The Uptown dockless bikeshare review...

So, this phenomenon of dockless bikeshares has taken over Uptown Charlotte with somewhat of a mixed reception.  The colorful bikes everywhere... and I mean EVERYWHERE.  Walk out of just about any building and there will be a handful of these bikes parked within feet.  You can see some photos from this earlier post.

This is a result of a move last year where Charlotte gave 4 companies licenses for 500 bikes each to be spread around the city and each of these companies has put a sizable share of their allotment inside the I277 loop.  While aShortChronicle is not normally a "joiner" or an "early adopter" when it comes to these kind of things, the opportunity presented itself this past week to make a couple of 1-mile trips.  So, why not try them out.

Here's aShortChronicle's inexperienced non-cycling aficionado experience with each of the four competitors - LimeBike, MoBike, Ofo, and Spin.

First of all, the bikes and systems are all pretty similar - 3-speed bikes with a basket on the front.  The systems all operate using an app that is easy to sign up.  You use your smartphone to find the nearest bike from a given vendor and then scan the code on the back of the bike using your phone's camera to unlock it.  Each of these vendors charge $1 for 30 minutes of riding and when done you slide the lock on the rear wheel back in place to cut off the clock.

Within minutes of finishing a ride you'll get a notification on your phone telling you things like how far you rode, the calories you burned, and the supposed carbon emissions you avoided.  I say "supposed" on this last one because this assumes you would be in a car if you weren't on a bike.  That's not really true in most cases because most people will likely be walking to a destination inside the I77 loop or not going at all rather than getting a car out of a pay lot to drive a short distance and then pay again at the destination.

Comparing these systems is all about the differences many of them minor.

First round trip,  LimeBike and MoBike...

LimeBike got the first ride because it happened to be the closest when I walked outside.  As the name would imply these are the bright green ones. This bike was pretty comfortable to ride, but not great.  The first ride was free which was also nice.

MoBike was the second one I rode on the return trip.  I will admit I had high hopes for this one because the silver MoBikes are the only ones that don't look kind of ridiculous.  Unfortunately, I was disappointed.  The bike just felt awkward to ride.  The seat seemed like it was slightly too far forward over the pedals or something.  Also, the basket on the Mobike is the only one that is attached to the frame of the bike rather than the wheel.  For me this resulted in this weird sensation that something was "wrong" when turning - kind of like when you take a drink of something you expect to be hot but it turns out to be cold.  When you turn the handlebars to steer, the basket stays pointing straight because of how it is attached.  Again, to me that seemed weird and a bit distracting.  The first ride was also "free".

Second round trip, Ofo and Spin.

Ofo was the third bike given a test ride.  Ofo is the yellow bike from a Chinese company..  It was similar to the LimeBike as far as comfort and ride goes - maybe a little better.  However, Ofo was the only firm to charge for the first rider where the others were free.

The last bike ridden was the orange bike from Spin.  For me personally, this was the best of the four.  It was more comfortable and handled better.  The wheels seemed a little bigger in diameter and the tires were narrower which gave it a smoother ride.  The thing that really set Spin apart actually had nothing to do with the bike though.  It was the app.  The Spin app added a couple things that made it more user friendly and probably a better  corporate citizen.  The app showed a clock the whole time the bike was checked out, so you knew how long before your next dollar would be charged.  That's a nice feature for longer rides.  Maybe most importantly, when checking out the bike the app gave instructions on how and where to park the bike - not in the road, not in front of doorways, or in the middle of the sidewalk, etc.  Then when the bike unlocked the app asks you if the bike is currently parked in a good spot.  The user clicks yes or no.  This means the company can track users who are not parking correctly and use the next rider to do some self policing of the system.  It also makes you think twice about where you leave the bike when done using it.  My guess is that chronic "bad parkers" might be banned from the system.  This feature could be important in helping keep complaints down for Spin.

And there you have it.  If you are ever in Uptown and looking for a bike.  I would recommend using Spin over the others.  It was a comfortable ride and the company seems to at least want to do some self policing of their product.  That makes it an overall better product.