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I don't understand the appeal of services like these. If I had billions of dollars to start companies strictly for ironic/satirical purposes, I'd start one for

I don't understand the appeal of services like these. If I had billions of dollars to start companies strictly for ironic/satirical purposes, I'd start one for sunglasses sharing. For those who find it too much of an onerous burden and a logistical nightmare to maintain and store a pair of sunglasses in between uses. Seriously though, why rely on the vagaries of supply and demand on somebody's network, and their maintenance diligence and so on, for a thing that you can own so cheaply, and always have there when you need it? It just has never made sense to me. The exception of course is for tourists who didn't bring their scooters or bikes along. I have considered it in that case... though never actually did it. I just walked.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
URSpider94 9y ago
Really? 1. No money down: a decent bike is $700+, a bike share is $3 per ride or under $100 per year 2. No maintenance: someone else keeps the tires full and the chain lubed. If something breaks, you just park the bike and get another one. 3. No theft: bikes get stolen when they are parked. When a bike share is parked, it’s not your problem. 4. No parking hassles: finding a safe place to park your bike in the city is tough. Many buildings don’t provide bike storage. Try carrying your bike up and down from a 5th floor walk-up every day. 5. One-way trip: you rode to work this morning, and now it’s raining. No problem, take the bus home. Don’t believe me, just ask New Yorkers, who are taking an average of 40,000 rides per day on the city’s 12,000 citibikes.
- rdiddly 9y ago
  Yeah I know about Citibike, Velib, Capital Bikeshare, and the Nike ones in Portland, all of which are part of how I ended up accumulating enough experience of the topic to end up baffled that they're actually popular. But from your comments I realize it's about avoiding a commitment. And I'm not trying to sound as judgmental as that probably sounds. It's to enable you to NOT own a bike. But for reference here's how I've dealt with your five issues: 1. My current bike cost $550 new, 6 years ago, so that would've been less than $100/yr, if I hadn't replaced parts and spent more. But I get unlimited rides. And it'll last another 20 years if I'm not a fad-follower and don't get reckless or unlucky. 2. I do it myself, that way I'm the one in control of when it fails to get done. 3. Always lock it. Never had a problem. Having a cheap $550 bike probably helps. 4. Yep America's like that. I carry mine up & down from the 3rd floor. If I move I'll choose not to live above the 3rd floor. Or maybe I'll live on the 5th floor after all, and become a bad-ass with huge calves and five flights of endurance. 5. I wear rain gear.
  - 1moronposting 9y ago
    This is a silly argument. Some people don't want to do the thing you do. They are willing to pay for it. You do want to do the thing you do. You're willing to pay for it.
    - rdiddly 9y ago
      You would probably find it less silly if you stopped mischaracterizing it as an argument.
  - walshemj 9y ago
    The other option for commuters is buy a Brompton (folding bike)
  - jlavine 9y ago
    > It's to enable you to NOT own a bike. While this is its main use, it's also a great alternative to riding your own bike in cases where you want extra flexiblity - as referred to in point 5 in the list above - not only for changes in weather, but also when you want to travel out and back through some asymmetric combination of biking, walking, public transit, and Uber/Lyft. This flexibility can be very liberating. It's also a useful temporary backup when your bike is broken. > 4. Yep America's like that. I carry mine up & down from the 3rd floor. If I move I'll choose not to live above the 3rd floor. Or maybe I'll live on the 5th floor after all, and become a bad-ass with huge calves and five flights of endurance. As I'm sure you'd recognize, there are many people (e.g. the not-so-fit) and situations (e.g. fancy clothes and dirty bike, or also having other things to carry) for which this isn't practical.
- kalleboo 9y ago
  Who's buying $700 bikes? My bike cost under $200, and for $30 extra came with a 3 year insurance and service plan so I can drop by any affiliated store and have it cleaned, adjusted, oiled and ready to go at no cost.
richardknop 9y ago
That's not a very good comparison. Sunglasses are a small item that's trivial to store and carry around, it weights almost nothing and doesn't need to be parked when you enter buildings. Obvious use cases for bike sharing is when you only need to ride a bike one way (so not a return trip) which happens very often actually (i.e. I sometimes ride a bike to a shopping mall but once I do my shopping I have to carry 2 full bags of groceries and other basic items so there's no way I'm riding a bike back, I'd get a cab). If you plan on walking somewhere for 20 minutes but once you're there you can take tube from there home as it's close to a tube station, another use case. People who live in apartments and don't have storage place to keep a bike. An so on, use cases are plenty which is evidenced by the fact that millions of people use bike sharing in Asia but also other places on a daily bases.
fipple 9y ago
Rent in SF is over $5 per square foot per month. So if your bike displaces the use of 6 square feet in your apartment you're paying $30 per month to house it. If you only want a bike a few times a year it's better to rent.

