Peloton recalls 2.2 million Bikes over safety issues

Peloton has had a rough couple of years after pandemic restrictions lifted and people returned to working out at the gym and outside. Now, the company has suffered yet another body blow. A voluntary recall has been issued for 2.2 million Peloton Bikes sold in the US between January 2018 and this month because of seat post safety concerns. "The original Peloton Bike seat post can break unexpectedly during use, creating a potential fall and injury risk," Peloton said in a statement. 

A recall notice on the US Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) website urges consumers to "immediately stop using the recalled exercise bikes and contact Peloton for a free repair." However, Peloton won't have to eat the cost of returning millions of bikes to its facilities and sending them back out to customers after repairs. The company will send out a free seat post that consumers can install by themselves.

According to the CPSC, there have been 35 reported instances of the seat post breaking and detaching from the Bike during use, causing users to fall in some cases. Those incidents resulted in 13 reports of injuries, including a fractured wrist, lacerations and bruises.

This is not the first time that there have been reports of injuries related to Peloton products. Earlier this year, the company agreed to pay $19 million to settle CPSC charges that it didn't immediately disclose reports of people, pets and objects being pulled under the rear of the Tread+. The CPSC said that by the time it received a report from Peloton about such issues, there had been more than 150 such incidents, one of which resulted in a child's death. Other people sustained injuries including broken bones, lacerations, abrasions and friction burns.

The settlement and Bike recall come after a brutal 2022 for Peloton, in which the company laid off thousands of workers. It tried other tactics to cut costs and increase revenue, including a switch to third-party manufacturing and adjusting prices of its products. However, the company posted a larger loss than expected in its most recent earnings report.