Peloton’s New ‘Historical Information’ Is Like a VIN for Bicycles
Buying a used Peloton is a smart way to purchase an expensive exercise bike. I bought mine used and have no regrets; As far as I can tell, the seller was honest and I saved a good $500 compared to what I would have paid if I had bought the bike directly from Peloton. But not all used bikes are what they seem, and it would be great if I could check the bike’s history first.
Now Peloton is launching a tool that lets you do just that. They call it the Peloton History Summary , and it allows you to view the history of any bike or bike+ by its serial number. The big caveat at this point is that the program is still in beta and does not return results on a per-bike basis .
What a Brief History of Peloton Can Tell You
I entered my bike’s serial number but was told that my bike was not included in the beta. (They’re pushing it slowly, so yours might not be there either.)
But Peloton provides a sample resume on its website. This suggests that the historical report may contain:
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Number of hours of riding a Bike/Bike+
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Has the company ever sent equipment to repair it?
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Total number of registered owners, including current owner
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Is Bike/Bike+ currently covered by the protection plan and if so, when will it expire?
This is all useful information if you are thinking about buying a used Peloton. When I bought mine, I asked the previous owner about the history of the bike, but there was no way to know if he was telling me the truth. In the end, my experience matched what he told me: there were no problems with the bike and it seemed to have been used with care. The only problem was that it required a new bearing cartridge, which is known to wear out over time. (Peloton sent me a new one for $45, and I installed it myself—an inconvenience, but not a bad deal at all.)
How to Use the Peloton History Summary When Buying a Used Bike or Bike+
To use the History Summary, you will need to locate the serial number on your bike or Bike+. If you scroll down the history page , Peloton has instructions on how to find it: it can be on the front fork, behind the fork, or behind the flywheel. (It ‘s not on the back of the screen; it shows the serial number of the screen itself, not the entire bike/bike+).
I’ve found that the easiest way to read a serial number from an awkward location is to take a photo of it and then use my iPhone’s text scanning feature to copy and paste the serial number. (Double check that it was copied correctly – for example, that the zero was not mistaken for the letter O or vice versa.)
When you buy a Bike or Bike+, you can ask the seller for the serial number and then look it up using the history tool—much like searching a used car’s VIN . When you come to pick up your new Peloton, be sure to check that it has the same serial number before you hand over payment.
Peloton suggests that sellers may want to be proactive about this and collect the history of their bike/Bike+ and post it to their selling listings. They also note that they’re still figuring out exactly what information History will provide, so stay tuned to see what this feature will look like once it comes out of beta.