Stuff - UK (2020-05)

72

DAY 01

TWO WEEKS WITH THE PELOTON EXERCISE BIKE

£1990 plus £39/m / stuff.tv/Peloton

It’s important to keep fit in a crisis, so Chris Haslam stays locked up at home for

two punishing weeks with the interactive exercise bike taking America by storm

We all know the usual procedure

for this kind of thing: you buy

home gym equipment in January

and leave it out for the scrap

metal guys by mid-March. But

with 2020 being the year that

staying in really did become the

new going out, can a hi-tech

exercise bike transform your

health at home?

Peloton has now sold more

than 500,000 exercise bikes, and

over 55 million workouts were

taken last year alone. It’s a fitness

phenomenon based around

a stylish Wi-Fi-connected spin

bike and 22in HD tablet that

streams live and on-demand

sessions 24-7.

Shows have had as many

as 20,000 riders joining in at

one time – a figure most BBC4

producers can only dream

of – and with more than 90

live classes a week, plus tens

of thousands saved, there’s

certainly no shortage of content

to get stuck into.

Peloton’s adverts make for

compelling viewing – you can

have a spin studio and instructor

in your spare room, whenever

you want it – but how does the

reality stack up?

My bike is hauled up two

flights of stairs by professional

PT instructors who set me up,

explain how to choose classes

via the touchscreen, and show

me how to use cleats. Yes, it

comes with proper clip-in cycling

shoes to help you use your leg

muscles more efficiently – and,

I suspect, partly to stop you

escaping so easily. The bike fits

neatly into a spare corner, close

to the bed to provide a daily

waking reminder of its purpose...

which, it turns out, is to make

you sweat like you’re wearing

a wetsuit in a sauna.

But where to start? I’ve been

advised not to jump into a full

class if I intend to walk tomorrow;

instead, a how-to video and

20-minute introductory class

seem sensible. Before long

I’m a huffing, puffing, sweaty

mess and I can’t unclip my shoes

from the pedals. And I thought

my instructor, Hannah, looked

so kind.

Saved by the Pel?

I’m advised not to jump into a full class

if I intend to walk tomorrow... so I go for

a how-to video and introductory class

The Peloton is

suitable for riders

of 121-182cm,

with a maximum

weight of 136kg.