Mobike

[Kieron G]

Just noticed that there are a number of Mobikes for sale on ebay for what seems good money for a 'maintenance free' bike.  Thought worth mentioning as maybe a good option to be locked outside on a boat in all weather. Anyone ridden one? 

[Rebotco]

24 minutes ago, Kieron G said:

Just noticed that there are a number of Mobikes for sale on ebay for what seems good money for a 'maintenance free' bike.  Thought worth mentioning as maybe a good option to be locked outside on a boat in all weather. Anyone ridden one? 

 

These will mostly be stolen goods.

Mobikes had to pull out of many UK cities because of unsustainable theft of their public bikes.

They work in other parts of the world, but sadly not the UK.

[Kieron G]

It looks to me like a handful of traders have bulk bought the stock and are selling them on when reading listings. I could be wrong

[Jen-in-Wellies]

Many Mobikes will have traumatic memories of canals, with themselves, or their friends being dumped in them. It would be cruel to take one back to such a triggering environment. ?

Ofo ran a failed dockless bike scheme in Sheffield. There are still a few rusty yellow ones by the canal side that have been retrieved from the water. More will no doubt be found the next time various stretches are drained.

Jen

[Hudds Lad]

i'd imagine they'd be proper boneshakers on anything but smooth tarmac roads.

 

wonder if the rim profile would take a proper tyre or if you're stuck with the solid ones?

the seat tube lock would have to go, and perhaps some different bars.....

[Kieron G]

25 minutes ago, Rebotco said:

 

These will mostly be stolen goods.

Mobikes had to pull out of many UK cities because of unsustainable theft of their public bikes.

They work in other parts of the world, but sadly not the UK.

It is sad that anything which involves trust seems to fail in this country. Picked up a few of these that had been kicked or knocked over when visiting family around Oxford in the past. I wouldn't mind owning one legitimately though. They look well made. 

[BWM]

A lot of these hire bikes are constructed of non standard parts to put people off of stealing items, as they are useless for normal machines. This may present a problem as things wear out or break.

[Kieron G]

It would be the chainless drive system that would cause future problems I think. Not sure how it works but surely would wear out. I need to replace the chain every year on the single speed I commute on. 

[Tigerr]

I've had a number of electric bikes, both DIY and fancy shop bought.

It depends on the price. These things are bombproof, with very good motors, large capacity batteries, solid tyres etc. 

To get a decent electric bike new, you will pay £1500. yes you can go cheap but you are buying a bike made of cheese with a motor, and it won't last, nor ne a pleasure to ride.

If you are handy you can build an excellent DIY machine with a Halfords Hybrid, and a hub motor, for about £1200.

I'd buy a mobike if I needed a utility bike (purely functional), and Price was below £500. I'd need to be certain I would never need to lift it, as they weigh a ton, and to be prepared to scrap it when something goes wrong because the parts and tools are largely non standard, and I wouldn't bother paying for a special toolkit off eBay. 

But, if you want a utility bike on the towpath - this is not a bad idea at all. But it isn't to be confused with a nice electric bike. 

 

[Jen-in-Wellies]

1 hour ago, Tigerr said:

I've had a number of electric bikes, both DIY and fancy shop bought.

It depends on the price. These things are bombproof, with very good motors, large capacity batteries, solid tyres etc. 

To get a decent electric bike new, you will pay £1500. yes you can go cheap but you are buying a bike made of cheese with a motor, and it won't last, nor ne a pleasure to ride.

If you are handy you can build an excellent DIY machine with a Halfords Hybrid, and a hub motor, for about £1200.

I'd buy a mobike if I needed a utility bike (purely functional), and Price was below £500. I'd need to be certain I would never need to lift it, as they weigh a ton, and to be prepared to scrap it when something goes wrong because the parts and tools are largely non standard, and I wouldn't bother paying for a special toolkit off eBay. 

But, if you want a utility bike on the towpath - this is not a bad idea at all. But it isn't to be confused with a nice electric bike. 

 

These secondhand mobikes are entirely manual, not pedal assist electric. The only electrical bits are the smart locking/unlocking mechanism and lights.

Jen

[Tigerr]

My mistake. I thought these were electric scheme bikes. The manual ones are extremely good as anchors, if that's what one wanted. Or for weight training. 

[Richard Fairhurst]

There's two different models of Mobike. The Mobike Lite is actually quite decent. The earlier model is really only good for paved city riding - I rode one around the cobbled streets of Milan a couple of years ago and suffice it to say I'm never going to have any more kids.