4 ms·

I would bet against it. Germany had the best tank in WW2. The "royal tiger". But the Russian T34 was much cheaper. They outproduced Germany. MoBikes are expen

by jk2323 9y ago

I would bet against it. Germany had the best tank in WW2. The "royal tiger". But the Russian T34 was much cheaper. They outproduced Germany. MoBikes are expensive and heavy. They look over-engineered for the problem they are trying to solve. Compare this with the yellow bkes ofo. They seem to be much cheaper to produce and are much lighter (no GPS positioning system, location is saved by last cyclist during checkout).

crdb 9y ago
Ofos get stolen. There are almost none left in Singapore. All you need to do is remember the PIN, and scratch out the serial. The "overengineered" Mobikes and oBikes (a competitor with very similar bikes - solar panels for the electronics, GPS lock, etc.) are all that is left in our streets.
- jk2323 9y ago
  So, MoBikes don't get stolen? Why? Is the GPS System so hard to remove or are they to inconvenient to use as a stolen bike? (Weight is 17-25 kg)
  - crdb 9y ago
    Can't speak for Mobike, since I don't use it, but oBike has a very efficient penalty system. Breaking or stealing a bike results in an effective ban from the app (the cost goes up to $5/minute, then $15/minute) and users are rewarded for reporting badly parked, broken or personally-locked bikes. In several months I've only seen two instances of people using personal locks. The bike is pretty solid and alright for commuting, but what would be the point? You get the first 5 minutes free, the first 2 rides of the day free for 15 minutes each, the entire weekend free, and you couldn't commute with your stolen bike since locking it anywhere visible would get it reported and removed almost immediately. Might as well put your card into the system and occasionally pay a dollar or two.
  - thyrix 9y ago
    I think it's just because these bikes are very cheap, maybe the guard system is the major cost. Indeed, some of my friend's bikes were stolen even carefully locked(about 1500-3000 RMB). On the contrary, mobike use steel frame not Aluminium(so it's heavy), doesn't have a derailleur, and other parts are all very cheap. Which make it's cost to be very low(I can buy such a bike with 300 rmb). So just buy one will be more convenient. p.s I live in Wuhan.
    - jk2323 9y ago
      AFAIK, a VC guy told me a MoBike costs 3000 RMB to produce. The costs may have come down but this was a lot!
      - thyrix 9y ago
        The MoBike official cost is about 3000 RMB(used to be 6000 at first). But there is some additional cost: the parts are not standard, and the design is totally new. When they produce more the cost will come down. I don't think such a bike worth 3000, but maybe true, they can be much cheaper to achieve better experience though. Shared bikes should bear any weather or rude users, this also increased the cost. And generally, your own bike is not supposed to be in rain storm very often..
- dis-sys 9y ago
  Not sure which mobike model you guys have in Singapore, the ones in Shanghai/Beijing have pretty poor user experience, it just feel so heavy thanks to its chain-less design.
  - ttflee 9y ago
    Try its 4th gen bicycles with chains.
    - dis-sys 9y ago
      solid tyres? then still the same heavy feeling.
  - crdb 9y ago
