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Peloton Leaderboard – Numbers and Position

Apr 25, 2019 | Cycling, Peloton, Technology | 30 comments

The Peloton leaderboard contains a great deal of information on how you’re performing, both against others who are taking / have taken your class as well as how you’ve performed in the past. It’s a fairly data-packed screen, so let’s get into it…

Leaderboard status line

Exhibit A is my own line item on the leaderboard, taken from a point in which I’m about 2/3rds through an on-demand ride. Let me start with the numbers (and other data you see here) before I go onto the leaderboard as a whole.

Personal Record Information

The very top line (that begins with a star) shows me my best effort for the length of class I’m taking. From this, you can tell that the screen shot is from a 45 minute class. The top bar shows my personal record for a 45-minute class (which is 512 kj). On the far right of the bar, you see the number 325. That number is a pacing number. It shows me what my pace was for the ride in which I got my PR. At this point in time in this ride (not the PR ride), I had made only 222 kj (see below for how I know that), so I know that I’m behind the pace for a PR (actually, WAY behind :).

If I am ahead of the pace for a PR, I’ll know it because this whole PR bar will appear below my status, instead of above it. This is handy, because you can tell at a glance if you are headed for a PR or not. Note that you have to have taken at least one class of the same length before you will see the PR bar.

Where I am in the Group

Next, let’s get into the status bar. The first number you see on the left (25) is my position on the ride. This may be my position overall, or it might just be my position within the filtered group (not enough information shown to know). Sometimes you’ll see your position number with another number below it in parentheses, and the number in parentheses indicates the unfiltered position. More on that later.

Moving to the right, you see my avatar. Surrounding my avatar is a partially complete white circle, going from the 12:00 position clockwise to about the 8:00 position or so. This is a visual representation of how far along in the class I am. When he clock is half full (that is, reaches the 6:00 position), I’m halfway through the ride. Note that this clock display of time is only available on on-demand rides — if you’re riding in a live class you will see your avatar but not the clock display.

Next to the right is my leaderboard name (LeftShark), with some information below it. The information below is my location label from my Peloton profile and also my gender and age group (you can choose to show or hide this through your Peloton preferences on your bike). None of these have anything to do with position, they just identify me.

Total Output

The big number on the far right, the one that really counts, is your total output. This number is the same as the one you see at the bottom of your data display (for information on total output and how it’s calculated, see my previous post: Your Peloton Screen). This is the number that determines your rank on the leaderboard.

Filters, Followers and High-Fives

Here’s a second screen shot that illustrates a few other elements of the leaderboard. First, instead of seeing all riders, you are looking at a list of those “Here now” (a distinction made for on-demand rides). Here now, as the name suggests, shows riders that are doing the on-demand ride the same time you are. Now, not all riders on an on-demand ride are at the same point of the ride, but we’ll get to that.

In addition to showing the “here now” riders, this list is further filtered to the subset of riders that I am following. In this case, the list is now limited to just two riders, myself and Mighty Unicorn. You can see next to Mighty Unicorn’s name the outline of a person (or, at least, a bust), which indicates that I am following her.

Before I look at what we can see in the other riders’ line, let me review my own data. I am in second place in the filtered list (of two riders). I am also 69th among riders who are “here now”. The clock circle around my avatar indicate that I have only just begun the ride (maybe a minute or so into it, it’s hard to tell exactly). On the right of my leaderboard line, the number 1 indicates that I’ve generated only 1kj on my ride so far.

Just above my leaderboard line is my PR line. It shows that my PR for this length of ride (which happens to be 45 minutes) is 512, and at this point in my PR-setting ride, I’d already generated 10kj.

Let’s take a look at what we see on Mighty Unicorn’s leaderboard line (again, left to right).

First, you see the number 1 and (29). That indicates that she’s in first place in the filtered list (of people I follow) and 29th in the list of people doing the ride at the moment. (For comparison, I’m second on the filtered list, but 69th in the unfiltered list. It is not shown on this display the total number of people on the unfiltered list.)

To the right of these two numbers is Unicorn’s avatar. Notice the hand icon superimposed on the avatar. This indicates that Unicorn has high-fived me. If I tap the avatar, I will high-five her back, and the hand icon will disappear. I can high-five Unicorn or any other rider –even if I haven’t been high-fived myself– by tapping on her icon. Once you have high-fived someone, there is a waiting period before you can high-five again. I haven’t heard the phrase “high-five spam” used, but that’s what we’d call it if it were a thing. The delay is there to try to help us avoid annoying each other with repeated high-fives.

You can also see that the white “clock” ring around Mighty Unicorn is much more filled in than mine. It’s hard to see exactly how filled in it is because of the hand icon, but it looks like she is about 2/3rds through the ride. So, how does my 1kj effort at, say, one minute compare with her 222kj at, say, 35 minutes? There’s no way to directly compare those, unfortunately, so it is difficult to tell how you’re doing against others in an on-demand ride unless you start at more or less the same time.

