Update – Peloton has now removed the section of the support page about Bluetooth cadence support being removed. We’re not sure if they are permanently shelving plans to remove support for Bluetooth cadence sensors, just delaying the announce/dates of it, or if a Peloton employee mistakenly added the wording to the page (though with the specific dates & cutoffs, seems unlikely). We will update this information if/when Peloton provides an official statement.
Original article
Peloton quietly announced this morning that they would be dropping support for Bluetooth cadence sensors through their Peloton Digital iOS app (no other digital platform supported it besides iOS).
They have posted a notice on the Bluetooth cadence support page, posting the following information:
Please note: beginning 10/13/2020, the Bluetooth cadence sensor capability will have limited support. Peloton Members who joined on, or prior to 10/13/20, will be supported temporarily until 6/30/2021. Members who joined after this date will not have this functionality.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
There does not appear to be a technical reason for this change. Instead, it is likely to try to segment the feature set available between digital and the actual Bike, and drive more people to upgrade from using the digital platform to buying a true Peloton bike instead. It’s possible the Peloton certified pre-owned program will be operational by then to provide some users a cheaper upgrade path, but this is likely to drive some people away from the platform.
Interestingly enough, this appears to match a strategy Strava previously took. In September of last year, Strava completely cut off Bluetooth cadence sensors as well. However, almost exactly a year later, they ended up adding them back. In this case, pending a mass exodus of digital users, we’re not sure how likely it is Peloton would reverse course on this.
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Ultimately, if they remove this functionality, we will move to another service. I love my Keiser M3i as its quality is a true step up from Peloton’s own branded bikes (including the ‘new and improved’ version.
peloton should be ADDING bluetooth power meter support to the digital app
their bike is not the end-all-be-all of bike equipment and it would be trivial to add powermeter support to the digital app and then allow them to compete more directly for the folks with smart trainer bikes, or other high end bike trainers who might be using software like TrainerRoad, Zwift, Sufferfest, etc
it would not take much to expand the Power Zone class portfolio to be more directly competitive with the other power based services out there
That is some business strategy. They are assuming that customers using the peloton digital service for $ 16 mo will buy a $ 2500 dollar bike and a $ 40 per mo subscription . Good luck to them . They operate as if they are the only player in this field . Personally I will most likely switch to the apple bundle when it is released if it supports my wahoo sensor