The Untold Truth Of Peloton

Until Christmas of 2019, Peloton was probably something most of us would have only heard about if we are up-to-date with developments in the fitness industry or had friends who worked in the industry themselves. Then came the controversial ad that saw a husband gifting his panic-stricken-looking wife with a Peloton, and the stationary bike suddenly became a household name. The backlash from the ad caused Peloton's stock to plummet, wiping about $1.5 billion off the company's value. However, as of February 2020, Fortune reports that while the stock may be off its highs, it has recovered about 20 percent since then. 

But what's the fuss all about anyway? What is a Peloton, really?

The controversial indoor cycling bike is made of carbon steel and aluminum, with a flywheel in front that you can adjust to increase or decrease the level of resistance you want to work to. The bike also comes with a 22 inch touchscreen that's bundled with the Peloton operating system, a camera in the front, and speakers which allow you to hear what's going on onscreen. The whole shebang weighs in at a hefty 135 pounds (via The Verge).

The magic of Peloton is that it allows you to take part in real-time streamed classes on a bike that can measure your stats, from cadence to resistance, overall exertion level, and if you've got a heart monitor on, the display will pick up your heart rate, too. For the more competitive, there is a also a leaderboard, which offers stats of the other people who are taking the same class, along with your rank relative to the other people in the class. The leaderboard function is even available for those who take the classes on demand instead of live — the leaderboard will just rank you based on the way other participants, who might have done the show live, actually did. There are up to 14 live-streamed Peloton classes every day and over 5000 that are available on-demand, for the days when your schedule doesn't allow you to take the class with your virtual exercise buddies (via The Verge).

The Peloton doesn't come cheap, though. A basic model, without modifications, bells, and whistles could set you back by around $2,000. Live and on-demand classes can only be unlocked with a monthly $39 membership. But the Peloton could be worth the investment if the promise of continuous live classes from the comfort of your home is enough to keep you from eventually exiling the bike into your storage space when its allure wears off... you know, like all the other exercise equipment you've purchased.