Flywheel: $2,000 exercise bikes stop working after lawsuit from rival Peloton

Affected users offered option to trade-in their now-bricked bike

Commentator Jesse Palmer and former NFL player Troy Aikman attend The Flywheel Challenge at the NFL House (Vivien Killilea/Getty Images for Flywheel)

Owners of Flywheel's $2,000 exercise bikes have been told they will stop working properly after a lawsuit.

The smart bikes allowed users to tune into spin classes, streamed live over the internet and onto a touchscreen.

But the company has announced that those classes will come to an end in March, leaving the bikes without their central function.

The decision comes after Flywheel was sued by Peloton over claims that it had copied the idea for a smart bike and live classes from its rival.

The two companies settled the lawsuit earlier this month and the decision to shut down Flywheel's online spin classes resulted from that decision.

Flywheel still run classes from its studios. An email sent to affected owners said Flywheel "will continue to focus on our original mission of providing the best in-studio cycling experience, and this decision will not impact our studio operations".

Peloton – which makes an even more expensive bike, for $2,245 – says that it will give existing Flywheel owners the option to trade in their now-bricked bike for a refurbished, working one of their own, for free.

Companies such as Flywheel and Peloton that offer access to gym classes at home through internet-connected equipment have been touted as the future of exercise. As well as spinning classes, a number of companies have sprung up offering streaming weight training classes and more.

But like all parts of the internet of things, they rely on the company to continue supporting the hardware. Flywheel's bike is one of many internet-enabled household products that have been cut off after their creators have stopped support.