Peloton Tread is getting its own version of Lanebreak, the fitness video game-style workout that's already available on the Peloton Bike and Peloton Bike+. A guided workout with visuals reminiscent of beatsaber and Tron Legacy, the game has you changing incline levels and speed in order to guide your avatar from lane to lane, hitting 'moments' that allow you to score points.
The Peloton Tread is already on our best treadmills list for a reason: it’s a well-constructed, easy-to-use premium treadmill that allows you to access Peloton’s stable of live and on-demand workouts – for an additional fee, of course. Peloton describes Lanebreak Tread as “a gamified workout where users have to match and sustain their incline or speed according to animated cues on the tablet”. The aim is to get the highest score possible, and there's a bassy soundtrack to help you get the adrenalin pumping.
Lanebreak on the Peloton Bike and Bike+, which can be found under More Rides, follows a similar pattern, using resistance rather than incline to switch lanes. You can check out how it works in the instructional video below. Although the visuals are ripped straight out of Tron, the whole thing is oddly reminiscent of the Guitar Hero franchise, as you switch from lane to lane, and speed up to hit the right cue at the right time.
New features for the Tread version of the game include auto-incline functionalities to represent your in-game avatar hitting a hill, which is represented in the 3D world onscreen, and a new Pacer mechanic, which is designed to help people follow an intervals workout structure. Peloton Lanebreak is rolling out to Peloton Tread users from today, June 28.
Analysis: more fitness gamification is no bad thing
In 2022, after a deep-dive into the Peloton ecosystem, I concluded that Peloton still held a lot of value for users who love the way it workouts have been gamified. If you like chasing the leaders of the pack up the boards, and getting badges and virtual coins and shout-outs from your favorite instructors, a Peloton product is still a worthy purchase.
The Lanebreak game is an extension of that: it’s likely going to be better exercise than a Nintendo Ring Fit, Beatsaber or other also-ran fitness gaming add-ons because it’s a workout first and a game second. It’s really for runners and riders who want to add a bit of spice to their routine, not gamers looking to get fit – but it’s another addictive string to Peloton’s bow.
As long as Peloton keeps bringing out new content and new modes, and pushing the boundaries of what’s possible with its kit, its audience will keep coming back for more. The original Lanebreak game on the bike is the closest thing we’ll probably get to a Tron lightcycle racing game, and I’ll be fascinated to see how the Tread version stacks up.
Of course, if you’re keen on running but not treadmills, you can always find some leaderboards to crack on Strava. Here are three exciting new tools coming to Strava in 2023.
