Peloton’s new subscription offering lets you lease the bike for a monthly fee. This should make the premium exercise bike and option for more users and provides a possible solution to the companies downturn.
When the lockdowns started back in 2020 and the gym’s closed, fitness fans looked to bring the gym to them. One solution stood out as the ultimate lockdown exercise bike: the Peloton bike. Not only was this a modern, good looking bike it came with access to a wealth of video workouts, some of which were broadcast live, that made you feel like you were still in that spin class.
The only problem was the cost. Peloton bikes don’t come cheap, costing over $1500 to buy, and that’s before the monthly membership fee. Those that had the resources could justify the cost against what they would normally spend on going to the gym, out for dinner, on holiday - all the options we suddenly didn’t have. This took Peloton from a niche high-end offering to a must have for the home-bound upper middle class.
With gyms now reopen and the pandemic receding, convincing new users to part with the cost of a new Peloton has become more of an issue. Shares dropped, executives left and rumors of a sell off were rife. However, Peloton’s new CEO, Barry McCarthy had a plan. The Netflix veteran saw the future of the company in subscriptions.
The new One Peloton Club plans cost between $60 and $100 a month and include both the hardware and the All-access membership fee for the classes (usually $39 per month). There is a $250 delivery fee for the bike but you are able to cancel and return it at anytime for free, or buy out the remaining cost of the bike and go back to the $39 membership.
Currently, this leasing program is only available in the US, but if it’s successful it is likely to be rolled out to other regions.
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As T3's Editor-in-Chief, Mat Gallagher has his finger on the pulse for the latest advances in technology. He has written about technology since 2003 and after stints in Beijing, Hong Kong and Chicago is now based in the UK. He’s a true lover of gadgets, but especially anything that involves cameras, Apple, electric cars, musical instruments or travel.
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