Flywheel has announced it will stop offering its At Home service after admitting it infringed two patents from Peloton bikes which launched in 2014.
In a Wednesday email, the cycling brand told customers it has made the ‘difficult decision’ to discontinue the service, which offers coaching from real-life instructors and allows users to compare metrics and compete with each other via a leader board system.
This week Flywheel settled a 2018 lawsuit with Peloton which claimed the offering on Flywheel’s Home Bike, launched 2017, was an illegal copy of their own.
They claimed Flywheel investor Michael Milken had misrepresented himself to their CEO John Foley as a potential investor of Peloton and three months later launched a model that mirrored their streaming service, right down to the display.
Flywheel has announced it will stop offering its At Home service after admitting it infringed two patents from Peloton bikes (pictured)
Peloton bikes launched in 2014, three years before the Flywheel (pictured) model that mirrored their streaming service, right down to the display
Flywheel initially denied the claims but this week settled the lawsuit.
But Flywheel Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey Naumowitz said in the settlement: ‘Flywheel admits that Flywheel’s Fly Anywhere Bike and associated services infringe the Peloton Patents as alleged by Peloton [and] that Flywheel copied elements of the Peloton bike in developing its Fly anywhere bike. As such, and as part of the settlement resolving this dispute, Flywheel agrees that within 60 days it will stop infringing Peloton’s patented technology.’
As of next Saturday live classes will cease and from March 27 on-demand sessions will no longer be available.
At Home bikes cost $1,948 or $2,248 with a tablet to view live instructors from some of their studios, and offered an experience much like its studio classes which can cost as much as $36.
The service launched three years ago, tracks user progress with features including Power Score, an algorithm based on speed and resistance to measure your total energy output, a TorqBoard leaderboard, and Race Mode – timed sprint to test your limits.
It’s much like their studio classes, launched in New York in 2010, but Peloton championed the market of at-home cycling when it started selling the bikes in 2014.
Social media users expressed disappointment as they complained their Flywheel bikes were now just a ‘$2000+ paperweight’.
Peloton claimed Flywheel investor Michael Milken had misrepresented himself to their CEO John Foley as a potential investor of Peloton and three months later launched a similar service
This week Flywheel settled a 2018 lawsuit with Peloton which claimed the offering on Flywheel’s Home Bike was an illegal copy of their own
Peloton offered existing customers the opportunity to trade in their machines for a ‘refurbished (to be like new) Peloton Bike’.
However those who bought the Flywheel bikes on finance will not be compensated in the same way.
‘We understand your disappointment at this news, but we have partnered with Peloton to provide an exclusive offer for you to enjoy their world-class At Home product,’ Flywheel said in the email. ‘The last possible day you may be billed for Flywheel At Home is today.’
Flywheel subscribers must trade in their bikes and activate a new Peloton Membership by the time the service stops working. Like Flywheel’s offering, Peloton’s monthly Membership is also $39 (plus any applicable taxes).
Both brands use Delta-compatible cleats on their bikes so shoes purchased for Flywheel are expected to work on the Peloton machines.
‘Let’s see if they screw us over,’ one Twitter user wrote.
Peloton has said it looks forward to gaining new customers but would not disclose the terms of the settlement when approached by DailyMail.com.
Social media users expressed disappointment as they complained their Flywheel bikes were now just a ‘$2000+ paperweight’
‘Flywheel Sports, Inc. has announced that they will stop offering their Flywheel At-Home service, effective Friday, March 27, 2020,’ a Peloton spokesperson told DailyMail.com in a statement.
‘In order to make sure that Flywheel Home Bike owners can continue to get the benefits of indoor cycling at home, we have worked with Flywheel to create an exclusive opportunity for them to join the Peloton community by trading in their Flywheel Home Bike for a like-new Peloton Bike at no cost to them.
‘We look forward to welcoming these new members into the Peloton family.’
Flywheel – which has closed down several physical studio locations recently as it struggles to compete with the likes of the widespread Soul Cycle brand and lesser offered Peloton studio classes – has said it will focus on its studios business model.
But last year Flywheel closed 11 of its 42 studios nationwide.
Customers may also not be content with Peloton’s service which provides access to thousands of live and on-demand classes from instructors. Peloton was the subject of a backlash this past holiday season due a commercial that many found sexist.
Peloton has offered existing customers the opportunity to trade in their machines for a ‘refurbished (to be like new) Peloton Bike’
Peloton was mercilessly mocked for its ad about a man surprising a woman with the exercise bike. She thanks her partner by documenting all the times she uses the gift throughout the year.
The commercial was branded ‘sexist’ and ‘misogynistic’.
Exercise bike maker Peloton Interactive Inc early this month forecast current-quarter revenue below Wall Street estimates and hinted at slowing sales growth, sending its shares down nearly 8 percent.
It also said average selling prices declined quarter-over-quarter during the holiday season due to heavy discounts.
Total revenue in the fiscal second quarter rose 77.4 percent to $466.3 million, down from more than doubling in the previous quarter.
The company forecast third-quarter revenue to be between $470 million and $480 million, compared with analysts’ average estimates of $493.3 million, according to Refinitiv data.