September 01, 2020 at 11:07AM

Tips for setting up your Peloton bike (or any spin bike) with seat height, seat position, handlebar positions, and how to clip and unclip your pedals. 

I’ve been participating in an exciting Instagram advice mission lately: helping reader friends set up their Peloton bikes. I’ve had the bike for two years but have taught cycling classes for 11 years now (WHAT), so quite a few people have reached out to me for help on how to set up their bikes. (One week, I helped four people set up their bikes via photos and video!) I feel like Peloton does a lot of things right, but when I first got the bike myself, I was so thankful that I was an advanced spinner, because otherwise I would have felt lost with the initial process. I didn’t feel like the setup video was very thorough or helpful. They breezed through a lot of the details but thankfully, I was easily able to set it up myself.

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I thought I’d make a video here for my friends who have recently purchased a Peloton or another spin bike or need to adjust their current settings.

The right settings can make such a huge difference in how your ride feels and can also help to protect injury and pain in your knees, ankles, wrists, and low back. As always, be smart when you’re setting up any type of fitness equipment. Ask for someone to help you if you need it!

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How to set up your Peloton bike (or any spin bike!)

First, you’ll want to plug in the bike and get it connected to Wifi. From here, you’ll create a profile or log into an existing profile. This part is pretty easy! Next, you’ll need to personalize your bike settings by adjusting the seat height, position, and handlebars.

Watch the video for all of my tips on how to adjust the Peloton bike (or any spin bike) here:

Some tips: 

– Watch your fingers! Make sure they’re never on the portion of the bike that will be moving so you don’t pinch yourself

– Loosen each knob entirely before adjusting positions

– Tighten the knobs to support your body. Make sure they’re fulling tightened before riding.

Tips for settings:

Seat height:

– For seat height, a nice starting point is to line the bike seat height up with your hip bone. This is not always an accurate end point, but a good starting point; you can adjust from here. You may need to lower the seat a couple of settings, depending on how straight your leg is once you clip into the bike.

– Clip into the bike and fully extend one leg (the other leg is bent). Your straight leg should be ALMOST totally straight and your foot is flexed (parallel to the floor). There should be a tiny bend at the knee to protect your knee as you ride. Make sure your knee isn’t extremely bent here. Look for a small bend at the knee and ensure your leg isn’t totally locked out.

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Seat position:

– For seat position, this is how far forward or back the seat will be. You’ll extend one leg again and bend the other, and from here, take a look at your bent knee. Your bent knee should be directly above the ankle on that side. If your knee too far forward or back, you will absolutely feel this in your knee. (This easy tweak can making riding so much more comfortable!) If you knee is lined up PAST your ankle, scoot your seat back a bit. If your knee is too far back, scoot your seat forward.

Handlebar position:

– For handlebar position, this is more of a personal preference than anything. You’ll want to make sure that the handlebars are high enough so that you aren’t slouching down and that you can maintain a long spine while you’re riding. Also make sure they aren’t too high so that you can keep your shoulders down and relaxed as you ride.

How the heck to unclip and clip into the bike:

– The Peloton uses Look Delta clips. I feel like SPD is more common, but sometimes you can change out the type of clips on your shoes if you already own a pair of cycling shoes. To clip into the bike, you’ll want the hard plastic part to slide and click into the base. You’ll hear an audible click and know you’re locked in. Sometimes it helps to put some bodyweight into your shoe as you clip in.

– To unclip can be rather tricky, especially with new shoes. Ideally, you’ll point your toe down (make sure that pedal is in the down position) as you rotate from your ankle to unclip. TBH, I feel like this is unsafe for newbie riders since you can tweak your knee with the external ankle rotation. Instead, I recommend taking the shoes off while you’re still on the bike, leaving them clipped in. Once you’re off the bike, you can press the shoe so it’s toe-down and pull the heel towards you to unclip. (Watch the video above for exactly how to do this!)

Peloton gear I love:

Light weights

Water bottle

Sweat towel

Cleaning wipes

Screen wipes

I think that’s it! If you guys need help with your setup, send me a pic on Instagram and I’d be happy to take a look.

Are you a spin fan? Fellow Peloton friends, leave your leaderboard name in the comments! I’m quadhangover

xo

Gina

*Friendly note here that this isn’t sponsored in any way. You can check out my review of the bike here and of the app here. I also created a sample Peloton workout plan here. 

The post How to set up your Peloton bike (or any spin bike!) appeared first on The Fitnessista.

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