D8 pad sets the pace with a Peloton bike thrown in for €475k

In the weeks approaching Joe Biden's swearing in ceremony on January 20th, the US security services were up in arms. Seemingly a personal item of the 46th president of the United States was at the centre of a cybersecurity risk. The item? His personal Peloton exercise bicycle, which the then president-elect had purchased at the start of the Covid-19 pandemic in a bid to maintain his fitness regime.

These high-tech exercise bikes have an interactive tablet that allows the rider to take part in group training sessions remotely. It wasn't the first time the issue of the security dangers of these bikes had arisen. Apparently former first lady Michelle Obama had been supplied with a specially modified Peloton bike that came without a camera or microphone.

For the eventual buyer of 107 Adelaide Square on Whitefriar Street in Dublin 8, they too can make like an American first man, or lady, because the sale of this apartment has a Peloton bike thrown in.

Sales of these bikes have soared since the pandemic, as gym bunnies eschewed their normal routines to adhere to isolation measures. They clearly don’t appeal to everyone however. In 2019, Peloton saw its value plunge by $1.5 billion (€1.28 billion) after a “dystopian, sexist” advertisement in which a man surprises his girlfriend – who was slim as a whippet anyway – with one of these bikes to help her lose weight.

One of the real benefits of 107, a first-floor apartment extending to 66sq m (710sq ft), is that the block of 167 apartments also has its own gym and swimming pool (both currently closed due to the pandemic).

Developed by Benton Property Holdings, to a design by architects John O'Neill and Associates on a former site of the old Adelaide Hospital, when they were first launched in 1999, 67 apartments sold off the plans within a couple of hours.

Number 107 has been given a swish makeover by interior designer Michael O’Mara, with new, engineered oak flooring and a minimalist theme throughout. The bright interiors, thanks to large windows, allows views to the trees and shrubs in the courtyard, which the property overlooks.

Management fees are €2,400 per annum which appears to be good value considering the gym and pool facilities. And with the aforementioned Peloton bike – which currently occupies the second bedroom – you can pedal away to your heart’s content without any security or Covid-19 concerns.

The property, which has underground car parking and an all-important storage unit, is on the market through Felicity Fox seeking €475,000.