Peloton recalls more than 2M bikes over safety concerns

By Trevor Mogg May 11, 2023

Peloton is recalling nearly 2.2 million of its exercise bikes over safety concerns.

The issue involves a faulty seat and affects Peloton exercise bikes sold from January 2018 through May 2023 in the U.S., the company said in a release posted on Thursday.

A man riding a Peloton bike. — Peloton

A notice on the Consumer Product Safety Commission’s website said the bike’s seat post assembly “can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards to the user,” and warned owners to stop using the bike “immediately.”

The commission added that it had received 35 reports of the seat post breaking and detaching from the bike during use, with 13 of the reports involving injuries including a fractured wrist, lacerations, and bruises caused by falling off the bike.

A recalled bike can be identified by its PL-01 model number on the label located on the inside front fork (near the flywheel), the red “P” logo followed by the white-colored Peloton brand name on the bike’s frame, and by its non-swivel display, the company said.

Instead of returning the bike to the seller or to Peloton itself, the company said those affected will be sent a free replacement seat post that can be installed at home, without the need for a service call. Customers can begin the process of getting a new seat post by visiting this web page.

Peloton has created a video and a set of PDF instructions showing how to install the replacement seat post.

To be clear, the recall only applies to the Peloton original Bike sold in the US. This matter does not affect international and North America Bike+ nor international Peloton original Bikes.

Peloton enjoyed a boom during the height of the pandemic when restrictions forced gyms to close, prompting people to exercise at home instead.

But the company faced controversy, too, when in 2021 it emerged that it had failed to report in a timely manner a defect in one of its treadmills that led to a child’s death and more than a dozen injuries. Earlier this year, Peloton agreed to pay a $19 million fine to settle a charge brought by the Consumer Product Safety Commission in relation to the incident.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics

Tech News

Contributing Editor

Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…

Smart Home

You can buy an Amazon Echo Dot for just $8 this weekend

Bose SoundTouch and Echo Dot bundle

The Amazon Echo is a great device for expanding your Amazon ecosystem, especially if you have any smart home peripherals, like the Amazon Ring or Echo Show. Unfortunately, the latest Amazon Echo devices can be prohibitively expensive if you want to grab more than one, which is why we think this deal from Woot on the 2nd Gen Echo Dot is great. While the units are refurbished and might have some blemishes, Amazon renewed them and only cost $8, which is a steal.

Why you should buy the Amazon Echo Dot (2nd Generation)
While it doesn't have the higher audio quality of the latest Echo Dot, the Amazon Echo Dot 2nd generation is still a great device, especially since you can use it as a standalone speaker to stream audio. That said, the speakers aren't that powerful or have high audio fidelity, especially in today's market, but what you're really after is access to Alexa. With the Alexa Skill Kit and smart home APIs, there's a lot you can do, from changing lights, turning switches on and off, and essentially using any device that can be connected to a smart home ecosystem. You can even put in Amazon orders through the Echo Dot, which is an interesting feature, although we're not sure how often you will use it.

Smart Home

This Bowflex smart exercise bike is discounted from $1800 to $700

this bowflex smart exercise bike is discounted from 1800 to 700 deal velocore lifestyle resized

Smart fitness tech has been booming a lot in the past few years, and while you can still get exercise devices without much smart functionality, the Bowflex VeloCore Bike is a great smart bike. While it's still a bit pricey at $700, it's been discounted heavily by Best Buy from its original $1,800 price tag, which means you're getting a massive $1,100 discount on it.

Why you should buy the Bowflex VeloCore Bike
There's a lot to love about the Bowflex VeloCore Bike, so much so that we've even featured it on our list of best smart indoor bikes for home workouts, and that's due majorly due to the included screen experience. While most traditional bikes will have a slot for a phone or tablet, the VeloCore comes with its own screen and software that allows you to experience different bike tracks worldwide. There are over 200 virtual courses around the world that you can experience at your own pace, and with the 100 resistance levels, you can fine-tune the bike to your comfort level. You can also go through trainer-led exercises through JRNY, although you will need a subscription to access that service. Still, you get two months for free when you buy the VeloCore.

Emerging Tech

This bracelet helps you fall asleep faster and sleep longer

woman-in-bed-wearing-twilight-apollo-on-ankle

This content was produced in partnership with Apollo Neuroscience.
Have you been struggling to get the recommended seven hours of sleep? It's always frustrating when you get in bed at a reasonable time, then toss and turn for a hours before you actually sleep. The quality of that sleep is important too. If you're waking up multiple times during the night, you're likely not getting the quality REM cycle sleep that truly rejuvenates your body. If traditional remedies like herbal teas and noise machines just aren't helping, maybe it's time to try a modern solution. Enter the Apollo wearable.

Now we understand being a little skeptical. How can a bracelet on your wrist or ankle affect your sleep patterns? Certainly the answer to a better night's sleep can't be so simple. We considered these same things when we first heard of it. We'll dive deeper into the science behind the Apollo wearable, but suffice it to say that many people have experienced deeper, uninterrupted sleep while wearing one.
A non-conventional approach to better sleep