Shop the Original Peloton Bike - $1145

Are these bikes worth the price? I've been contemplating to buy one of these. Anyone know if the bike+ is worth over the bike?

Can you use the bike at all without a subscription?

Yes, but it's very limited. There's a "just ride" feature where you can use it like a regular stationary exercise bike, and there might be ore or two sample classes you can take without a subscription. It won't record any of your data though.

Honestly, without a subscription I think you'd be better off saving money and buying a regular stationary bike under those circumstances. The real value in Peloton is the training provided in the classes, and the related metrics that Peloton keeps for the subscribers.

100% yes, in my view. I bought the Bike+ in early 2021 for $2,700+ and have not regretted it for a moment. You'll find that most of the naysayers here and elsewhere haven't ever even used one of these bikes, and complain about things (like lack of Netflix access) which demonstrate they have no idea what this bike is used for, or argue that you can get the same experience with another, cheaper bike and the Peloton app (you don't). I had never done a spin class prior to buying one either, but now I do it nearly every day.

As far as Bike vs. Bike +, there's lots of articles that will go through the differences, but here's one (focusing on the different features of the Bike +) that I think is great because it's so detailed:

https://www.dcrainmaker.com/2021/...eview.html [dcrainmaker.com]

Although most people buy the Bike because it's much cheaper than the Bike +, for me the Bike + was well worth the extra cost (though admittedly the difference was only about $500 at the time, the standard Bike has come way down in price since then). In retrospect, the most useful thing for me is that the Bike + auto calibrates and has essentially a power meter built into it that will provide you with confidence that the readings provided are accurate (see the above article). By contrast, the Bike relies upon manual calibration and you'll find lots of complaints online that different Bikes have different resistances, and manual calibration has to be performed. When a Bike user upgrades to a Bike +, they typically find that the Bike + resistance numbers are more difficult

There are scores of other differences, both large and small, but it seems like the most commonly mentioned ones include the fact that you can set the Bike + to adjust resistance automatically in sync with the instructor on many classes, and it has Apple watch compatibility (and the screen is also slightly larger and the sound is better).

Peloton seems to get a bad rap due in part to its efforts to brand itself as an elite product, but the truth is that it really is an outstanding product, and regardless of the "stock price" or other complaints from non-users. The bare facts are undeniable - Peloton has one of the highest customer satisfaction ratings of ANY product or brand (not just exercise brands, but ALL brands). Similarly, their "churn" rate - i.e. the percentage of existing subscribers who cancel their membership each month, is exceedingly low. One other piece of advice - if you read online reviews, I'd ignore the ones from non-users.