Trade My Spin Brings Cheaper Peloton Bikes to NYers, Delivery Included

As Peloton cycles through CEOs and secures refinancing to pay down its hefty debt load, a new company has emerged to ease its famed exercise bikes onto the secondary market. Trade My Spin, co-founded by Ari Kimmelfeld and Joey Benjamini, is centered around providing eager Peloton latecomers with a smoothened shopping experience.

The digitally-oriented business sells used bikes for $499, with the option of a minimum $180 warranty, and also accepts used bikes from inclined sellers. When bought from their parent company, Peloton bikes start at $1,500.

Peloton’s bikes come with built-in video screens, so that instructors can teach a variety of classes, from running to rowing.

In an interview with Straus News, Kimmelfeld–who was born and raised in Brooklyn, and noted that he a large customer base in Manhattan–said that background in digital consulting helped prepare him for his current venture. Most importantly, though, the inspiration for Trade My Spin ultimately stems from his longtime passion for biking. “When I was in high-school, I did a trans-America bike ride for charity. It helped children with special needs. We biked from San Diego to New Jersey,” Kimmelfeld said.

“As I got more busy, I needed to stay in shape at home, so I was looking to get a trainer. I wanted to get a good deal, so I went on Facebook Marketplace,” he added. “I must have found something for $500 or $600, I forgot exactly what it was. I basically had to go out there, check out the bike, and I didn’t really know what I was looking at. It was first time buying a Peloton. I didn’t have a car, so I rolled it downstairs. It was super heavy.”

What’s more, the bike’s warranty wasn’t transferable. A couple of months later, the screen on his Peloton was broken, and there was no way to replace it. “I was thinking: ‘Wow, this is super inconvenient! There are probably thousands of Pelotons out there.’ I started thinking about how how this could be better,” Kimmelfeld said. Hence, the idea for Trade My Spin was born.

Trade My Spin is organized around certain “value-adds” for Peloton buyers, the kind of things that Kimmelfeld reasonably believes would have made his own secondhand Peloton shopping experience better. “The table stakes is providing delivery,” he explained. “We’re talking about major cities, where people don’t have cars. If you had the option or the convenience to get the bike delivered, you would probably opt into that.”

“The second point is payment. You don’t want to deal with a stranger when you’re selling a Peloton or buying a Peloton. The third point is the warranty. If you’re buying something used, you don’t have a warranty. We give you a few months warranty. If anything breaks on the bike, we just replace that bike,” Kimmelfeld said. “Not even Peloton does that.”

Within the Tristate area, Trade My Spin offers 24/7 delivery–something that differentiates it from competitors such as Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, and eBay.

Peloton, of course, has faced financial pressures since the COVID-19 pandemic lessened in severity. As lockdowns ended and fitness-minded people returned to in-person gyms, the company has cut its workforce by 15 percent, seen yearly revenue declines, and made serious restructuring efforts to reduce expenses in a bid to return to profitability.

Yet Peloton has also seen a massive surge in active subscribers since 2019–from about half-a-million to over three million–which Kimmelfeld has staked Trade My Spin on. “I figured out what Peloton has sold in total, since their inception: Four-and-a-half million bikes,” he said.

That’s a lot of available merchandise, which will eventually become used, and thus potentially ripe for Trade My Spin: “There’s always that churn of people buying the equipment and getting less interested, so the secondary market for Peloton bikes is just getting bigger.” Even in its early stages, Kimmelfeld said, Trade My Spin has already sold a few thousand bikes.

Benjamini, Trade My Spin’s co-founder, did not return a request for comment as of press time.