Peloton’s new Tread Flex costs $2,195, about $1,000 less than anything else in its treadmill lineup. It is also the company’s first foldable machine, shrinking to roughly half its size.
The company announced the Tread Flex on Tuesday, betting that the surge in running and walking will do what its last round of products did not. Those products, unveiled in October 2025, failed to bring shoppers back. Peloton’s stock has fallen 42 percent since, and the company cut jobs again at the start of the year. The space-saving design is aimed at people in apartments and smaller homes who might not otherwise consider a pricey piece of equipment.
The market it wants
Treadmills are now a major initiative for CEO Peter Stern, who has taken on the job of turning around a company that was a pandemic-era success story. Peloton is best known for stationary bikes, but Stern said in a press release that doubling down on treadmills “will allow us to connect with a much wider audience” and help it “win the multibillion-dollar at-home treadmill market.”
The numbers back him up on direction. The North American at-home treadmill market is forecast to grow 40 percent to a $5.6 billion category by 2030, while stationary bikes are expected to grow far more slowly. Stern told CNN that spinning classes have “clearly lost momentum” and that people now want the “community, convenience, measurable progress, and better health outcomes” of strength training and running. Running and walking have grown since the pandemic because they are cheap and come with clubs, he said.
The rest of the lineup
Peloton is overhauling all of its treadmills. The Tread Vision rises to $3,495 with a new cushioning system. A $6,695 Tread+ Vision is aimed at extreme fitness fans, such as HYROX members, with powerful resistance features. All three have swivel screens for streaming classes and cameras for AI feedback. They go on sale in North America on October 1, ahead of the holiday shopping season.
Peloton also announced expanded integration with Whoop, adding to its links with Garmin, Apple Health and Fitbit.
Cost remains the hurdle. People can run outside for free, use cheaper fitness apps, buy inexpensive walking pads or join budget gyms. Vennare, who commented on the launch, said the Tread is a strong product but that Peloton needs to match what today’s customers want, such as tracking the whole running journey and fitting into a broader fitness routine.
