Maybe that happened because it was so expensive? If you’d bought a $200 exercise bike that was functionally the same, would you have achieved the same thing?
I've owned the bike for 3 years and IMO Peloton's value is the class content, not the device. I've mentioned it before on HN and having tried many services over the years, I don't think anyone but Apple has even come close to providing the same kind of consistent value for general fitness instruction, and they had Peloton's product to draw from when they created it.
I don't think I'm alone in finding the task of designing workout plans challenging, and often demotivating. Obviously it's not the same as paying for coaching or personal training, but being able to open up the app and just have a workout ready to go is valuable to me. I understand some being miffed that the subscription cost is higher for those who own Peloton hardware, but the price point is still much lower than what I would be paying (and was paying) for local classes.
I don't know if this is valuable enough to sustain the business, but I hope it is.