Decoding the Leaderboard

Finally, let’s look at the leaderboard near the end of a ride, and decode the information.

Again, I’ll start with myself, now in 44th position (among the riders “riding now”). The circle clock tells you I’m about 3/4th done with the ride, the 308kj I have generated is behind my PR pace of 396. (You can also tell at a glance that I’m behind my PR pace, because the PR bar is above my leaderboard entry.)

In 41st place, at the top of the image, is “harrydorn”, who looks to be just a couple minutes away from finishing. He’s 5kj ahead of me (313 vs 308), so will I pass him? It’s hard to say, but given that I probably have ten more minutes or so than he does left, my guess is yes, I will. I can’t be more exact than that. (Incidentally, if I click on harrydorn’s name instead of his avatar, I’ll see his current resistance and RPMs, which is handy if, say, I’m slightly ahead and want to make sure I can hold off a surge).

In 42nd place is “BGPackergirl”. You can see that there is a checkmark superimposed on her avatar. This indicates that she has finished her ride. Her final output is 310, and will not continue to increase. You can also see that her avatar is slightly dimmed, which indicates that she has logged out of Peloton. Note that you can high-five a rider who has finished (checkmark but not dimmed), but you can’t high-five a rider who has logged out (dimmed avatar).

Next is “SassfroMass”, in 43rd place. Sass (can I call you Sass?) also has 310 kj and looks to be just about finished with his (her?) ride. The checkmark hasn’t appeared, so he’s not completely finished, but the clock circle is complete so the end of the ride is probably only seconds away. Will he pass GBPackergirl to take 42nd place? Probably, but it’s not guaranteed.

Below me is “jholloway7”, with 307kj, in 45th place. Note that jholloway7’s clock is just about as complete as mine, which tells you that we started at more or less the same time and are on pace for a similar finish. My passing SassfroMass, GBPackerGirl and even harrydorn seems pretty much guaranteed, but I’m neck and neck with jholloway7 and if I’m watching the leaderboard he’s the one I need to keep my eye on.

One final note about leaderboard position on on-demand rides. Your position on the leaderboard may not be particularly meaningful, because you are being compared to other riders wherever they are on their own rides. A rider who started the ride thirty minutes earlier will probably remain ahead of you on the leaderboard up until just about the end of your ride (if you even catch them), and a rider who starts thirty minutes later than you probably will not catch up to you before you’re finished even if they’re significantly faster. The only real comparisons you can make are across riders who have all completed the ride.


So, that’s the leaderboard in a nutshell. If you have any questions or feel that I’ve left anything out, please let me know in the comments and I’ll try to address any loose threads.

30 Comments

  1. Roberta

    I don’t understand why when I join a live class I’m already ranked in the 200s or so.

    Reply
    • Robbie

      That happens to me too. My guess is that some people don’s use the first few seconds/minutes as warm-up (as it is supposed to be and recommended by the instructors) but immediately push hard fome the “Go” sign.

      Reply
    • Anne

      I think it’s because it ranks everyone who has started the ride. So people who pop in and log back out again are at the very bottom of the list. If you are there for even a few seconds, you have done more than them.

      Reply
  2. Kristin Blackman

    When I go to filter the “Following” option is grayed out and I can’t select it. How do I enable that filter option?

    Reply
    • Ryan Cave - CaveRealty.com

      I am guessing that you need to be following some folks, and perhaps at least one of them even need to be in the same class/ride that you are, to be able to filter by those you are “following”.

      Reply
      • Ryan

        I don’t have that option either- it’s not even greyed out. All I can do is filter for here now or all.

        Reply
  3. Lisa

    Super helpful – bless you!

    Reply
  4. Julie Schuck

    What does”#GetSitDone” represent, and how do I add it if desired?

    Reply
    • Brygs

      The line under your leaderboard name is the “location” field on your profile. So in the picture, you see “#GetSithDone”, that’s literally what I’d typed in the location field (it was my Power Zone team name at the time). This line may start with your gender and age group (decade) if you did not choose to hide those in your profile.

      Reply
  5. Michelle

    When you are following someone, I know you can see their output during a ride, but can you also see their cadence and resistance?

    Reply
    • Brygs

      Yes, just tap their name (not their avatar picture) and you’ll see cadence and resistance. If it’s an on-demand ride, you’ll also see where they are (time-wise) in their own ride (for example, you may be on a hill, but they may already be over it)

      Reply
  6. James McGrath

    That was super helpful, THANK YOU! I had no idea how much information was packed in there, or all of the options. I was just so excited to jump on the bike and go.

    Reply
  7. merrill barden

    I always activate the filter for gender/age. I’m usually the only “here now” (is this due to the filtering?) so revert to “all”. I see two position numbers: is one for “all” that have activated the same filter as me ( two smaller numbers one of which represents my position on the leader board) ; then two much larger numbers which suggest they represent my results versus everyone that has done this on demand ride. Hopefully you can clarify this. Thanks merrill Barden

    Reply
  8. Steve Feller

    Thanks for the post. Been riding for years but never had a measurement of output and have always gone by calories. Is there a relationship between those? Is one a “better” measure than the other?

