The company's products are stationary bicycles, treadmills, and indoor rowers equipped with Internet-connected touch screens that stream live and on-demand fitness classes through a subscription service.

[2][3] In 2011, John Foley, an executive at Barnes & Noble in New York City, pitched his colleague, Tom Cortese, on the idea that technology could make it possible for people with little time to get the full experience of working out in a high-end studio cycling class in their homes.

[9][10] The company also opened showrooms in shopping centers around the US, for people to test out the machines, and "sales quickly soared" for the classes, encouraged by the online community of riders.

[10] Peloton’s original treadmill, Tread+, was unveiled in January 2018 by the company at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

[14] The action resulted in changes to music used in its sessions, as well as removal of certain programs that used the songs named in the suit.

[20] In November 2019, the company released a new holiday commercial, "The Gift That Gives Back", where a wife, played by Monica Ruiz, receives a Peloton bike for Christmas from her husband, and, after using it, observes that she "didn't realize how much this would change me".

The commercial received criticism from viewers who claimed that its plot implied that the woman's husband was dissatisfied with her physical appearance.

[25] However, the rapid increase in demand caused shipping delays, with customers receiving their products months late, leading some to cancel orders.

[27] Due to Peloton's success, at least a dozen rivals, including Equinox, Icon Health & Fitness, and Flywheel Sports, began selling Peloton-style internet-connected bikes.

Court documents revealed that Flywheel created an internal initiative to obtain Peloton's confidential trade information.

[36][37][38] The Tread model was also recalled due to reports of the touchscreen display screws loosening, causing the screen to occasionally detach and fall off.

[39][40] In July 2021, a Brooklyn couple filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages against the company claiming their 3-year-old son suffered third-degree burns after being trapped under the treadmill.

[42] In August 2021, Peloton announced that Tread owners could schedule an in-home appointment for their treadmill's touchscreen to get repaired by a technician.

[45] In December 2021, on the first episode of the Sex and the City reboot And Just Like That..., the character Mr. Big (played by Chris Noth) has a heart attack and dies after riding a Peloton bike.

[48] The statement also said not to blame the company for the character's death, and cited some contributing factors, such as his lifestyle (e.g., his consumption of steaks and cigars) and a cardiac surgery in a previous season.

[51] Several weeks later, an episode of the show Billions also featured a character experiencing a heart attack after using a Peloton device.

[52][53] In January 2022, CNBC reported, citing internal company documents, that Peloton had temporarily paused production of its products after greatly increased demand during the early stages of the COVID pandemic had slackened, leaving the company with a glut of bikes and treadmills.

CEO John Foley stepped down from his position, becoming executive chairman, and was replaced by Barry McCarthy, the former chief financial officer of Spotify and Netflix.

[80] Those who purchase the Bike then pay a monthly subscription fee for access to live-streaming and on-demand classes through the tablet.

[84] The Tread+ (originally named the Tread) was unveiled in January 2018 by the company at the annual Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

[89] In May 2022, Peloton teased and confirmed the forthcoming release of an indoor rowing machine at its 2022 Homecoming virtual event.

While Peloton's flagship offerings are cycling and running classes using their exercise machines, they also offer classes in strength training, yoga, cardio aerobic exercise, meditation, stretching, Pilates, tread bootcamp, bike bootcamp, and walking.

[107] Some of the company's fitness instructors, including Robin Arzon, Emma Lovewell, and Jess King, have become celebrities and social media influencers.

[111][112] Users can compete with one another on the live leaderboard that ranks class participants based on the Output (total wattage of energy expended).

[116] The company first began testing a gaming-inspired workout class called Peloton Lanebreak in July 2021 and released it on Bike and Bike+ on February 17, 2022.

At the beginning of May 2021, Peloton held a free online Homecoming event, consisting of three days of special classes, panel discussions on fitness and the introduction of new features and instructors.

[129] At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, the studios were shut down and Peloton filmed live classes from the homes of select instructors, including those from New York and London.

[132][133][134] In November 2021, athletic apparel retailer Lululemon sued Peloton accusing it of infringing on six design patents by selling "copycat" products.

[135] Peloton settled the lawsuit in September 2022 without admitting any wrongdoing, by agreeing to phase out the designs that Lululemon had objected to.