Building a $400 at-home DIY spin bike for Peloton and Apple Fitness+
montemagno.com
montemagno.com
If you want a trainer hack, this is a trainer hack:
https://www.cyclingweekly.com/news/latest-news/how-you-can-u...
https://www.amazon.com/Magene-Cycling-Cadence-Buletooth-Wire...
Then download this game for Oculus Quest https://www.virzoom.com/
video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyJU0vRtug4&feature=emb_logo
I use silicone covers and I have a small towel on my neck. It works fine. There are other options as well.
If only Facebook didn't start their Facebook login requirement so soon. More people would actually try it out since the cost would be low enough
I think it's been somewhat of a walled garden for a long time due to price (headset + PC)... So a lot of people formed negative opinions about it before even trying it.
I connected a bike computer magnetic pickup to the fan wheel, spliced it into a headphone cable, and plugged the headphone into a USB sound card connected to my laptop. On my laptop, I can monitor the microphone input and see each revolution of the fan wheel as a pulse. I wrote a program to convert these pulses to power (using Airdyne conversion formulas I found online) and then broadcast a Bluetooth power meter compatible with Zwift.
* Turning a Treadmill Into a PS4 Controller So I Exercise
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xmABK2Chwe0&t=4m40s
* I played Breath of the Wild with a Ring Fit Adventure Mod - Controller Bending
There are so many great games which will really get your heart pumping!
- FitXR
- Thrill of the Fight
- POPULATION:ONE (lot's of very fast climbing if you know how to play well)
- Pistol Whip
- Until you Fall
The list goes on and on. There's many more than I share here.
I've only had it for ~3 months so maybe a few weeks down the road I'll have issues
e.g. Pretty much any Concept2 rower you see in a gym or home that has been made in the last couple decades has a monitor that can provide realtime data to a computer via USB. I have one of these in my home that is older than Peloton but still connects to a computer just fine. If you actually have a Concept2 rower so old that it doesn't have USB, you can always upgrade the monitor (Concept2 sells upgrades).
The hardware has been under our noses for a long time, but it seems like we're only just now starting to make decent software to make use of it, although I'd say rowers are still a bit behind at present. It does seem like an under-served market.
If space is an issue, there are treadmills with decks that fold up.
I love mine. Granted, I love rowing too though.
There's a reason why Concept2's are used by gyms, for training by Olympic rowers, and also for indoor rowing competitions. They're indestructible. I've had one for about 15 years and all I've done is oil the chain and clean the rail. Every treadmill I've had gave up the ghost after a year or two of regular use.
The quality of workout you get with a rower is fantastic. It's great cardio and works a lot more muscle groups than a treadmill. Doing HIIT workouts on a rower is highly effective.
Two caveats:
1. It is possible to hurt yourself if you row with poor form. Take the time to learn how to row properly.
2. When you start, you will get blisters. Then you will develop calluses. If you don't want calluses on your hands, stick to running.
Maybe the author just has the one bike and doesn't want to unhook all the shite if there's a freak winter day when it is not rainy and cloudy in Seattle. Maybe the author is just a dorky geek that likes to build stuff. Maybe if I were still a hardcore cyclist, I too would try and see how much lipstick that $300 pig will hold. 'cuz I'll admit that my first thought was, "what, you didn't try to cobble a power meter onto that thing? Hold my beer..."
Why aren’t people just getting bikes and then putting them on trainers?
You can get the whole trainer workouts and still have a bike that you can ride outside.
My bike is on a trainer, and I see the following down-sides:
a) My bike on a trainer is really loud. Can't do it early; can't do it when the baby is sleeping, etc.
b) It's a moderate pain in the ass to hook and unhook. Not a huge pain in the ass, but I certainly didn't do it any time of the year it was feasible for me to bike to work.
c) It's dirty. I mean, the bike. I dislike washing the tires so I can bring it indoors even a couple of times a year, never mind if it's coming in and out constantly. And never mind the fact that even washed, my wife sure as hell isn't letting me bring that into a corner of the bedroom.
d) My bike has exposed chains and gearing that, if I'm not mistaken, the Peloton and similar bikes do not. I've got a toddler.
e) Indoor exercise bikes are usually reasonably set up to let you have somewhere to put your phone, or ipad, or kindle, etc. Bikes on a trainer do not. When I'm working out indoors, that makes a big difference for me.
This hasn't been enough to convince me to buy a Peloton, but I can certainly see why someone with more disposable income (or square footage) would.
Summary: a dedicated indoor bike immensely reduces the friction of getting a ride in.
Not that it's going to make (b) any better, but do you have purpose-made tyres on it? I've never tried with my road one, I heard it was loud and wore down extremely fast if you did so, so I just bought a smooth (and I think harder?) one designed for use on a trainer off the bat.
Could just be marketing and I fell for it, but seemed reasonable.
Re (b), and especially if you changed tyre, I suppose if you wanted to do that regularly you'd soon get a second quick-release rear wheel, so you didn't have to faff about switching skewers (and tyres!) - or better a 'direct drive' trainer (instead of running the bicycle wheel against another wheel, it comes off and you put the chain directly around a sprocket attached to the trainer).
> or better a 'direct drive' trainer (instead of running the bicycle wheel against another wheel, it comes off and you put the chain directly around a sprocket attached to the trainer).
About your point e, I exercise close to a table. I put a bottle of water on there, with the phone (also for the app of the cardio) and the tablet to watch something while I pedal.
These days you can buy $200 hd tvs and a mini desktop to run zwift, which is much nicer than using on a mobile device.
The short answer is that people are idiots. The same people that spend thousands on a Peloton are the ones that previously were spending comparative amounts at “spin classes”, which are nothing more than riding a bike while someone yells at you. At best, it forces them to do the workout so they don’t feel like their money is being wasted.
