One month with the Peloton Bike+ — I want to ride my bicycle

Like many people, I fell off the fitness wagon hard during the pandemic. We’re talking, “gained a good chunk of weight” hard.

That’s why I jumped at the chance to try the Peloton Bike+. I heard about how much the internet-connected stationary bikes have taken off in the COVID era, and I was hoping that they could help me shed at least a few pounds.

So far, after one month with the Bike+, I’m really pleased.

To start, I should preface this by saying I haven’t used the bike nearly as regularly as I should have. A combination of the busy fall hardware rush and my general struggles of getting back into a routine means that there have been some growing pains. I own that — that’s definitely an issue with me, rather than the bike.

With that out of the way: I’ve really enjoyed my time with the Peloton Bike+, and that starts with its convenience. While I had gone back to the gym somewhat since it reopened, the idea of being in such a germ-filled place is still a little iffy to me. Having access to a premium fitness device in my home is wonderful.

My main initial takeaway was how well the bike eases you in. To start, the delivery people assemble the bike beforehand and give you a thorough explainer on how it works. And if that’s not enough, there are over a dozen videos right from within the app that break down actions like clipping in and out with your Peloton shoes (which, admittedly, takes some getting used to) or adjusting the seat.

I found myself doing the latter often because the seat is uncomfortable. This is my only real issue with the bike, and I know it’s not just my overweight self — I have a fit family friend who also shares the same sentiment. I ultimately got a replacement seat from my local bike store, which was a bit of a hassle to screw on.

Beyond that, though, the act of using the bike is delightfully solid. As someone who’s had little physical activity outside of walking amid the pandemic, the thought of trying to lose some COVID pounds is daunting. But Peloton offers so many excellent classes that span all kinds of experience levels, and you have complete freedom to tackle them in whatever order you choose.

The beginner classes were a wonderful and welcome way for me to get a feel for the bike without doing anything too intensive. What’s more, each class affords you a bit of leeway in terms of the pace that the instructor is going at. Essentially, they’ll tell you to go at a certain resistance and RPM, but you’re given a range in which you can do so.

As long as you remain in that range, you’ll be great. I appreciated how this let me fine-tune the experience depending on how I was feeling — if I felt I could do a little more, I’d aim for higher, and vice-versa. Naturally, each instructor also has their own motivational style and music preference, so this gives you even more options. As someone who has tried personal trainers in the past, some of them have just not been anywhere near as good as others, so I loved having a wide pool of Peloton instructors.

Ultimately, though, more time is needed with the bike. These are only my early thoughts, so more thorough breakdowns of the bike’s features and other related topics are still to come. But truthfully, as we finally approach December, work quiets down and I finally break out of my funk, I am actually looking forward to riding, based on my strong first impressions.

Because I have the bike for a while longer and am still fully getting into the routine, be sure to stay tuned for another impressions piece down the line.