Peloton Tread review – an investment in your health and fitness

85%

• VERDICT

The Peloton Tread is a quality piece of fitness equipment that can help you achieve your fitness goals with the help of a vibrant and growing Peloton community and some of the best fitness instructors in the world.

The Peloton Tread is quite an investment in your health and fitness. The price tag alone would be enough to get customers to make sure they use Peloton’s latest product every day to get their money’s worth.

Priced at $4,445, the Peloton Tread isn’t going to be an impulse buy. Far from it.

No, what would make a customer shell out this sort of money is the promise of quality equipment that’s made even better by the growing Peloton community of instructors and fellow subscribers around the globe.

We’ve been using Peloton Tread for the past month now and have found it offers a high-quality experience that motivates you to come back day after day.

And you don’t have to be Olympic athlete to get the most out of Peloton Tread.

It can cater for everyone from a person starting or rediscovering their fitness journey to an elite runner who wants to sharpen up their fitness even further.

When you purchase the Peloton Tread, the price includes not only delivery but also installation in your home.

When our unit was delivered there were two gentlemen who put it all together for us in our home and set everything up so it was ready to use.

They even took away all the boxes that it was shipped in.

The key is finding an area in your home that is open enough to not only fit the Peloton Tread but also has space around it so you can take advantage of other Peloton classes that don’t require you to be running on the treadmill itself.

The Peloton Tread itself is a high-quality unit with solid construction made with premium materials.

Setup was quite easy and included connecting the treadmill to our wireless network and logging into your Peloton account.

It’s also possible to create other user profiles so your family and other members of your household can jump in and do their own classes.

We’d been using it for a few days before we ran into one slight complication when the Peloton Tread refused to connect to our wireless network.

We tried hotspotting our phone and that also didn’t work so we assumed it was an issue with the Tread.

Now remember this was a pre-release unit so we acknowledge the fact that there were software patches and updates that needed to be made before it officially went on sale.

In fact, there was a large software update when we went back to it that solved the Wi-Fi issues and it has worked perfectly ever since.

In the meantime, one small panel has also fallen off the left edge of the treadmill and we’ve tried to clip it back on without success.

It hasn’t affected our use of Peloton Tread, but it has affected the look.

The Peloton Tread includes a 23.8-inch HD display which allows you to access your account and the many classes you can do either live and on-demand.

On either side are two control knobs – the one on the left controls incline and the right controls your speed.

These offer a fast and easy way to make adjustments rather than trying to find and change the controls on the touch screen.

These tactile controls work really well and you quickly learn that rolling them forward increases incline or speed and rolling them back towards you decreases those values.

There’s even a shortcut button inside the knob that takes things up to the next whole number above your current setting.

Also included is a safety key that you clip to your shirt so if you fall it will immediately detach from the Tread and stop it.

You also have a large stop button in front of you along with a shelf for your phone and water bottle holders.

But the real secret sauce is the Peloton community and the many talented and colourful instructors that guide you through each class.

Each of the many instructors we’ve encountered on the platform have all been upbeat, fun and positive.

They really know how to encourage you to push yourself to the end of the class.

The other amazing feature is the wide range of choices you have when it comes to choosing a session.

We tried of variety of classes from beginner runs, advanced beginner runs, walking classes along with stretching and cool down classes.

We found ourselves at the end of a 20-minute class, deciding to try another 20-minute class before ending with a 5-minute stretch or cooldown.

The classes have you doing everything from a recovery walk pace to a proper sprint within various incline and speed ranges.

You can also choose from a range of scenic runs which make you feel like you’re running through the middle of London, Hawaii, Puerto Rico or the Scottish Highlands.

Once we were on the Peloton Tread it didn’t feel like a chore, it felt like fun and we were looking forward to using it every day.

You can mix it up a little bit as well and do a class that doesn’t even require you to step on the treadmill.

You might choose a class that is all about stretching or yoga or involves using hand weights.

It’s easy to choose a class based on the instructor, muscle group, exercise type and length.

Peloton offer hand weights as an added extra or you can just use your own.

We had some space behind the treadmill to allow us to still view the screen comfortably while still following the class and hearing everything the instructor had to say.

You can purchase a Peloton heart rate monitor that’s worn like arm band and connects to the Peloton Tread so you can check your heart rate.

But the unit is compatible with Apple Watch and Samsung Watch so all you need to do is firstly pair your smartphone to the treadmill and then open the Peloton app on your watch before starting a class.

Your heart rate metrics would then appear on screen as they are taken from the smartwatch and transferred via Bluetooth.

All your workouts and health can all be viewed on the Tread so you can monitor your progress and look to make improvements.

The Peloton All-Access Subscription can be accessed on your smart phone or tablet for those times when you’re not on the treadmill and out on a walk on a run or on holiday.

The Peloton Tread is a high impact way of exercising which involves running and walking and using your entire body.

Peloton’s existing products including Bike, Bike+ and Guide offer the same experience but with far less impact. Something to consider if you knee or ankle issues.

The Peloton Tread is an excellent piece of exercise equipment that’s made even better by the team of instructors who can keep you aimed towards your fitness goals.

Peloton has been in Australia for only 18 months and already have more than 2.1 million subscribers.

We saw a stat that showed that 92 per cent of subscribers stay on after the first year.

That’s a pretty high retention rate that we put down to the fact that the equipment is first class and the team of instructors also among the best you can find.

The Peloton Tread is not cheap at $4,445 but you are getting a top-line piece of equipment and investing in your health, fitness and wellbeing.

The Peloton All-Access Subscription is priced at $59 per month which may also seem expensive but, when compared to what people are paying to attend instructor led fitness classes at gyms and fitness centres, it’s actually pretty good value.

VERDICT

The Peloton Tread is a quality piece of fitness equipment that can help you achieve your fitness goals with the help of a vibrant and growing Peloton community and some of the best fitness instructors in the world.