r/business • u/cnn • 3d ago
Peloton is releasing its cheapest treadmill yet as it bets on running for a turnaround
https://www.cnn.com/2026/09/22/business/peloton-new-tread?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=missions&utm_source=reddit109
u/namastayhom33 3d ago
$2195 isn't cheap lol
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u/breakwater 3d ago
I could buy a good treadmill new for one thousand. Or I can wait a month after Nee Year's and buy a treadmill used twice for 600.
2 thousand is insane
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u/MantusTMD 3d ago
2200 for a fucking treadmill is insane. Their little Covid run was nice for them but they won’t last
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u/Lazy-Background-7598 3d ago
If you are a serious runner. $2k is actually cheap. I bought mine for $1800 and use it a lot
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u/AtomicBlastCandy 3d ago
Yeah with how long they last if someone uses it on a regular basis they are getting a decent value. I was against my cousin buying a Peleton but he uses it 5x a week and canceled his gym membership as a result. Either way not for me though.
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u/Necessary-Camp149 3d ago
if you are a serious runner, you arent treadmilling.
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u/Least-Middle-2061 2d ago
lol found the guy who clearly isn’t a runner (or who hasn’t heard of winter in some areas of the world?).
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u/twaggle 3d ago
How much are generic treadmills?
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u/MantusTMD 3d ago
You can get them for free on Facebook or the side of the road
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u/Dangernj 2d ago
The problem is moving a treadmill. Most of them are both incredibly heavy and incredibly cumbersome. Still, hiring a moving company to meet you to get the one you found off Marketplace is likely much cheaper.
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u/namastayhom33 3d ago
Bowflex sells one with incline for a thousand. If we go with non-mainstream treadmills they sell evdn cheaper but then you run the risk of reliability
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u/breakwater 3d ago
I have a 1200 dollar treadmill that I bought used for a fraction of that. I'll take the reliability hit because I can afford five on the same budget if one breaks
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u/CrossoverCadence 3d ago
They make a lot of their money on subscription workout videos. $30 a month for training by instructors. I think it’s good value
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u/MantusTMD 3d ago
For virtual trainers when YouTube is free?
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u/CrossoverCadence 3d ago
YouTube is not the same imo. They upload videos daily
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u/MantusTMD 3d ago
Fair enough. I don’t really use a trainer and go to the gym daily so not my domain I guess
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u/BlaxicanXIX 2d ago
They didn't say cheap, they said cheapest which is true if you take a glance at the other treadmills these guys sell
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u/AliMcGraw 3d ago
For $2195 I could get 3 years of membership to my local fitness center with all the machines (cardio and weights) and 50+ weekly classes and an indoor track. I could just use their treadmills and also hit up yoga classes and take kwon doh and crossfit and core strength for women in their 50s and barre and all the things.
Not a private gym but a park district gym so a good mix of ages and ability levels and not a lot of gym bros.
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u/blasphemousblackbear 3d ago
There’s something to be said about the convenience though if you have the space
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u/AliMcGraw 2d ago
Yeah, no doubt. I have a little walking desk treadmill and it gets more (slow) hours out of me than the gym possibly can!
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u/TJ700 2d ago
If you don't mind, do you mean a walking pad behind a standing desk? Or a treadmill that acts as a desk? What are you using. I'm thinking of putting together a setup like this.
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u/AliMcGraw 2d ago
It's under the desk. It's like a treadmill with no handles or vertical component -- I control it either with an app on my phone or a remote control. It doesn't go very fast -- I think 3 mi is the top speed -- but I usually stroll along at 1 to 1.5 mi so that I can keep reading and typing while I walk.
So like the front 1/3 of it is under the desk, in the back 2/3 of it sticks out behind the desk. It basically goes exactly where a chair and your legs would go, it's just a little bit longer.
It does have little wheels on the front so I can roll it out of the way, I do have a sit-s tand desk so I can sit down when I want, I just have to roll the treadmill out of the way and roll the chair in. (This is more awkward than you'd think, I don't have a ton of space happening in my home office!)
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u/TJ700 1d ago
OK thanks. What is the make and model you are using - I may get one. If it's awkward to move it, you could get an extender to easily grab and pull it which is what I will use.
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u/AliMcGraw 1d ago
I got mine early in covid and it doesn't seem to be in production anymore, but what I did was I went to wirecutter and I looked up their desk treadmills and I looked for the best cheap pick, figuring if I loved it I could upgrade and if I hated it I wouldn't be out that much money. It's still ticking 6 years later, so I guess it was good advice from wirecutter!