I’ve long proposed a fitness program where you pay some exorbitant fee, say $500/month, to work out alone and you get a rebate for each workout. I bet it’d have incredible results.
They can be at times. Often they'll make it obvious by asking questions like, "why don't they do it the way I think it should be done?"
Do you think that working out entirely alone vs. with a group is the same thing? Do you think there are some people that would derive a differential benefit by going with one vs. the other?
Do you think that emulating being with a group would have value for those that would otherwise value working with a group?
Do you think that anyone who falls into the "works out better with a group and a trainer, or an emulation thereof" must be an idiot? Or do you think that category simply doesn't exist?
From my experience in competitive powerlifting, working out by myself, working out with others, working out with a coach, working out with an app yelling at me, are all very different endeavors, with different outcomes. Maybe I'm just an idiot.
Honestly no. It’s just a symptom of being a weak minded person who can’t commit to self improvement.
> Do you think that working out entirely alone vs. with a group is the same thing? Do you think there are some people that would derive a differential benefit by going with one vs. the other?
If you say ask it twice it doesn’t change the response.
> Do you think that emulating being with a group would have value for those that would otherwise value working with a group?
Of course it has value. But it’s the workout equivalent of hiring a prostitute. Find some real friends to work out with. Or just play some music and pedal.
> Do you think that anyone who falls into the "works out better with a group and a trainer, or an emulation thereof" must be an idiot? Or do you think that category simply doesn't exist?
A group, a trainer, and a spin class instructor that just yells at you on a preset rhythm are three different things.
> From my experience in competitive powerlifting, working out by myself, working out with others, working out with a coach, working out with an app yelling at me, are all very different endeavors, with different outcomes. Maybe I'm just an idiot.
I didn’t insult having a trainer or anything to do with powerlifting with a group. Hell, a spotter is all but mandatory in that situation.
I’m specifically referring to idiots paying someone to yell at them to speed up or slow down while riding a bike. You could record one session and play it back on a speaker and it’d be the same thing.
Are you saying these “weak minded” people don’t deserve to be fit, or what?
Teaching them to focus their will power would pay off much more than a “class” where there’s no actual lesson. To be clear, I’m not taking about actual instruction like a sport like tennis or a lifting program, I’m specifically referring to group cardio programs that are nothing more than loud music and an instructor feeding the participants a series of “Simon says” instructions.
I have a pretty big background in fitness (studied/taught martial arts for 15 years, coached(L1) Crossfit, was a powerlifter and also an amateur olympic lifter for a few years). I like fighting, lifting heavy, and I personally hate cardio. I live in a city that gets cold, and the Peloton sits in my room and I constantly jump on it and get my heart rate up daily. I've lost 20 pounds in the last 4 months.
Before this purchase I had never been to a spin class in my life. I'd rather bike than run, because I'm lazy and I appreciate sitting down. The Peloton classes are great and they have HIIT, EMOM's, long distance rides, and their "Power Zone" stuff guides you through hitting your VO2max, Lactate Threshold, etc.
I already have a home gym, and the bike cost + $40/mo for classes makes it so I don't have get a gym membership and drive to a gym since I can do everything at home. Plus, there are gorgeous women motivating me to work.
You may not be the ideal customer for this product, but don't call those that are idiots.
You also put additional miles on your bike with a trainer. Kind of depends on what you are looking for. Totally viable.
There are tens of millions of people in USA alone with zero desire to bike outside, who nonetheless desire some exercise experience that requires minimal knowledge or planning outside of class time.
Maybe for single people, or households where only one person is interested in it.
Have you ever tried sharing the same bike with someone else who is an entirely different size than you?
A dedicated indoor bike comes with so many quick-and-easy adjustments for my wife and I that it is just so much easier to share. It's also crazy quiet, for what that's worth.
My $400 purchase, plus $10/mo for the Peloton app has been well worth it while we're waiting for gyms to open back up (or even for dumbbells to just come back in stock).
That said I really bought this setup as a spin bike for spin classes. Which to me I don't want to put stress on my road bike and I want that resistance in the fly wheel.
I use my iPhone to connect to Trainer Road, which is a fantastic structured training app. [2] Power measurements come directly from the wahoo kickr and cadence measurements comes from the power meter that I already have on the bike. I highly recommend folks watch their YouTube channel if you want to get a feel for what they can do for you. [3]
This year I splurged for a table [4] after using a box bungy-corded to my bars before that. It's great to prop up a laptop or an iPad to pass the time/distract from the pain during a ride.
[1] https://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_trksid=p2380057.m... [2] https://www.trainerroad.com/ [3] https://www.youtube.com/user/TrainerRoad [4] https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BQZY9RL/
With the 6-8 weeks delivery estimates for Peloton, it's definitely worth the build.
I'm not sure when it happened, but the bar for saying things like "built" has become so low that we get titles and "projects" like these.
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Never mind that even if they didn't, purchasing an ipad that you occasionally stick on your bike is still a far, far higher utility than a tablet affixed to your bike that only works for biking. Those are not of equal value.
There’s really no reason to be this cheap if you want to invest in your health.
I went the DIY route for my wife (though used a slightly nicer sunny bike - the B1805) and its a great setup (or at least she says so). The only thing you miss out on is leaderboards and 1-to-1 resistance settings.
if your definition of software dev ends at the borders of California, then yes. Otherwise, not so much.
And even then, although I could afford it I'm not paying 50 bucks per month for a bike for the same reason I don't buy 7 bucks bottled water, because I don't want to flush my money down the drain
> if your definition of software dev ends at the borders of California, then yes. Otherwise, not so much.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics disagrees:
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/...
”Quick Facts: Software Developers
“2019 Median Pay: $107,510 per year / $51.69 per hour”