Fancy a pre-loved Peloton?

Like many people, Ari Kimmelfeld really wanted a Peloton, but he faced the usual issues. “I didn’t want to spend $2,000 on a brand-new bike, so I found one for $600 on Facebook and hailed a cab to get it home,” recalls the New York-based entrepreneur. Yet the romance soon turned sour. “Pieces like the bottle holders cracked off, and then a couple months later, there was a problem with the screen and I couldn’t get it replaced under warranty because I wasn’t the original owner. That stuck with me, and I thought: there must be an easier way to do this.”

Smart trainer bikes became a staple after the boom in home exercise gear a few years ago, but like Kimmelfeld, you may not fancy stumping up the £1,300 or so it would cost for a brand-new Peloton. You may not then take to it, either, and end up with a very expensive extra clothes-rail. (This, among other factors, partly explains the brand’s varying fortunes since its late-2020 high – it reduced its bike prices in 2021 in response to fading revenues, and now offers a £99-a-month rental option on its top-spec Bike+.) 

Trade My Stuff estimates that about a million Peloton bikes are currently sitting unused

However, buying a second-hand one isn’t necessarily easy either. Until now, there have been two options: buying an official refurbished trainer directly from the manufacturer, or taking a chance on unofficial marketplaces such as Facebook, Gumtree or Craigslist. Purchasing a refurbished bike from brands such as Peloton has its benefits – it’s been inspected and tested by the manufacturer and has a 12-month warranty. But with a cost of £1,095 for the basic model (£250 cheaper than full price), it’s still a hefty investment. As for finding equipment on the secondary market, you’ll be without warranty protection. Plus, getting a 61kg bike out of the seller’s house, into a vehicle and into your home can be an ordeal.

Cue Kimmelfeld’s “easier way”: Trade My Stuff. This US-based service offers “gently used” Peloton bikes, with fewer than 150 rides, priced from $499, with the option of an 18-month warranty from $180. Everything is set up for you when it’s delivered. Kimmelfeld is aiming to strike a happy medium between buying direct and the open market. “Our biggest competitor is probably Facebook Marketplace, and convincing people that our value-added service is worth it – the delivery, the trust, the warranty,” he says. “Upwards of 30 per cent of our customers [say they] wouldn’t have subscribed to Peloton unless they could get a bike for $499.” There are benefits for sellers, too. “People are surprised that they don’t have to pay us for getting the Peloton out,” says Kimmelfeld.

There is certainly enough product available: Trade My Stuff estimates that about a million Peloton bikes are currently sitting unused: “There have been 4.5 million Peloton bikes produced, and there are three million subscribers today – discount half a million for broken bikes and there’s still a million left,” says Kimmelfeld. “And Peloton is selling 500,000 to 600,000 bikes a year, so that number is only increasing.”

“Everyone wins,” adds Kimmelfeld’s co-founder Joey Benjamini. “We’re giving people an opportunity to buy fitness equipment at a lower cost, we’re recycling used equipment, Peloton gets new subscription revenue, the seller gets cash.” He is bullish about the potential. “We want to create a marketplace for fitness equipment so everyone can build the home fitness gym they want to build.” And their goal isn’t limited to Peloton. “There’s so much fitness equipment out there that needs to be traded,” he points out. “Whether that’s your friend’s stuff in the basement or your grandpa’s home gym.”