Slack wasn’t the only platform to be down yesterday, as Peloton users everywhere experienced a 2-hour outage that prevented users from streaming classes on the Bike, Tread or app.
Peloton tweeted, “We are currently investigating an issue with Peloton services. This may impact your ability to take classes or access pages on the web. We apologize for any impact this may have on your workout and appreciate your patience. Please check http://status.onepeloton.com for updates.”
The outage was fixed within a couple of hours, but users say the issues flagged one major issue with the platform — the fact you cannot download classes to take offline.
We are currently investigating an issue with Peloton services. This may impact your ability to take classes or access pages on the web. We apologize for any impact this may have on your workout and appreciate your patience. Please check https://t.co/Dxcht2tQB0 for updates.February 22, 2022
While some users took to social media to share their concern that they’d lose their streaks if they had to take a day off the platform, others questioned why Peloton had not yet developed the functionality to take classes offline.
One user tweeted, “If we could just download workouts that didn’t require server connectivity this would be so much smoother”. Another user responded, “There should a few bits of content that’s accessible without internet for times like these, storms, etc. Please consider adding some basic content we can store on our bikes, phones…”
At the time of writing, you can download, or ‘preload’ classes on the Peloton app on iOS to take them without being connected to WiFi, but this isn’t an option on the Bike or Tread.
Of course, the outage isn’t necessarily Peloton’s fault. This does highlight a huge pitfall of connected fitness, as like Peloton’s new CEO, Barry McCarthy, emphasized a few days ago, Peloton’s content and on-screen experience are what makes the platform special. While users were still able to use the “Just Run” or the “Just Ride” option during the outage, without the classes and instructors, the hardware isn’t as useful.
It goes without saying, 2022 hasn’t been the best year for the home fitness brand that boomed during the pandemic. Earlier this year the company announced it was pausing the production of it’s Bike and Tread, and started making users pay for the installation of the products, raising the prices. Peloton also suffered a major decline in its stock following the death of Sex and The City’s Mr Big using the exercise Bike, and it has cut 2,800 jobs.
What’s next for the brand remains to be seen. However, there are rumors of a Peloton rower, and a potential Amazon buy could be on the horizon.
