We’re not sure if anyone working at Peloton is a fan of early 60s doo-wop group The Dovells. But if they are, the American band’s 1963 hit ‘You Can’t Sit Down’ would form a rather apt soundtrack for the fitness brand’s offices this week.
On Thursday, Peloton issued a voluntary recall notice for almost 900,000 of its Original Series Bike+ models, following reports of a seat post defect which causes it to break and fall off, potentially resulting in, the company says, “injury risk” for users.
Peloton has received three reports of the seat posts breaking and detaching during use, and two reports of injuries as a result of falls.
Approximately 833,000 models have since been recalled in the US, while 44,800 bikes sold in Canada may also be affected, though Peloton says it is yet to receive any reports of seat posts breaking from its Canadian customers.
The American company has warned users affected by the recall to stop using the Original Series Bike+ model immediately, while offering customers a free replacement seat post, which can be self-installed at home.
The recall applies to Original Series Bike+ models manufactured in Taiwan between December 2019 and July 2022, which were sold in the United States and Canada from January 2020 to April 2025. The bikes were sold by Peloton directly, as well as through third-party retailers such as eBay, Amazon, and Dick’s Sporting Goods, retailing at $2,495.
Peloton says the affected models can be identified by the PL02 model number and a serial number beginning with the letter ‘T’, on the label located inside the front fork, behind the front fork, or behind the flywheel.
“The integrity of our products and our members’ well-being are our top priorities,” Marcio Oliveira, Peloton’s senior vice president of Global Hardware Operations and Product Safety, said in a statement.
“The recall is due to the fact that the Original Series Bike+ seat post assembly can break during use, posing fall and injury hazards to the user.
“Peloton has received three reports of seat posts breaking out of approximately 833,000 units sold in the US. Peloton has received no reports of a seat post breaking, out of 44,800 units sold in Canada.
“We are taking this opportunity to make replacement seat posts available to all affected Bike Plus users and we encourage them to contact us to receive the redesigned seat post as soon as possible.”
This latest recall comes over two years after Peloton issued an even larger recall notice concerning a faulty seat post, following the indentation of a defect in its Original Series PL-01 model, affecting 2.2 million of its entry-level bikes.
That recall, issued in May 2023, came after 35 reports from users that the seat post was vulnerable to breaking at the weld joint, leading to 13 injuries, one customer sustaining a fractured wrist, cuts, and bruises.
Last year, we reported that, after a turbulent period characterised by restructuring, a curtailed retailed presence, and a series of layoffs, Peloton saw its first sales increase in nine quarters, beating analysts’ estimates and sending shares surging as much as 41 per cent.
That rare bit of positive news came as the American fitness company controversially confirmed that it will start charging customers a £72 “activation fee” when they buy one of their exercise bikes second-hand.
In May 2024, at the same time CEO Barry McCarthy stepped down, 15 per cent of Peloton’s workforce (around 400 people) was made redundant in another round of cuts.
This latest cull, McCarthy claimed, was necessary to bring the New York-based brand’s spending in line with its revenue, following three years of continuous losses thanks to sales of connected indoor fitness equipment plummeting as Covid-era restrictions eased.