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Comment by bstar77 | Hacker News Reader

As a work from home developer, having a Peloton has been a godsend for me. I could never motivate myself to get out to the gym after work... the effect of that was a constant feeling of malaise and fatigue, presumably because I wasn't exerting myself enough. Since I've gotten the bike I use it 5-6 days a week and have made a 180* turn in my health- no more fatigue, malaise and poor lung capacity.

The Peloton is a solid bike, but it does one thing masterfully... it motivates me to use it and work hard at my personal fitness. I could care less if it's becoming the latest fitness cult. All I care about is my personal health and what gets me results.

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Why Peloton over an actual road bike though? A good carbon endurance road bike costs about the same as the machine, and the cost of accessories and maintenance is comparable to the cost of the subscription fees.

And you can join a bike group for like $30 a year and get unlimited live coaching for free from real people.

Especially right now the bike industry is transitioning to disc brakes, so you can get ridiculously good deals on brand new but older model year rim brakes bikes. And if you’re mainly just doing cardio on sunny days (as opposed to commuting in the rain or racing) then rim brake bikes are better anyway.

For me - I can't get hit by a car while riding my stationary.

Yeah at least in NYC there are bike paths and greenways everywhere. My normal rides are 30 - 40 miles, and of that 2.8 miles are on roads but only around 500 meters aren’t in a bike lane. It’s still dangerous right now in NYC, but in another 5 years we’ll likely see the KSI rate go down by another 25% due to a combination of bike infrastructure investment and laws mandating safer cars and trucks.

Even with the current risks though, the years you’re adding to your life expectancy still greatly outweigh the additional micromorts you’re taking on.

I think OP's point remains though, right? A stationary bike gives all the upsides (increase in health) and 0 of the downsides of riding outside (death).

And yet none of the many outdoors cyclists who switch to indoor for the worst months of winter stay indoor when the seasons change again. That list of upsides cannot be complete.

- You can't breath the tail pipe on a car either. - Or get hit by a bus, the front end of which makes no noise. - or hit a pedestrian doing something unpredictable

Real bikes have also one important advantage: you are force to leave the house and be in the sun. This has a ton of positive effects on both physical and mental health.

Still, exercise at home is still better than no exercise.

You can also just put them on rollers and use them inside, which is still better exercise than a stationary bike because it forces you to use your core muscles.

Gatekeeping how people do exercise is one of the reasons why a lot of people skip on it.

There are tons of possible reasons why someone might prefer a peloton to a road bike, implying one is better than the other is just naive at best.

"Oh but you get free coaching from your peers" oh you mean more people to bikeshed how I exercise and more conflicting information? What's not to like huh

I am sorry, I don't understand your reply: did you read my comment as somehow booing peloton?

If so, that was not my intent, different people have different reasons for preferring one activity over another, I just wanted to highlight that being outdoor is useful in itself, and should be considered when choosing what to do.

I hate doing physical activity with people, so the "peers" part is especially outside of what I meant :)

Not really, I'm mostly disagreeing with whom you replied to, and agreeing with your statement: "exercise at home is still better than no exercise"

Which is why I replied to you instead of directly to the main comment.

Some people prefer to avoid the sun, especially during the high UV-index hours.

But it's not just leaving the house and being in the sun, the second you're on a road you're dealing with a constant form of socializing that just isn't very pleasant and has (for a lot of people) a pretty high level of stress you've to initially get past (cars, even other cyclists).

Not everywhere has road bike friendly weather year-round. Riding a bike in the snow to commute may be desirable for its own reasons: saving gas/parking money, beating traffic, being environmentally-friendly, whatever. Doing it for exercise, with all the gear involved, sounds supremely not fun.

I know this is sort of a meme reply on this forum but this does remind me of the dropbox comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224)

Peloton comes ready to go out of the box - you don't need to do any research or find and try out bike groups. It's just way, way easier

Definitely accurate, but is the research P or NP though? I.e. does each person who wants to buy a bike instead of a Peloton need to do the same amount of research, or can the entire company be put out of business by one person writing a good blog post and cutting down the research each person needs to do by 90%?

I suspect there are a lot of startups with this vulnerability. There was a company I talked with a year or two ago that made security cameras, and the entire company was built around the assumption that consumers wouldn't ever figure out that renters insurance was less expensive than the camera subscription.

For me its safety. I have a young family, no chance of vehicular collision on a stationary bike.

Joining a cycling club also has the added bonus of social interactions, which is beneficial to your mental health.

Sometimes extra social interactions is the last thing I want after interacting all day at work.

I very much prefer to exercise alone. The last thing I want is someone yelling at me and telling what to do. I can pretty much figure it out on my own.

As for social interactions, I have real friends with whom I spend real time which pretty much takes care of my "mental health" assuming it is in danger ;)

Biking outside isn't equivalent to spin classes. I say this as someone who used to do spin classes frequently, and now bikes outside multiple times per week.

