Dockless Bikeshare – The Dockpocalypse Nears

[LhasaCM]

@TwoWheelsDC 165786 wrote:

Good point…although looking at the posts about all these bikes, it appears that only Mobike provides a map of the disallowed areas. I guess the others just charge a fee whenever they get around to picking the bikes up.

The Jump app also shows the disallowed areas, along with the “hubs” where you get a $1 discount for dropping off your bike. (The idea being that it’s worth it to them for you to drop off in a centralized area as that reduces their maintenance costs of finding bikes to recharge them.) But yes, all of the providers have a fee for ending your ride outside of the zone.

[mstone]

@TwoWheelsDC 165790 wrote:

It is not the only VA-based federal entity with a DC mailing address…

It’s not just the mailing address. I think the proper term is “de facto quasi-anti-retrocession”.

[DrP]

@KWL 165767 wrote:

Visual. I think their redistribution efforts need improvement.

Well, only one left there this morning, but it was moved a few feet away to be in the middle of the sidewalk. No idea if the other was moved locally too since I did not stop to look for it.

[Judd]

@DrP 165808 wrote:

Well, only one left there this morning, but it was moved a few feet away to be in the middle of the sidewalk. No idea if the other was moved locally too since I did not stop to look for it.

It was not. There was only one bike there last night around 9 p.m. I moved it off of the bridge to its present location since it was partially obstructing the entrance to a major bike/runner thoroughfare. Not sure if it was the lost twin, but there was a Limebike parked near the bottom of Southgate Dr near the Air Force Memorial last night.

I tweeted Limebike with pictures of both bikes and asked them to return them to within the bounds of their approved operating area.

[DrP]

@Judd 165816 wrote:

It was not. There was only one bike there last night around 9 p.m. I moved it off of the bridge to its present location since it was partially obstructing the entrance to a major bike/runner thoroughfare. Not sure if it was the lost twin, but there was a Limebike parked near the bottom of Southgate Dr near the Air Force Memorial last night.

I tweeted Limebike with pictures of both bikes and asked them to return them to within the bounds of their approved operating area.

I think your tweet worked. No more lime bikes today. Thank you!

[notinthe18]

@DrP 165906 wrote:

I think your tweet worked. No more lime bikes today. Thank you!

And the ones by the airport are gone too! #magic

[secstate]

Well, either the Jump e-bikes are being heavily used or they are running into issues. Only six are available at the moment, and the nearest is 3.5 mi. away. Too bad. They sound like a lot of fun. Plus, I was hoping to avoid showing up to happy hour tonight dripping sweat.

edit: I guess people can pay to reserve/hold the bikes, so maybe some of them are being held, too.

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[Starduster]

I saw one of the Spin bikes (the orange framed one) up close “in the wild” in Penn Quarter a few days ago. Speaking to the question of these bikes’ durability, it had an LED front light, mounted on a fork tab. *Had*. All that was left was a circuit board. That didn’t take long at all… Compare this to the CaBi bikes which are designed to be abused by people who just don’t care- constantly, and come up looking like new- consistently.

[secstate]

@Starduster 165936 wrote:

All that was left was a circuit board. That didn’t take long at all…

This whole experiment is wonderfully chaotic. Personally, If I were an aspiring dockless bikeshare magnate, I would have started in Japan.

[rcannon100]

Ah assume the answer is no – butt – can any of these bikeshare systems be operated without an App? Asking for a friend with a Blackberry.

(I know…. right??)

[LhasaCM]

@rcannon100 166004 wrote:

Ah assume the answer is no – butt – can any of these bikeshare systems be operated without an App? Asking for a friend with a Blackberry.

(I know…. right??)

In theory, Jump (the e-bike one) works by signing up through their website in a browser or in the app. Their inventory is still quite limited…

[skins_brew]

The Mobike app is a mess on my S7. I basically force close it or a bunch of Chinese writing pops up if it stays up in the background. The Lime Bike app is pretty stable, but I wish they had the reservation feature like Mobike, which I used today. Although, I could see the reservation feature getting abused as you can only cancel 5 reservations per day. If i leave at 4pm, I will just start reserving at 2:45 😀

The Lime Bike felt heavy to me, and I feel like the gear ratios could be better. Third gear was kind of tough, but second gear was too.

The Mobike was a good ride, I enjoyed it. In the first or second day of the trial, I took one to work and locked it, but it never came back on the map. I emailed Mobike and they took care of it.

Availability of a dockless bike is not 100% but either is CaBi, be it no bikes at a dock, or no empty docks. I have been riding in DC for years, but I just started a new job where CaBi fits (until I get my bike parking permit and i start long hauling it from home again), but both the no CaBi bike and no dock situations have happened to me several times in the short time I have been a regular CaBi user, which is 2 weeks.

[mstone]

@rcannon100 166004 wrote:

Asking for a friend with a Blackberry.

lol

[LhasaCM]

@LhasaCM 166011 wrote:

In theory, Jump (the e-bike one) works by signing up through their website in a browser or in the app. Their inventory is still quite limited…

In practice: no phone needed once you have an account. You can unlike the bike to rent using your account number and pin. If you reserve with your phone (only one minute before charges start) you just need to enter your pin.

As far as the ride…when it works, the electric boost is pretty good…not too sudden. However, on my brief test ride this morning, the motor cut out quite often. From the GGwash review, that is meant to be a safety feature. For me, it ended up being an unsafety feature, as it cut out while going up the hill in 8th St NE near Monroe Street Market while a car was behind me. I went from going at a good clip to almost stopping in a non-PAL manner. Without the boost, it is a beast to pedal (looks like a 8 speed Nexus hub). I had to stop entirely and wait a few seconds for the motor to kick back in.

Sent from my ONEPLUS A5000 using Tapatalk

[cvcalhoun]

@secstate 165931 wrote:

Well, either the Jump e-bikes are being heavily used or they are running into issues. Only six are available at the moment, and the nearest is 3.5 mi. away. Too bad. They sound like a lot of fun. Plus, I was hoping to avoid showing up to happy hour tonight dripping sweat.

edit: I guess people can pay to reserve/hold the bikes, so maybe some of them are being held, too.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]15521[/ATTACH]

I think the trick is to reserve one, then use a different dockless bike to get to it.

[Author]

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