[DrBazza]

> it seemed more like a niche product

Yes. The Peloton 'model' reminds me of the gym model, at least in the UK.

You always get a bunch of people sign up in 'fat' January for 12 months. They go to the the gym for a few weeks and stop. But continue paying £50pm or whatever for the next 11 months.

Peloton feels similar in that people are made to want the shiny thing in the TV adverts, find that they don't have a room with a view to put the bike unlike the adverts, use it for a few weeks, and then have to see out their subscription. I'm sure Peloton's insider numbers probably show a slower drop off, but I'd bet it's still there.

There's probably a big intersection of those that have bought a Peloton bike as well as joined a gym but rarely used it.

The free alternative of course, is go outside and cycle or run.

[dustymcp]

Being a cyclist All my life i never understood those bikes you dont get fresh air or the navigation fun of finding new ways to explore :)

[lghh]

My 2-cents on this as someone who owns a Peloton. Riding a bike is great but doing it for 30-60 minutes 5 times a week is a bit hard to do. We do most of our riding while our toddler naps. I certainly can't leave him alone at home to go bike. I don't live somewhere where it's safe to bike during the day, I certainly can't do it when visibility is anything less than stellar. Where I live is mostly flat, I can't get the type of workout riding outside that I can riding inside where I can more granularity control resistance.

This doesn't replace riding outdoors, it gives you a consistent, reproducible, and flexible way to work out on terms that you can more easily control.

[jasonladuke0311]

Drive around Denver for a day and observe all the people on cell phones swerving into the bike lanes. I wouldn’t ride a bike around here at gunpoint.

[tannedNerd]

As some who felt the same way but now lives somewhere with snow on the ground this of year it’s nice to still be able to cycle without the freezing cold and ice patches.

[cercatrova]

It's right there in your house, you can hop on and hop off whenever you want, you don't have to finish your trip like with a regular bike where you'd have to bike back home. Lots of reasons, primarily being the convenience of it.

[spookthesunset]

It depends on the climate of where you live. Some places just don’t have the right kind of weather year round.

[kawsper]

What weather would make your bicycle unrideable?

I can only think of heavy snow if you don't have fat tires, or maybe sun and 40+ degrees celcius.

[mikestew]

PNW black ice. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I ended up on the ground with torn tights and a bleeding elbow, wondering what the hell just happened. Now if it is between 30F-39F, I’ll just skip that ride.

[DrBazza]

> black ice

This. Pre-covid I cycled to work each day, and at 5am (!) black ice was frequently a nightmare on cycle paths that had smoother tarmac than the road.

[mdoms]

So yeah the two things you mentioned.