If you’re looking for a fun and effective way to stay fit indoors, chances are you’ve come across Peloton (or maybe you even own one). With its live and on-demand classes, Peloton has become a go-to choice for at-home cycling workouts.
But what if there was a way to make indoor training even more engaging?
Enter VR cycling — a new way to work out that goes beyond traditional spin classes. Instead of staring at a screen, you’re fully immersed in breathtaking 360-virtual worlds, completing tasks, competing in challenges, and even riding alongside friends in multiplayer events.
Both Peloton and VR cycling offer structured, effective workouts, but they deliver vastly different experiences. In this guide, we’ll break down how VR cycling works, how it compares to Peloton, and whether it might be the better fit for your indoor training routine.
Let’s dive in!
What is VR Cycling?
VR cycling is like a spin class mixed with a video game.
You hop on your stationary bike, put on a VR headset, and ride through stunning virtual worlds while exploring, following guided training programs, or competing with others in real-time.
It was designed to make fitness fun, motivating, and engaging, and various studies actually prove that it delivers on its promise.
A University of Kent study reported that exercising in VR lessens the perceived pain intensity by an incredible 10%. To build on that, University of Georgia researchers have found that high-intensity cycling is 12 – 13% less painful when combined with virtual reality.
But VR fitness cycling also helps with motivation and keeps users coming back. The MOTIVE study by the University of Maryland demonstrated that virtual reality apps like HOLOFIT could effectively encourage users to increase physical activity.
Want to try it? Let’s go over how VR cycling works if you have everything that you need, and how you can give it a try.
How does VR Cycling Work?
Setting up a VR cycling session may be simpler than you think. Here’s what you’ll need:
- A Meta Quest Headset
Meta Quest 3 and 3S are both great choices for VR cycling. You can get them from the official Meta Quest website or your local electronics store.
In addition to VR cycling, you’ll also be able to use this headset for a variety of VR experiences, entertainment, functional apps, and educational ones.
- An Indoor Bicycle
Any indoor bike can be turned into a VR cycling machine, no matter how cheap or expensive it may be (and yes, that includes the Peloton bike) with the addition of a simple cadence sensor.
- A Cadence Sensor (Affordable, you can get one on Amazon)
A variety of cadence sensors can turn your indoor bike into a VR cycling machine. It is attached to the bike pedal of your bike and then sends Bluetooth cadence data into the VR cycling app to translate your movement into the VR worlds.
Some of the sensors we’ve tested and know work include the IGPSport Cadence Sensor, Garmin Cadence Sensor 2, Magene Cadence Sensor (Gemini 210, S3+), Wahoo Cadence Sensor, FitCare Cadence Sensor, Moofit Cadence Sensor, COOSPO BK9C Cadence Sensor.
If you’re unsure of whether you have the right sensor, you can always reach out to support(a)holodia.com
- A VR Cycling App
Try the leading VR cycling app HOLOFIT (also supports VR running on the elliptical, VR rowing, and no-equipment bodyweight workouts).
HOLOFIT offers over 15 virtual worlds, some of which are based on real cities such as Paris or Venice, some on natural environments such as Tropical or Snowy Mountains, some on fantasy worlds such as Aurvangar or Troglodyte, some on historical sites such as Babylon, and some on real sporting events such as the Grand Sablon desert marathon or Auguebelette.
You can cycle through these worlds in 6 different workout modes, from the relaxed Journey mode where you’re free to explore at your own pace and collect hidden trophies to guided cardio training programs such as HIIT training.
HOLOFIT is subscription-based but offers a free demo mode and a free 7-day trial so that you can test out the app and see if it’s right for you.
Peloton vs. VR Cycling Workouts
How does VR cycling compare to Peloton? Although similar in concept, VR cycling takes your workouts a bit further.
Go beyond your home
With Peloton, you take in content via your tablet screen – and that’s certainly more fun than staring at your wall. But virtual reality takes it to the next level by fully immersing you in amazing virtual worlds.
