Peloton Seemingly Rolling Back GymKit Support [Updated]

[btrach144]

Bought the new bike for exactly this purpose. Extremely disappointed in Peloton. Hoping there is a class action lawsuit.

it’s clear they announced GymKit support, Apple then released Apple Fitness+ weeks later, and now Peloton sees Apple as a competitor and is trying to distance themselves from peloton while the customer gets screwed.

 

[DeepIn2U]

Another possibility is Peloton have got wind of (or suspect) further incursion by Apple into their territory – perhaps Apple-designed fitness equipment is incoming to bolster the Fitness+ service. They already sell eco-friendly cork yoga blocks and mats through the Apple Store.

In this way, their actions would be mirroring Apple's previous actions when a new product of theirs is in the offing, and they've removed competing products from retail.

I'm hoping Apple partners with Tonal for GymKit support. That would seem more of a better fit than what Peleton is tryin with HIIT and some strength training/fat loss.

 

[tribeaumes]

LOL! Yep, Peloton is the king of late night infomercials on TV. I've never seen the appeal myself, and I suspect most Peloton equipment probably gets used for a week or two then collects dust in the corner of a room. I wish I had a dollar for every time over the past 40 years I’ve gone to a friend or relative's home and seen a workout device sitting in the corner with all kinds of junk piled on top of it.

Sounds like your friends and family are uncommitted to fitness or are just plain messy. LOL

 

[Trik]

I had to google what Peloton was, and of all the nonsensical overprices scams Americans fall for, this has to be at least in the top five.

It is a good bike, very well made, high quality components. It uses magnetic resistance, so you don't end up needing to replace pads or end up with brake dust everywhere. Now as to "overpriced" scams... let's say the bike is worth ~ $1200, which seems reasonable comparing it to other bikes, the Bowflex bike is $1000 without a screen. You're paying ~ an extra $1000 + $39 / month subscription for the classes to be a part of "Peloton". Is that worth it? It all depends.

I purchased my Peloton in Feb 2020. I've taken 228 cycling classes since then. So I am averaging getting on that bike and riding every 2 days. Can you buy a $300 bike and ride it every 2 days? Sure!! But frankly, part of the reason I enjoy Peloton is the environment, the instructors, the features and functionality.

My resting HR is now in the low 60s. My Blood Pressure is 110 / 70. My doctor is ecstatic. Is Peloton the sole reason? I have no idea, but it has reduced the barrier to exercise to almost zero, and I have no excuses. It's fun, it's a great workout, there are more classes than I could do in my lifetime (assuming they keep churning them out). So is it a scam for me? Absolutely not. Is it in the top 5 scams? That is absurd.

Google the Molekule air purifier if you want a look at something that deserves to be on your top 5 scam list.

 

[mrothroc]

You're paying ~ an extra $1000 + $39 / month subscription for the classes to be a part of "Peloton".

Also, that single subscription works for multiple people. We have a bike and tread. Four people live in our house who use them.

For us, that's $39 for both devices, divided by 4. Seems like a pretty good deal, especially when you compare it to the local gym prices.

 

[Td1970]

Not to mention safety of riding inside and less than ideal weather.

I just prefer the inside. Don’t see the draw of being outside. It’s cold it’s hot. It’s wet.
it’s always perfect inside.

 

[Alan Wynn]

I can't fathom spending twice as much money as a very nice actual bicycle costs for this. What's the angle?

You do realize that some people do not live in Miami, right?

I'd rather be out in the fresh air seeing the outdoors any day.

Try that in North Dakota in January and get back to me.

 

[brian3uk]

I'm guessing you're making this statement in the context of Peleton - but Apple is doing the exact same thing with Apple Fitness +. I would guess that Peleton's moves are directly related to Apple coming out with Fitness+ and basically co-opting their entire model.

