Biking outside isn't equivalent to spin classes. I say this as someone who used to do spin classes frequently, and now bikes outside multiple times per week.

The motivation and enjoyment you get from the music and the instructor is more comparable to a cardio dance class, or even dancing at a nightclub, than it is to road biking.

Biking outside also requires much more will power, especially if the weather isn't perfect, and is much less safe.

There's definitely an argument to be made that Peloton is overpriced, but the argument that you can just as easily road bike doesn't hold water for most people.

I've never done a spin class and don't enjoy going to the gym.

To me, biking outside is wonderfully exhilarating and is a godsend. It's about the only form of cardio I don't find unbearably dull.

My point is that they are two separate activities. People who say they love dance classes generally don't get told they should road bike instead, because one is not a substitute for the other.

Since you have never tried a spin class, you should give it a shot. They're very fun and motivating.

I'm pretty much allergic to group activities like that so I don't think it's for me.

I'm not saying you're wrong to find the one more motivating than the other, just that not everyone sees outdoor biking as unsafe, and some people do get a really great buzz from it.

Different strokes for different folks...

It's the constant change of scenery, the illusion I'm transported even when going in circles. Although, I'm fussy about cold weather riding, so a stationary bike can be useful.

Yup. And the breeze in my face and the feeling of acceleration.

I enjoy cold weather riding when I actually do it, but I am pretty bad for just not starting.

"Looks nasty out there, maybe I'll go tomorrow..."

If you treat it like meditation, it can be great. You let your body handle the motions, and you can just zone out.

I know this is sort of a meme reply on this forum but this does remind me of the dropbox comment (https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9224)

Peloton comes ready to go out of the box - you don't need to do any research or find and try out bike groups. It's just way, way easier

Definitely accurate, but is the research P or NP though? I.e. does each person who wants to buy a bike instead of a Peloton need to do the same amount of research, or can the entire company be put out of business by one person writing a good blog post and cutting down the research each person needs to do by 90%?

I suspect there are a lot of startups with this vulnerability. There was a company I talked with a year or two ago that made security cameras, and the entire company was built around the assumption that consumers wouldn't ever figure out that renters insurance was less expensive than the camera subscription.

Real bikes have also one important advantage: you are force to leave the house and be in the sun. This has a ton of positive effects on both physical and mental health.

Still, exercise at home is still better than no exercise.

Gatekeeping how people do exercise is one of the reasons why a lot of people skip on it.

There are tons of possible reasons why someone might prefer a peloton to a road bike, implying one is better than the other is just naive at best.

"Oh but you get free coaching from your peers" oh you mean more people to bikeshed how I exercise and more conflicting information? What's not to like huh

I am sorry, I don't understand your reply: did you read my comment as somehow booing peloton?

If so, that was not my intent, different people have different reasons for preferring one activity over another, I just wanted to highlight that being outdoor is useful in itself, and should be considered when choosing what to do.

I hate doing physical activity with people, so the "peers" part is especially outside of what I meant :)

Not really, I'm mostly disagreeing with whom you replied to, and agreeing with your statement: "exercise at home is still better than no exercise"

Which is why I replied to you instead of directly to the main comment.

Some people prefer to avoid the sun, especially during the high UV-index hours.

But it's not just leaving the house and being in the sun, the second you're on a road you're dealing with a constant form of socializing that just isn't very pleasant and has (for a lot of people) a pretty high level of stress you've to initially get past (cars, even other cyclists).

You can also just put them on rollers and use them inside, which is still better exercise than a stationary bike because it forces you to use your core muscles.

For me - I can't get hit by a car while riding my stationary.

- You can't breath the tail pipe on a car either. - Or get hit by a bus, the front end of which makes no noise. - or hit a pedestrian doing something unpredictable

Yeah at least in NYC there are bike paths and greenways everywhere. My normal rides are 30 - 40 miles, and of that 2.8 miles are on roads but only around 500 meters aren’t in a bike lane. It’s still dangerous right now in NYC, but in another 5 years we’ll likely see the KSI rate go down by another 25% due to a combination of bike infrastructure investment and laws mandating safer cars and trucks.

Even with the current risks though, the years you’re adding to your life expectancy still greatly outweigh the additional micromorts you’re taking on.

