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My Exercise Bike Cuts Me No Slack: Peloton Cross Training Bike+ Review

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My Exercise Bike Cuts Me No Slack: Peloton Cross Training Bike+ Review

Source: geekingout.ca

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If you told me a few years ago that my exercise bike would be judging my squat form, I would have laughed. But here we are!

Admittedly I could go deeper on those goblet squats so the judgement it warranted.

The home fitness world is crowded. And what works for one person may not fit the lifestyle of another. Any company trying to make a device that supports people new on their fitness journey while also supporting fitness fanatics are faced with some pretty tough challenges to apepel to both crowds.

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Screen With Peloton Iq AnalysisScreen With Peloton Iq Analysis

Source: geekingout.ca

A small logo in the bottom left corner alerts you that Peloton IQ is working to analyze your form during strength workouts.

Peloton is using AI and fusing their experience across devices to create what might be the ultimate home fitness studio experience with the brand new Peloton Cross Training Bike+.

I’ve been testing the new Peloton Bike+ with Peloton IQ for a few weeks now, and if you’re wondering if AI can actually make you fitter (or just make you feel guilty about your form), you’re in the right place.

Peloton Cross Training Bike+ One Paragraph Review

Peloton Bike Logo

Source: geekingout.ca

This is an excellent fitness solution for anyone who is truly serious about making a transformational change in their lives. It IS expensive. Not just for the hardware, but for your monthly/annual memberhsip as well. But the quality of coaching and variety of classes paired with excellent hardware design and a geuninely useful AI integration on this new bike, truly make this a premiere piece of fitness equipment.

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5
/ 5



Pros

  • High-quality build
  • Excellent coaching and class variety
  • Geuninely useful (and private) AI

Cons

  • Expensive hardware
  • Expensive subscription
  • One colour option

Fitness Tech

Imgi 1 Bike Render

Peloton Cross Training Bike+

Geeking Out Shop

Peloton’s latest fitness bike is truly their greatest. The instant feedback on your form during workouts and sturdiness of the hardware, all in a relatively small footprint, make this a solid pick for anyone who likes to stay fit in the comfort of their own home.

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What is Peloton IQ?

The biggest feature differentiating this bike from the older bike is the AI-powered smarts. Peloton IQ is essentially the brain inside the new Bike+. It uses the new built-in camera and some clever AI to track what you are doing—not just on the bike, but for any workout you do using the sprawling swivel screen.

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Peloton Iq Camera Look Screen

Source: geekingout.ca

Peloton IQ is a prime example of AI that doesn’t suck

If you’ve ever done a home workout and wondered, “Am I doing this lunge right?” or “Did I actually do 10 reps or did I zone out and stop at 6?”, this is for you.

  • Form Feedback: During strength classes, the camera watches your movement and gives you real-time corrections. It’s not nagging; it’s helpful. Especially if you’re losing steam by the end of a long workout and your form/posture is strting to get sloppy. It reminds you (and helps you) finish strong.
  • Rep Tracking: No more counting! The system automatically tallies your reps so you can focus on breathing and not dying. Occasionally it misses a rep (like in a strength workout maybe twice), but it’s surprisingly consistent. And if you beat your reps in a strenth workout, it will suggest you increase the weight.
  • Personalized Plans: The IQ system looks at your history and goals to suggest what you should do next. It takes the “what workout should I do today?” paralysis out of the equation. This is super important because some days getting the will power to exercise is tough, so it’s one less thing you have to think about.
Strength Workout Ground

Source: geekingout.ca

Particularly in the last year, I’ve gotten pretty deep into learning about AI, large language models, agentic AI, cloud computing and more. From my knowledge and experience, I think Peloton is doing AI “right” for a lot of reasons. But the main one is all the AI stuff is happening on the bike, and not in the cloud.

Don’t be freaked out by the camera. The benefits of Peloton IQ are worth it.

Peloton Bike Camera Hidden

Source: geekingout.ca

The camera spins so you can easily hide the camera if you don’t want to use it for a certain workout.
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If you have a camera pointing at you during a workout, that’s a vulnerable place to be. So you can have some extra peace of mind knowing that video is staying in your home, and not streaming, even for a few seconds, to a cloud server to quickly analyze your form, and then send you suggestions back.

On device AI is fast and private, which is exactly what you want for your workout. But if you just don’t want the Peloton IQ support on a certain day, you can always retract the camera back into the screen.

