Kijekuyo

I've been following the rapid growth of bike sharing. I even introduced it as a topic in my classes. In China, two companies have emerged to dominate the business: Ofo and Mobike. But, check out the photos of the huge piles of excess bicycles in the big cities there. They were overproduced and saturated the market.

Here, in San Diego, we have the same two companies, Ofo and Mobike, plus LimeBike, a California company. I have tried a LimeBike, and it was fun. I like the bike so much, I investigated the possibility of buying one--with no success.

I also saw the YouBike system at work in Taipei while I was there. I would love to be able to do something like this when I commute.

Have you folks tried bike sharing? What are your thoughts?




Shared bike graveyard, China

tonyantoniou

HerrKaLeun

You mean bike-sharing like zip-car where you pay a monthly fee plus a mileage fee?

The companies you mention are in the business of bike rental. This typically is a one-time rental with no membership like bike-sharing. Like for tourists coming to a town.

I never rented a bike, but the ones I see seem to be 50-pound pigs that look to be less fun than a Walmart bike. Starting by the saddle being made for "big" behinds and all bikes the same size and set up as comfort bikes (meaning after 3 miles being uncomfortable to any normal rider).

debade

I've only used it once in Miami and it was terrific. It allowed us to get around to various places in the way we like to travel. While I never rented one in NYC or DC, they are clearly being used by locals as getting a bike during rush hour in certain parts of town is difficult. It feels to me they are a proven tool. And, while I have not researched enough, the bikes that can be parked anywhere seems like it might be an even better solution.

When our city is ready, I plan to pursue this as an option.

Kijekuyo

I just went riding around San Diego Bay, and the LimeBikes, ofo bikes, and mobikes were everywhere! I can't yet tell if this is a passing fad, or if it will having staying power.

shuyo

Boston has their own called Hubway, there are stations all over the city and plenty of people seem to use them - but they look incredibly dumb. They have a big chunky step-through frame without a top tube and an enclosure for the chain, and some of them have wheel skirts over the top of the rear wheels. Look up a picture, they're pretty hilarious.

I think bike sharing is a great alternative to driving if you need to get somewhere without much of a hurry, or if the subway is crowded and it's a nice day out.

Troul 

Heavy turds & i dont feel the good outweighs the bad.

Kapusta

Abu Mahendra

Mosg people never get to experience a nice, well-lubed, smooth-riding bike that does not weigh a ton. For that reason they spurn bicycle riding and bike ownership. These bike sharing clunkers help to perpetuate the feeling that bikes are things you ride out of need rather than pleasure. I, for one, have never seen a shared bike i would deing to ride and grace with my behind. Ugh, ugly, creaky boat anchors all of them.

Kedosto

TimothyH

All those bikes in China are scrap metal. China is the biggest importer of scrap metal in the world and those bikes are probably more valuable as scrap then they are as bikes.

Notice that most of the time they are in fenced yards. Its not like they are going to a landfill. They will be recycled soon enough.

CliffordK

You just haven't tried hard enough!!!

https://www.bikeforums.net/20297494-post15936.html

Abu Mahendra

Still. it would have been better to not produce a surplus in the first place than to recycle it after the fact.

TimothyH

China has been welcomed into the modern world of mass consumption with the added bonus of bribery being the basis for business and government decision making.

locolobo13 

Where I work we were offered a 1 yr subscription of Grid Bikes around $36. That included 1 free hr/day. After that you paid regular hourly rates.

That seemed a good enough deal to try. The first attempt the bike's computer wasn't working. Not knowing that I called, then picked a different bike. When you pick the bike out of the rack check it out first.

The bikes are clunky, click & clack, sometimes sticky stuff is on the seat or handlebars. So look over the bike good before picking it to ride. They are slow. This is fine for a mile or two lunch ride when you don't want to worry about your bike getting stolen. But they are not a replacement for a good bike.

Kapusta

CliffordK

We finally got our new local bikeshare system a few weeks ago.

