Dockless bike sharing scheme to launch in Sheffield

As a Dutchman I would say - I could cycle 60 km around a sea-inlet, not with ease, but I could. A year later I moved to Sheffield and I struggled to get to the end of my road in Hillsborough.

The difference - one is an aerobic sport (cycling in against wind) the other is an anaerobic sport (burst of energy to climb a hill).

It really is that simple. Having said that, it is a good job Sheffield is becoming more bike-friendly.

I'm looking forward to my first OFO!

 

The great thing about hills, is they're not as hard as you softies seem to think, and it's all downhill on the other side

That is the worst bit for me if i commuted by bike on the way to work is all down rather steep hills for a first few miles, so by the time i have to do any pedalling im bloody freezing. So then when you cant wait to get home its all up hill so feels like it takes ages...well that's my excuse for been a lazy git.

I think that this sort of scheme could be really helpful for round town and going out in a whole selection of directions. I'd avoid coming up Walkley way if you've only got three gears though!

I used to make it up and down Palm Street in Walkley by bike and it was actually coming down that was far more hazardous, partly because it was the end of my ride so my brake pads were already rather warm and partly because I was usually coming down the hill with a rucksack and two panniers full of shopping.

I just wonder how many of the 1,000 bikes will still be around after a year. No mention of how this charge is paid either.

It says you have to download an app and the charge will go through your mobile.

I read about this scheme and how it's working in Manchester.

There was someone trying to pick up bikes out in some suburb, and despite being registered as 'at' some location, the bikes were either in a canal, or locked in someones back garden (he amusingly tried to get one of these bikes and got told that it was privately owned now).

---------- Post added 14-11-2017 at 09:45 ----------

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/jul/16/manchesters-bike-share-scheme-isnt-working-because-people-dont-know-how-to-share

Here's the link, quite amusing, but seems to dispute the idea that it's working in Manchester.

Two weeks on and I fear that a dream is all it was. There are Mobikes in the canal, Mobikes in bins and I am fed up with following the app to a residential street where there is clearly a Mobike stashed in someone’s garden. On launch day, the Chinese designer told me the bikes were basically indestructible and should last four years without maintenance. It took a matter of hours before local scallies worked out how to disable the GPS trackers and smash off the back wheel locks.

I had reason to drive to Manchester last week. It was a beautiful clear crisp late autumn day - not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind. Lovely. Just as we joined the M67, we could just catch sight of Manchester. Over it was a dirty yellowy brown cloud of smog. It was like something out of the 1930s, it was quite striking.

I wouldn't cycle there!

If the Netherlands had Sheffield's hills then I very much doubt they'd have many cyclists (and Manchester is pretty flat as well).

Hills aren't a problem as long as the bike has low gears.

Not every day in the Netherlands is windy by any means - away from the coast you're looking at something like 300 days a year without a strong breeze.

 

https://www.currentresults.com/Weather/Netherlands/wind-speed-annual.php

 

The hills in Sheffield are here every day.

In this case, ensuring my bike has low enough gears that Sheffield hills are not a problem.

As a Dutchman I would say - I could cycle 60 km around a sea-inlet, not with ease, but I could. A year later I moved to Sheffield and I struggled to get to the end of my road in Hillsborough.

 

The difference - one is an aerobic sport (cycling in against wind) the other is an anaerobic sport (burst of energy to climb a hill).

 

It really is that simple. Having said that, it is a good job Sheffield is becoming more bike-friendly.

It's only anaerobic if the cyclist has to stand up on the pedals/apply great force, as this is using the big thigh muscles, which is anaerobic, thus leading to a buildup of lactic acid in the muscles. That is not sustainable and, at some point, the muscles will fail.

If the cyclist is in a very low gear, they remain on the seat and 'spin' up, this is primarily aerobic, using much less effort from the leg muscles, and, is sustainable.

I used to know one of the people who drove the big cargo tricycles around Sheffield- those weighed far more than any bike, plus carried large loads. He also said Sheffield hills were not a problem, due to the extreme low gearing on the trikes.

This sounds like a neat idea but can I ask what happens if I borrow a bike and ride it home to Ranmoor from town on a Saturday afternoon, and ride it back on Sunday?

This sounds like a neat idea but can I ask what happens if I borrow a bike and ride it home to Ranmoor from town on a Saturday afternoon, and ride it back on Sunday?

You would presumably just leave it outside your house where someone else could potentially pick it up, otherwise you'd continue paying for the use. If the bike is still there in the morning, you can rehire it. There'll be some kind of account and logging on process. But what if you just log off and hide it in your garden? No one would know it was there and you could essentially have sole use of the bike. There are many issues with this idea.

Another one is that , people will tend to leave the bikes at the bottom of hills and so they'll amass at certain points in the city. they will presumably have to employ people to either ride them back to better locations, collect them in vans or perhaps make certain journeys free to persuade people to ride them back up hills. Certainly I think this has been a problem in other cities, but will be particularly bad in sheffield. I'd have thought e-bikes would have been the better option as it would reduce this effect.

Another one, what if I hire a bike and ride it all the way to manchester? Is there a radius, outside which the bikes cannot go?

I had reason to drive to Manchester last week. It was a beautiful clear crisp late autumn day - not a cloud in the sky or a breath of wind. Lovely. Just as we joined the M67, we could just catch sight of Manchester. Over it was a dirty yellowy brown cloud of smog. It was like something out of the 1930s, it was quite striking.

 

I wouldn't cycle there!

Hi tinfoilhat, that doesn't sound good. Is it due to the aircraft that pass through? Genuine question as I don't know Manchester very well.

...what happens if I borrow a bike and ride it home to Ranmoor from town on a Saturday afternoon, and ride it back on Sunday?

what if I hire a bike and ride it all the way to manchester? Is there a radius, outside which the bikes cannot go?

i may be wrong, but it's my understanding that the bikes are 'geo-fenced'. You can take a bike outside the geofence, but the meter will be running till you return it and stop your hire session.

so yes, we probably could take an OFO bike home on a Saturday afternoon, and return it on Sunday morning. But you'll have paid for ~18hours hire. that'll be about £9.

You would presumably just leave it outside your house where someone else could potentially pick it up, otherwise you'd continue paying for the use. If the bike is still there in the morning, you can rehire it. There'll be some kind of account and logging on process. But what if you just log off and hide it in your garden? No one would know it was there and you could essentially have sole use of the bike. There are many issues with this idea.

 

Another one is that , people will tend to leave the bikes at the bottom of hills and so they'll amass at certain points in the city. they will presumably have to employ people to either ride them back to better locations, collect them in vans or perhaps make certain journeys free to persuade people to ride them back up hills. Certainly I think this has been a problem in other cities, but will be particularly bad in Sheffield. I'd have thought e-bikes would have been the better option as it would reduce this effect.

 

Another one, what if I hire a bike and ride it all the way to manchester? Is there a radius, outside which the bikes cannot go?

OFO use a points-based system. If you reach zero basically you get kicked off the scheme. You lose points for leaving the bike outside designated areas, putting a lock on them, etc.

http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/news/things-can-you-banned-ofo-13691433

Like most of these schemes, they have a redistribution system to make sure there are bikes where people want them.

I think people may not be aware of just how huge this Chinese firm is. I wasn't until I read up on them. Their CEO is now a multi-millionaire. They have 10 million bikes in 13 countries and they are aiming at 100 million by 2030

I'm told that an e-bike system coming one day. No other details but I know Oxford already has a very popular e-bike hire scheme

https://www.oxonbikes.co.uk/ebikes.html