    Reply
    • Brygs

      Calories burned is the product of a more complex formula involving, among other things, your weight. There is not one universally accepted formula for calories burned, and indeed Peloton changed its calorie formula a couple of years ago to bring it more in line with other fitness apps (and everybody’s Peloton calorie data changed overnight!). Output is much less abstract and IMHO a better indicator of your fitness. Suppose you gain or lose a few pounds. Putting in the same effort then will give you the same output, but different calories burned. In short, because everyone uses calories you might want to if you’re trying to monitor trends across different apps or systems. If you want to compare your Peloton performance today to your Peloton performance in the past or the future, I’d say output is definitely the way to go.

      Reply
      • Steve Feller

        Thanks. And have been doing just that over the last 3 months and have a good sense of what is a PR and how much under it is typical for me on a given ride length. My next step is taking the Zone training and testing and begin working on FTp improvements and see how they drive Kjs.

        Reply
  9. Melody

    Thanks for this blog, it’s really helped me decipher the leaderboard which up to now I haven’t really been able to use!

    On the fundraising link, thank you, I will contribute.

    I’m starting a website which aims to improve the process for seeking out pets online and wondered if you would contribute by writing a blog for the site?

    Do let me know if you’re interested.
    All the best

    Reply
    • Brygs

      I’d be interested in a site like that. Once you get it off the ground let me know and I might be on board to contribute a blog post or two.

      Reply
  10. Sandy

    Brygs, why is MightyUnicorns total number of people here now so much lower than yours (29 vs 69)? Shouldn’t they be the same since you’re both in the same ride?

    Reply
    • Brygs

      The number in parentheses is the rider’s leaderboard position in an unfiltered list. So, MightyUnicorn is 1st in my filtered list, and I am second, but if I hadn’t filtered the list she’d be 29th and I’d be 69th. The (2) after “Following” is the total number of people in the filtered list, but this display doesn’t tell you how many total people are in the unfiltered list (though you can assume it’s at least 69, because I’m in 69th place on the unfiltered list). I hope that helps. I’ll update the post when I get a chance. Thanks for the question.

      Reply
  11. Eric

    How can I filter by my age group and see where I rank against everyone who has completed a given ride?

    Reply
  12. Toska

    Hi,
    Thank you for explaining everything.
    I’m confused about the 1kj and 10kj that you mention in your article. Can you tell me the difference. You say 1 refers to 1 kJ so far but next paragraph says 10kj. Both are listed on the board.

    Thanks

    Reply
    • Brygs

      The 10kj number is how many kilojoules I’d generated at the same point in my best ride (the ride I did 512kj total, my PR). The “1” below it is how many kilojoules I’ve generated so far in the current ride, so I can tell at a glance that I’m way behind the pace if I want to get a PR on this ride. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  13. Carrie Tenebrini

    Thanks for the post. When I do an on demand ride,Are usually filter by age and gender. And when I looked to see who is at the top, I see the numbers change during the ride. Can you explain to me why this is? It’s my understanding that those riders have finished the ride sometime previous. Why would their output numbers be changing as I am riding. They are not “here now”.

    Reply
    • Anne

      I have noticed this, too. And I actually found this article as I’m trying to figure out why I can be on an on demand ride and be “climbing” through the rankings according to the number on the right of my name, but sometimes the number to the left of my name keeps getting higher (meaning I’m getting lower in the rankings) instead of getting lower. Even when I’m the only one in the ride, so it’s not like someone is passing me in the overall rankings. I would think that the left number should get continually lower as my right number goes higher.

      Reply
  14. Robert Watson

    My leaderboard doesn’t have a here now and all time option. It is just a leaderboard with those that are here now. How can I het the all time option back. Also the here now only shows people who start when I do. Before it had was staggered with riders who had started earlier. How can I go back to that? Thank you for the help.

    Reply
    • Brygs

      I am not sure what the problem is, but I live rides would not have the “here now” and “all time”, so you’d only see those options in an on-demand (pre-recorded) ride. Hope that helps.

      Reply
  15. Julia

    When I start an ondemand ride what one of my friends has previously done I like to filter it to “following” and “all time” so it’s just us on the leaderboard. The problem I keep getting is that no matter how much I peddle during the warm up every time the leaderboard pops up my friend is like 6 or 7 kj’s and I’m starting at 0. (Despite the bottom of my screen having me also at 6 or 7 before the leaderboard pops up) it’s like it resets and then I’m chasing an uphill battle the whole ride. In the last minute or so I feel like I miraculously make up those kj’s… is this normal? Is there a lag in the leaderboard?

    Reply
  16. Jeff

    Why do some riders continue to climb in rank after they get the check mark. I am talking minutes after they finished. Also why do some riders receive a dash instead of a position number?

    Reply
  17. Jeff

    Why do some riders continue to climb in rank after they get the check mark. I am talking minutes after they finished. Also why do some riders receive a dash instead of a position number

    Reply

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