Dusseldorf Peloton is a winner of the corona crisis. The use of the noble spinning bikes, on which stars like Ellen DeGeneres, Barack and Michelle Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio and Hugh Jackman and even US President Joe Biden train, increased so rapidly during the lockdown that there were delivery bottlenecks.
As with the Peloton Bike, there are two variants of the treadmill. In Germany only the cheaper ones are sold. It costs 2495 euros and has the same 23.8-inch touchscreen plus sound system as the Peloton Bike +. In addition, there is 39 euros per month in order to be able to use the courses offered (live from London and New York or “on demand”). The Handelsblatt has got hold of the first test copy in Germany and has taken the following aspects under the microscope:
1. How much space does the peloton treadmill need?
At first I was disappointed not to be able to test the premium tape. But at the moment when the two transporters with the “smaller” tread are standing in front of the front door, I make three crosses that the giant model is not available in Germany.
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The men are two calibers, Popeye and Tarzan, and certainly used to lifting heavy weights. When it comes to the tread, however, you have to pull hard in order to cope with the 15 steps to the front door. No wonder: the treadmill weighs over 130 kg – and it’s big! Specifically, 1.73 meters long, 84 cm wide and 1.57 meters high.
The peloton treadmill needs a lot of space – especially for safety reasons. Unfortunately, the device is only an option if you have a large apartment.
The space required for a safe workout with the treadmill is even greater: Immediately behind the treadmill there should be at least two meters of space and at least 60 cm on all other sides – so quasi Malibu conditions!
Actually, my cleared home office (I work in the bedroom during the test phase) is too small – but Popeye and Tarzan neither manage the treadmill up to the second floor, because the distance to the banister is not at least 85 centimeters, nor back in their matt black noble peloton delivery van. So let’s set up the tread together. Optics: robust, noble and high quality.
2. Do I need a peloton subscription for the Tread?
Yes. Fortunately, since I already have an account from my Peloton bike test, login and setup only take a few minutes.
With the subscription I get a lot of variety: Although Peloton Cycling and now also running are in the foreground, there are many more disciplines that you can train with a subscription for 39 euros a month. For example, I can do meditations and yoga workouts led by trainers or boot camps, strength training and stretching units. It is this combination of several types of training that Peloton uses to set itself apart from its competitors.
I noticed particularly positively that the workouts do not go directly from 0 to 100, but rather a good warm-up unit belongs to every session, which cannot be skipped. In the same way, the trainers offer the opportunity to cool down and stretch after a hard interval unit. That protects against injuries.
When I’m on the go and have the Peloton app installed on my mobile phone, I can also start the workouts via mobile phone and, for example, have it run on the TV screen in the hotel room via Airplay or log in to the browser on the laptop and do a yoga session. Complete training or a stretching work-out.
3. What can the Tread treadmill do?
When I have a peloton treadmill, I train with the whole world via livestream – and the whole world with me. If I want, I can arrange to meet other people for training, cheer them on or compete with them using a real-time ranking list. It can even happen that a trainer approaches me during the live work-out. This is what makes the hype about the treadmill.
At the same time, the courses can also be started at any other time. Whether I am there live or not is up to me – as well as whether I activate the small screen camera and can be seen by other users during the sweaty training session.
I can choose the courses individually according to the degree of difficulty and fitness level. I can also filter by duration, genre and trainer.
Technically, I can run up to 20 km / h on the Tread. This corresponds to a speed of three minutes per kilometer, which is actually only achieved by high-performance athletes. In addition, gradients of up to 12.5 percent can be set in order to simulate steep mountain sprints or pulse-pumping hikes in South Tyrol. Practical: If I don’t feel like a hard running unit, it is easier for me to motivate myself to a 40-minute hiking unit with alternating inclines.
4. What can the Peloton-Tread not do?
In contrast to the screen on the Peloton bike, the screen on the Tread cannot be rotated 360 degrees. That made it easier to take part in the other workouts on the bike, because I could just put the yoga mat where there was space. It’s different with the Tread: If I want to have a clear view of the trainer, I actually have to lie down directly behind the treadmill, and that is only possible if I have a really large room – but I don’t!
Otherwise, I only have the detour that I start other workouts via the mobile phone app and stream them on my TV in the living room in front of the sofa.
However, I find it extremely stupid that I cannot interrupt the running units at all, for example because I have to go to the toilet or the parcel delivery service rings. Peloton wants to make improvements here – but it is unclear when.
What I also miss is the option to activate automatic tempo increases with the push of a button – just as the trainer is showing on the screen. I know that from the peloton bike, where you can’t cheat and leave the resistance undetected, like when spinning in the gym.
Points are also deducted when it comes to ventilation. I know treadmills in gyms that have built-in fans around the screen. Unfortunately, you won’t find it in the tread. Nevertheless, the treadmill makes a lot of noise! I hadn’t started my first interval running training for ten minutes when my neighbor was already standing in front of the window. Her verdict: “That sounds like World War III broke out.”
5. How safe is the peloton?
The smart treadmill apparently exerts a magical attraction on children – including my partner’s ten-year-old daughter, who regularly begged to be allowed on the tread. After all, Peloton has improved two essential things that ensure more safety. On the one hand, there is a safety clip on a cord that can be attached to the T-shirt. If the pace becomes too fast and you move too far back, the clip, which is also attached to the front under the screen with a magnet, tears off before you fall off. The treadmill will then stop immediately.
A safety pin is designed to prevent children from accessing the treadmill. It is only allowed from the age of 16 and a minimum weight of 48kg.
(Photo: Peloton)
There is also an emergency stop button on the front handle that you can press if you run out of breath. What I particularly like: The treadmill is protected with a pin, without which nothing works.
6. What additional options are there?
So far, I have not been tempted to compare myself with thousands of other users. I think it is positive that I can then upload the units to other training platforms such as Strava and the detailed results (including km / h, distance, watt and heart rate) are displayed there.
What bothered me was that I couldn’t program my own training sessions with intervals and other specifications. If you have your own training plan, there is at least the option of using the treadmill without a course and manually running your own intervals by turning the wheel.
Also a shortcoming for some users in this country: So far, most of the peloton courses are in English.
Conclusion
If you are considering buying a Peloton treadmill, you should keep in mind that it cannot simply be hidden in the closet when visitors come. In addition, the tape should be in a room that can be properly ventilated.
The price of 2495 euros has it all. But if you like to train at home and be motivated virtually and encouraged by other users, the Peloton Tread is exactly the right thing for you. Maybe there are nice, noise-insensitive neighbors with whom you can share the device.
More: Is the Peloton bike worth it, or is it an expensive dust collector?