My Experience With The Peloton Bike Delivery: A Review

If you’d asked me in 2016 about my Peloton bike delivery, I would have told you this: we ordered our bike, and a few weeks later it showed up. Period.

Fast forward to 2020 and 2021, and the Peloton bike delivery experience has changed completely. If you’ve been waiting for yours–or your Tread–you know what I mean.

So, why am I writing about this topic now? Well, our family decided to purchase a second Peloton for our home.

Actually, we decided to get a second bike for our vacation home. We didn’t want to be away from a bike when we were away from our Pennsylvania home. Yes, I know, first-world problems.

You may have read my article about buying a used Peloton bike versus buying new. I wrote that article when we were in the research phase of getting that second bike. That is, should we buy used or buy new. Now you know our final decision–we were going to buy new.

I’ve just updated this post. Why? Because you can buy the Peloton Bike Plus now for $500 less than it’s been in the past. Also, you’ll get free delivery and setup.

Why did I buy a Peloton Bike Plus

In addition, since we have the original bike at home, we decided to buy a Bike Plus for our second home. Why? Well, a couple of reasons.

One, it was new and exciting to try a new version of the Peloton bike. Two, because I write this blog with a lot of Peloton content, it made sense to get the Bike Plus. Why? Because it would expand my ability to write greater content reaching a larger group of Peloton owners.

My Peloton bike order experience

So, what was my ordering experience like? It was pretty straightforward. I placed my order online on February 12. It went pretty quickly and easily.

As soon as my order was complete, I was able to set up my delivery. The first available date was April 2. Yup, nearly seven weeks in the future. That’s about normal these days and what Peloton customers should expect.

Choosing my Peloton bike delivery date

When I bought my Bike Plus, there were delivery delay estimates on the Peloton website. Bikes were running six to eight weeks, and Treads were running 10 to 12 weeks. I just checked back today–those delivery estimates are gone.

So, I can’t tell you whether or not you’ll face a similar delay like I did. What I can tell you is this: a friend in the Pittsburgh area ordered an original Bike on a Monday, and it was delivered on Thursday–four days later.

Why Peloton deliveries are delayed

There are a couple of reasons I knew there would be a delay with my Bike Plus purchase. One, I knew that since Peloton introduced the Bike Plus in mid-2020 that people were waiting a long time to get them versus the original bike.

Two, the supply chain has really ground to a halt in the past year, delaying nearly everything coming from overseas. It’s one of the reasons that Peloton purchased Precor, the exercise equipment company. This way they can move their manufacturing from overseas to stateside and, hopefully, speed up delivery.

How long for Peloton bike delivery after order

And, three, I was having my Bike Plus delivered to my home in Maine. I know from anecdotal experience that the closer you live to a Peloton hub, the faster your bike will get there. Also, if you’re ordering an original bike versus the Bike Plus, your delivery speed will be even faster.

Thanks to some Google sleuthing, I was able to determine that the nearest Peloton hub to me in New England was outside Boston. From speaking with other bike owners in Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine, it seemed that deliveries go out to those states once a week. That makes sense since when I was selecting my delivery date after placing my order, my only options were Fridays starting in April.

Finally, Peloton doesn’t actually deliver bikes to Maine. XPO Logistics does.

Compare that with my home in Pennsylvania. We live about 30 minutes from a Peloton warehouse outside Pittsburgh. Peloton calls them a field operations center. Anyway, you see Peloton delivery Sprinter vans everywhere. So, you know Peloton is the one doing the deliveries. Again, not in Maine.

Peloton delivery tracking and status

It’s not like Peloton hid this fact from me–that they wouldn’t be the ones delivering my bike. It actually showed up on my order delivery confirmation page. Here’s what it said:

“Please expect a confirmation call after 4 PM the day prior to your requested delivery date. XPO Logistics will provide you with a three-hour delivery window at that time.”

What Peloton didn’t tell me–but I figured out–is that I could track my XPO Logistics delivery. Literally, I searched on Google for “where is my Peloton bike” and XPO, and I came to an XPO tracking page.  So this gave me a Peloton delivery tracking tool.

