Quick Answer: No. A stock Peloton Bike or Bike+ does not broadcast power, cadence or speed over Bluetooth or ANT+. It measures those values and displays them on its own screen, but it doesn't advertise itself as a cycling sensor, so a Garmin, Apple Watch, bike computer or app like Zwift will never find it in a pairing search. Peloton's Bluetooth is receive-only — for headphones and heart rate straps.
Table of Contents
- The short version
- Why your Garmin can't find it
- What this breaks
- Is this a limitation or a decision?
- Getting it to broadcast
- What about the Peloton app's own sync?
- How FitSwitch fits in
- Frequently Asked Questions
The short version
Your Peloton knows your power. It just won't tell anyone.
The bike measures cadence and resistance and computes an output figure in watts — that's the number on the screen during every ride. But that data path terminates at the Peloton tablet. There's no outbound broadcast, so from the perspective of every other device in your house, the bike doesn't exist.
Why your Garmin can't find it
This is the most common version of the question, and the answer surprises people because the Peloton clearly has Bluetooth.
It does — but Bluetooth on a Peloton is inbound only. It's there so the bike can receive:
- Audio to your Bluetooth headphones
- Heart rate from a chest strap or armband
It is not configured to advertise as a Bluetooth Cycling Power or Cycling Speed and Cadence service, which is what a Garmin, Wahoo head unit, Apple Watch or training app searches for. And the Peloton has no ANT+ transmitter at all.
So when you put your Garmin into sensor-pairing mode next to a running Peloton, it finds nothing. Nothing is wrong with either device.
Not sure which route to take?
FitSwitch does it in hardware — 55+ apps, automatic resistance, and metrics broadcast to your watch. No sideloading, no developer mode.
See FitSwitch →30-day money-back guaranteeWhat this breaks
Because there's no broadcast, all of these fail on a stock bike:
- Apple Watch can't record the ride as a cycling workout with power
- Garmin watches and Edge computers can't see the bike
- Zwift, Rouvy and TrainerRoad have no data source, so your avatar doesn't respond to your effort
- Strava gets whatever Peloton's own integration sends, which excludes Just Ride sessions entirely
- Third-party bike computers see nothing
Is this a limitation or a decision?
A decision. The hardware measures power perfectly well — see how Peloton calculates power — and adding a standard Bluetooth power service is not a difficult engineering problem. Almost every other piece of connected fitness equipment does it.
The commercial reasoning writes itself: a bike whose data flows freely into Zwift is a bike you can use without a Peloton membership.
Getting it to broadcast
Since the gap is at the hardware interface, no app installed on the Peloton screen can close it — an app in Peloton's sandbox can't reach the sensor bus. It takes a device that reads the bike's sensors directly and re-advertises the data as a standard cycling sensor over both Bluetooth and ANT+.
Once that's in place your Peloton appears in any pairing search as an ordinary power and cadence sensor, and everything above starts working — including ERG mode on the Bike+, where the data flows both ways.
What about the Peloton app's own sync?
Peloton does sync completed classes to Strava and a few other services through its own integrations. Two limits: it requires an active membership, and it doesn't cover Just Ride sessions. It's a class-history export, not a live data broadcast, so it can't feed anything in real time.
How FitSwitch fits in
FitSwitch is a hardware device that plugs into the Peloton's USB port and does exactly this bridging. It reads cadence and resistance directly from the bike, broadcasts them as a standard cycling power and cadence sensor over both Bluetooth and ANT+, and on the Bike+ drives the resistance motor for ERG and SIM mode.
It also puts 55+ apps on the Peloton screen — streaming and training — with no computer, no developer mode and no sideloading, and keeps them updated so a Peloton OS update doesn't wipe your setup.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why can't my Garmin find my Peloton?
Because the Peloton doesn't broadcast. Its Bluetooth is receive-only, for headphones and heart rate straps, and it has no ANT+ transmitter. There's nothing for the Garmin to pair with.
Does the Peloton Bike+ broadcast power?
No. Neither the Bike nor the Bike+ advertises a Bluetooth Cycling Power service. Both measure power internally and display it only on their own screen.
Can I pair my Apple Watch to my Peloton?
Not to a stock bike. Apple Watch looks for standard Bluetooth cycling sensors, which the Peloton doesn't present. With power and cadence broadcast, the watch records the ride as a normal cycling workout.
Does Peloton support ANT+?
No. There is no ANT+ transmitter or receiver in the Bike or Bike+, so ANT+ devices like Garmin Edge computers can't connect.
Can an app on the Peloton screen fix this?
No. Apps run in Peloton's sandbox and have no access to the bike's sensor bus or its resistance motor. Broadcasting requires hardware that reads the sensors directly.
Will Peloton ever add power broadcasting?
There's no announced plan. It's a commercial choice rather than a technical constraint — open data would make the bike fully usable without a membership.
Not sure which route to take?
FitSwitch does it in hardware — 55+ apps, automatic resistance, and metrics broadcast to your watch. No sideloading, no developer mode.
See FitSwitch →30-day money-back guarantee