Paceheads — Reinventing Sports Equipment Access with circuly

High quality sports equipments are costly. Plus there is no way of telling if the purchase fits the exact needs and requirements of the customer. Enter Paceheads,  a German B2C startup founded in 2018 and a customer-centric company that prioritises flexibility to explore, test, and enjoy a variety of sports equipment before buying them.Their “try-before-you-buy” model allows customers to rent premium gear for up to 12 months and decide whether to return, continue, or buy. But the absence of a dedicated solution to manage such a business model, created operational complexities that hindered scalability. To scale this flexible offering, Paceheads partnered with circuly for automated subscription operations, enhancing efficiency and customer experience.

Business Model

Paceheads delivers a “try-before-you-buy” experience for sports gear through a monthly subscription that includes the flexibility to return items, continue renting, or purchase after a 3-month minimum term. This model lowers cost barriers and lets customers test quality products in real life before committing. returned items are refurbished and resold, enhancing sustainability.

"High-quality sports equipment often comes with high costs. We keep the entry barrier low and make it easy for customers to rent premium equipment."

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Challenges faced by Paceheads

#1 Manual workload ≠ scalability

‍Before circuly, Paceheads was weighed down by the manual effort required to run their subscription operations. Without automation, every task — from tracking orders in spreadsheets to initiating deliveries, creating and managing subscriptions, and monitoring product return dates — had to be done by hand. This slowed growth and consumed valuable team resources.

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#2 Onboarding new customers was cumbersome

‍Traditional eCommerce platforms are built for a sales-flow mindset — optimised to handle everything up to the point of purchase. But subscription eCommerce requires more: the relationship continues well beyond delivery. Paceheads needed a system that could support a smooth, end-to-end customer journey, from the first order through to ongoing subscription management.

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#3 A unique model with unique challenges

‍Paceheads’ “try-before-you-buy” subscription model set them apart in the market, but also demanded operational flexibility that off-the-shelf software couldn’t provide. The business required custom workflows to handle the complexity of offering both rentals and purchase options in one seamless experience.

Operations Where circuly Supports Paceheads

circuly is the subscription management system behind Paceheads, automating the core infrastructure needed to run a subscription-based business model for physical products such as ebike subscriptions. Out-of-the-box, circuly handles subscription management, recurring billing and invoicing, asset tracking, product lifecycle management, return management, a customer self-service portal, transactional communication, and fraud prevention through credit checks — allowing Pacehads team to focus on growth rather than manual admin.

#1. Automated operations & workflows to facilitate scalability

With circuly, Paceheads moved away from spreadsheet-driven management and migrated their existing subscriptions into the circuly Hub. This shift allowed them to truly automate operations and focus on growth.

Key automations include:
Automated billing & invoicing
Automated transactional customer communication
Custom and automated flows for renewals and cancellations

2. Predefined end-to-end customer journey

circuly closes the loop on the entire subscription lifecycle — from order placement to product return — by automating essential touchpoints like payment processing, invoicing, email communication, and reminders. The white-label self-service portal gives customers a dedicated space to manage their subscriptions, reducing support requests and ensuring a smooth, consistent experience.

3. A Custom setup to match complexity

Paceheads’ “try-before-you-buy” model involves multiple decision points and paths, which most platforms can’t handle natively. circuly provided tailored features to match this complexity, ensuring that the subscription, renewal, and buyout flows work seamlessly within a single system.