Screen With Box And Rep Count

Source: geekingout.ca

Your reps are counted and the total combined weight for each strength exercise is tracked on screen.

2025 Peloton Bike+ Hardware Explained

The physical design of the hardware was dialed in with the previous generation, so the smarts are the biggest change, not the design when looking at the new edition of the Bike+. But there are a few nuanced changes.

Swivelled Screen

Source: geekingout.ca

The screen rotates 360 degrees on the new Cross Training Bike+
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The Swivel Screen

The 23.8-inch HD touchscreen now rotates 360 degrees. This sounds simple, but it changes everything. You can hop off the bike, spin the screen around, and roll out your yoga mat. It turns the bike from just a cycling machine into a full home gym hub.

Sound by Sonos

Peloton partnered with Sonos for the audio system, and you can tell. The front-facing speakers and rear-facing woofers make the music and instructor’s voice crystal clear. When you’re in a heavy climb and the beat drops, that immersive sound actually helps push you through.

Auto-Resistance

This is a feature that was on the previous Bike+ that carried through to the new one. But if you’re coming from a non “plus” Peloton, it’s a game changer. On the base bike, you had to manually twist the red knob every time the instructor called out a change. With “Auto-Follow,” the Bike+ automatically adjusts the resistance to match the instructor’s callouts.

You can still adjust it manually if you need a break. Which, I’ll be honest, on some of those climbs, I do. At least if I notice my heart rate zone is passing from beneficial, to unnecessary stress.

Peloton Crosstraining Bike Phone Tray Heart Rate Zone

Source: geekingout.ca

The phone tray is also a newly designed accessory for the latest Bike+ model.
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The Riding Experience

Riding the Bike+ feels premium. It’s nearly silent (great for early morning rides while the family sleeps), stable, and smooth.

Peloton Bike Rear View Fan Dk Ride

Source: geekingout.ca

The small box on the back of the screen is an optional fan to keep you cool during workouts.

When you combine the hardware with the software and your existing tech the experience is even better. The integration of Apple Watch (via GymKit) means your heart rate connects instantly. The new “Cardio Performance Estimates” give you a heads-up on how hard a class is going to be for you specifically, based on your past performance. Overall the metrics on this bike are deeper than what you’d get on the “old” model.

It feels less like you are following a video and more like you are in a private training session.

Is the new Peloton Bike+ Worth It?

This is not a cheap piece of equipment. Between the hardware cost and the monthly All-Access Membership, it’s a commitment.

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I feel very strongly that you need to do what works for you and makes sense for you. There’s so many different motivations for wanting to get fit. And there’s so many unique and “smart” (in the tech sense) ways to do it.

Fitness Tech

Imgi 1 Bike Render

Peloton Cross Training Bike+

Geeking Out Shop

The newest Peloton bikes are incredibly smart which is going to make all the difference in hitting your fitness goals. For cycling workouts, it can automatically adjust the difficulty during classes based on coaches recommendations. But the real magic happens in strength workouts (done on the swivelling built-in display). The new screens are powered by Peloton IQ which can analyze and offer suggestions to correct your form during exercise.

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My personal opinion is that the quality of classes in Peloton is the very pinnacle of what’s available and, for me, they work very well.

Peloton Screen Metrics Mid Resistance

Source: geekingout.ca

Base-level metrics are visible during on-screen workouts with a deep dive at the end of the workout.
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I’m coming at this though, from the benefit of having had some quality personal training sessions over the years with excellent in-person instructors who taught me some more advanced techniques. And the “good stuff” I remember from those IRL classes where you’re exhausted but feel stronger is present for me at the end of every Peloton workout.

But this is so personal. Apple Fitness+ has GREAT instructors and I think is a little easier entry point (and is much cheaper especially if you bundle with Apple One). I feel like Fitbit Premium has some good ideas and integrates beautifully with their Fitbit/Pixel hardware, but their interface is just way too chaotic and busy, so that can be a barrier when you’re trying to figure out a daily class or a larger-scale program. Vitruvian is awesome, but that’s just for strength and the hardware and membership are also super expensive.

Swivelled Screen With Dumb Bells

Source: geekingout.ca

Strength workouts or an excellent way to round out your cardio sessions.

I mention all these other options becuase those are some of the other brands I think you should research before making a committment to smart fitness hardware. Because even though we don’t know each other, if you’re at this point in the article, you must have a serious level of interest in your personal fitness, and I want to see you succeed.