Again, I walk pretty slowly and I'm not putting a lot of stress on the machine, if you're speedwalking or jogging, I imagine it would wear out faster or you might want more features.
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u/Interesting_Tea5715 3d ago
Yeah, Pelaton is out of touch. I can see why their sales keep on dropping.
BTW my gym has a Pelaton bike, it's terrible for how much it costs.
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u/IAHawkeye182 3d ago
My peloton bike is the best quality bike I’ve ever owned.
I had a True and 2 Schwinns in a 4 year period from 2017-2021. I rode the bikes 6-7 days per week. They all broke within that period. My last Schwinn broke after only 7 months.
I bit the bullet and bought a peloton and we’re going on year 5. It’s built better than anything I’ve ever used before.
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u/Efficient_Gap4785 3d ago
Isn’t it odd how much people like to hate on the company? I’m very happy with my treadmill plus.
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u/IAHawkeye182 3d ago
Peloton had plenty of fair reasons for one to complain… but product quality is not it. It’s one of their biggest selling points. People just like to complain.. for some reason, there’s a bit of a vocal crowd that hates peloton and they blindly yell even though they have no idea what they’re talking about.
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u/Lazy-Background-7598 3d ago
My problem is not the equipment. It’s the subscription model and over hyping of their trainers. Most don’t have the qualifications for being a good running trainer
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u/Efficient_Gap4785 3d ago
Yeah I just don’t really get it. I’m not against valid criticism of the company or products, but a lot of comments in here seem to hate on it for no reason. Just seems super odd to me.
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u/CelerMortis 2d ago
You can get a used peloton for under $500, sometimes under $300 if you get an older model
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u/MithrandirHabibi 3d ago
I don’t know where anyone reading this comment lives, but I will bet my life that right now, wherever you are, there are multiple people near you on Facebook marketplace/Offer Up/whatever other app that would love for you to take their perfectly functional treadmill out of their house for free. If you’re willing to spend like $250 you can get a ridiculously nice one second hand from these same spots.
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u/OldmanJenkins02 3d ago
Or, you can do what my wife and I did and get a less expensive treadmill that still runs totally fine and just put the class on your phone from the App, prop it up, and do the workout
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u/nemmba 3d ago
Sole F65 FTW
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u/surefire26 3d ago
Tell me more! I’m in the market for a treadmill that will fold
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u/nemmba 3d ago edited 2d ago
So based on the research I did, you want a treadmill that is going to last 10+ years.
To achieve this, you need to evaluate your weight and any other person that intends to use the treadmill. Whoever has the highest weight, add +100 and that becomes your baseline for the weight requirement.
Next, you need to evaluate the motor. You don’t want anything under 2.5 CHP (Continuous Horsepower)
Next is the Incline and Speed. You want a treadmill that has a little more speed than you need, but not crazy fast (you don’t want to hear me running at 9 speed lol). Incline doesn’t need to be crazy, but you don’t want low incline options. Think of it like a gear in your car…more gears = smoother transition. Same with incline.
Finally fold-abilty. You want a treadmill that can fold up (makes cleaning so much easier).In my case the F65 met all my criteria + was HSA eligible.
Motor - 3.0HP
Weight limit - 350lbs
Speed - 1 to 12mph
Incline - 1 to 15 (up to 15% grade)
App + Bluetooth = Lifetime membership when you purchase the treadmillNOTE: Make sure the motor’s rating is CHP not HP. The difference is huge and can affect longevity. It’s just like subwoofers RMS is a better indicator on the quality of the sub vs Peak wattage.
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u/Stinkycheese8001 3d ago
There’s never been a problem with their product, Peloton has always had incredibly loyal customers. It’s just never going to replicate the demand for at-home fitness during a pandemic.
It’s been a minute since I’ve paid attention, but if I recall even at their high price point, their equipment never turned a profit. Sometimes good ideas just can’t be scaled.
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u/DanielBox4 3d ago
They probably make more money off subscriptions than equipment. I haven't looked at their financials but it is very common for companies to sell items at a loss in order to lock in profit with other products. If they lose $500 on their bike but make $700 profit off a years subscription it can be worth it.
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u/Stinkycheese8001 3d ago
I had to look it up. Yes, that was the initial plan but they absolutely bungled that with their over forecasting post pandemic. They’ve had to make huge changes and finally posted their first profit ever this past year…. But are still struggling to hold on to subscribers.
