My DIY Peloton Tread

Turn any treadmill into a DIY Peloton Tread with the Peloton app + Stryd pod. Get metrics, save money, and enjoy studio-style runs at home.

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I've always loved exercise - not just for burning calories, but for the mental clarity, motivation, and strength that come with it. When I found the Peloton app a couple of years ago, I was hooked. It fit perfectly with my lifestyle and quickly became my go-to workout routine.

Then came running - something I once swore I hated. By giving myself permission to go at my own pace, I actually started to enjoy it.

About a year ago, after catching the running bug, I decided to turn our old treadmill (a Precor C956i from a gym going-out-of-business sale) into a DIY Peloton Tread.

I already knew the Peloton app could power a DIY Peloton Bike. I had converted Peloton resistance to a Schwinn IC4. Why not do it for a Tread too?

As it turns out, this one wasn't as easy. The bad news is that there isn't currently a treadmill on the market that allows you to connect to the Peloton app and transmit the metics, like you can with several different bikes on the market. The good news is that it's still possible.

The Key to my DIY Tread: A Stryd Pod

There are several great devices out there that give you lots of different metrics while running. I searched everywhere for one that would give you metrics that were as close as possible to a Tread. I landed on Stryd.

Stryd is a small sensor you clip onto your shoe. When you run, it gives you pretty much any metric you could possibly want about your running. You'll get pace, cadence, elevation, and many other different geeky metrics that tell you just about everything you need to know. Most importantly, it gives you your power metric, measured in watts. That's where the similarly to Peloton really comes in.

Comparing Stryd and Peloton Metrics

Now, Peloton doesn't make it easy to find out how they calculate power, and neither does Stryd. There are lots of different factors that go into both.

Pace and incline obviously are the two big ones for Peloton. Stryd adds in a few more metrics (like your weight, wind speed against you while running, etc.) However, you can surmise that the Peloton power metric and the Stryd power metric are at least comparable.

They're both measured in watts, and while Peloton calculates your total kj of power from a class for you, it's pretty easy to do the same with Stryd.

Simply multiply your average watts times the number of seconds you ran, then divide by 1000. (For example, if I ran 100 watts for 30 minutes (1800 seconds), I'd multiply 100 x 1800 and divide by 1000, giving me 180 kj.)

As far as the individual metrics Peloton gives you vs. Stryd - let's break them down and see what you get or don't get with each.

• ✅ Pace/Speed: listed on both
• ✅ Elevation/Incline: listed on both. (Automatic when you use the Apple Watch/Stryd outdoors, has to be manually inputted indoors on the Stryd app. This, in my opinion, is one of the major drawbacks of using the setup vs. using a real Peloton Tread!)
• ✅ Real-Time Output in watts: listed on both
• ✅❌ Total Run Output in kj: listed on Peloton, has to be calculated on Stryd
• ✅ Elevation Change: listed on both (in the run summary screen after you finish a Stryd run)
• ✅ Total Distance: listed on both in realtime
• ✅ Average Output: listed on both (in the run summary screen after you finish a Stryd run)
• ✅ Average Pace/Speed: calculated on both (in the run summary screen after you finish a Stryd run)
• ❌✅ Cadence: only on Stryd
• ❌✅ LSS: only on Stryd
• ❌✅ Form Power Ratio: only on Stryd
• ❌✅ Air power: only on Stryd (much more useful metric for outside running)
• ❌✅ Stride Length: only on Stryd
• ❌✅ Vertical Oscillation: only on Stryd
• ❌✅ Ground Contact Time: only on Stryd

So, you can see that you're actually getting a lot more metrics with the Stryd - and the best part is that it's only a little over $200! With a few supplies, you can get most of the functionality of a Peloton Tread by using your own treadmill (really, any one you'd like) and a few supplies to make the setup work.

There are two options for setting up your DIY Peloton Tread - you can use just an iPad or use a combo of both an iPad and an iPhone. They both have their advantages and drawbacks - I'll kind of go over the pros and cons of each when I explain the setup.

Setup Option 1: DIY Peloton Tread with iPad and iPhone

(Excuse my perpetually dirty iPad screen.)

With this method, you're going to use an iPhone and an iPad side by side to get all of your metrics. Your heart rate and workout will be on the iPad; the actual stats of the run (like power, distance, cadence) will be on the iPhone.

This might not be the flashier of the two setups; you're not going to see your iPhone on the TV, and it's not all on the same screen. But, this is actually the setup I prefer.

I'll talk about this a little bit more in the Setup 2 section of this post, but the Stryd iPad app's layout is just a little wonky with the way we use it. This setup allows you to see all of your stats at once on your phone, while still being able to see the workout on the big screen of the TV.

Let's get into how to do it!

(Housekeeping beforehand - make sure your Apple watch is connected to your Peloton account via your phone, your AirPods are connected to your iPad, your iPad is setup for screen mirroring if you're using a TV, and your Stryd is connected to your iPhone.)

If you're familiar with my DIY Peloton Bike post, a lot of this is going to look familiar. The setup and connection of your bluetooth gear is going to be pretty similar. If you haven't read that post already, taking a look at it might help!

In your iPhone Stryd app, go to calendar, click the plus button at the top, and select "start run."

Select "indoor run" (this just means it's not going to use GPS to track you, since you stay in place, and that you'll need to manually set the incline in the app as it changes on your treadmill).

Press the play button to start tracking your run metrics.

Once you do that, you'll be able to see power, cadence, pace, and total distance all in one view.