I think OP's point remains though, right? A stationary bike gives all the upsides (increase in health) and 0 of the downsides of riding outside (death).

And yet none of the many outdoors cyclists who switch to indoor for the worst months of winter stay indoor when the seasons change again. That list of upsides cannot be complete.

This seems like the Netflix of exercise. It's on-demand (I'm guessing?), you just get on and there are probably groups riding. You don't have to arrange a meeting where Bob's calendar's is full for the next 3 weeks and oops, it's a rainy day, let's move it to next week oh wait next week Susan has ...

Are you really asking why someone would use an indoor stationary bike vs. an outdoor bike? Sorry to be rude, but how are the differences and reasons not absolutely crystal clear?

Not everywhere has road bike friendly weather year-round. Riding a bike in the snow to commute may be desirable for its own reasons: saving gas/parking money, beating traffic, being environmentally-friendly, whatever. Doing it for exercise, with all the gear involved, sounds supremely not fun.

I love both cycling outside when the weather is nice, as well as pounding on a stationary bike at the gym or at home.

Both reside under 'cycling' exercises, yet both are very different. On the 'real' bike I love exploring small country roads and nature trails, something impossible indoors.

On the stationary bike I love exploring limits and pushing for new heights on perfectly standardized interval training segments, something that would be extremely dangerous on a real bicycle outdoors.

People that love riding stationary bikes get this 'but why don't you just go cycling outside' question a lot. I guess it is the same for people running on treadmills. The answer is it is just different sports/exercises, and you can love them both or just one of them.

I don't compare my road bike to my Peloton, they are two different tools. My peloton I use for very dialed in training. At home, it’s 100% focus on maintaining zone without any distractions (like getting hit by the supply of over SV unicorns postmate/seamless/ caviar delivery e-bikes,ubers, lyfts, via vans, revel scooters, etc)... it’s also a great time saver when you can hop on for 30 and be working immediately, vs wasting a 10 min prep/cool down with the road bike, or walk to the gym, and time to get going. Long Saturday/Sunday AM, long road bike ride. Monday to Friday 5:30a or 11p, Peloton. My road bike is just a different tool.

I totally get the benefits of indoor training. Especially since it takes me 20 minutes to get ready, and then 30% of my miles end up just being garbage miles anyway.

In general though it seems like Zwift is much more popular than Peloton among actual cyclists. Maybe this is just because Zwift sponsors pro cyclists and Peloton is actually better, I have no idea, but for the most part it seems like relatively few people own both a Peloton and a bike.

That's why I was assuming that for most people they are either going to spend 2.5k or a Peloton or 2.5k on a bike, but not both. But I totally get that anyone who owns a bike will spend a large percentage of the time training indoors.

As someone that used to ride outside 5 days a week, I've found riding indoors much easier to fit into my schedule. I can get in an hour on Zwift with only about 5 mins of getting geared up. Riding outside takes more time to prepare, and is tougher to schedule with dwindling daylight hours and less than ideal weather. I'm on a Tuesday & Thursday indoor, Saturday outdoor schedule now.

Peloton is far from the only option. I use Zwift for software and the BKool Smart Air with a Wahoo desk for equipment. Several companies are releasing full indoor bikes as well. Wahoo's Kickr Bike looks to be the front runner.

https://zwift.com/

https://store.bkool.com/en/174-bkool-smart-air-simulator.htm...

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/accessories/wahoo-fitnes...

https://uk.wahoofitness.com/devices/smart-bike/kickr-bike

Joining a cycling club also has the added bonus of social interactions, which is beneficial to your mental health.

I very much prefer to exercise alone. The last thing I want is someone yelling at me and telling what to do. I can pretty much figure it out on my own.

As for social interactions, I have real friends with whom I spend real time which pretty much takes care of my "mental health" assuming it is in danger ;)

Sometimes extra social interactions is the last thing I want after interacting all day at work.

Everyone else has pretty much explained all the reasons why a stationary bike can work better than an actual bike for fitness... Funny thing is I'm really likely to get a good street bike now since I'm in such good shape to use one.

For me its safety. I have a young family, no chance of vehicular collision on a stationary bike.