Spinning at home?
I want to say it was about a month ago I was in the Short Hills Mall and noticed this store. It was a tiny store with two spin bikes in the window. For the life of me I could not understand how there was a store with two exercise bikes in the ENTIRE store and it was going to survive. Initial thought: this store will be here for 5 minutes. And then I researched this little store called Peloton. Mark my words – this bike they are selling could be the wave of the future.
Ready for this? Yes, it is a spin bike. You adjust your seat, you clip in, and you are off…not just yet. What you don’t know is that there is a screen that sits on top of the handle bars:
This touch screen navigates the spin world. You know how you have ON DEMAND on your cable box? This screen has ON DEMAND OR LIVE SPIN CLASSES. Meaning, lets say you wake up and there is a Peloton spin class in the city at 8am. Instead of schlepping to the class, you can sign on and spin at home WITH the actual class. Not kidding. The real live class. If you live in Utah, you can sign on and bike with the 8am spin class in NYC. YOU CAN LIVE ANYWHERE!!!! It is genius! The music is incredible, the instructors are hard core and at the end of the ride you’ll get a total score for the ride. And if you’ve set up competitive filters, you’ll know how you did compared to, say, chicks in your age group or your workout friends. What makes this even more incredible? IF your friend owns this snazzy bike or you are looking for someone you know to ride with, you can click onto Facebook Connect, see who among your friends wants to ride with you, as well as other riders who’ve decided to share their participation in the live class. There’s also a chat window that you can have open to bitch or cheer on your workout friend during a live or streaming class. Not really sure the chat window would do it for me while I am sweating my ass of but maybe some peeps need that extra encouragement.
Who is the brains behind this innovation? Believe it or not, it is John Foley, the former president of Barnes & Nobles eCommerce. Foley learned in the e-book business, money wasn’t made with the sale of the Nook, it was made with the actual downloads on the Nook. Therefore, although the bike is $1995 (not cheap but also the same amount as any great stationary bike) the owner is required to pay $39 a month to participate in the interactive spin classes. You can look at like this, a normal spin class costs let’s say between $25-$35 PER CLASS. Here you are paying $39 a month for unlimited live classes with pretty great music. Don’t believe me?
Take a ride over to the Short Hills Mall and try it.
I am not sure I would be spinning with Greg on the couch like this:
But since they opted to use a belt drive instead of a noisy chain, the bike is very quiet. If you are an early riser like me you can get in your workout at the crack without waking the kids! No need to travel, available any time, no potential for embarrassment seems kind of ideal for people who love staying close to home, especially if you work from home!
Want to learn more? Here is the video when the bike was on Kickstarter…
Lastly, I will tell you that Foley believes that he is not competing with Flywheel or Soul Cycle. He states that his competition lies with the “AT-HOME” exercise world.
My feeling is this, if the bike is as successful as the Nook – Foley is onto something HUGE.
Thoughts? Are you into this?
Check them out online at Peloton Cycle.
Wish I would have bought this one instead if my standard spin bike!
I definitely think its cool, I do, but I don’t know about the rest of your readers, but I have everything in my house to workout with. I have the ball, the weights, the bands, the music, the spin bike, the yoga mat, the videos, I’ve got it all and ya know how much I use them? NEVER. I made my husband schlep out Smithtown to pick up an unused spin bike that I’ve used 10 times. Knowing I have to get my butt out of bed and get to Maxfit or to Jumping Frog or to wherever for someone else to kick my butt is the only thing that seems to motivate me. I know a ton of people with in home gyms and they all go out to work out. Don’t get me wrong, I think the entire thing is genius, not sure how many people REALLY work out at home.
Yes, I do prefer the social aspect of working out with others in a classroom. However, I was one of the first to buy this bike. Got really tired of no-show instructors, classes that started and ended late, classes where the lights are left on, no air circulation and instructors that walk around the room screaming in your face. Then there is the infamous tale of one instructor who thought it was a great idea to take us off the bikes 15 minutes early and teach a barre like class (if I wanted to take barre I would have been at the barre studio).
For all of the above reasons and more, I purchased this bike the weekend they opened in Short Hills. I will continue to take classes with the instructors that are professional and teach at times that are convenient for me but the rest of the time – which is at least half of the week (I spin at least 5 times a week) I will definitely be on the Peloton Bike!
Can’t wait!
I love this bike. I did purchase one and it is truly fantastic. For me going to the gym or spin class was not social. I was going to workout thats all. Now I don’t have to deal with all the not so great elements about a gym. The sweaty people, fighting for a spot, etc. Now I can spin in a class without leaving my home. Truly wonderful experience
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[…] I was off my rocker. I tried to tell them they were missing a big opportunity –HUGE! Maybe Peloton should make a deal with these hole- in-the -wall hotels. I bet they would sell 10,000 after the […]
[…] I was off my rocker. I tried to tell them they were missing a big opportunity—HUGE! Maybe Peloton should make a deal with these hole-in-the wall hotels. I bet they would sell 10,000 after the […]