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Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

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11–20 of 172 posts

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#12
>The Bike and Tread maker said the secondary market is an “important source” of new members.

So why are you creating a $95 barrier-to-entry for those new paying members? Are you really so strapped for cash that you want to drive potential customers to your competitors, or entirely away from your online subscription?

If people are selling their Pelotons, and the buyer is buying a subscription, Peloton should be grateful, not punishing their customers with arbitrary onboarding fees.

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#13

Peloton is both a product manufacturer and a service provider; setup fees are common with many service providers. For example, if you bring a phone you bought elsewhere to your carrier, they'll charge a fee to activate it for their network.

I've never been charged a fee to activate a device on a new carrier, probably because they'd much rather have the money from my monthly subscription - in fact I've seen offers from carriers to buy out your current contract if you switch to them.

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#14
post #3

If it's cloud connected, it's going to do this.

Unfree software that you do not have source for serves its owners not you.

There are plenty of other ways a company could extract this fee.

For example, no spare parts, or ability to subscribe, or customer service, if you don’t pay.

The software is only an implementation detail that even free software couldn’t stop.

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#15

... Isn't capitalism great? I remember a thread on here a while back where some folks were sharing their peloton-alike setups and sadly I've lost the bookmark for it. Isn't it possible to hook a road bike up to some kind of 'bike treadmill' or such and go on virtual rides (maybe with an iPad or a tv or something infront of it?). With the kinds of money Peloton are charging, it did seem like a much better deal, and yo…

You clearly aren’t their target audience if you’re even thinking about price, it’s a luxury brand that people bought into because their cool rich friends did and they wanted to be part of the club, nothing more nothing less

there are plenty of normal alternatives for people who just want exercise, bad example of broken capitalism to me

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#16

... Isn't capitalism great? I remember a thread on here a while back where some folks were sharing their peloton-alike setups and sadly I've lost the bookmark for it. Isn't it possible to hook a road bike up to some kind of 'bike treadmill' or such and go on virtual rides (maybe with an iPad or a tv or something infront of it?). With the kinds of money Peloton are charging, it did seem like a much better deal, and yo…

If you want a more bike like experience, and not a spinning bike experience, what you want is a "direct drive trainer". You take off your back wheel and mount your normal bike and chain on that.

A trainer like that can be used with all kinds of software. Personally I like the social aspects of Zwift. Group rides, competitions, just biking along the map with other people around. For structured workouts Trainerroad is great, but it's also possible to do in Zwift. Other apps like Rouvy exist, probably apps for more traditional spinning sessions as well, or you can just make your own workout in any of the apps matching a YouTube video and put the video on.

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#17

... Isn't capitalism great? I remember a thread on here a while back where some folks were sharing their peloton-alike setups and sadly I've lost the bookmark for it. Isn't it possible to hook a road bike up to some kind of 'bike treadmill' or such and go on virtual rides (maybe with an iPad or a tv or something infront of it?). With the kinds of money Peloton are charging, it did seem like a much better deal, and yo…

You can get pretty far just attaching your regular bicycle to a "stationary bike stand", which turns it into a stationary bike. Add in Strava and you have the social aspect. Strava has a pretty good free tier.

If you want classes, etc that is separate. I already get that via Apple Health.

If you want real-time competition, you could use Zwift, but then you're increasing the cost (albiet, you are using a best of breed system and composing from parts.)

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#18
post #10

... Isn't capitalism great? I remember a thread on here a while back where some folks were sharing their peloton-alike setups and sadly I've lost the bookmark for it. Isn't it possible to hook a road bike up to some kind of 'bike treadmill' or such and go on virtual rides (maybe with an iPad or a tv or something infront of it?). With the kinds of money Peloton are charging, it did seem like a much better deal, and yo…

> Isn't capitalism great? Does "capitalism" now just mean that businesses can do whatever they want? Consumer rights are awful in the United States, but that isn't because our economy is capitalistic. It's because our government is inept.

I think by “capitalism” they mean this pervasive attitude of trying to extract money to customer in every way possible.

Re: Peloton to charge $95 activation fee for used bikes

#20

Peloton is both a product manufacturer and a service provider; setup fees are common with many service providers. For example, if you bring a phone you bought elsewhere to your carrier, they'll charge a fee to activate it for their network.

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