a full review.