    I would love to try them, they look really good, with solid tyres, a chain, and a large solar panel to feed the lock. However none of my cards are accepted by Mobike (including the two market leading banks). At least I can install the app, which I couldn't after their Singapore launch ("not available in your region"). oBike is for now the best UX in Singapore. Clean app, mostly works, and they've really started to get a grip on the broken bike problem. A recent Straits Times article claimed that of about 100 bikes reported parked incorrectly by the authorities, the oBike team removed 67 before the half day grace period ended (and got fined for the rest), so they seem to be on top of the illegal parking problem as well. The main issue with all of them is the spottiness of geolocation in built up areas. To an extent this is no longer a problem as you can find the things everywhere, but back when they were relatively rare it could mean a good 10-15 minutes of walking around looking for the mystery yellow pin. These days I even get a choice of model (my favourite has the shiny mudguards, the 3rd generation? they seem to have the least friction; but the massive 1st gen ones are very comfortable so long as you don't encounter any hills).
  - rorykoehler 9y ago
    The Mobikes in Singapore are the best. They glide along compared to Obikes. They have chains so must be a new design.
- ttflee 9y ago
  I don't get the point for sharing bikes, not even Mobike, in Singapore with the hilly terrain.
captainmuon 9y ago
I'm staying for a while in China (Beijing), and signed up for Ofo. Unfortunately, I didn't know that they have quite a bad reputation. About 1/3 of the bikes are broken, and nobody bothers to collect or repair them. More worrisome is that they seem to have an unsustainable business model. At signup you pay 99 RMB (for Mobike it is 299 I think), and they you should pay per ride - but I've only once had to pay at all, most of the time it is 0 RMB. I guess that's also why they don't care that much what happens with their bikes. Their only income is new sign-ups. By the way, the latest Ofos also have digital locks, and even Bluetooth. And there is a new generation of MoBikes I think which is a lot lighter. It is interesting what kind of new technologies MoBike uses, like airless wheels, where the tires look like swiss cheese from the side to save weight and roll lighter. Or a chainless drive. About the stealing, I have the opposite experience. I think Ofo has proven that you can just slap a combination lock on a bike, and honesty or laziness will keep people from stealing them. I mean, where would you store the stolen bike? In front of your house, where there are hundreds of other Ofo bikes that cost next to nothing?
- jk2323 9y ago
  "most of the time it is 0 RMB" This is true. I don't understand why. I thought it may be a first month freeby or something.
  - dis-sys 9y ago
    they pay you to use it. if you are surprised for the 0 RMB charge, think about those people riding those bikes to collection Hong Bo as their day jobs.
  - schuke 9y ago
    During the Uber vs Didi era, they paid the customer 10-20 yuan for each ride. Occasional free bike ride is nothing I guess. Especially when you have a huge deposit that's very unlikely to be refunded. Also, you probably happened to use them during very competitive times (since last spring). I've used these bikes since last year, for most of the time, you do have to pay.
inimino 9y ago
Sorry, but the ofo bikes are shit. Mobike just works, ofo is as likely to be broken as not. This is my personal experience living in Shanghai, and the opinion of everyone I've talked to about these bikes. If you can't rely on the bike working, the service has no value to me. What is likely to happen is as the local governments get involved to stop the proliferation of bicycles taking up limited sidewalk space, there will be increasing restrictions placed on the bike sharing model, and there will be some consolidation in the market. When the tide goes out we can see who was swimming naked. I think the mobikes are engineered just about right, and they have at least four totally different designs out, which shows they are experimenting. I usually pay 1RMB per ride, which for the middle class is as close to free as makes no difference, but probably enough to make the business sustainable at scale. Bottom line: bike sharing is here to stay, and mobike got it right.

