What it is Like to Ride a Mobike in China
As an American living in China for the past 8 years, I would like to share my experience riding Mobike, China’s new bike sharing tech start-up sensation.
First, the concept blew my mind. Mobike is a bike sharing service without any bike stations. Users use an app to scan a QR code on the bike that opens the lock. After riding, users put the bike anywhere a bike can be placed and lock it, leaving it for the next user to rent. A friend asked me if I had seen the bikes with orange wheels. I said I had not noticed. He then said that I would. As soon as he told me about this I saw the bikes everywhere. I downloaded the Mobile app, paid the deposit using Wechat, and verified my ID with a picture of me and my passport.
An opportunity to take my first ride immediately arrived. I own a school that is 2.5 km from my office. I decided to try Mobike. I first tried to find and reserve a bike using the Mobike app’s map and GPS.
I went to where a bike was on the map and could not find it anywhere. That was a bit frustrating. I walked another 70m and saw a bike parked right on the street. That bike was not on the map at all.
I used the QR scanner in the app and scanned the code on the bike. The bike lock opened and I started my ride.
Since living in China I have never biked to commute. I have driven cars in China quite a bit, and at first I was nervous about Chinese driver’s erratic behavior. I realized while dodging buses, ride sharing cars pulling over to pick up and drop off passengers in random places, and other oncoming bike traffic, that although there are quite a few bikes on the street, the bike lane is not at all a smooth riding experience. I guess that is consistent with transportation in China in general, so for people used to living in China, this is nothing new to complain about.
Mobike is also not a comfortable bike to ride. The seat is set to accommodate the shortest of Chinese people and does not adjust. It is the heaviest bike you have ever seen at 50 lbs. And it has no gears, so riders are always stuck in quite a high gear, which is a little embarrassing as almost every other bike passes you regardless of whether ridden by an old woman or a little kid.
Despite these inconveniences, I really enjoyed my Mobike ride. I liked feeling like I was outside. I liked the exercise. I liked feeling like I was a part of the life of the street, overhearing conversations while waiting at traffic lights and chatting with other bikers.
In the past, I have either driven myself or used Chinese ride hailing service Didi (I share my experience here). Due to heavy traffic and one-way streets, it often takes about 5 minutes for the driver to pick me up. The drive takes 10 minutes normally and 20 in traffic. On average it is a 20minute trip that costs around 20 CNY ($3.30).
My first Mobike trip took me 20 minutes including the time to find the bike and cost me 1 CNY ($0.15). Mobike will become my first choice for this commute that I frequently make. Without losing time and while saving money, I can enjoy the ride and experience the vibrancy of the city.
Now I use Mobike about 5 times/week. My most common trip is to the yoga studio that is one subway stop away from my office. I used to take the subway, which by the time I walked through the tunnels and waited for the train was a 15-minute ride. My Mobike ride takes 5 minutes, and is half the cost.
Another of my favorite uses for Mobike is for running. I never liked having to run back to my house. Now I can run exactly as far as I want, find a Mobike, and ride home. This has made my runs much more interesting and greatly expanded the territory I can explore. I now can start my workout with a Mobike ride, ditch the bike, run, and then find another bike for the leg home.
Overall the Mobike app UI is great. It is super easy to use and I can go back and look at the data from all of my rides (like the Nike running app). The QR scanning is seamless.
Mobike has introduced a new bike model aptly named Mobike light. Much lighter, it is much easier to ride. There is also a basket. I am still waiting for an adjustable seat.
The biggest problem with Mobike is the GPS system. It does not work. I have never been able to find a bike by using the GPS, which has made me regret using the app after wasting time and energy walking to the location of a bike on the app and not being able to find it. Fortunately, Mobike has placed over 20,000 bikes in Guangzhou, and I can usually find one on the street within 150m of wherever I am. As the app grows more popular Mobike will need to keep churning out more bikes to keep up with demand so that it is always easy to find one when needed.
Finally, the orange wheels may be the single best business decision Mobike has made for winning the Chinese bike sharing market. Those orange wheels make the Mobike product and brand recognizable, which I experience first hand every time I ride and overhear the people on the street of all ages and economic classes talking about the bike I am riding and how much it costs to rent. I look forward to one day seeing a Harvard Business Review case study about Mobike’s orange wheels.
As someone who has always liked to ride but who is not a hobbyist, what I love most about Mobike is how it has given me a chance to move my legs and feel the wind blowing through my hair. I like riding alongside the delivery boys and chatting with them while we wait for the traffic light. For me, I not only have a new convenient and cheap transportation option, I have also gained a new perspective and enriched experience of the city I have made my home.