If and when you need to change your incline throughout the run, swipe up - you'll see this screen. Change to the percent needed and swipe back down to get to the previous screen.

Now you're ready to start the Peloton app on the iPad. Before you do, if you're screen mirroring to a TV, make sure your AirPods are disconnected from the iPad (under settings>bluetooth) and you turn screen mirroring on (swipe down from top, select the mirroring button, select the TV you're using).

Start your workout in the Peloton app.

If your Apple watch doesn't automatically connect, click the heart rate button on the right side.

Then, click "connect to Apple watch." This normally happens automatically after starting a workout for me, as long as the Apple watch has been connected to your iPad beforehand and is set up in your iPhone Peloton app (under settings).

If you're streaming to a TV and need to connect your AirPods for sound, now you'll go to the icon circled on the right and select "Airplay."

Select your AirPods from the list. If you've followed the steps correctly, the sound from the TV/iPad should play on your AirPods now.

And you're ready to roll!

You can see the stats from the Peloton and Stryd apps above. There are gaps in the data from Stryd because this was a bootcamp class. I wasn't on the treadmill the whole time. (You can just pause the run and restart when you get back on in one of these classes.)

Setup Option 2: DIY Peloton Tread with Just an iPad

(Housekeeping beforehand - just like in setup 1, make sure your Apple watch is connected to your Peloton account via your phone, your AirPods are connected to your iPad, your iPad is setup for screen mirroring if you're using a TV, and your Stryd is connected to your iPad.)

If you didn't read about setup 1, take a look at it if you have any questions about this setup. A lot of it is the same, I repeat some of the same steps as I do in that method.

On your iPad, go into your Peloton app and start a class. If you're planning on streaming this to a TV, you can reference in my DIY Peloton Bike post or setup 1 how to disconnect your AirPods and screen mirror the iPad to a TV before starting.

(It might be helpful to pause the class at this point to get everything set up.) If you've already connected your Apple watch to your Peloton account in your phone beforehand, your watch should automatically connect to show heart rate. The pace doesn't work from Apple watch to iPad as of now, but you'll get that metric with the Stryd anyway.

If it doesn't automatically connect, go to the button on the right that looks like a heart rate monitor.

Next, go to the icon circled in the first picture above and select your AirPods. If you've disconnected the AirPods from your iPad beforehand and screen mirrored already, this should allow your AirPods to play the sound while your iPad is streaming to the TV.

Now, just like you do with the DIY Peloton Bike setup, drag up from the bottom of the iPad and select your Stryd app. You're going to drag that icon to the right side of your screen.

That will allow the Stryd app to open in the right ⅓rd of the screen. Once open, click the plus button to start a run, and select "indoor run."

The app will let you know once the Stryd pod has connected to the iPad. Once it has, click the play button to start your run.

Now, this is the main reason I prefer setup #1. The screen layout for Stryd on the iPad just isn't great for viewing all of your metrics at once.

You can leave it on the previous screen to see your real-time watts, or you can drag up from below to see cadence, pace, and total distance, as well as manually inputting your incline if it changes during the run. But you can't see both at the same time...kind of a pain.

Once the Stryd and Apple watch are connected, you're ready to start your run!

I prefer streaming to our gym TV while doing runs. Not only is the screen bigger, but it more at my line of vision this way.

Once you're ready to stop the run, simply click the stop button and select "Yes."

These are my actual metrics after that run (and you can see a lot more if you go into the iPhone app, where it automatically uploads your metrics, as well as Apple Health and optional apps like Strava).

And here's what it looks like in the Peloton App. Not a lot of info there, but you don't really need a lot. It's mainly a place to detect your heart rate and run the actual workout.

This setup is nice because it allows all of the apps you're running to be on the same screen - that's especially helpful if you're streaming to a TV and want to see everything at once. However, like I mentioned, the iPad Stryd view is a little clunky. It doesn't allow you to see all of your metrics at once. If that's an issue, you might want to consider option #1.

Differences in Real vs DIY Peloton Tread

Just like I mentioned in the Bike post, there are some differences that you need to evaluate for yourself. See if it's worth it to spend the extra money on an actual Peloton Tread. For me, it's not - but you might be more motivated by some of the extras Peloton offers.

• Leaderboard access: On the Tread, you see a live leaderboard with rankings. App users can see others in class but aren't visible themselves and can't join synced runs/rides (though you can workaround with FaceTime).
• Facebook group hashtags: App users can't search hashtags during rides/runs to see who else from their groups (like #sweatsquad) is in class.
• Workout search limitations: You can't search workouts by song, equipment, or instructor name in the app. (Tip: You can use this community-made spreadsheet lists older workouts by equipment, songs, and difficulty.)
• Metrics split between apps: With the Tread, all metrics sync in Peloton. With DIY setups, you'll need the Peloton app for heart rate and the Stryd app for other metrics.

Now, it's up to you to ask yourself if that's worth buying a $2700+ treadmill that locks you into one company's workouts. You'll also pay $40+ a month for a subscription.

On the other hand, you can pay whatever you want for a treadmill, use equipment you probably already own and that can be used for lots of other different purposes, and pay $13.99 (Peloton) +$9.99 (Stryd) a month for apps to make the DIY Peloton Tread setup work.

For me, it's no question. That's not to judge if you choose to go the other way. We all have our own motivations and all need different things!

Being forced to make our garage home gym setup was one of the best things that came out of the pandemic for our family. I'm not sure if I would have done the DIY Peloton Tread if not for the pandemic. But I'm so glad I did!