Peloton makes some excellent at-home fitness equipment. It’s just expensive as hell. However, in line with a Bloomberg leak last week, today Peloton announced that it’s finally offering cheaper options for its equipment now that we’re all stuck at home.
The two new products joining Peloton’s catalog are the Bike+ and a new Peloton Tread. Both will cost $2,495. The Bike+ is a more premium version of the original Peloton Bike, which will now get a new reduced price of $1,895 along with the standard 30-day home trial period. Meanwhile, the “old” Peloton Tread will be rebranded to the Tread+ and remain at a whopping $4,295.
The Bike+ is meant as a stationary bike that also supplements other types of workouts on Peloton’s on-demand classes, including strength, yoga, stretching, and meditation classes. On that front, it includes a 23.8-inch HD touchscreen that can rotate 180-degrees left or right so you can view it more easily when you’re doing floor workouts. It also adds four high-fidelity speakers, as well as Apple Gymkit integration so you can pair it with an Apple Watch. There’s also an “auto-follow digital resistance system” that remembers your metrics and scales resistance up and down for you based on what your instructor says. (Speaking from experience, that’s a neat feature as turning the torque up and down can sometimes be distracting.)
Along with the Bike+, Peloton is also releasing a new type of class called Bike Bootcamp. It’s basically adding strength training on top of your spin class, so you can die from intense cardio and pumping iron.
Meanwhile, the new Peloton Tread shaves $1,800 off the Tread+ by downsizing the form-factor. Instead of slat treads, it’s a more traditional belt treadmill and according to Peloton, its footprint is now “smaller than most couches.” It measures 68 by 33 by 62 inches (LWH) and nixes the front shroud to give it a more streamlined appearance. Like the Bike+, it also features a 23.8-inch HD touchscreen, but the main difference is that it rotates up and down 50 degrees, as opposed to rotating 180-degrees left or right.
If you recently bought a Peloton Bike and feel screwed by the announcement, don’t. Peloton is automatically refunding anyone still within the 30-day Home Trial period or waiting for their bike to be delivered. That $350 plus tax price drop will be reflected in the original payment in 7-10 business days. If you financed the purchase, your monthly payments will remain the same except the overall loan balance will be automatically reduced.
Also, if you currently have an original Peloton Bike and are lusting after the Bike+, Peloton is offering a trade-in program. So long as you have a working bike, you can trade it in and receive a $700 rebate plus a free “Yoga & Toning” accessories set. Which, all things considered, is actually not that bad of a deal.
Still, these new options are expensive as hell. No connected at-home fitness equipment has reached the point where you could reliably call it “cheap.” That’s especially true when you consider that the classes cost an extra $40 a month. However, permanently marking down the original Peloton Bike and offering a significant drop in price and size on the new Tread are welcome updates. When you consider financing options can get as low as $50 per month on top of the monthly subscription, you’re still paying less than say, a ridiculous Equinox membership. (Though, as always, there are cheaper ways to stay fit during the age of social distancing.)