The Peloton "model" is bike with a TV and classes on it. Apple didn't make that. Apple does make a watch that tracks health data, and fitness classes you can watch on Apple devices. Both are unique products. No reason for Peloton to refuse a bluetooth connection to the bike.

 

[DamFu]

If someone bought the Bike+ because of Gymkit, that’s on them. The new bike is a vast improvement hardware wise. That’s where the benefit is. That being said, I got my current bike in late 2019 and just didn’t see a need to upgrade. The cost of the bike and membership is worth it to me. Anyone saying it’s a scam knows nothing about it.
I also own 2 outdoor bikes that I regularly ride when the weather cooperates. My Peloton has vastly improved my outdoor performance.

 

[Robert.Walter]

Bad faith bait and switch deserves a crunching class action suit. If this is as it appears, I hope you feel the burn Peloton.

 

[tomegun]

I can't fathom spending twice as much money as a very nice actual bicycle costs for this. What's the angle?

I'd rather be out in the fresh air seeing the outdoors any day.

Have you shopped for a bike in the last 5 years? I am not saying a $1,200 bike wouldn't be nice, but someone who is serious about cycling would likely pay as much for their road bike as they do for their Peloton. I look at my Apple Watch every morning to look at the temperature and wind. <60 degrees and > 10mph winds and I am not riding. For the Peloton, I just go in there and do it. This morning was a strength class and then yoga. I could do both the Apple Fitness, but I haven't done so yet.

 

[tomegun]

If someone bought the Bike+ because of Gymkit, that’s on them. The new bike is a vast improvement hardware wise. That’s where the benefit is. That being said, I got my current bike in late 2019 and just didn’t see a need to upgrade. The cost of the bike and membership is worth it to me. Anyone saying it’s a scam knows nothing about it.
I also own 2 outdoor bikes that I regularly ride when the weather cooperates. My Peloton has vastly improved my outdoor performance.

Gymkit, better calibration, auto follow, better speakers, swivel screen...all reasons I bought the Bike+, but being someone deep into Apple Gymkit was certainly a key factor.

 

[hutchej]

Gymkit, better calibration, auto follow, better speakers, swivel screen...all reasons I bought the Bike+, but being someone deep into Apple Gymkit was certainly a key factor.

I bought the Bike+ for the exact same reasons, and yes GymKit was a HUGE factor. Super frustrating and they will definitely hear from me about it.

 

[Johnny907]

"Peloton is committed to bringing the GymKit integration to all workouts and disciplines within Apple's terms of service,"

ok, for the people dogpiling on Peloton: read this statement. Does this sound like Peloton just randomly deciding to cut off functionality and thus incentive to purchase their product and service, OR does this sound like Peloton getting screwed by Apple, who just so happens to now offer their own such service (Fitness+) that directly competes with Peloton?
I’m sure Apple and Peloton have an agreement that protects gymkit functionality when used exclusively for their spin classes, but Apple most likely decided using gymkit for other workouts like strength training and yoga/meditation was a violation of their agreement (again, SEVEN MONTHS LATER) and pulled the cord. Why caps? Because I’m a peloton owner, and this announcement has me livid, but unlike many of you I’m more interested in placing blame where it is due. Everything about what Peloton has said, without risking throwing Apple under the bus and getting gymkit functionality revoked completely, points the finger at Apple being the culprit here and not Peloton. Anyone else still on the fence: why would Peloton do anything to lower the value of their very expensive and successful product? And don’t give me the “oh peloton wants to launch their own fitness tracker” nonsense, because that is such an empty argument.

 

[tedwill]

This little device lets my Apple Watch talk to my bike computer and the Peloton. It's only 40 bucks. https://npe-inc.com/heartbeatz/

 

[LeadingHeat]

It is possible that Peloton is planning on releasing its own fitness-oriented smartwatch in the future, which may explain the gradual removal of GymKit features.

The company would likely want to encourage users who have already invested in costly equipment and an ongoing $39 per month subscription to remain within the Peloton ecosystem with its own smartwatch.

