8 months and 170+ rides with my spin bike

It’s been 8 months since I splurged and bought a spin bike. Yes, that’s right, I jumped on the bandwagon – as so many others – and bought a spin bike during the pandemic, haven’t you?

If you recall, I had started regular spin classes at my gym in the spring of 2019 and really, really loved it. When the pandemic hit in March of 2020 and the gyms were closed down, access to that class disappeared. I got through the summer by running outdoors and doing home workouts, but when we moved into fall and winter and the days were getting longer, a spin bike for home use seemed like the perfect solution for my early morning workouts. 

Then the California wildfires kept us indoors for a few weeks and the bike became a lifesaver.

It’s hard enough when a pandemic restricts your every move, but when you can’t even go for a run/walk outdoors anymore, things become really dire. 

Running is my physical outlet, my mental health tool, and my me-time, so being confined at home was difficult. I did other workouts, but I needed better access to a cardio workout where I could just totally exhaust myself.

I contemplated between a treadmill and a spin bike for a little while. Jon and I had talked about a treadmill in the past again and again, but never pulled the trigger. When I brought up the bike last summer, Jon was instantly on board. And it made sense: it takes up less space, it’s a nice cross-training tool for me (when I am able to run outdoors) and it’s a low-impact workout option for Jon. Most importantly, I was missing spin class and could now take virtual spin classes via the Peloton app with Tanja (who was the person who got me hooked on spinning about two years ago).

And no, my bike is not a Peloton. A Peloton would have been nice and I admit that I have a bit of FOMO when I see how many of my (online) friends have bought Pelotons, but the cost of the bike, plus the monthly membership ($40) that you are getting locked into, was just not feasible at this point.

So, I did quite a bit of research to find a spin bike that had good reviews and was within our budget, and I am very happy with the bike we purchased. It’s a basic, no-frills bike that doesn’t even need a power outlet (which is an advantage, since we live in an old apartment and don’t have many wall outlets), but it has magnetic resistance, a heavy flywheel, and multiple ways to adjust both seat and handlebars (which was important to me). With the help of a speed, cadence, and HR sensor, I can use the Peloton App and get some decent stats (#nerdalert). Yeah sure, I don’t show up on the Peloton leaderboard and can’t compete with others, but I can still compete against myself, take classes with friends, and get a good sweat going.

The awesome thing about the bike for me is: if nothing else seems appealing, the bike always feels like an option. Getting on the bike and just starting to pedal is relatively easy, even if motivation is lacking or the weather is nasty outside because it’s just right there in my living room. 

Maybe I’ll talk about the Peloton app in a different post because it’s a huge factor (IMHO) in why spinning is so much fun, but for now let me just say: the bike purchase was one I did not regret. 

  1. Girl, I’m the H.A.P.P.I.E.S.T. you jumped on the bandwagon and joined me :)
    Love riding with you!!!

  2. I’m glad that the spin bike has been such a great purchase for you. I tried to lobby for a treadmill but we just really don’t have room for it, even though we have a bigger house. Kid stuff takes up so much room and the basement is Paul’s play area so it just didn’t make sense to get a treadmill. Maybe in a different season of life we can get one but it’s going to be a really hard sell to get Phil on board! But I have a beach body membership now and I feel like that can get me through our cold winter months when running outside is not palatable to me! I really can’t see myself belonging to a gym for a very long time – or maybe ever. I haven’t had a gym membership for a very very long time and now is not the season for it with young kids taking up so much of our time. Phil is lucky to have access to a gym a work (for free) so at least one of us gets to go to a gym I guess!

  3. Nothing like keeping yourself fit.

  4. Love this! Especially because you got ME on the Peloton trend. I could have never afforded the actual Peloton bike, but being able to use a much more affordable “regular” spin bike + the Peloton app has done wonders for my exercise goals. I love it so much!

  5. I am amazed over and over again about your discipline when it comes to sports. After the IG live I was ready to pick up that hula hoop again but then I went back to the computer and saw another work task. When that was done I was just tired and hungry and wanted to slide undercover. Maybe I need to try the morning thing… Anyhow it is inspiring to read.

  6. I’m so glad you’re loving it!

    1. Thank you! Me too :)

  7. A pathetically late comment, as usual. I’ve had this open for a few days to remind me, too! I am SO GLAD you are loving the bike – I remember you mentioning how critical it was to your mental health during the fire-related lockdowns. I also bought a bike – for much the same reasons (low temps of 15 or so in April will prompt you to do some interesting things…). Since my apartment is so small, though, it’s a *folding* bike! Very no-frills but it’s actually sturdier than anticipated and so far (knock on wood) has functioned well, despite me being the one to put the 10,000 pieces together when it arrived. Ha! I’m glad you’re still enjoying yours – I definitely am enjoying mine.

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