Peloton, the widely popular internet-connected fitness equipment company, has issued a recall for more than two million exercise bikes in the United States over safety concerns.
The Chicago Sun Times reports that Peloton, the popular fitness equipment company, has issued a recall for over two million exercise bikes in the United States. The recall applies to approximately 2.2 million units of the Peloton Bikes Model PL01 sold in the U.S. from January 2018 until earlier this month. The safety concern revolves around the potential risk of the seat post assembly breaking during use, which could result in falls and injuries. Peloton has reported 35 incidents of seat post breakage and detachment, leading to 13 reported injuries, including fractured wrists, lacerations, and bruises caused by falling off the bike.
The affected exercise bikes were sold through various channels, including Peloton, Dick’s Sporting Goods stores, and Amazon. It is important to note that the recall does not apply to the original Peloton Bike in Britain, Germany, and Australia, nor the Peloton Bike+.
LAS VEGAS, NV – JANUARY 11: Maggie Lu uses a Peloton Tread treadmill during CES 2018 at the Las Vegas Convention Center on January 11, 2018 in Las Vegas, Nevada.(Photo by Ethan Miller/Getty Images)
Peloton is urging customers who purchased the recalled exercise bikes in the United States to immediately cease using them and contact the company for a free repair. As part of the solution, Peloton is providing a complimentary self-installable seat post to address the issue.
Customers seeking further information or assistance can reach out to Peloton’s customer service hotline at 866-679-9129, available from 5:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. CT seven days a week. Detailed instructions on requesting the free seat post and installation guidelines can be found on Peloton’s official website, specifically under the “Product Recalls” section at the bottom of the page.
This recall comes during a tough time for Peloton as it undergoes a corporate restructuring, which involved job cuts and a transition in delivery operations to third-party providers. Despite experiencing significant sales growth during the pandemic, Peloton faced a decline in sales in 2021 as vaccination efforts encouraged individuals to return to gyms and outdoor fitness activities.
Breitbart News reported in 2022 on Peloton’s “Project Tinman,” a scheme to hide rusty parts in it bikes:
The cause of this was a build-up of rust on “non-visible parts” of the expensive bikes such as the inner frame of the seat and handlebars. Peloton has claimed that this does not affect the integrity or usability of the equipment, but given that the bikes cost between $1,495 and $2,495 as well as an additional $250 setup fee, many customers would be unhappy to discover their exercise equipment was rusting away.
Peloton then allegedly undertook a program to hide this rusting from consumers, dubbed internally as “Project Tinman.” Eight current and former Peloton employees across four states in the U.S. have revealed details about the plan which they described as a nationwide effort to avoid another costly recall just months after a child died due to the design of the company’s treadmill.
The Financial Times reports that internal documents reveal that the “standard operating procedures” for corrosion were to use a chemical solution called “rust converter” which conceals corrosion by reacting “with the rust to form a black layer.” This does not fix the issue but rather conceals it.
Read more at the Chicago Sun Times here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan
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