In case you missed it, the US Consumer Product Safety Commission has been telling people to stop using one of Peloton’s treadmills. They posted this video to help communicate the hazard:
Don’t worry, this kid is fine - but tragically some others are not. Peloton is pushing back, saying their treadmills aren’t dangerous if you follow the instructions: turn the machine off and take the key out when you’re not using it, and keep kids and pets away when you are using it.
So what’s so special about Peloton’s treadmill? I gather treadmills in general are considered one of the most hazardous pieces of exercise equipment, but what makes Peloton’s machine so uniquely dangerous that the CPSC is actually telling people not to use it?
I juit went downstairs and tried to pick up my treadmill. The back end is far too heavy for a toddler to be able to pick up, and there’s a skirt underneath the tread that seems specifically designed to keep pets and small humans from being pulled underneath.
There is no back rail, so the belt is exposed. If something gets to close, the treadmill will climb it and pull the object underneath. My treadmill does not have the back of the belt exposed, the worst that could happen is you might lose a finger.
The back edge of the Peloton’s treadmill looks to be much thicker than other treadmills. Other treadmills seem to have a 1" roller on the back, but the Peloton seems to be several inches thick. That extra height on the back end would likely have more gripping force to pull something down and under the treadmill. With a thinner roller on the back side of other treadmills, there wouldn’t be as much downforce and it seems less likely to pull a child underneath.
My treadmill (a Nordictrack 1750) has a storage feature whereby you can raise the back end of the running deck and latch it at a high angle, freeing up some floor space. There’s a gas strut that helps you lift, but it still takes 35 pounds of force to get it off of the ground.
In contract, the Peloton treadmills don’t appear to have such a feature, and they are heavy: the Tread weighs 290 pounds, and the Tread+ weighs in at 455 pounds (!). More of the weight would be at the front (that’s where the drive motor, incline mechanism, and console are), but I bet the back end still has a lot more than 35 pounds of weight on it.
There’s no “skirt” behind/under my treadmill, but there is a crossbar underneath the roller; this is the handle that you grab to lift the back end of the running deck, but I can well imagine it also is deliberately put there to prevent a kid’s head from getting sucked under. It’s tucked up pretty close under the bottom of the deck; A toddler could still get his arm wedged in there, but it wouldn’t kill him. From pictures, it looks like there’s no such crossbar under the Peloton deck.
The Peloton also uses some kind of slatted belt on the running deck, which looks like it could present pinch points for kids fingers as it wraps under the rear roller and those gaps between the slats close up (like a multi-panel garage door coming down). Not sure if that was part of what the CPSC took issue with).
I’m starting to think that the lack of a crossbar under the rear end of the deck (or skirt behind it) is the key shortcoming, i.e. something that would prevent a kid’s head or torso from getting pulled under .
Since Darren_Garrison very kindly posted a picture of one, I’m inclined to think that mostly what’s wrong with it is that it doesn’t look like it will hold my dirty and semi-dirty clothes any more effectively than a far less expensive treadmill.
What’s wrong with it is that the back of the belt area needs ro be covered to prevent little skulls from being pulled in. If other treadmills also lack this feature, then the same thing is wrong with all of them.
Well, yeah, that’s one reason why most gyms don’t allow people under 16, or even 18, to use mechanical equipment, but kids can get away from parents awfully fast.
Heck, my aunt’s play room had an old treadmill in it. It wasn’t like this, though–the treads were surrounded on all sides by a metal case.
Granted, it wasn’t plugged in, but we still used to run on it, as you could make it move if you could push hard enough with your feet. For the longest time as a kid, I actually thought all treadmills were foot powered—I just thought the part to adjust the difficulty had broken on the one in the play room.
I was also just so envious of that play room and all the toys. No need to even put up any of said toys.