Why is Apple the target for anticompetitive lawsuits if companies can get away with doing the exact same thing?

 

[Unregistered 4U]

To be fair, they didn't "just" add gymkit to the bike+ and jack the price. Other features were added as well.

It doesn’t matter to well heeled Apple users what else Peloton added, though. I know folks that, when it was new, wouldn’t even consider a car without CarPlay. They’d either buy a competitor’s brand or wait. In this case, Apple users didn’t care if it was Peloton or Bob’s Biometric Bike Barn, GymKit was what they were buying for. I doubt there’s any other additional feature point that could sell as many bikes for them as GymKit did.

If I had to guess, the Apple folks that may already have had Fitness+ (as a part of their Apple One plan) but wasn’t using it will just start using it.

 

[Unregistered 4U]

Why is Apple the target for anticompetitive lawsuits if companies can get away with doing the exact same thing?

Because those bubbles in Messages are green for a reason ENVY! LOL /s

 

[bit_bucket]

Have a Bike+ on its way to me next month, paid a few months ago. I will be canceling my order today and using the money to buy another actual bike. I really don't care if it is Apple, some patent troll, or Peloton who is to blame. All I know is that I paid for a bike with GymKit integration and what they delivered is a neutered GymKit experience, that you can bet your life will be removed from the last workout that they allow it on, inexplicably sometime in the coming months. SMH.

 

[Td1970]

You do realize that some people do not live in Miami, right?

Try that in North Dakota in January and get back to me.

Not to mention some think the great outdoors is highly overrated. Much prefer climate controlled environments

 

[toph2toast]

It doesn’t matter to well heeled Apple users what else Peloton added, though. I know folks that, when it was new, wouldn’t even consider a car without CarPlay. They’d either buy a competitor’s brand or wait. In this case, Apple users didn’t care if it was Peloton or Bob’s Biometric Bike Barn, GymKit was what they were buying for. I doubt there’s any other additional feature point that could sell as many bikes for them as GymKit did.

If I had to guess, the Apple folks that may already have had Fitness+ (as a part of their Apple One plan) but wasn’t using it will just start using it.

Thats fair, and I won't disagree to that. However my reply was to someone's comment that implied all Peloton did was to "just" add GymKit and jack the price, which is untrue.

 

[Solomani]

I had to google what Peloton was, and of all the nonsensical overprices scams Americans fall for, this has to be at least in the top five.

We Americans fall for a lot of overpriced detritus, but at least it doesn't involve rugby, cricket, or shawarma. 😝

 

[chucker23n1]

ok, for the people dogpiling on Peloton: read this statement. Does this sound like Peloton just randomly deciding to cut off functionality and thus incentive to purchase their product and service, OR does this sound like Peloton getting screwed by Apple, who just so happens to now offer their own such service (Fitness+) that directly competes with Peloton?

No, it sounds like Peleton going its own way and telling customers to blame Apple.

 

[chucker23n1]

Why is Apple the target for anticompetitive lawsuits if companies can get away with doing the exact same thing?

Because with anticompetitive lawsuits, market share matters.

 

[Le Big Mac]

I've had a peloton for a few years and never saw the desire of having gym-kit integrated into the bike. I start a workout on the bike, tell my watch i'm starting a cycling working and that's it. Buying a more expensive bike, or some 3rd party attachment to have everything integrated doesn't seem worth it (to me).

I totally get the frustration of anyone with a Bike+

But does GymKit to anything more than allow you to use apple watch as an HRM with Peloton? Without a watch I can sync rides to Apple Health, so if you use Apple's fitness app to track your workouts you get the info there. I use a HR strap with Peloton (I have Bike- ), but understand one might want to avoid at least that hassle.

Yeah, using equipment in a gym where it's annoying to have to put in personal data but Gym Kit does it for you (age, weight, etc.) would be a value add, but that doesn't apply to Peloton.