I was able to put in my order number and up came the confirmation page shown below. (Links at the bottom of this post if you want to track your Peloton order with XPO Logistics.)

What happened the day before my Peloton bike delivery

The day before my delivery, guess what? The Peloton delivery tracking page updated to show my three-hour delivery window. See below.

Even though the messages from Peloton said I would get a call after 4 p.m. and I’d signed up for SMS text messaging with XPO, I didn’t hear anything from them. But around 2 p.m. on the day before, the page updated to show that my Bike Plus would be here between 9 a.m. and 12 noon on April 9.

Then, that evening I got a text message from XPO about my delivery. Shortly thereafter I got an email. Finally, the morning of my delivery, I got a call at 8 a.m. It was the driver saying he would be here around 9 a.m. When I checked the XPO tracker, I could see that my bike was “out for delivery.”

What happened when the Peloton arrived

At just after 9 a.m. the truck arrived. It took the two delivery people about 20 minutes to set the bike up. This was from pulling into my driveway to carrying my bike into the house to attaching the monitor. Then, I had them stick around while I plugged in the bike to make sure it worked.

After that, they explained how to set up the Bike Plus. This included going through the touchscreen and getting the bike to auto-calibrate.

Also, fun fact: because I already have a Peloton bike, I did not have to use the activation code that Peloton sent me. I was able to log in as myself and get started. That also means that I do not need to pay a second $39.99 a month for a subscription. That’s an awesome money saver.

Update: I was wrong. I do have to pay for the second subscription, because I bought the bike using my email address, not my husband’s, which is connected to our first bike. But, since this bike is in our vacation home that we rent, now I don’t have to worry about getting kicked out of my account if a guest is riding at the same time I am–something you cannot do (ride simultaneously) if you have only one account.

Peloton Delivery expectations

I must say it was infuriating to see that the bike “arrived” in the Franklin, Massachusetts, warehouse on February 12th. That’s the date, you’ll recall, that I placed my order. I know I couldn’t help but think, hey, if my Bike Plus is in the warehouse, why does it have to be seven weeks until you can deliver it to me? But then the rational side of me emerged.

One, I’m not the first person in New England to have ordered a Bike Plus. Two, as such, I’m not the first person in line to get it delivered. And three, with XPO delivering my bike and, seemingly, only coming to Maine one day a week, getting the bike immediately didn’t make sense. I’m guessing the same delay would have been true whether I purchased the Bike Plus or the original bike or even a Tread.

Changing your Peloton delivery date

I ended up having to change my delivery date to a week later due to a conflict on my part. I did this change by chatting with Peloton support and then calling their customer service phone number. The Peloton employee I spoke with was super helpful and even put me on hold to call XPO directly to ensure that they could make April 9 instead of April 2.

Unfortunately, there have been a lot of stories on Facebook and the Peloton Cycle Reddit about people being unable to change their delivery date. On the flipside I have heard about people getting an earlier delivery date by simply checking in with Peloton customer service on a regular basis.

You have to be home to receive your Peloton delivery

Many people ask, “Do I have to be home to receive my Peloton?” Yes, you have to be home. Peloton does not offer contactless delivery.

However, you do have an option for threshold delivery, if you’re not comfortable letting someone into your house for a long period of time. In fact, this was one of the options I was given when I got my delivery confirmation email a few days ago. Here’s what it said:

“If you feel uncomfortable accepting an in-home delivery at this time, we are happy to offer a Threshold Bike delivery instead where we fully assemble your Bike outside the home and carry it through the front door of your home or apartment. If you prefer that method please reply to this email to let our Support team know or simply inform our delivery team when they call on the way to your home on the day of delivery.”

Threshold delivery of your Peloton

There are a few reasons I would not recommend the threshold delivery. One, you don’t have time to ask questions. Two, the delivery team won’t be there when you plug in your Peloton bike–to make sure it turns on–or put in your activation code. Three, if there are issues with the condition of your bike–I’ve heard people receiving banged-up bikes–you won’t have the opportunity to point this out or ask about it.

Tipping the Peloton bike delivery team

When we had our original Peloton bike delivered in 2016, I tipped the Peloton delivery team. I did the same when they delivered my Bike Plus.

