Peloton is back with a ‘cheaper’ folding treadmill

Plus two other refreshed treadmills and a host of AI running features.

Plus two other refreshed treadmills and a host of AI running features.

Last year, Peloton did a sweeping refresh of its hardware that added cameras, fans, and AI-powered software called Peloton IQ. This year, it’s zeroing in on its treadmill lineup — refreshing its two existing Treads and adding the new, more affordable Tread Flex into the fold.

At a New York City launch event, Peloton chief product officer Nick Caldwell told the press the $2,195 Flex — which can be folded upright to save 50 percent more floor space — was meant to address user feedback for a more easily stowed machine. When folded, the Flex purportedly has a smaller overall footprint than the Bike Plus. It also has caster wheels so it can be maneuvered more easily. For safety, the wheels can be locked in place, it has the existing Tread Lock passcode, and it has a slow-opening mechanism using a two-cylinder release. In person, it took about 25 seconds for the deck to lower fully. You don’t have to do anything or push the deck, and there’s no ka-thunk — it just sort of gently falls. That said, Peloton confirmed at the event that there are no sensor-based safety features.

While running, the Flex has a relatively quiet motor at 70 decibels. It’s hard to gauge exactly how quiet it is in a demo space, but it was notably quieter than other treadmills I’ve run on. I don’t think most people will have an issue running on the Flex’s shorter deck, but it might be a concern if you have particularly long legs. Like Peloton’s other treadmills, it has a swivel screen so you can do other types of workouts, but no camera, precluding it from some of the new Peloton IQ features (more on that below).

Meanwhile, its existing two treadmills have been rebranded as the $3,495 Tread Vision and $6,695 Tread Plus Vision. (The former is a $200 price increase, while the latter is the same price.) Here, the upgrades are more refinements. The Vision has a new deck that’s got better cushioning, redesigned jump buttons that let you go up and down for speed / incline, plus a redesigned tray for holding tablets, phones, and water bottles. The Tread Plus Vision also has the new jump buttons, plus a new “sled” mode that may appeal to Hyrox or Crossfit athletes. Both still have a swivel screen and motion tracking cameras that enable some new treadmill-related Peloton IQ features.

As far as software goes, all the treadmills are getting personalized pace. After about 10 running workouts, you’ll get a recommended pace targets that automatically populate within a workout. They may adjust over time as fitness improves. Peloton is also launching a new feature called ReRun, which lets you upload outdoor run course data recorded in the Peloton app or from a smartwatch into the treadmill so you can “re-run” them. That includes automatic incline adjustments based on outdoor elevation on a route. Peloton is partnering with NYRR so that users can “re-run” segments of the New York City Marathon course.