Peloton CEO wants to redesign bikes so you can assemble them at home - The Verge

In an interview with Bloomberg, Peloton CEO Barry McCarthy noted the company is redesigning its bikes so they can be self-assembled. The rower may also make an appearance this holiday season.

Coming on the heels of a third round of layoffs, Peloton is now considering redesigning its bikes so that users can assemble them independently. CEO Barry McCarthy is also considering a plan that would let Peloton app subscribers potentially view workouts on third-party workout machines. McCarthy told Bloomberg that Peloton has been working on a bike redesign “for a while” and, to top it all off, said he hopes Peloton’s long-awaited rower might debut sometime this holiday season. He also confirmed the company hasn’t fully given up on the Tread Plus.

All of this tracks with comments McCarthy made in May during the company’s Q3 2022 earnings. At the time, he floated the idea of potentially changing hardware designs so that in the future Peloton equipment would be designed to arrive at a customer’s home in one piece. Right now, Peloton’s treadmills and bikes require white-glove delivery in separate pieces, with a crew that comes to your home and builds yours for you. The service used to be free, but Peloton began charging an additional $250–$350 fee at the end of January.

The move is part of Peloton’s ongoing restructuring plan, which aims to reduce the company’s costs and improve cash flow. On Friday, Peloton announced it was cutting more than 500 jobs related to last-mile deliveries and product distribution. The company also noted it was raising the cost of its Bike Plus and Tread while shuttering retail locations in 2023. Making it so that customers can assemble their own equipment would mean the company can simply ship devices via FedEx — which is a move that rowing rival Hydrow recently implemented with its slimmer, smaller Hydrow Wave rower.

https://www.theverge.com/2022/8/15/23306646/peloton-self-assembly-bikes-rower-barry-mccarthy

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