The motivation and enjoyment you get from the music and the instructor is more comparable to a cardio dance class, or even dancing at a nightclub, than it is to road biking.

Biking outside also requires much more will power, especially if the weather isn't perfect, and is much less safe.

There's definitely an argument to be made that Peloton is overpriced, but the argument that you can just as easily road bike doesn't hold water for most people.

I've never done a spin class and don't enjoy going to the gym.

To me, biking outside is wonderfully exhilarating and is a godsend. It's about the only form of cardio I don't find unbearably dull.

It's the constant change of scenery, the illusion I'm transported even when going in circles. Although, I'm fussy about cold weather riding, so a stationary bike can be useful.

Yup. And the breeze in my face and the feeling of acceleration.

I enjoy cold weather riding when I actually do it, but I am pretty bad for just not starting.

"Looks nasty out there, maybe I'll go tomorrow..."

My point is that they are two separate activities. People who say they love dance classes generally don't get told they should road bike instead, because one is not a substitute for the other.

Since you have never tried a spin class, you should give it a shot. They're very fun and motivating.

I'm pretty much allergic to group activities like that so I don't think it's for me.

I'm not saying you're wrong to find the one more motivating than the other, just that not everyone sees outdoor biking as unsafe, and some people do get a really great buzz from it.

Different strokes for different folks...

If you treat it like meditation, it can be great. You let your body handle the motions, and you can just zone out.

Are you really asking why someone would use an indoor stationary bike vs. an outdoor bike? Sorry to be rude, but how are the differences and reasons not absolutely crystal clear?

This seems like the Netflix of exercise. It's on-demand (I'm guessing?), you just get on and there are probably groups riding. You don't have to arrange a meeting where Bob's calendar's is full for the next 3 weeks and oops, it's a rainy day, let's move it to next week oh wait next week Susan has ...

I love both cycling outside when the weather is nice, as well as pounding on a stationary bike at the gym or at home.

Both reside under 'cycling' exercises, yet both are very different. On the 'real' bike I love exploring small country roads and nature trails, something impossible indoors.

On the stationary bike I love exploring limits and pushing for new heights on perfectly standardized interval training segments, something that would be extremely dangerous on a real bicycle outdoors.

People that love riding stationary bikes get this 'but why don't you just go cycling outside' question a lot. I guess it is the same for people running on treadmills. The answer is it is just different sports/exercises, and you can love them both or just one of them.

I don't compare my road bike to my Peloton, they are two different tools. My peloton I use for very dialed in training. At home, it’s 100% focus on maintaining zone without any distractions (like getting hit by the supply of over SV unicorns postmate/seamless/ caviar delivery e-bikes,ubers, lyfts, via vans, revel scooters, etc)... it’s also a great time saver when you can hop on for 30 and be working immediately, vs wasting a 10 min prep/cool down with the road bike, or walk to the gym, and time to get going. Long Saturday/Sunday AM, long road bike ride. Monday to Friday 5:30a or 11p, Peloton. My road bike is just a different tool.

I totally get the benefits of indoor training. Especially since it takes me 20 minutes to get ready, and then 30% of my miles end up just being garbage miles anyway.

In general though it seems like Zwift is much more popular than Peloton among actual cyclists. Maybe this is just because Zwift sponsors pro cyclists and Peloton is actually better, I have no idea, but for the most part it seems like relatively few people own both a Peloton and a bike.

That's why I was assuming that for most people they are either going to spend 2.5k or a Peloton or 2.5k on a bike, but not both. But I totally get that anyone who owns a bike will spend a large percentage of the time training indoors.

As someone that used to ride outside 5 days a week, I've found riding indoors much easier to fit into my schedule. I can get in an hour on Zwift with only about 5 mins of getting geared up. Riding outside takes more time to prepare, and is tougher to schedule with dwindling daylight hours and less than ideal weather. I'm on a Tuesday & Thursday indoor, Saturday outdoor schedule now.

Peloton is far from the only option. I use Zwift for software and the BKool Smart Air with a Wahoo desk for equipment. Several companies are releasing full indoor bikes as well. Wahoo's Kickr Bike looks to be the front runner.

https://zwift.com/

https://store.bkool.com/en/174-bkool-smart-air-simulator.htm...

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/accessories/wahoo-fitnes...

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/smart-bike/kickr-bike

Everyone else has pretty much explained all the reasons why a stationary bike can work better than an actual bike for fitness... Funny thing is I'm really likely to get a good street bike now since I'm in such good shape to use one.

Same. 30 year lazy couch potato here turned cardio-addict and it's completely due to Peloton. There is something special about the blend of quality hardware, energetic instructors, and sense of "togetherness" that makes the service awesome.

The sticker price is high but it's worth it.

That "togetherness" is valuable. That's what crossfit did to me and forced me to go even when I knew it was bad for my health.

