PCX Replacements

[flyingzonker]

A few days ago riding, and driving, through my 150,000 population city in the middle of the mid-west, what do I see but a west coast phenomenon all over the place, namely LIMEBIKES! Limebike is a company that rents bikes, and now ebikes and escooters, on a phone-based basis that, according to Limebike, is affordable and easy to use. On many street corners and in front of many commercial and public buildings the company has parked ranks of new and pretty, I must say, bikes. They have a lock attached to the back wheel that can be opened by scanning with a downloadable ap. You get to ride 30 mins for a dollar. The best part is you can leave the bike "anyplace" , which I suppose, means anyplace where it is public enough for someone else to find and use it.

I am deeply skeptical about this concept. I don't see why an enterprising thief with a van can't go around collecting these bikes--they are not docked, but free standing and quite easy to hoist, one in each hand, into a waiting vehicle. I suppose the company had equipped the bikes with some kind of chip that police can use to find any that get pinched...but since when are police these days supplied with enough time to hunt stolen bikes?

But...who knows. It might work. If so, it would be a pollution buster--of small effect to be sure--and a great reliever of traffic congestion downtown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVl0czHuOY

[lillypinkjenny]

A few days ago riding, and driving, through my 150,000 population city in the middle of the mid-west, what do I see but a west coast phenomenon all over the place, namely LIMEBIKES! Limebike is a company that rents bikes, and now ebikes and escooters, on a phone-based basis that, according to Limebike, is affordable and easy to use. On many street corners and in front of many commercial and public buildings the company has parked ranks of new and pretty, I must say, bikes. They have a lock attached to the back wheel that can be opened by scanning with a downloadable ap. You get to ride 30 mins for a dollar. The best part is you can leave the bike "anyplace" , which I suppose, means anyplace where it is public enough for someone else to find and use it.

I am deeply skeptical about this concept. I don't see why an enterprising thief with a van can't go around collecting these bikes--they are not docked, but free standing and quite easy to hoist, one in each hand, into a waiting vehicle. I suppose the company had equipped the bikes with some kind of chip that police can use to find any that get pinched...but since when are police these days supplied with enough time to hunt stolen bikes?

But...who knows. It might work. If so, it would be a pollution buster--of small effect to be sure--and a great reliever of traffic congestion downtown.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGVl0czHuOY

Despite some obvious perceived shortfalls, bikeshare actually works very well in many UK cities. I don't know of e-bikes yet but with powered docking stations for charging it should be a logical next step.

[PCX150Rider]

Uber is jumping on the "bandwagon" as well.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/04/09/tech ... bikes.html

I don't think the PCX will be replaced by bicycles per say or electric bicycles in any hurry though. Bicycles are always great for around town. . .as long as one is "hill capable" with gears.

[easyrider]

I dunno..? In places like New York City and in Chicago those "Lime" Bikes are likely to be "Mine" bikes ..and no the cops won't be chasing them down..

[flyingzonker]

I have done a little research on these bikes. The reviews are mixed. People like the idea and when things go according to the plan users are happy with the results. But what happens when you find a bike that has been dinged up someway so that it is hard to ride? I mean, some folks ride these things hard, especially kids. Seems sometimes the bikes get damaged and are not repaired. What the company seems to be doing is just placing the bikes and not coming around periodically to maintain them. The business model seems to be::Put the bikes out and charge enough so that after such and such a period of time the bikes will have paid for themselves and made x amount of profit for the company. After that go get what bikes you can find--all of which will be pretty well shot--and replace them with new.

What I am saying is Limebike seems to be expanding the marketing at the expense of the maintenance. But...maybe not. It is just my impression of the situation.

As for setting them around in Chicago or New York...seems pretty iffy. Especially if they start putting ebikes and escooters on street corners. In a perfect world, it might work. It might even work in a small retirement community. And it might even work in the big cities if they modify the concept so that the equipment is harder to pinch.

[lillypinkjenny]

In Brighton (the city nearest to me) and London, the situation is smoewhat different. The maintenance and servicing of the bikes is paramount. I know the local company with the contract for hire bike maintenance and they take it very seriously indeed.

The success of these schemes depends upon it, and it seems, from the two examples I have experience of, that this is understood by some providers at least.

[gn2]

Here's what happened to the rental bike idea in China:

https://www.google.co.uk/search?q=china ... d&tbm=isch

[flyingzonker]

We had a big storm 2 days ago. Here is 0ne of the results and one of the reasons I fear for Limebikes in my area:

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/424464333624399620/

[flyingzonker]

In Brighton (the city nearest to me) and London, the situation is smoewhat different. The maintenance and servicing of the bikes is paramount. I know the local company with the contract for hire bike maintenance and they take it very seriously indeed.

The success of these schemes depends upon it, and it seems, from the two examples I have experience of, that this is understood by some providers at least.

Well, I hope Limebike catches on to this aspect of the enterprise...and maybe, for all I know, they have.

[Mel46]

I just pulled up that link to the Chinese bike graveyard. Wow! I remember wanting a bike when I was a kid. I remember organizations taking good parts off of bad bikes (usually broken frames) and making new ones for those who did not have one. I remember getting one of those freshly painted rebuilt bikes and loving it.
Throwing away thousands of bikes is just wasteful.

[flyingzonker]

I just pulled up that link to the Chinese bike graveyard. Wow! I remember wanting a bike when I was a kid. I remember organizations taking good parts off of bad bikes (usually broken frames) and making new ones for those who did not have one. I remember getting one of those freshly painted rebuilt bikes and loving it.
Throwing away thousands of bikes is just wasteful.

It speaks, and very loudly, of the spated river of wealth that has flooded China in the last 30 years. China, the USA of Asia!

[Mel46]

It won't be that long at the rate we are going before we will OWE China more than our GNP. That is scary.