It’s been a few months since Thomas surprised me with a Peloton for Mother’s Day and I am reporting back with my thoughts, pros and cons. Before the Peloton, I paid for a membership on their app ($39/month with lots of types of workouts, not just cycling) and watched on my iPad mounted on my bike trainer with my road bike. I liked it and it was working for me but I didn’t look forward to using it like I look forward to getting on my Peloton. Here’s why:

+ the Peloton app has so many types of classes with different instructors, music selections, difficulty level, theme and more!

At the end of every ride, you can rate the class by difficulty. These reviews determine the difficulty level of the ride and you can see this before selecting which one you’d like to complete so nothing catches you off guard.

+ it’s challenging but not impossible!

I was intimidated at first about the Peloton because of the intensity but it is just as relaxing as it is intense, just as fun as it is challenging.

+ The instructors are on another level.

You cannot recreate a peloton ride. The instructors are amazing and I mean, amazing! They are inspirational, there are so many to choose from and chances are, you’ll have a few favorites that you tend to choose more often.

+ The equipment is top notch.

We have the normal Peloton, not the Peloton Plus (more on that decision below). The bike is sturdy, sleek looking, not a complete eye sore. You can connect to bluetooth headphones and heart rate. The screen is large and clear. It’s luxury and you can tell.

+ You won’t get bored! It’s impossible to run out of classes!

You can ride “live” classes, but you can also re-ride prerecorded classes. Both are great! The energy is incredible in both! There are regular cycling classes, bootcamp classes where you’re on and off of the bike, concert classes that feature your favorite artists, cool down classes after your ride, stretching classes if you need a good flexibility challenge afterwards. Totally cannot get bored!

+ Your experience is so customizable!

I think that at home equipment can easily become unhealthy for me. Especially when you add challenges like the Peloton does. But, I think they know that can be a pitfall for a lot of us so they created a customizable option. You can turn on and off the “leaderboard” where you can see your rank among other riders, instructors encourage you to listen to your body, etc.

Here’s how it logistically works:

You “clip in” with cleats that you can purchase from Peloton or on your own – just make sure they’re compatible with your pedals. Pick your class, set up your bluetooth headphones if you choose to use them and the class will start. You can adjust the resistance in your pedals to simulate an uphill or downhill by turning the red knob on the front. This level is measured on your screen and your instructors will give you a range to try and stick in between during your ride. There’s also measuring your cadence. This is how fast you’re pedaling and there is also an encouraged range for your cadence that changes throughout your ride from your instructor as well!

I asked my friends on Instagram if they had any questions about the Peloton and I rounded up a few that were often repeated. Here they are:

Favorite Rides or Instructors?

LOVE LOVE LOVE Ally Love, Cody Rigsby and Olivia Amato! Ally does rides on Sundays that are about specific virtues and I love those! The Britney ride by Cody Rigsby is so fun! Love the Justin Bieber ride with Olivia is great! So many! You can see what rides I’ve completed on my profile (rachelawtrey).

Do you have the bike or bike plus? Why did you choose the one you did?

We chose to get the regular bike. The biggest difference between the two is the resistance can be manual or automatic on the plus but only manual on the regular bike and the plus has a screen that twists and rotates and the regular bike does not. I didn’t mind either so I chose the regular bike. If I’m doing another type of workout besides cycling, i’m not going to be using my bike screen. I’ll cast it to our TV or a tablet so I don’t need the rotating screen.

The automatic resistance change sounded great! When I stated thinking about it, and especially now that I’ve had some time on the bike, I’m glad that I went with the manual option only. I like having control over my ride and the amount of challenge that’s introduced.

Where do you keep it in your house?

Right now, it’s in our living area. I don’t mind it! Hopefully, we’ll have a space for all of our gym gear! You can totally have it in any space! Some people asked about its volume and if it’s loud when you ride it since most rides take place during nap time. Here’s the cool thing: if you ride it with bluetooth speakers, it’s absolutely silent. You can’t hear the pedaling or the wheel turning at all. There’s no “hum” like most bike trainers. The only noise that comes from it is from the class and the speakers.

Is it all hype? Are the classes that good?

YES YES YES YES YES YES.

If you have a question, leave it below! I’ll do my best to answer it!