Currently trying to raise funding on Kickstarter, Peloton has designed a powerful exercise bike that essentially brings the gym to you. No more will you have to fight traffic at the gym to get the best machines. Even better, forget those bikes with the wobbly stand!
The Peloton Bike is equipped with an Android 4.1 unit, powered by a 1.5GHz TI OMAP 4470 processor and 1GB of RAM. Here’s the full list of specs on the internal hardware front:
- 1.5GHZ TI OMAP 4470 processor
- 1GB of installed RAM
- 16GB of internal storage
- 802.11 b/g/n Wi-Fi connectivity
- ANT+
- Bluetooth 4.0
- Ethernet port
- Integrated microphone and webcam
In addition, the whole thing is connected to a 21.5-inch 1080p multi-touch display. I’m sure you’re wondering now why all this power is necessary for just a simple exercise bike, right?
The whole thing is going to allow users to connect to Peloton’s NYC studios so that they can stream live broadcasts on demand. Bundled with the bike will be a year’s subscription to the spin classes offered by the company. After that year runs out though, spin classes will cost $40 a month. Phew, maybe the gym isn’t looking too bad after all.
The bike itself also includes a belt drive instead of the traditional chain-based system, and a magnetic resistance system to help prevent wear and tear on the flywheel during use. Those are fancy ways of saying they tried developing the bike so it’s more durable. I guess we’ll find out soon enough whether that’s true or not.
By pre-ordering now through Kickstarter you can get a Peloton bike for $1,700, compared to the regular cost which looks to be about $2,200 (don’t quote me on that). That’s not a bad deal all around, but the monthly subscription for the spin classes sure makes me cringe.
Right now, the project has raised a total of about $130,000, which is more than halfway to its funding goal of $250,000. As of the time of this writing there were 126 backers with 28 days left to go.
What do you think of the bike? Will you consider buying one if it reaches its funding goal?