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  • 5 months in: An honest Peloton Tread review

    This post is not sponsored by Peloton, and all thoughts and feelings are my own. A few of you have asked how I’m liking my Peloton Tread, and I’m happy to share my experience so far!

    Longtime readers know that I’ve always been a runner. Before I had kids, I’d run at least 20 miles a week. If I needed to mix it up I would throw on an at-home program like P90X or Insanity (old school now haha), and last January even did Kayla Itsine’s BBG Program for 24 weeks. 

    But with opening the shop late last year, my running fell to the wayside. The only time I could squeeze in a workout was at night, after everyone else had gone to bed. 

    I looked into getting a Peloton Bike to accommodate my constantly shifting schedule, but I’ve never been big on spin classes. When they came out with the Tread last year, it felt like a sign. The Tread is Peloton’s modern interpretation of the treadmill, complete with high-energy live classes, a sleek carbon frame, and a 32 inch touchscreen. This ain’t your parents’ treadmill. 

    I took it for a test run at one of their showrooms, hoping that it would kill my enthusiasm, but instead I was hooked. 

    For a monthly fee, anyone can access and use Peloton’s thousands of live and on-demand classes. I briefly considered signing up for the service and using it as motivation for my occasional run outside. I also thought about hacking together my own version of a Tread by finding an old treadmill on Craigslist and then just using an attachment to hold up my iPad. 

    But I never pulled the trigger. 

    Was it really going to be that much better than a regular ole treadmill? I feel like every household in the 90’s had a dejected, dusty workout machine (usually a Bowflex, in my experience) sitting in the basement or the bedroom covered in dirty laundry. I didn’t want to resign such a beautiful piece of machinery to that fate. 

    Enter Santa

    Last Christmas, after a rough year, Antonio surprised me with the best present ever: the Peloton Tread!! 

    And five months into owning the Peloton Tread, I’m a total convert. Here’s why.

    👍What I love about the Peloton Tread

    1. Every run on the Tread is a run I wouldn’t have done otherwise

    I love hopping on the machine after the kids have gone to bed. I’ve even done a middle of the night workout when my thoughts just needed a rest (or a run, apparently). I don’t have to think about safety or noise or putting together a gym bag; it’s eliminated all of the logistics of getting in a workout. 

    It’s always there. No excuses.

    2. The design is intuitive and quite frankly, brilliant

    I get it, I was skeptical until I took it for a literal test run last fall. How could this possibly be any different from a normal treadmill? But the design of the machine is unlike any other piece of equipment I’ve ever used or seen. They took the concept of an indoor treadmill and completely reimagined what it could look and feel like.

    Instead of smashing an upward arrow button to increase speed or incline, you simply roll a knob forward. The actual tread is made up of rubber slats and there’s zero slip with the belt. It’s almost like a tank tire– wonderfully cushioned but firm at the same time. 

    The frame itself is incredibly stable, which means it hardly moves even when I’m sprinting at full speed. I’m never worried about waking up the house when I go for one of my late night sessions because this thing is quiet

    The result is a sublime running experience. If you were to close your eyes (which, uh, I wouldn’t recommend) it feels like you’re running outside.

    3. You feel like your coach is right there with you

    I probably don’t need to wax poetic about the quality of the app, which is probably the source of a lot of the Peloton hype. But it’s killer. And the instructors are easy to fall in love with. (Rebecca Kennedy is my favorite!) 

    The monitor is a touch screen TV with a high-quality speaker system. It’s so immersive that you feel like you’re in a live class. Or like you have your own personal trainer cheering you on. Or yelling at you to hustle, depending on the instructor. 

    I’ve only done a handful of live classes, preferring to choose from their on-demand ones. But last week I ended up taking a live class with a friend and got a call-out from the instructor! There’s something so motivating about that personal acknowledgement as you’re sweating it out

    .

    4. You feel–and see–yourself improving

    There’s a whole social element of the Peloton universe. You can take classes with friends or run short competitions against people you know. But I find I’m more motivated by the concept of beating myself. And Peloton makes it easy with leaderboards, scores, and achievements to unlock that feel juuuuust challenging enough. It feels like one big game. 

    It really lights up the competitive part of my brain that wants to keep a streak going or to pushes me to go a little harder when I’m close to unlocking a new milestone. I’m so close to achieving a 50 runs milestone!

    👎Things I don’t love about the Peloton Tread

    1. Size & Weight 

    There’s no getting around it–this thing is BIG. It takes up a significant amount of our soon-to-be master suite (which we’ve dubbed ‘the rec-room’). It’s also worth mentioning that we had to put a mat under the front wheels. The wheels dented our flooring the first time I used with incline! It’s just SO heavy. Most treadmills aren’t what I would call dainty, but the Tread is particularly large and in charge. 

    Sometimes, I actually appreciate the visual reminder. If I’m working in the rec-room, I can feel my Tread staring at me: Maybe it’s time for a quick workout. It’s been a few days, girl. I miss you.

    2. It’s $$$$

    For me, the Peloton Tread has been worth its weight in workouts. Which, as I mentioned above, is HEAVY. But that $4300 price tag can be tough to swallow. They do offer a payment plan with no money down and 0% APR financing–meaning that you slowly pay it down over the course of a couple of years. For most people that comes out to roughly $100 a month–less than the cost of a premium gym membership in a high COL area.

