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Flywheel owners found out that their bikes were bricked through Peloton

walrus01 7y ago
I'm honestly astonished that people will actually spend money on devices that have the ability to be remotely bricked.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- vb6sp6 7y ago
  i think you might be overestimating the technical knowledge of the general public.
  - Can_Not 7y ago
    Also lack of genuine modern alternatives for some products.
- sushid 7y ago
  I mean do you have a smartphone? A gaming console? You’re likely one of those people too.
  - diogenescynic 7y ago
    Or even a tv.
JohnFen 7y ago
This is yet another in the lengthy, and growing, list of examples of why people shouldn't purchase hardware (particularly expensive hardware) that depends on someone else's server to function, or that can be disabled remotely.
smoyer 7y ago
If anyone has a bricked FlyWheel bike, I'd love to poke at the hardware and see whether an open-source control system could be fitted. Honestly, the electronics are NOT the expensive part of this bike and it would be fun to play with an instrumented exercise bike. My email is in my profile.
- farisjarrah 7y ago
  This sounds like a great idea for an open source community. Hack these exercise bikes/street scooters/e-bikes that end up in landfills or in ditches and release a method of flashing functional firmware to them. Reminds me of the Open Source E-Reader Community ex: https://github.com/fread-ink/fread-vagrant https://github.com/fread-ink/fread-vagrant
  - smoyer 7y ago
    My thoughts exactly but I didn't want to offer anything until I'd: a) Verified that it was possible b) Determined that there were enough people to get the "hack" done. c) Ascertained that there would be no legal ramifications.
    - JohnFen 7y ago
      I think that, worst case, all three of those points can be addressed by simply replacing the existing brains of the machines with your own entirely. Sight unseen, I'm guessing that it could be done with an R-Pi.
    - yunruse 7y ago
      Would it even be legal to attempt to enforce against it? It would quickly be C&D’d if you tried to sell custom firmware for such things, sure, but given the vibrant homebrew scene for many other consumer devices (iOS, Android, various gaming consoles) I’d say it’s absolutely viable, at least legally.
  - T3OU-736 7y ago
    This also seems reminiscent of the hacking efforts for insulin pumps a-la: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/06/05/diabetics-forgoing-new-tech-hacking-into-insulin-pumps/1256667001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/06/05/diabetics-for...
T3OU-736 7y ago
(US-centric view below, wonder if other countries have protection already in place through some means) This does seem like a rather interesting intersection of ownership vs licensing. The ownership is via the purchase of the physical item (the bike itself), but to really enjoy it requires the license (aka subscription to Peloton or similar). I wonder (have not looked, plus IANAL) if the terms/agreement that the owners sign at the time of the physical purchase cover this eventuality, or if the physical purchase and and attendant ownership imply some sort of right to enjoyment for which there is a legal remedy.

I'm honestly astonished that people will actually spend money on devices that have the ability to be remotely bricked.

deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
vb6sp6 7y ago
i think you might be overestimating the technical knowledge of the general public.
- Can_Not 7y ago
  Also lack of genuine modern alternatives for some products.
sushid 7y ago
I mean do you have a smartphone? A gaming console? You’re likely one of those people too.
- diogenescynic 7y ago
  Or even a tv.

This is yet another in the lengthy, and growing, list of examples of why people shouldn't purchase hardware (particularly expensive hardware) that depends on someone else's server to function, or that can be disabled remotely.

smoyer 7y ago

If anyone has a bricked FlyWheel bike, I'd love to poke at the hardware and see whether an open-source control system could be fitted. Honestly, the electronics are NOT the expensive part of this bike and it would be fun to play with an instrumented exercise bike. My email is in my profile.

farisjarrah 7y ago
This sounds like a great idea for an open source community. Hack these exercise bikes/street scooters/e-bikes that end up in landfills or in ditches and release a method of flashing functional firmware to them. Reminds me of the Open Source E-Reader Community ex: https://github.com/fread-ink/fread-vagrant https://github.com/fread-ink/fread-vagrant
- smoyer 7y ago
  My thoughts exactly but I didn't want to offer anything until I'd: a) Verified that it was possible b) Determined that there were enough people to get the "hack" done. c) Ascertained that there would be no legal ramifications.
  - JohnFen 7y ago
    I think that, worst case, all three of those points can be addressed by simply replacing the existing brains of the machines with your own entirely. Sight unseen, I'm guessing that it could be done with an R-Pi.
  - yunruse 7y ago
    Would it even be legal to attempt to enforce against it? It would quickly be C&D’d if you tried to sell custom firmware for such things, sure, but given the vibrant homebrew scene for many other consumer devices (iOS, Android, various gaming consoles) I’d say it’s absolutely viable, at least legally.
- T3OU-736 7y ago
  This also seems reminiscent of the hacking efforts for insulin pumps a-la: https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/06/05/diabetics-forgoing-new-tech-hacking-into-insulin-pumps/1256667001/ https://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/2019/06/05/diabetics-for...

T3OU-736 7y ago

(US-centric view below, wonder if other countries have protection already in place through some means) This does seem like a rather interesting intersection of ownership vs licensing. The ownership is via the purchase of the physical item (the bike itself), but to really enjoy it requires the license (aka subscription to Peloton or similar). I wonder (have not looked, plus IANAL) if the terms/agreement that the owners sign at the time of the physical purchase cover this eventuality, or if the physical purchase and and attendant ownership imply some sort of right to enjoyment for which there is a legal remedy.