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Comment by dkobia | Hacker News Reader

Peloton has pretty expensive products and induces the same reaction folks had to iPhones before other companies released similarly priced flagships. Generally I think it's easy to hate on these products if you don't have one. I was pretty skeptical myself. "Was", because my partner picked up the Peloton Bike and subsequently the Peloton Tread.

Like some other comments here, the almost cultish following is quite fascinating to witness in person. Would I get one myself -- probably not, but there's something to be said about the intensely passionate users Peloton has. This passion comes not from the hardware itself but from the trainers who've become celebrities themselves.

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I’m a fairly new user. I stayed away because I never use my real bike, but a friend got one and said it was helping his air efficiency for scuba.

I have to admit that this is unlike any workout machine I’ve had. Being totally silent is a big deal; I could watch Tv, take a call, or just generally feel less like I’m working. The classes are also a huge deal; I didn’t know my forms and I wouldn’t structure my own workouts to have the interval training they do. The leaderboards against both other students and my own personal PR push me every day (I just beat my last PR by 8%!).

I really hope the company stays afloat. This has been the best I’ve adhered to a workout plan in almost a decade.

There are two strengths at Peloton: the hardware is pretty solidly made, and the talent. We tested a lot of bikes before picking up a used Peloton. The hardware feels like an Apple product to me, and it lasts like it too. Everything just “works.”

But what keeps us doing peloton is really the classes. The content is really broad, there’s always something to do, if you don’t like an instructor, there are plenty more.

It’s hard to articulate this to anyone who hasn’t dived in.

One friend said they don’t need their therapist after doing peloton classes. That’s a stretch but it’s something like that.

> Peloton has pretty expensive products

You can buy a set of kettlebells up to 24kg, a barbell, and enough plates to make 315 lbs for the cost of a Peloton. Completely different crowd, though.

Yeah, but even within Peloton's own sphere competition is fierce and IMO some of the biggest "pros" of Peloton are liabilities.

The customer base also includes me - I ended up getting an exercise bike during the pandemic, was in the price range for a Peloton (expensive as it may be), but ended up not choosing the Peloton.

The biggest factor for me is that I didn't want to tie an expensive bike (which will last for many years) to the upgrade cycle of a consumer electronics device. Which is to say, I wanted to bring-my-own-tablet, knowing that I'd want to upgrade the screen far more often than I'd ever want to upgrade the bike. The tight integration here is actually - at least for me - a downside.

There are also a plethora of subscription services now that do on-demand/livestreamed classes that aren't Peloton, and bringing your own tablet allows you freedom to choose any of them. Oddly enough - subscribing to Peloton's own content on an iPad is cheaper than doing so via their own bike, which further compromises the appeal of their hardware.

I ultimately got a Bluetooth-enabled bike that didn't have any screen at all, but instead has a large tablet holder. Throwing my iPad on it and putting in my AirPods has been very usable.

> Completely different crowd, though.

I find these differences fascinating. I used to work out at one of the top bodybuilding gyms in Europe (I’m not a bodybuilder but my trainer was) — and none of the hardcore members would have been caught dead swinging a kettlebell.

Now I work out at a more corporate gym and am trying to learn to stop worrying and love the functional because my trainer is in fact a professional and I pay to learn from him. But I totally give the side-eye to the flimsy TechnoGym gear.

I’m pretty sure that for any given exercise trend, you will find purists and haters and they will be outspoken. Just like in tech, but don’t tell my PT!

It goes both ways. Pure bodybuilders scoff at anything that doesn’t help sculpt, but I think there’s equal derision in the functional and strength training crowd to folks that only focus on pure bodybuilding. Personally I say do what makes you happy and not worry what the obsessive purists think. I always find the rigid thinking in fitness crowds to be very off putting.

Right. And you'd need a fairly large area to take advantage of those items. It's easy to store away some kettlebells but once you get a bar and a bench you really need a dedicated workout space. A bike is much easier to roll in and out of the way. In my last apartment a bike was feasible even if it wasnt ideal for the space. Any type of barbell was too large.

How is a bunch of weight equipment relevant to a discussion on cardio equipment?

There's this internet nerd thing which always implicitly defines "fitness" as 99% weightlifting, which has always been bizarre to me.

Those weights do pretty much nothing for your cardiovascular health, unless you've somehow got some crazy 40+ minute routine.

Have you ever done interval training with kettlebells? You can be left catching your breath, even though your feed never moved.

respiration rate is not the same as heart rate although they trend in the same direction. I say this because I've worn a heart rate strap during all sorts of exercise and kettlebells do not elevate heart rate like cardio does, even though they feel like they should.

That said, is intense cardio really that important for health? moderate cardio seems to give most of the longevity benefits.

>>Peloton has pretty expensive products and induces the same reaction folks had to iPhones before other companies released similarly priced flagships.

I think they both continue to generate the same reaction in many. They are both over priced products with users that are near cult like in their support of the company. If you are not part of that cult you view people in the cult as a little crazy

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