The HOLOFIT VR cycling app offers over 15 virtual worlds – with new ones in the making –
- Tropical
- Babylon
- Snowy Mountains
- Aurvangar
- Nihon
- Troglodyte
- Cyberpunk
- Paris
- Venice
- NYC
- Antarctica
- Canyon
- Cambridge
- Aiguebelette
- Grand Sablon
- Saturn
- Underwater
- San Francisco
Turn workouts into games
While Peloton mostly consists of trainer-led classes, HOLOFIT offers a variety of different gameplays. It’s got something for someone.
Journey: Choose your own pace and explore the amazing virtual worlds. Along the way, try to collect the hidden trophies. Not only does each trophy carry a certain amount of points for the leaderboard, but it also tells the story of the virtual world you’re exploring.
CardioGoals: Guided cardio training programs for a variety of fitness goals and levels: HIIT, Fat Burn, Cardio, and Interval Training are available in a variety of lengths and difficulty levels.
Performance Mode: The first time you ride, you’ll set a distance record for a certain time. Periodically, you can challenge this record and try to beat your best score in competitive play, a ghost of your past best performance. Or you can try competing with the community!
Multiplayer & Race Modes: Race other HOLOFIT members (or your friends who use HOLOFIT) in real-time, or challenge AI bots designed to match your level to a race.
More than just VR cycling
Some VR fitness platforms offer a variety beyond VR cycling.
You can use HOLOFIT on your indoor bike, elliptical, rowing machine, or you can even use it without any equipment for Freestyle, or bodyweight exercises.
Similarly to indoor bikes, HOLOFIT works with any elliptical (with a cadence sensor) and any rowing machine (without any add-ons). If you happen to have multiple machines, you can use them all with HOLOFIT to create a super workout routine.
Now, even if you have a fitness machine, we recommend that you use HOLOFIT Freestyle periodically, to ensure you target different parts of your body in your routine. Choose Freestyle, and give HOLOFIT Combo Workouts a try: a series of exercises such as boxing, karate, squats, ball throwing, whack-a-donkey, and more, in beautiful HOLOFIT locations.
Track your progress
Both fitness tools, Peloton and HOLOFIT let you track your progress over time with various motivation tools, both individual and competitive, like community leaderboards, user levels and points, and more.
For added motivation, HOLOFIT also hosts monthly challenges each month when the users have to complete a series of tasks to earn their monthly certificate. It’s like a badge of honor in the community!
Peloton vs. VR Cycling Costs
You may be surprised, but VR cycling is actually more affordable than Peloton. Let’s break it down.
Peloton Basic Costs
- Peloton Bike: Two kinds available, the Plus and the original bike. The original bike is more affordable at $1445 while the Plus stands at $2495.
- Peloton App Membership: To access Peloton content, you’ll need a subscription that starts at $44/month.
Total Peloton cycling basic costs for the first year: $1973 with the original bike or $3023 with the Plus bike.
VR Cycling Basic Costs
- Meta Quest headset: Two kinds available, the Meta Quest 3 and the Meta Quest 3S. The Meta Quest 3S is more affordable and starts at $299 while the 3 starts at $499.
- Indoor bike: Any indoor bike will do, as cheap as $50 or as expensive as the Peloton.
- Cadence sensor: A cadence sensor like the Garmin Cadence Sensor 2 will set you back $39.
- HOLOFIT subscription: Like Peloton, HOLOFIT is also subscription-based, but the monthly plan stands at $11.99 while a full year will cost you $83.99.
Total VR cycling basic costs for the first year: around $422 with your old bike. If you’re buying new, just add the bike price on top of the headset, annual subscription, and cadence sensor.
If you have everything that you need, you can try HOLOFIT VR cycling for free. Download HOLOFIT to your Meta Quest headset and start your 7-day free trial today!
