Peloton claims first fitness victim: Flywheel

Yanked a hammy... Flywheel, the 40-studio spinning chain launched by a SoulCycle founder, is walking out of the class — it's been taken over by its biggest investor/lender. And the new boss is looking to make 2 moves pronto:

• Try selling (again): Flywheel stuck a $350M price tag on itself last year, but no one bought.
• Switch products: Instead of studios you schlep to, sweat it out in the living room with their at-home stationary bike.

Coincidence?... Nope. Peloton pioneered the tech-enabled at-home bike in 2012. Since then, it's stolen customer butts from major gym chains through extreme convenience. First, it's suing Flywheel for copying its home spin bike. Second, it's planning to IPO this year at an $8B valuation. Here are the 3 keys to Peloton's soul:

1. Hardware: A $2K bike that's just small enough to fit in a closet, but big enough to humble-brag visitors with. Over 400K have been sold, featuring instructors who yell/guide you via the mounted screen.
2. Software: Thousands of live and on-demand streaming spin videos are available so you can tap it back for a 30-minute hip-hop ride anytime.
3. Subscription: Once you've bought the bike, you're on the hook for $39/month to access those class videos.