    3. You may find yourself cleaning up after it 

    This is a weird one, but I haven’t seen it mentioned on any other review. The belt kicks up dust behind the machine, so I find myself sweeping that corner way more than I usually would. It’s a pretty minor drawback, all things considered.

    4. That giant screen? It only streams classes.

    Occasionally I’d love to catch up my favorite shows (Little Fires Everywhere, anyone?) while running. Unfortunately, that beautiful screen only streams classes. You can’t hook it up to Netflix or any other streaming service.

    So does the Peloton Tread live up to the hype? And the price tag?

    After five months of heavy use, I give the Peloton Tread my full-hearted endorsement. I have never loved a piece of machinery more. Yes, even more than my Nespresso machine. 

    I work out more–and harder when I do it–and that’s something that’s hard to put a price on. 

    Try it yourself

    I just noticed, for users who sign up before April 30th, Peloton is offering 90 days free on their app. They have a whole host of workouts outside of running, including strength, toning, yoga, meditation, HIIT, and of course, cycling. 

    The trial might be a good opportunity to dip your toe into the water and test out whether or not the Peloton ecosystem is for you. Though I will say, for me, the magic of Peloton is really in the combination of their platform and their physical products. If you do feel called to pull the trigger, you can use my code 92CXCZ at purchase and you will receive $100 towards accessories!

    Note: Due to COVID-19, Peloton has temporarily paused sales of the Tread since it requires extensive setup. They have implemented a contactless delivery for their bikes, and I believe those are still shipping as usual.

     

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    1. I wanted this so badly, but as mentioned, it was not possible to have it delivered. That’s how I ended up with the nordictrack. And girl… the size is MASSIVE! I’m thinking they both are comparable when it comes to that. I also have the training on mine iFit similar to what peloton offers. I’m just I have a machine to use now. It’s only been a week, but it has helped me A LOT!

      1. I know a few folks with the norditrack and love it! I want to hear your review on it. I honestly think any tread is better than not moving your body at all!

    2. I looked into the Tread but the size and price and fact that it doesn’t fold up made me buy the Proform 5000, which also has decline option, which I like so I’m using the Peloton app on my tv and doing the on demand classes.

        1. Just a yoga mat to protect our wood floors. No it doesn’t bunch up! When the tread inclines the feet stay in place and the wheels are what push the tread into the incline position. Peloton says the tread doesn’t need a mat but we noticed it is very heavy and presses marks into our floors, which is why we use a mat.

      1. Thanks for mentioning the Proform, I’m looking at it now and like that it folds up, and the decline option. How are you liking it?

    3. Just ordered mine after my NORDICTRACK 32i has broken 3 times (inoperable) in less than 6 months! Piece of garbage !!

      Can’t wait to try my PELOTON!!

    4. I finally got the peloton tread on August 25, 2020. 3 days in the screen didn’t work. I have to wait until October 8, 2020 to get a replacement screen. All they offered me for this huge inconvenience was 2 months of free membership fee except I don’t have a treadmill to use anyway! Extremely disappointed in peloton and the customer service. I believe there is an issue with the screens they knew about because they tried one troubleshoot option and then immediately said I have to wait for a new screen. Absolutely unacceptable for a 4500$ treadmill.

      1. Dang that is sure something to be frustrated about! I haven’t experienced any issues with our screen. So sorry that is your experience so far, and hopefully they get you a new one quickly!

      1. Yes ours is on the ground floor. I don’t know anyone who has this with a second level home, maybe Peloton has some resources??

    5. Thank you for the review. I am so close to hitting the trigger and purchasing this. I have the Peloton bike and live it. Has the power ever tripped while using it? Curious on if we’ll have to limit what is currently in use while on it. Make sense?

      1. We’ve never experienced power tripping while using the Tread. If you are concerned with that, I recommend calling an electrician look at the power usage on the outlet/breaker you are planning to use.

    6. I bought this months ago and ran into major problems w Peloton’s customer service and XPO delivery. To make a long story short, XPO delivered in August…assembled late Sept and. Or waiting for Nov 13th for technician to fix the wobbling screen and the 1-2” of the entire treadmill moving forward after/during each use (walks). As a result, I can’t do my runs in this thing without the machine moving and bending my window. I had to file a BBB complaint because the customer service has been horrendous. I’m over the return policy now too cause Peloton took forever to address the issues. Sad because I’ve owned the bike for 3+ years now with no problems. I wouldn’t recommend the Tread+ to anyone interested.

    7. I wanted this machine so badly. Did my research for weeks and even visited the store but unfortunately they declined me in the 0% APR payment plan so now I’m stuck not knowing if I should save up to get it or just settle with the Nordic track. Any suggestions?

    8. Ours delivers next Tuesday. Do you really need the space they recommend 171 x 76 to fit the tread? Yours looks backed into a wall and doesn’t seem to take up
      space they recommend. Curious about the actual space needed vs. what they recommend? Can you elaborate on the size your room and the actual space it takes up?

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