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

URSpider94 9y ago

Really? 1. No money down: a decent bike is $700+, a bike share is $3 per ride or under $100 per year 2. No maintenance: someone else keeps the tires full and the chain lubed. If something breaks, you just park the bike and get another one. 3. No theft: bikes get stolen when they are parked. When a bike share is parked, it’s not your problem. 4. No parking hassles: finding a safe place to park your bike in the city is tough. Many buildings don’t provide bike storage. Try carrying your bike up and down from a 5th floor walk-up every day. 5. One-way trip: you rode to work this morning, and now it’s raining. No problem, take the bus home. Don’t believe me, just ask New Yorkers, who are taking an average of 40,000 rides per day on the city’s 12,000 citibikes.

rdiddly 9y ago
Yeah I know about Citibike, Velib, Capital Bikeshare, and the Nike ones in Portland, all of which are part of how I ended up accumulating enough experience of the topic to end up baffled that they're actually popular. But from your comments I realize it's about avoiding a commitment. And I'm not trying to sound as judgmental as that probably sounds. It's to enable you to NOT own a bike. But for reference here's how I've dealt with your five issues: 1. My current bike cost $550 new, 6 years ago, so that would've been less than $100/yr, if I hadn't replaced parts and spent more. But I get unlimited rides. And it'll last another 20 years if I'm not a fad-follower and don't get reckless or unlucky. 2. I do it myself, that way I'm the one in control of when it fails to get done. 3. Always lock it. Never had a problem. Having a cheap $550 bike probably helps. 4. Yep America's like that. I carry mine up & down from the 3rd floor. If I move I'll choose not to live above the 3rd floor. Or maybe I'll live on the 5th floor after all, and become a bad-ass with huge calves and five flights of endurance. 5. I wear rain gear.
- 1moronposting 9y ago
  This is a silly argument. Some people don't want to do the thing you do. They are willing to pay for it. You do want to do the thing you do. You're willing to pay for it.
  - rdiddly 9y ago
    You would probably find it less silly if you stopped mischaracterizing it as an argument.
- walshemj 9y ago
  The other option for commuters is buy a Brompton (folding bike)
- jlavine 9y ago
  > It's to enable you to NOT own a bike. While this is its main use, it's also a great alternative to riding your own bike in cases where you want extra flexiblity - as referred to in point 5 in the list above - not only for changes in weather, but also when you want to travel out and back through some asymmetric combination of biking, walking, public transit, and Uber/Lyft. This flexibility can be very liberating. It's also a useful temporary backup when your bike is broken. > 4. Yep America's like that. I carry mine up & down from the 3rd floor. If I move I'll choose not to live above the 3rd floor. Or maybe I'll live on the 5th floor after all, and become a bad-ass with huge calves and five flights of endurance. As I'm sure you'd recognize, there are many people (e.g. the not-so-fit) and situations (e.g. fancy clothes and dirty bike, or also having other things to carry) for which this isn't practical.
kalleboo 9y ago
Who's buying $700 bikes? My bike cost under $200, and for $30 extra came with a 3 year insurance and service plan so I can drop by any affiliated store and have it cleaned, adjusted, oiled and ready to go at no cost.

richardknop 9y ago

That's not a very good comparison. Sunglasses are a small item that's trivial to store and carry around, it weights almost nothing and doesn't need to be parked when you enter buildings. Obvious use cases for bike sharing is when you only need to ride a bike one way (so not a return trip) which happens very often actually (i.e. I sometimes ride a bike to a shopping mall but once I do my shopping I have to carry 2 full bags of groceries and other basic items so there's no way I'm riding a bike back, I'd get a cab). If you plan on walking somewhere for 20 minutes but once you're there you can take tube from there home as it's close to a tube station, another use case. People who live in apartments and don't have storage place to keep a bike. An so on, use cases are plenty which is evidenced by the fact that millions of people use bike sharing in Asia but also other places on a daily bases.

fipple 9y ago

Rent in SF is over $5 per square foot per month. So if your bike displaces the use of 6 square feet in your apartment you're paying $30 per month to house it. If you only want a bike a few times a year it's better to rent.