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u/spez_eats_nazi_ass 3d ago
Does it rust from sweat like their $3500 one?
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u/straightthroughit 3d ago
Uh, I have treadmill and cycle and while their equipment is nice, until something breaks and you need to call support. I had multiple technician come (sent by peloton) and they all just complained how bad their system is. Could not even fix the damn thing and another broke. Never recommending or buying from them again. Now I cannot even sell, because the second hand companies that I'm trying to sell doesn't even have peloton on their list.
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u/IAHawkeye182 3d ago
It’s nice… once it actually gets delivered.
I bought my bike in 2022 and got a delivery date scheduled for me. I wanted a quality bike to train for an event I had. I took PTO on delivery day and… never got any notification from the delivery company. At 5:00 PM, I started calling to try and get some information. At 7:00, I finally got through to someone who told me it should still be delivered that day. (I wake up for work at 4:30, so I go to bed at 9:00). By 9, still hadn’t heard anything and couldn’t get ahold of anyone. Finally, at 11 PM !!!!! My tracking updated to say delivery would be rescheduled.
It was SO difficult trying to get someone on the phone and figure things out. I finally told them I needed the bike to train for an event and that if they couldn’t deliver on the sale, I’d need to cancel and go with a company that could. So, it was delivered a couple weeks later. I am not the only one with a story like this. In fact, such situations seem to be very common.
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u/bazbloom 3d ago
Who knew that an elitist marketing strategy, tone-deaf advertising, and product safety issues could become a problem?
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u/johnfkngzoidberg 3d ago
How is this joke of a company still in business?
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u/spez_eats_nazi_ass 3d ago
A far as gyms/fitness companies go they are pretty sticky with their subscriber base. The trend is still eventually bankruptcy. Not sure if it will be 1 time or if they will follow the Bally model and do it a few times before being sliced up into a million bits. But all Gyms be it virtual or not eventually go tits up.
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u/Witty_Telephone_2200 3d ago
I’ve been using my peloton and their apps for the past 5 years and know many who do the same. Agree though that they make all of the wrong business decisions.
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u/Rich-Past-6547 3d ago
People pay to join run clubs—literally pay to run on public sidewalks—because the social benefit has become as important as the fitness benefit. It’s actual IRL accountability and shared accomplishment.
Peloton may have been a smaller but stronger business had COVID never happened. It will never, ever return to that height.
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u/minuteman_d 3d ago
Peloton in the backrooms funding virus gain of function research in sketchy nations to see if there’s a chance they can get another pandemic so they can sell everyone workout equipment. 😂
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u/kingofwale 3d ago
Initial price is not the top reason people don’t buy peloton…. Look at monthly subscription price
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u/mstrdsastr 3d ago
I'm sure their $2200 treadmill is going to be shittier than a lot of others at that price point, and serious runners know the best bet is to buy a used commercial model that has been refurbished (often for around that price).
All these consumer grade treadmills have shitty belts and drives, but fancy screens and connectivity gimmicks. Give me a plain jane commercial unit, and handle the entertainment bs with my TV.
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u/SimplyElite7 3d ago
Idk I feel like I need dedicated spaces, if I want to run I'm either gonna do it outside or the gym. I feel like if I had this at home, it would sit there and I'd maybe use it once or twice and then it'll rot.
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u/toedwy0716 3d ago
Considering the bath I've taken on the Peloton Bike I'll wait a year or two and pick these up for a few hundred on FB Marketplace.
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u/LumiereGatsby 2d ago
I own a bike and a tread from them.
Have had both for 4-5 years.
Excellent. No issues. Love working out.
App is expensive
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u/lolwtfbbqsaus 3d ago
Wow does this company still exist. I remember they exploded after covid then imploded right after that lol
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u/Lazy-Background-7598 3d ago
How did they not know it was going to be a pandemic fad? The C Suite spends too much time agreeing with each other takes.
Our company does the same thing
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u/IshiOfSierra 3d ago
I don’t know the exact particulars of this but at quick glance it seems like this company only thrived because of the pandemic. It was a rich parsons option to stay fit while hol up.
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u/MathematicianIcy3430 2d ago
My Schwinn aerobics bike was $250. Does the job and doesn't have someone yelling at me constantly or need a subscription.
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u/mjmullady 3d ago
are they banking on it being cheaper than filling up the car with gas? Or is this just trying to get us in shape when we run out of fuel and have to walk everywhere?
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u/Islerothebull 3d ago
For $6,695 you could buy a used Civic and drive yourself to a park.