Renting a bike in most urban areas of the US is a difficult proposition. In Japan not only can you easily rent a bike, you can now rent an electric bike -- a
solar powered electric bike to boot.
Sanyo has dropped Eneloop stations on three locations around the Setagaya ward of Tokyo, each having 100 of the company's
electric rides on offer for passers by to borrow (for a sadly undisclosed fee). When the bikes aren't being pedaled around town they'll sit in the station, being recharged by 46 square meters of solar panels that not only juice up batteries but also provide LED lighting for the station itself. While Sanyo does offer some solar stations for Eneloop owners, these look to be for renters only, meaning those who've bought their own will have to take themselves and their little baskets somewhere else.
Update: Commenter camcavers managed to find
this article that lists the price for a 12 hour rental (7am until 7pm) is 300 yen, or about $3.50, plus a 3500 yen deposit. That's a good deal for borrowing any bike, never mind one as expensive as these!
posted March 16th 2010 9:33AM
iWant
@Jacob Apple Geek
Not sure I get this, the article says you pedal them, but they are electric... Do you pedal them only if the battery goes dead? Not sure I understand the concept of an electric bike if you still pedal, unless it's to recharge it.
@Jacob Apple Geek wow. i really dont think that was needed.
@emopoops - I don't think you're needed. Why the hate on Jacob?
@bstump It'skinda like a moped. On a moped you let the anemic little engine putter you around at like 20mph, and if you go up a steep enough incline that it can't drag your lazy behind up it, you help it out with pedals. These electric ones are the opposite. Most of time you pedal it yourself, but if you get too tired or need help with a hill, you can flick on the electric motor.
They're very big with all the little old ladies over there that get around primarily on bicycles...no kidding...
I saw at least one model over there that also had a mode where it could just spin some of it's own gears internally, and it actually helped balance the bike...very handy if you're a drunken salary man on his way home...again, no kidding...
I love biking around japan.. this is a great idea.. though i dont necessarily need an electric bike to do this.
Let me get this right...
They took a aeon old design that cost very low emissions (Production only)...
And replace it with one that is much less enviromentaly friendly (Production of more complex bike + production of solar station/cells)..
Congrats..
@insy
You're just LOOKING for something to complain about, aren't you?
They make bikes more practical for the average rider. So more people are likely to use them. Are you going to tell me that solar powered bike is somehow a BAD thing?
@insy Let's also think about the top 3 reasons people ride bikes: save on pollution/energy, save money, be healthy...all of which are lost by using one of these, hence you aren't actually likely to abandon a bike for one of these. I think you missed the ball being a cynic on this one.
@juanvaldez
with the aging population in japan, electric bicycles make sense to have. They would make it many times easier for the older folk. But this really only applies to japan or places with more older folk.
Thank GOD somebody is doing something about the environmental harm caused by bikes!
Beats an electric car I say.
My apartment in Tokyo has free electric rental bikes.
it is nice!
they aren't fully powered, they just assist for hills. it works really well.
You still get exercise, but don't have to worry about lugging your kids and shopping when going uphills.
White bicycles? Going to look like ass after a couple weeks.
Also, the bikes don't recharge in the station, the batteries do (they are removable/swappable), otherwise it'd be a waste of the daylight sunshine when most of the bikes presumably would be out-and-about.
There needs to be a standard way of renting bikes the world over. In Paris, it was free for the first 30 minutes, but 7 euros after 2 hours. In the south of France, it was 1 euro for 4 hours, 2 euros for the entire day. That was the best. Barcelona has a great network of bikes, but it was too confusing on how to rent them.
And in the US, if a bike store doesn't have them, you are out of luck.
As a tourist, they are the way to go.
@rcappo
I don't think they'd work in the US. People would rent them out for $10 and never bring them back, a month later you'd see them on Craig's List with the serial number scratched off.
Even cheapo bikes have a tenancy to "walk-off" at US rental stations.
@Kerensky97
well thanks for clearing that up.You've skilfully packed the American way of life into one short sentence.
Umm - talk about your hyperbole and lack of clarity. First, it's not all around Japan - just in one area. Second - what on Earth is this article saying? That bikes are available for free? And what's with the eneloop comment? Are you saying you can recharge your eneloop batteries at a bike station? An attempt at clarity would be appreciated for those of us that don't understand shorthand English.
@umijin
The article is simply stating that Sanyo has placed solar-powered "stations" where electric bicycles of the Eneloop brand can be borrowed for an undisclosed fee. In addition, the article (or rather its title) states that Tokyo is being surrounded by these stations, not all of Japan.
I googled the news article in Japanese... says the cost is 300 yen (about $3.35 US) to rent for one day from 7am to 7pm, but there's a one-time signup/damage deposit fee of 3500yen. Knowing Japan, you have to give them ID to sign up so any thoughts of running off with the bike are pretty futile.
Here's the article in Japanese: http://pc.nikkeibp.co.jp/article/news/20100316/1023645/
@camcavers Thanks! Updated the post.