I’d suggest the Peloton Bike + for anyone who:

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  • Has tried other fitness programs and wants to take things to “the next level”
  • Would be motivated by the fact that “I spent thousands of dollars on this thing so I’m gonna use it.”
  • Wants the VERY BEST fitness and coaching classes and programs (where a program is a long-term collection of classes designed around specific goals)
  • Recognizes that strength training is an essential part of the overall fitness mix (not just cardio)
  • Would benefit from an AI note to improve your form, add weight, or track your metrics and progress over time
Peloton Camera Shot

Source: geekingout.ca

Peloton IQ isn’t a gimmick, it’s a genuinely useful tool to guide you through workouts and improve your form.

If you just want to spin your legs and sweat, the original Peloton Bike is great. If you’re wishy washy about your fitness comttiment and don’t see yourself making exercise part of your daily routine, it’s likely not worth the investmnet.

But if you want a personal trainer that lives in your spare room (and doesn’t judge you for sweating in your pajamas), the Bike+ is a fantastic upgrade. It may be one of the best investments you make in your entire life.

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Fitness

New workout makes fitness more accessible for moms

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New workout makes fitness more accessible for moms

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (Dakota News Now) – Finding time to work out as a mom with young kids can be a challenge in itself, especially when you’re new to an area and don’t know where to start. However, a new fitness option strolled into Sioux Falls today. iStroll offers moms the chance to work out and meet other moms all while their kids can play or even join alongside them.

iStroll is a national organization that has more than 35 locations in the country but this is the first time one opened in South Dakota. It’s a full body workout that incorporates dumbbells, body weight, and jogging strollers when the weather’s nice.

“I found iStroll in Oklahoma and fell in love,” said Kelsi Supek who started the affiliate in Sioux Falls. “We made friends. It became our entire social network. The kids loved it and then we moved to Arizona during COVID. And all the moms were stuck at home. They were inside with our kids and lonely, honestly. And we were like, why can’t we start an iStroll and be out at the parks with the kids every day? And it took off.”

When Supek moved to Sioux Falls, she was encouraged by her family to start an affiliate and own it herself.

“Gym daycares did not work out for my children,” said Supek. “I would get 10 minutes into a class and then I’d have that person trying to knock outside the yoga studio going, Can I have Kelsey and her kids screaming in daycare? And it just didn’t work for us. So at iStroll they could be with me or I could be breastfeeding the baby as I was teaching in class.”

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Classes are planned to continue each Wednesday and Friday at We Rock the Spectrum and First Presbyterian Church. For a full schedule for January and February, you can look at their Facebook. The first class is also free and memberships are for the whole family.

“Letting the kids see you work out is, it’s similar to homeschooling where like, you know, how are they going to love working out if they don’t see you working out,” said Kelly Jardeleza, a stay-at-home mom of three kids. “Whereas at other gyms they put them in a room and they don’t get to watch you. And how are you going to inspire them if they’re not watching you do it?”

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Fitness

Share your health and fitness questions for Devi Sridhar, Mariella Frostrup, and Joel Snape

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Share your health and fitness questions for Devi Sridhar, Mariella Frostrup, and Joel Snape

There’s no bad time to take a more active interest in your health, but the new year, for lots of us, feels like a fresh start. Maybe you’re planning to sign up for a 10k or finally have a go at bouldering, eat a bit better or learn to swing a kettlebell. Maybe you want to keep up with your grandkids — or just be a little bit more physically prepared for whatever life throws at you.

To help things along, Guardian Live invites you to a special event with public health expert Devi Sridhar, journalist and author Mariella Frostrup, and health and fitness columnist Joel Snape. They’ll be joining the Guardian’s Today in Focus presenter Annie Kelly to discuss simple, actionable ways to stay fit and healthy as you move through the second half of life: whether that means staying strong and mobile or stressing less and sleeping better.

To make the whole event as helpful as possible, we’d love to hear from you about what you find most challenging — or confusing — when it comes to health and exercise. What should you actually be eating, and how are you going to find the time to make it? What sort of exercise is best, and how often should you be doing it? Is Pilates worth the effort — and should we really all be drinking mugfuls of piping hot creatine?

Whether your question is about exercise, eating, or general wellness, post it below and we’ll put a selection to our panel on the night.

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