I'm not familiar with treadmills, but they've been around forever. What stupid design did Peloton leave out that makes theirs so much more dangerous?
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Peloton recalls all treadmills after one child died and 29 others injured due to the slatted design and elevation
- Thread starter DrForester
- Start date
I'm not familiar with treadmills, but they've been around forever. What stupid design did Peloton leave out that makes theirs so much more dangerous?
I think their back-ends are exposed, and the safe alternative is to cover the back part so nothing can be pilled under. It reduces running space, however, which is likely why they didn't do it. The solution is to make the treadmill longer and cover the back curve.
This is a serious issue with children getting hurt. Let's not post the Dexter GIF, mmkay folks?
I'm curious, too. Some wheels just don't need to be reinvented.
I'm curious, too. Some wheels just don't need to be reinvented.
sacrificing safety for aesthetics. it's like they looked at a set of tank treads and were like, "huh that looks safe!"
I think it is due to their height off the ground being higher than most other units which allows for small children/pet to be pulled under.
Pretty much. Form over function. And safety.
[WARNING] 5 Reasons the Peloton Tread+ Is NOT Safe for Kids, Small Pets
The Peloton Tread+ is a strong and powerful treadmill with individual slat belts that has many talking about safety concerns of this treadmill, as well as a warning from the FCPS.
www.treadmillreviewguru.com
Several.
The running surface is slatted, rather than being a single smooth belt, so that if something gets caught underneath it (more on that in a second) there's more than just friction being exerted on the trapped object; the gaps between the slats can capture skin etc.
The rear of the treadmill is open, which normally isn't a problem with a belt-driven system, but because Peloton's devices are raised off the floor, it's easy for things to get trapped and pulled under. The video the US regulators released showing a child getting pulled under happened from the rear of the treadmill, and it's a terrifying watch. Seriously, as a parent, I don't think any video has scared me that much.
There's no system to detect excessive torque / potential blockages, so when something does get pulled under the treadmill, the slats will continue to pull it further under - until either the machine gets lifted off the floor by the mass of the thing captured, or until the thing gets pushed out the other side.
Combined, these amount to a constantly-running tank track that's just high enough to grab children and pets, pull them under, and hold them there.
I want to be clear also that Peloton has a lot to answer for in terms of marketing gym-grade, dangerous devices to people who simply do not have the space to safely use them. All those design decisions are stupid and life-endangering, but they'd be less of a problem if Peloton only sold to commercial gyms. The video the regulators released showed one of these treadmills in the corner of a crowded lounge with two children playing on it. Obviously the parents are idiots for letting that happen, but Peloton's own marketing shows their hardware in people's communal living spaces - where it absolutely does not belong.
Treadmills have been around for awhile and Peloton must have known that the back is covered for safety and decided to not cover it so it would look cool.
Yeah, it's a whole bunch of silly decisions. It's honestly bewildering that it was approved by Peloton for sale.Pretty much. Form over function. And safety.
[WARNING] 5 Reasons the Peloton Tread+ Is NOT Safe for Kids, Small Pets
The Peloton Tread+ is a strong and powerful treadmill with individual slat belts that has many talking about safety concerns of this treadmill, as well as a warning from the FCPS.
The key difference is that, with a smooth belt, friction would be the only force pulling anything under from the back. With slats, there is actual grip.
This is fucking insane. Are you fucking serious? There's no excessive torque monitoring? How did this ever get approved?
I think it is due to their height off the ground being higher than most other units which allows for small children/pet to be pulled under.
Yeah I don't think I've seen a treadmill before with the walking path that exposed as it loops around and that high off the ground.
How this wasn't caught is kind of crazy.
They have one, it's under the front horizontal handle thing, at about waist height. The entire red safety cord can be removed from the Peloton, acting as a key of sorts. Supposedly once all this started going down, running instructors began to instruct users to remove the key at the end of classes.
OP
OP
Thanks for the answer. Not including a system to detect excess torque seems just criminally negligent. It's a $4000 machine, how does it not have all the bells and whistles.
I should note that I'm only basing this on the video and a few articles written about it, but those certainly suggest that there's no system to detect when the belt is trapped on something and to cut the power.
There is a shut-off switch or key of some kind, but it has to be manually disabled.
I'm sure they knew those were safety features. Not to mention this saga has been going on with them for a couple of years now. They just thought form over function is the way to make the big money.
Because I suspect they weren't looking to primarily market it to families + kids. Look at their site and tell me the captive audience isn't a millennial.
Yeah, form over function for heavy fast moving exercise equipment isn't a good idea.
But it's just common sense that while not for kids, they may be around the equipment same with pets.
Hearing the cost for these and the subscription I think their target audience is just rich people. I remember one of their ads having a Mom and daughter in it.
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Peloton basically looked at everything that has been done over the years to make treadmills safer to use and ignored all of it. Another example of upstart tech companies jumping into an industry thinking they know more than their established competitors and failing to do their due diligence.
I think it is due to their height off the ground being higher than most other units which allows for small children/pet to be pulled under.
that thing looks massive.
In regard to what I bolded - it is insane that a system for that wasn't in place. In 2021.
I'm not familiar with Peleton but other treadmills I have seen require some sort of key or dongle to start them. Is that not the case anymore? Would solve a lot of the issues here. Keep the key elsewhere and its placement in the home isn't as much an issue.
This'll happen with any treadmill that doesn't have a bar underneath. Flat out terrifying and the vast majority of them on the market. It's one of the most dangerous bits of equipment one can have in a home and something that is super easy to correct. I'm surprised it's not mandated at this point that the underside of the belt has to have a guard.
Not going to even lie. I love my Tread+. But also my kids are older (and a bit neurotic in regards to safety) and it's in a locked home gym area.
I'm sure they knew but chose to do nothing about it until their hand was forced.
It seems like it would be easy to send back pieces that affix to the end of the treadmill for existing owners. Like when Nintendo had to send wrist straps to existing Wii owners.
But, regardless, the solution to this is obvious. Hopefully everything is sorted out for existing Tread and Tread+ owners soon.
I think there is a key needed to operate the Peloton treadmills, so that being available to unattended kids is clearly a massive parental failing. The issue, though, is the danger when it's in operation - which is heightened compared to regular treadmills for a variety of reasons.
I have a garage gym, and while I don't have a treadmill in it, I could have, and the door to it doesn't lock from the inside. So I could conceivably be running on a treadmill with headphones in, and have one of my kids come in behind me and get pulled underneath. That's not a problem that's exclusive to Peloton's design, but it's one that exacerbated and intensified by that design.
To be clear: the only safe commercial-grade gym equipment at home is gym equipment that's completely stowed, unpowered, inert, and locked away. When one parent is exercising, the other should have the children elsewhere in the house. But that doesn't remove the responsibility of equipment makers to build the safest devices they can within those limitations.
Height doesn't matter, the torque of any treadmill has enough power to lift the thing off the ground and pull items under. If anything that height probably makes it safer because it's harder to get a young arm stuck underneath due to more clearance.
I think it is due to their height off the ground being higher than most other units which allows for small children/pet to be pulled under.
Such a simple fix to place a plastic cover half way up the belt wheel and carry it through the undercarriage.
Yeah I guess I should say I'm shocked they probably realized the potential risk and didn't do anything about it.
Couldn't they have just made it so it automatically shuts off if it senses something underneath? 🤷‍♂️
Ya its amazing how fast a treadmill can turn into a belt sander under the right condition. Those things are no joke.