Bad for your health?

100%.

Everyone says it depends on the box(gym), the crossfit open ,the crossfit games, and works posted on the crossfit main site are definitely not for your average joe.

Crossfit in general will give you tendinitis and blow out your back eventually. It's just really hard to dial back your intensity while everything is a race. Anything for time that involves barbells and pullups will eventually cause an injury. I say this as someone who was doing it in 2008 - 2013 in the early days and helped coach. We all had level 1s and one had a level 2.

Edit. haha. Just checked out crossfit.com and it looks like they finally updated their site. It looked like ass even in 2013.

https://web.archive.org/web/20130305075530/http://www.crossf...

Second edit: If the bone and ligament injuries don't get you, the rhabdo will. We had a few older folks who started peeing brown and we finally figured out that their muscles were so blown out that they developed rhabdo.

That’s madness, I’ve been lifting heavy and doing HIIT for 14 years in a more traditional style and not once have I been injured.

I agree, CrossFit is not great but that comment is being a bit over the top.

All of the problems mentioned are manageable. Know your body, take it easy at first (as much as you think you can do as much as the other people), in exercise more is more but up to a point, and don't think the top athletes got there by only doing CrossFit exercises (or only exercises).

(That being said I did have some minor injuries from lifting weights and other sports, it is safe when performed correctly but these minor injuries happen)

I really don't think I'm being over the top. Doing any form of crossfit with powerlifting or olympic lifting is almost guaranteed injury. I lifted in SLC which is a hotbed for crossfitters. Pretty sure they still field winning teams every year. I was part of the community early on so I got to drop in and workout with a lot of the gyms. I even went to Chris Spealler's gym in park city a few times.

Now, if you don't do heavy weights against time and keep most things safe, you're not really doing crossfit anymore. You're doing bootcamp and I wholeheartedly think a lot of bootcamps are safe. They only use dumbbells and smaller things to do work with.

I personally do orangetheory which gets me a bunch of grief from my old crossfit buddies but I finally realized that I got into fitness to improve my body. If my body is always breaking down, what's the point. lol.

I'd say another reason I have this take is because I'm an average athlete working out with some above average guys who placed in the regionals. I'm sure that didn't help things. The people who avoid injury are usually just athletic animals with high recovery ability. People like rich froning and neil maddox.

Yup, I definitely agree the issue with crossfit is trying to put together heavy weights and quick execution and that usually won't end well.

> I have this take is because I'm an average athlete working out with some above average guys who placed in the regionals. I'm sure that didn't help things. The people who avoid injury are usually just athletic animals with high recovery ability

I feel you. But it's not only genetics at play and let's leave it at that ;)

The workouts are designed to be hard, not to increase your fitness. It’s basically fake exercise.

Bullshit. There isn't anything fake about it. You will get stronger, faster, and have far better cardio. But yes, you will likely also get injured.

> There isn't anything fake about it.

It's nowhere near the efficient frontier curve, in terms of maximizing the amount of strength / cardio / flexibility gains you make per unit work. Instead it's maximizing the amount of work you do, and any increase in fitness you experience is merely an incidental side effect.

OK, that is a much more defensible thing to say. What do you think is a more efficient form of exercise then?

Well there are three components of fitness (strength, endurance, and cardio), so there isn't going to be a single answer.

But in general, the more boring something is the more effective it is. Just sitting on the rowing machine at 75% of your max HR for 90 min is always going to be more effective than taking a class where you are constantly going at different paces but are doing it more for entertainment rather than because you're trying to do intervals.

Well you've got me interested. I never looked at it before, but this seems like it's pretty much multiplayer gaming mapped to exercise?

Check out Zwift. A silicon Valley cycling e-sports startup, 120 million in funding. Serious fun. Dcrainmaker.com will be your best guide.

What do you think was behind the lack of motivation to get to the gym? The time commitment to get there and back, perhaps, or the hours the gym is open?

I ask because for the monthly cost of the Peloton subscription, I have an actual gym membership (and this is in Norway, where things tend to be quite expensive). It's less than a 10 minute walk from home, and it obviously gives me a lot more choices in terms of equipment. It does not, however, offer classes - which for me is actually a selling point, since no classes means fewer crowded times.

At the end of the day, whatever works to get you to work out is what works for you, but it seems like a very high costs for something that offers you very limited workout options.

Exercise is all about routine. I have a very hard time getting into one when I work from home... I don't have a commute that brings me past a gym so I have to force myself out of the house to go to one 15-20 minutes away. I also like to work out after 11pm at night which is problematic in most gyms.

The Peloton is expensive, but the bike is very high quality and the whole family can use it with their own account... so I have 3 people using that subscription.

I find the discipline to go out and do what I don’t feel like doing is the key to fitness. Granted that is fickle and fragile. It’s cyclical - I go through periods where it works and periods where it doesn’t.

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