As one of the at-home fitness darlings of the pandemic,Pelotonhas sincestruggledas people started heading back to their gyms.
Now, the company is dealing with another setback: On May 11, Pelotonannounceda voluntary recall of its flagship product, the original Bike model.
According to a statement on Pelotons website, the voluntary recall is occurring because the bikes seatpostwhich adjusts up and down to accommodate people of different heightscan break during a ride, potentially leading to fall and injury risk.
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As of the end of April, the company says theyve received 35 complaints of broken seat posts (out of about 2.2 million bikes sold) and 13 related injuries, including a wrist fracture as well as cuts and bruises.
Affected bikes were sold from January 2018 to May 2023 in the US by Peloton, Dicks Sporting Goods, and Amazon, and retailed for about $1,400.
To see if your bike was one of them, check out the label on the inside front fork (which connects the frame to the flywheel) by the flywheel: Itll have a PL-01 model number.
The fix, according to Peloton, is a replacement seatpost, which theyll provide for free (along with a new end cap and end cap bolt) and can be installed by users at home without having to call a service techall you need is a screwdriver.
you’re free to fill out the formhereto order it, and check out the videoherefor a step-by-step guide on how to switch out the posts.
Until the new seatpost is in, though, you should stop using the bike, according to theUS Consumer Product Safety Commission(CPSC).
This unsettling news comes two years after Peloton recalled the Tread+ treadmilltheir highest-end option that had a super comfortable, slatted running belt and retailed for over $4,000due to injury risk: Adults, kids, pets, and objects could be pulled underneath the rear of the machine, according to theCPSC.
By the time the product was recalled, the company received more than 150 reports of that happening, which resulted in 13 injuries (including broken bones and friction burns) and one death of a small child.
Two years later, the Tread+ still hasnt returned to market and will beon hold for the foreseeable future,according to the company.
Pelotons 6.6-million user base and sales of its hardware swelled during the pandemic, when many people paused their gym memberships and insteadrelied on the companys live and on-demand streaming classesto get their workouts in at home.
But a couple years later,the business started to slump, due in part to competition from in-person classes, as well as a growing number of at-home platforms that offer a similar experience.
In fact, if youre looking for an indoor cycling bike that lets you take classes right at home, you now havea whole bunch of optionsat your fingertips.
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