How much did I tip them? I planned on giving them $10 each. My delivery is straightforward. They need to come up the front steps and straight into my home.

If I was going to have them deliver my bike up or down a flight of stairs or something more complicated, I might tip them more–maybe $20 each. Then again, I’m a generous tipper. So I ended up giving them $20 after all. Having worked in jobs where you rely on tips, I’ll always err on the side of tipping more than tipping less.

Peloton delivery checklist

So, if I had to suggest a Peloton delivery checklist, what would it be? Here you go.

1. Track your order using Peloton support chat or the XPO website like I did.
2. Identify where in the house or apartment you want your bike or Tread.
3. Clear a path from the door to wherever you’re going to put your Peloton hardware.
4. Put away all animals so they don’t interfere.
5. Make sure you have cash to tip the delivery crew.
6. Ask the delivery team to go over your Peloton with you before they leave.
7. Also, before they leave, make sure that the bike or Tread turns on.
8. Have your info ready so you can log in and confirm that your login works.

In addition, the people who deliver your Peloton should take all the trash with them when they leave. If for some reason it seems like they’re not planning on cleaning up after themselves, definitely ask them to take the debris with them. Finally, if you’re not satisfied with delivery, call Peloton or bring up the chat option on the Peloton website.

How are Peloton bikes delivered

As I mentioned earlier XPO Logistics delivered my Bike Plus to my home in Maine. Near where I live in Pittsburgh, I see Peloton-branded Sprinter vans everywhere. Therefore, I would say that Peloton employees are delivering Peloton products.

I know there is at least one other third-party delivery service that Peloton uses. It is JB Hunt. I don’t have any personal experience with them but Facebook friends have and they were pleased.

Finally, now that Peloton has put the bikes on Amazon, it’s possible that UPS will be added to the list of companies that delivery Peloton bikes.

What should I do while I wait for my Peloton to be delivered

There are two ways to approach what to do while you’re waiting for your Peloton bike or Tread to be delivered. In the short term, determine where in your home you want to put your equipment. You want to know exactly where it should go on your delivery day.

In the long term, you should start purchasing the best accessories that will help you love your Peloton more. I’ve written blog posts on the best, must have accessories for your Peloton bike and the best, must-have accessories for your Peloton Tread.

Buying shoes, shorts and a padded seat

As far as bike accessories go, if you didn’t order shoes as part of your package, check out my post on Peloton bike shoes. I offer options where you can purchase Peloton brand shoes–but not from Peloton–as well as other brands that tend to fit wide feet better.

In addition, if you’re not getting a mat with your bike delivery, you may want to purchase one for under your bike. They’re not required but many people like to have them to catch sweat. Here is my post reviewing different kinds of mats to buy with a Peloton bike. 

If you’re waiting on the bike, you’re going to want to get padded bottoms and a padded gel bike seat. My favorites are men’s padded shorts from Baleaf and women’s padded shorts from Terry.

What is a Plus Bike

So here is a question I get that is not Peloton related. What is a Plus Bike? Not a Bike Plus, but a Plus Bike. Well, I had to look it up.

Turns out a Plus Bike is an outdoors cycle that has fatter, thicker wheels than a traditional road or mountain bike or a fat tire bike. Who are people who ride the Plus Bike outside? This article from Backcountry.com explains all of that. 

Final thoughts on my Peloton bike delivery experience

After all of the horror stories I’d read about Peloton bike deliveries not showing up, all I can say is my delivery experience was a dream. Of course, I didn’t love having to wait so many weeks to get my bike. But the wait was worth it.

XPO did a great job of communicating when the bike would be coming, the driver called in advance, as promised, and the delivery and setup were painless. They left no trash behind, stayed with me to teach me how to use the Bike Plus, and I tipped them both $20 before they left.

If you’re curious to track your own XPO Logistics delivery of your Peloton, here is the link I used.

Want to read more about Peloton’s purchase of Precor so they can bring manufacturing stateside and speed up deliveries? Here’s the press release, from the Peloton investor site about the acquisition.

Finally, interested in the Peloton Cycle sub Reddit? Here is a link.