They are branded with the local hospital's name as the primary sponsor, Peace Health. However, the system is being run by Uber/Jump bikes (same as the Nike bikes in Portland also using Uber/Jump).

Interesting bikes. They seem well made, but HEAVY. Oddly, good chain guards, but I didn't see a drop of oil on the chains.

I helped with some of the distribution of bikes out to the stations, but the system really doesn't even apply to me as I live "out of system", with my typical daily ride being a few hours. Using a share bike as an emergency backup would be awkward, and prohibitively expensive.

I've seen a few bike share bikes out on the bike paths, usually headed towards Springfield (out of system), but the docks always seem fairly full. Of course, there is a tipping point, that if the docks are empty, the bikes aren't practical to be used.

I have to think that there are different people. For those hardcore bike users, they're much better off owing their own bike.

These bike shares really market to the users who want everything to be done for them. I.E. who want the bike to be ready to ride without ever having to worry about a flat tire or oiling the chain.

And, of course, to those who think a ride should be < 5 miles and < 1 hour.

I have no doubt that one gets plenty of exercise pedaling the things, but an hour???? And, for most people, probably not daily.

LesterOfPuppets

The citizenry complained about docking bikeshare in Portland. They REALLY complain about dockless bikeshare her in PHX!

minerva79

Plenty of dockless share bikes here in Singapore. There are least six companies (ranging from lime-green to bright yellow in colour) are operating in this little island city. One of these companies (sharebike.sg) even offer hardtails in an attempt to differentiate from the other companies, especially the government-linked companies backed oBike, and the two surging Chinese startups Mobike and Ofo.

Admittedly, I'd never use any of the shared bikes here. They look clunky and gawdy, and the idea of putting my life on unknown (likely) poorly maintained bikes just turn me off. However, I do appreciate how the bike sharing brought cycling into the consciousness of town planning here.

Abu Mahendra

Hardtails? Does anyone need a front suspension, indeed even a 26er, in Singapore? No. The big wheel bias at play again.

Ryan Olivas

I think this is a good idea to encourage the people for a better and a safe driving because it's light compared to other transportation devices. Also, it does reduce air pollution and it could also be a recreation and an exercise activity for the people

minerva79

Is there a need to have a car that travel 200kmph when no one will ever travel that fast on the road?
Is there a need to have an expensive iPhone when most people don't even use 20% of it's functionality?

If we are all driven by needs and not wants, we would have easily been contented with a basic wagecuck and a relatively simple life. Unfortunately, consumers are driven by their insatiable appetite for goods and services, and companies will leap seize on the opportunities to make new variation in the businesses. If you think hardtail is such a big deal, think again. There are a few dockless mobility vehicles (read; electric scooters) companies already starting their business here. We also have those ridiculous looking shared ktv box, that you can pay by per song or by time. These are barely some new exploits on the current buzzword: share economy.

Abu Mahendra

ok, so you agree it's not needed. it is as incongruous as the Maseratis seen there that at top speed run out of the city-states territory in 20 minutes.

minerva79

Diversity is not a bad thing. The last thing we need is yet another similar looking japanese branded sedan, or another dutch commuter bicycle from bike-sharing company. I will gladly try the service if a new company starts a unicycle or penny-farthing sharing.

Finite Elephant

I use Divvy in Chicago as the "last mile/first mile" of my commute, mostly because Metra doesn't allow bikes on rush hour trains. I have a subscription which comes with a key fob to check a bike out.

The upsides are that docks are pretty conveniently located in The Loop. Checking a bike in/out is faster than locking up a personal bike (and you don't worry about them when parked). And there are days where the weather is less than ideal for one end of my commute, but fine for the other so I was able to do a one-way commute that wouldn't have been the case with a personal bike.

Downsides are that there have been a few times where I had to go to a different rack because the first one didn't have bikes or open slots to return a bike. The bikes are heavy (which is understandable) and geared lower than I'd like (3-speed IGH), but they're fine for riding a mile or two in the city. And occasionally you'll get a bike with mechanical issues because not all users are diligent about pressing the red button when returning a bike with problems.