Originally Posted by
msu2001la
I have owned a Peloton since 2020. My wife rides it. She loves it - does 4-5 classes a week and has been doing that regularly as a substitute to a monthly gym membership (which we both dropped in 2020). My wife has zero interest in riding bikes outside, even for casual/transportation, but definitely not for fitness.
I, on the other hand, have used "her" Peloton bike exactly twice. I actually kind of like it and the classes are a good way to get in a high intensity short workout, but I would much rather ride on Zwift (when I'm not riding outdoors). The Peloton bike is pretty nice and has a huge screen, but I find it frustrating that there's not more adjustments for the fit. I can raise/lower the seat and handlebars, but the only fore/aft adjustment is the seat, so there's no real way to adjust for reach, which feels way too short for me. I prefer the "virtual simulation" environment of Zwift, but I'm no stranger to spin classes and did many "back in the day" at my local gym as a way to stay in cycling shape during the winter, and I find the Peloton spin classes to be pretty good for what they are.
The Peloton was $1900. It's not cheap, but in the context of bike purchases I do not find this cost to be outrageous. For comparison, the core of my Zwift setup includes a smart trainer ($900), flat screen TV ($600) and Apple TV ($200). I also spent $300 on a rocker plate which was admittedly unnecessary. In the context of how much I spent on my current carbon fiber bike and carbon fiber wheelset, plus the many purchases of tires, chains, cassettes, computers, various "upgrades", etc I think the Peloton pricing is just fine.
The Peloton subscription cost is $40/mo, which is significantly more than $15/mo for Zwift. The subscription does provide access to a bunch of other classes (yoga, strength training, stretching, etc) that can be accessed from anywhere, and I do frequently use that, so there's some value in it for me there too.
Bottom line - Peloton isn't going to attract serious cyclists. They aren't trying to. Zwift isn't going to attract non-cyclists looking for a Peloton alternative either. They also aren't trying to.