The 5 Most Regretted Fitness Products in 2026
Smart treadmills, subscription trackers, and one very expensive mirror. Here's what owners actually think after 90 days.
These regret rankings come from Pregret owners in the United States and Canada — cross-border shopping data on the fitness products marketed heavily on both Amazon.com and Amazon.ca. Every January, fitness equipment sales spike. By April, most of it is gathering dust. We looked at the fitness products with the highest Regret Scores on Pregret — and the pattern is clear: subscription-locked hardware is where buyer's remorse goes to thrive.
1. Lululemon Studio Mirror — Regret Score: 85
The poster child for subscription hardware failure. Lululemon acquired Mirror, raised the subscription price, then killed the service entirely. Owners were left with a $1,500 piece of reflective glass and no refund. The lesson: when a product needs a subscription to function, you're renting, not buying.
2. Peloton Bike+ — Regret Score: 78
The hardware is solid. The problem is the $44/month subscription that makes it feel like a lease payment on a bicycle that goes nowhere. Owners report the screen wobbles during hard sprints, and resale value has cratered. Day 30 satisfaction is high (4.2/5), but by Day 90 it's dropped to 1.9/5.
3. Tempo Studio — Regret Score: 76
Another subscription hardware casualty. The 3D body-tracking sensor was impressive in demos but gimmicky in practice. Then the company folded. Resale value: zero.
4. NordicTrack Commercial 1750 — Regret Score: 68
iFIT locked basic features behind a subscription wall. Owners report that without the subscription, the treadmill loses most of its smart features. Service and replacement parts are described as "nearly impossible to get."
5. Hydrow Rower — Regret Score: 71
Mandates a $44/month subscription with no offline workouts. Owners consistently mention that a Concept2 RowErg (Regret Score: 6) costs half as much, lasts decades, and works without WiFi.
The pattern
Four of the five most-regretted fitness products share the same failure mode: mandatory subscriptions. The products work fine — until they don't, or until the company decides to change the terms. The lowest-regret alternatives (Concept2, TRX, REP Fitness) are all subscription-free, built to last, and hold their resale value.
Before you buy fitness equipment, ask yourself: if this company shut down tomorrow, would I still have a functional product?