Exactly one week ago, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) announced that Peloton was recalling around 2.2 million exercise bikes. The agency noted that 13 people had been injured by the PL01 bike, which had the potential to “break during use, posing fall and injury hazards to the user.”
That was just the latest bit of bad news from a company that was riding high on a pandemic-fueled home fitness renaissance just a few short years ago. The intervening period has been marred by over-investing, slowed sales, security concerns, executive exits and a lot of layoffs. The recent bike issue wasn’t the firm’s first major recall, either.
Back in May 2021, the Peloton and CPSC united for a pair of recalls involving the Tread and Tread+. The company addressed the former fairly quickly, with a relaunched version of the lower-cost device that addressed a flaw that could cause the touchscreen to detach during use and injure the runner in the process. Peloton also offered fixes for 6,450 Treads.
Issues with the Tread+ were more concerning — 125,000 units were recalled following 72 reports of injury to adults, children and pets. The latter two ran the risk of being pulled under the rear of the treadmill. The CPSC noted at the time, “a six-year-old child recently died after being pulled under the rear of the treadmill. In addition, Peloton has received 72 reports of adult users, children, pets and/or objects being pulled under the rear of the treadmill, including 29 reports of injuries to children such as second- and third-degree abrasions, broken bones, and lacerations.”
Today the commission and Peloton announced that they have agreed to a rear guard repair designed to protect people and things from getting trapped near the treadmill’s rear roller. The guard has a “breakaway design” that turns away from the treadmill and shuts off power when someone hits it. The system is set for a Fall delivery and will be available as part of a free repair.
The CPSC notes that there have been an additional 279 incidents and 61 injuries reported since the recall, bringing the totals up to 351 and 90, respectively. No additional deaths have been reported.