Peloton Bike vs. Keiser M3i using the Peloton App; The Ultimate List of Pros & Cons

Hi Gang,

Its been almost two years since I started using the Peloton App with my Sunny Bike and my Wahoo cadence and speed sensors. What an amazing experience. I am in the best shape of my life and more importantly I have proven to myself that I have a passion for spinning – I am so happy with the variety of Peloton class options, have exercised my butt off and the bike didn’t turn into a clothes hanger.

Now its time for me to consider an upgrade. Why? For no reason in particular. My Sunny still works great. I just want to move to more of a commercial grade bike. I have stashed away $100 per month for the past two years and I am deciding between a Keiser M3i and of course, the Peloton.

After doing a LOT of research comparing and contrasting the two spin bikes – thought I would share what I found.

Using the Peloton App without the Bike; Everything You Need

I get a lot of emails asking me to respond with a simple list of all the bits and bobs needed to use the Peloton App without the actual Peloton bike. Well, in addition to replying to those emails, I thought that I would post my advice here, too.

Of course, my detailed review of the Peloton App with all the lovely pictures and videos can be found in my super popular Peloton Alternative post!

Here is my list

How to Measure Resistance with the Peloton App

The most frequent questions I get about using the Peloton App with my Sunny Bike are about resistance. The questions generally go something like this:

How do I measure resistance on my Sunny?
Is there anything similar to the Wahoo cadence senso r that will measure resistance?
How do I convert Peloton resistance when using my own bike with the Peloton App?
Is knowing your resistance worth the extra money to buy the Peloton bike?
How do I convert Peloton resistance to my Sunny or Keiser M3i?

My answer is always the same. Let go of not knowing. Work hard. Get sweaty. Let your fitness do the talking.

I chalk it up to FOMO (fear of missing out). But if you absolutely, positively need to know your Peloton resistance, I have some advice:

What works for me?

Preload your Peloton App Classes

Great news. Peloton just announced that you can now preload classes with the Peloton App. This is great if you have WiFi issues (the dreaded buffering) or you want to take the classes on on the go.

Me, the Peloton App & My Sunny Bike; A Love Story (in video)

Hi all!

I get a lot of emails from folks that have read my “Peloton for Less” blog post with questions about the various bits and bobs that I use with the Peloton App and my Sunny bike alternative.

While I’ve included some pictures to my earlier posts, I thought it would be helpful to add a few videos of me on my Sunny 1509.

My Peloton Bike Alternative; A Great Money Saving Hack

The Peloton Bike! I saw the commercials and was hooked. Over 10,000 on demand group spinning classes right in the comfort of my own home? You mean I never have to find someone to watch my kids, get in a car and drive to the gym? A dream come true – sign me up! (Plus, I am assuming that it must come with a housekeeper because everyone’s homes seem so neat and tidy.)

Then I saw the price tag…almost $3,000 right off the bat when you add delivery, special shoes, a $468 yearly subscription, etc. Crikey! I wish I could afford it – I really do but I already have a graveyard of exercise gadgetry and workout DVDs in my house (do P90X and Insanity ring a bell to anyone?). I didn’t want to splurge on a Peloton bike only for it to gather dust in the corner like my old treadmill. What if I didn’t like it? What if I got bored of spinning after a few months? What if its screen stopped working – would I have to return the whole bike? For me and my track record, it was too much of a gamble and I needed to dip my toes back into exercise with a less expensive bike.

So what did I do?

After loads of research (Amazon reviews, fitness blogs, etc.) I created my own Peloton experience by using the Peloton App with a Sunny Spin bike and some simple alternative add-on gizmos. It saved me almost $2,400. So far it works great and I am really enjoying my Peloton workouts. In fact, I just celebrated my 250th ride on my Sunny. This is how I did it…

Peloton Bike Commercials Get Roasted by Comedian Clue Heywood on Twitter; Some Really Funny Stuff

Comedian Clue Heywood (@ClueHeywood) posted some absolutely hilarious tweets about the Peloton bike. I had to share!

Peloton; Live from London!

I just streamed my first Peloton class today from their new London studio with UK based instructor Leanne Hainsby! She is super energetic, I love the accent and she is serious competition to knock Emma Lovewell, my current favorite Peloton instructor, out of the No. 1 spot. She also left me drenched in sweat. I look forward to taking many more classes with Leanne. This is all virtual, of course, I did not hop on a plane to Peloton’s London studio, although that would be nice. 🙂

See My Interview with ABC News: “Cheaper Options Exist for Taking the Peloton Plunge”

So grateful to Nina Pineda and ABC News “7 on Your Side Team” team for interviewing me about my low-cost Peloton App alternative. It was loads of fun! In case you missed it, here is the short video of my 30 seconds of fame.

Daily Burn; My Review

By now you know that I love cycling with my Peloton App (and if you don’t, here is my earlier review: My Peloton Bike Alternative). Despite the mad love, I wanted more variety so that I didn’t plateau on the bike. Peloton’s “After the Ride” classes are great but I needed some more oomph. After experimenting with some random classes on YouTube I signed up for a 30 day free trial of Daily Burn to supplement the Peloton and I am super glad that I did. Now what I do is alternate between Daily Burn and Peloton classes.

What is Daily Burn you ask? I only just learned about it myself.