April 1/23 4:09 am - Peloton Introduces New Cycling Equipment

Posted by Editoress on 04/1/23
 

Peloton, along with Swift, Zoom and a host of other companies, benefited enormously during the pandemic lockdown, with people flocking to their interactive indoor bikes that allowed them to do workout classes in groups while isolated. The company soared to a stock market valuation of over $50 billion USD before plummeting back under $4 billion USD (as of March 31, 2023). The company has struggled, with huge layoffs and poor sales of its expensive indoor bikes (and monthly membership fees).

Today, the company has announced what they describe as 'game changing' device - an untethered Peloton exercise unit called a bIKE.

In a company statement: "No longer are you tethered to your bedroom or exercise room! You have the freedom to enjoy your exercise routine around town or even on your travels around the world!"

Critics are pointing out that the Peloton bIKE bears a striking similarity to ... a bicycle, but Peloton claims that it is completely different, sporting their eponymous large touch screen display. The display has a forward facing camera that projects what is in front of the bIKE, enabling the rider to navigate. Peloton claims that the refresh rate is "under a second", providing ample time for the rider to react. It also includes all the power and other stats Peloton users are used to, with the option of participating in classes with other users nearby, creating virtual group rides. They are also rumored to be working with Tesla on autonomous driving software, so the rider can just type in a destination or circuit and not worry about navigating.

"In our socially distanced society, this offers the best of both worlds - being able to exercise anywhere, while still avoiding personal contact."

Peloton expects to start delivering the bIKE by mid-May, with prices starting at $8,000 USD for the equipment, and monthly membership fees beginning at $35 USD.