To bike Nowhere

[Tony 681]

That is the question..

 

Anyone ride an indoor bike like the Peloton? We have been thinking about this bike for exercising, however the bike and monthly subscription is pretty costly, still cheaper then a gym membership though. We like the convenience of not having to prepare for a bike ride when you don't have much time. You just hop on and go for 45-mins to an hour.  We don't like the gym scene. 

[ORjt 157]

Hi Tony,

 

Haven't tried the Peloton; I do have a recumbent exercise bike (t's a Pro-Form model) that I sometimes 'ride' in the winter. For me, it's really hard to be motivated to get on the thing; yes it's always there and accessible, but boy is it boring.  It is a pretty good workout, even at 20-30 minutes. (It's actually how I got back into biking - sitting on that thing thinking how much nicer it would be to be outside on a real bike).

 

Agreed, whole-heartedly, about not liking the gym scene.

 

Hope this helps ...

 

JT

[Hammer 19,012]

Tony, while I don't recommend it, I use a recumbent style exercise bike, a Schwinn.  My previous Schwinn was an excellent bike....well made, but when it finally died, I wanted to replace it, but they no longer made that bike, so I had to settle for their newer, cheaper version of it, and it is cheap.  I mean, it does the job, but no where near the job of it's previous version.  I don't need fancy controls or a video showing me anything, I just start up the bike, turn on the TV, and watch a previously recorded program.  To pay a monthly fee to use an exercise bike is ridiculous.  I buy the bike so that I own it, then I'll watch whatever I want to on my TV, which is in the same room as the exercise bike.  I can plug in a movie, watch a previously recorded TV show, whatever, and before you know it, my 60 minutes of pedaling is over, usually before I want it to be over because the show I was watching isn't over yet.  While the bike I use isn't the best exercise bike, I still enjoy pedaling it because it gives me the exercise that I need every day.  There are many stationary exercise bikes out there, but don't feel like you need to pay a monthly subscription to a service along with the exercise bike.  All you need to do is to video record some TV shows or movies, then, when you get on the bike, watch the show/movie as you're pedaling.  Heck, if you are so inclined, take a bunch of the photos that you have of your wife and your child, put them on a DVD with background music, and watch that as you're pedaling.  I'm sure that seeing that will make you happy.

[meyery2k 26,356]

I think owning one outright would be better than leasing/renting.

 

Perhaps you could invest in a traditional bike and a training stand.  Then, if you want to ride outdoors, just go for it.

 

I much prefer riding/running outside.  I will not do a treadmill or an exercise bike because I like to see the progress of going somewhere. ~ Mike

[dowling gram 6,388]

If you ride a bike outside you could look into a wind trainer. It is a device that you set a regular bike on. It holds the back wheel steady and lets the front wheel rotate then you ride it just like you normally do. It is easy to set the bike on and take it off. My son who is a long distance rider has used his for at least 20 years to ride inside during winter. It is cheaper than buying an exercise bike and can be set up anywhere. He often sets his up in the rec room and watches TV while he's riding. He does have a gamin that tells him how far he's gone, his heart rate and other things but he uses that whether he's riding inside or outside

[Tony 681]

Some good feedback, thank you.

 

We do have nice road bikes which we only use in the spring, summer time. The one thing that I like about the peloton was you stay motivated more with the leader board, push your self more to ride harder. I think watching tv I will slack off. Luckily warmer weather is on the way.