by jk2323 9y ago

crdb 9y ago

Ofos get stolen. There are almost none left in Singapore. All you need to do is remember the PIN, and scratch out the serial. The "overengineered" Mobikes and oBikes (a competitor with very similar bikes - solar panels for the electronics, GPS lock, etc.) are all that is left in our streets.

jk2323 9y ago
So, MoBikes don't get stolen? Why? Is the GPS System so hard to remove or are they to inconvenient to use as a stolen bike? (Weight is 17-25 kg)
- crdb 9y ago
  Can't speak for Mobike, since I don't use it, but oBike has a very efficient penalty system. Breaking or stealing a bike results in an effective ban from the app (the cost goes up to $5/minute, then $15/minute) and users are rewarded for reporting badly parked, broken or personally-locked bikes. In several months I've only seen two instances of people using personal locks. The bike is pretty solid and alright for commuting, but what would be the point? You get the first 5 minutes free, the first 2 rides of the day free for 15 minutes each, the entire weekend free, and you couldn't commute with your stolen bike since locking it anywhere visible would get it reported and removed almost immediately. Might as well put your card into the system and occasionally pay a dollar or two.
- thyrix 9y ago
  I think it's just because these bikes are very cheap, maybe the guard system is the major cost. Indeed, some of my friend's bikes were stolen even carefully locked(about 1500-3000 RMB). On the contrary, mobike use steel frame not Aluminium(so it's heavy), doesn't have a derailleur, and other parts are all very cheap. Which make it's cost to be very low(I can buy such a bike with 300 rmb). So just buy one will be more convenient. p.s I live in Wuhan.
  - jk2323 9y ago
    AFAIK, a VC guy told me a MoBike costs 3000 RMB to produce. The costs may have come down but this was a lot!
    - thyrix 9y ago
      The MoBike official cost is about 3000 RMB(used to be 6000 at first). But there is some additional cost: the parts are not standard, and the design is totally new. When they produce more the cost will come down. I don't think such a bike worth 3000, but maybe true, they can be much cheaper to achieve better experience though. Shared bikes should bear any weather or rude users, this also increased the cost. And generally, your own bike is not supposed to be in rain storm very often..
dis-sys 9y ago
Not sure which mobike model you guys have in Singapore, the ones in Shanghai/Beijing have pretty poor user experience, it just feel so heavy thanks to its chain-less design.
- ttflee 9y ago
  Try its 4th gen bicycles with chains.
  - dis-sys 9y ago
    solid tyres? then still the same heavy feeling.
- crdb 9y ago
  I would love to try them, they look really good, with solid tyres, a chain, and a large solar panel to feed the lock. However none of my cards are accepted by Mobike (including the two market leading banks). At least I can install the app, which I couldn't after their Singapore launch ("not available in your region"). oBike is for now the best UX in Singapore. Clean app, mostly works, and they've really started to get a grip on the broken bike problem. A recent Straits Times article claimed that of about 100 bikes reported parked incorrectly by the authorities, the oBike team removed 67 before the half day grace period ended (and got fined for the rest), so they seem to be on top of the illegal parking problem as well. The main issue with all of them is the spottiness of geolocation in built up areas. To an extent this is no longer a problem as you can find the things everywhere, but back when they were relatively rare it could mean a good 10-15 minutes of walking around looking for the mystery yellow pin. These days I even get a choice of model (my favourite has the shiny mudguards, the 3rd generation? they seem to have the least friction; but the massive 1st gen ones are very comfortable so long as you don't encounter any hills).
- rorykoehler 9y ago
  The Mobikes in Singapore are the best. They glide along compared to Obikes. They have chains so must be a new design.
ttflee 9y ago
I don't get the point for sharing bikes, not even Mobike, in Singapore with the hilly terrain.

captainmuon 9y ago

I'm staying for a while in China (Beijing), and signed up for Ofo. Unfortunately, I didn't know that they have quite a bad reputation. About 1/3 of the bikes are broken, and nobody bothers to collect or repair them. More worrisome is that they seem to have an unsustainable business model. At signup you pay 99 RMB (for Mobike it is 299 I think), and they you should pay per ride - but I've only once had to pay at all, most of the time it is 0 RMB. I guess that's also why they don't care that much what happens with their bikes. Their only income is new sign-ups. By the way, the latest Ofos also have digital locks, and even Bluetooth. And there is a new generation of MoBikes I think which is a lot lighter. It is interesting what kind of new technologies MoBike uses, like airless wheels, where the tires look like swiss cheese from the side to save weight and roll lighter. Or a chainless drive. About the stealing, I have the opposite experience. I think Ofo has proven that you can just slap a combination lock on a bike, and honesty or laziness will keep people from stealing them. I mean, where would you store the stolen bike? In front of your house, where there are hundreds of other Ofo bikes that cost next to nothing?

jk2323 9y ago
"most of the time it is 0 RMB" This is true. I don't understand why. I thought it may be a first month freeby or something.
- dis-sys 9y ago
  they pay you to use it. if you are surprised for the 0 RMB charge, think about those people riding those bikes to collection Hong Bo as their day jobs.
- schuke 9y ago
  During the Uber vs Didi era, they paid the customer 10-20 yuan for each ride. Occasional free bike ride is nothing I guess. Especially when you have a huge deposit that's very unlikely to be refunded. Also, you probably happened to use them during very competitive times (since last spring). I've used these bikes since last year, for most of the time, you do have to pay.

inimino 9y ago

Sorry, but the ofo bikes are shit. Mobike just works, ofo is as likely to be broken as not. This is my personal experience living in Shanghai, and the opinion of everyone I've talked to about these bikes. If you can't rely on the bike working, the service has no value to me. What is likely to happen is as the local governments get involved to stop the proliferation of bicycles taking up limited sidewalk space, there will be increasing restrictions placed on the bike sharing model, and there will be some consolidation in the market. When the tide goes out we can see who was swimming naked. I think the mobikes are engineered just about right, and they have at least four totally different designs out, which shows they are experimenting. I usually pay 1RMB per ride, which for the middle class is as close to free as makes no difference, but probably enough to make the business sustainable at scale. Bottom line: bike sharing is here to stay, and mobike got it right.