Sharing Economy Sees Rapid Growth in China

[Raphael]

The world leader in bike-sharing is… China
– Quartz

Bike-sharing had a banner year in 2013, with a 60% increase in new programs launched worldwide. That momentum hasn’t flagged; 68 cities around the world have launched bike-share programs this year, says Russell Meddin, who manages The Bike-Sharing World Map. That’s an average of two a week, and it brings the total number of bike-share programs internationally to 730.

And the country with the fastest build-out of sharable bike systems isn’t one known for its urban innovation or environmental consciousness. In almost every category, China tops the global bike-share charts.

The Middle Kingdom surpassed Italy this year to become the country with the most programs, says the Earth Policy Institute. In fact, of the 20 biggest bike share programs on the planet, all but four are in China. The exceptions are Paris, London, Barcelona, and New York (and the last two tie for #20):

As you can see, the biggest program in the world is Hangzhou, with 78,000 bikes (though Wuhan reportedly had 100,000 as of Oct. 2013, bike-share experts question the city’s reliability, according to Bike-sharing Blog). The city in eastern China launched its program with in 2008, offering 2,800 bikes; to lower the risk of theft, the bikes had fixed gears. But it’s not the only city in China where a bike-share program is booming. Beijing will beat out Paris as the capital city with the biggest bike-share system, with 24,000 bikes by the end of 2014.

Sure, some of that has to do with the sheer size of Chinese cities. But the rapid build-out of China’s bike-share programs also speaks to another way it’s setting itself apart from programs in the US and Europe. The majority of bike-share programs in richer countries charge users fees or rely on corporate sponsors for funding. London bike-sharers pay£90 ($149) a year, and New York’s CitiBike charges users an annual fee of $95 (plus tax), and Paris’ program costs €29 ($38). In China, city governments pay for bike-sharing the way they do any other form of public transportation programs—meaning that the country’s millions of users are biking for free.

 

[TaiShang]

Baidu introduces smart bike - Headlines, features, photo and videos from ecns.cn|china|news|chinanews|ecns|cns

Chinese tech company Baidu is launching a smart bike that can help you make friends and exercise effectively, and it shuns thefts.

The Dubike's new official website shows its features in detail. Using a Dubike app, one can crowdsource a riding map and interact with other biking fellows. The Dubike collects health-related data through sensors on the bike; it can sync the data with the user's smartphone, and provide workout guidance.

A navigation system guides the biker with indicator lights on the handlebars. With built-in GPS, the Dubike reports its position to the user's smartphone whenever needed - a feature that comes in handy in case of bike theft.

All the electric systems on the Dubike are charged by riding the bike.

The Dubike is jointly developed by Baidu's Institute of Deep Learning and Tsinghua University. It will be ready for official launch as early as the end of this year, according to TechWeb.com.cn.

Baidu's Institute of Deep Learning focuses on the research of machine learning algorithms, big data analysis, and cloud computing.

 

[TaiShang]

Resurging interests in cycling

Once the world's reigning bicycle kingdom, China is reclaiming its interest in the pedaling vehicle, a mode of transport that for decades was considered a tool used by the poor.

Since the beginning of the century, an emerging Chinese middle class has foregone the clean and energy-efficient vehicle in favor of automobiles, signaling the end of its status as a dominion of two wheels. At one point across China, there was one bicycle for every three inhabitants.

There is a resurgence of interest in bicycles in China, with 20 million cyclists logged in the country, according to a report released by the China Cycling Association, which organized the annual China International Bicycle Fair earlier in May in Shanghai

The four-day fair is much smaller in terms of scale, the numbers of exhibitors and attendees, compared with Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition. The latter was held two weeks before the bicycle fair, attracting a total of 928,000 visitors within 10 days.

But organizers of the bicycle fair believe every participant of the automobile exhibition could be a potential visitor to a fair about "a much cleaner and more energy efficient transport", as Ma Zhongchao, chairman of China Cycle Association, put it.

Sang Kai, the owner of Club Garage, a bicycle club in Beijing, told China Daily that the new generation of cyclists, mostly recreational ones, is more generous and professional.

"It's just like the rise of golf or equestrian sports(played by the country's nouveau riche) years ago. But(cycling) is more about pure enjoyment, rather than showing off one's wealth," said Sang.

He estimated that the emerging recreational cyclist in Beijing is willing to splurge a minimum of 10,000 yuan($1,608) for a bicycle, while in Shanghai, where people are more generous, the budget could be even higher.

Observers began to notice resurging interest in bicycles in 2010. That year, 246 countries and international organizations took part in the six-month-long Expo 2010 Shanghai, which show cased multiple eco-friendly lifestyles, with bicycles replacing automobiles. The Denmark Pavilion shipped 200 of its bicycles for visitors to take a ride on its outdoor bicycle track that ringed the pavilion and to have a peek at "Dream City", the name of the pavilion.

The same year, Shanghai's once largest and most historical bicycle factory, Forever Bike, caused quite a splash by introducing a younger and much more fashionable line, Forever C bike collection. The 69-year-old company has manufactured a record high of 110 million bikes in total, contributing to more than one third of the bikes used in the country.

Its new brightly colored and vintage styled bikes are priced, for the first time in history, at more than 600 yuan. Within the first three days of its soft launch, 400 units were sold out.

The resumed interest in bicycles has given rise to more variety, and essentially investment. China's largest search engine, Baidu, and the country's leading smartphone designer and distributor, Xiaomi, have both put big money into the research and development of what they call "smart bike" since the end of last year.

***

@AndrewJin , @cnleio , @cirr , sirs, here it is all about Giant here, Giant there. I know Giant is also huge over there.

But, what about others? Other made in Mainland bike companies?

forever-bicycle

SFM26016

26" 21 SPEED MTB
FRAME:ALLOY,
HANDLE BARALLOY
FRONT FORK:"ZOOM" SUSPENSION WITH ALLOY CROWN,
BRAKE:ALLOY V-BRAKE,
CHAINWHEEL & CRANK:24/34/42,ALLOY CRANK,
FREEWHEEL"7 PCS "SHIMANO" MF-TZ07
DERAILLEUR: "SHIMANO" TOURNEY
SHIFTER: "SHIMANO" TOURNEY
RIM:ALLOY 26"*1.5

PACKING:85%SKD133*22*76

 

[C130]

the chinese make good bikes and ride bikes good as well. is there anything china isn't best at?

 

[Kyle Sun]

my *** canot stand thebike anymore.

 

[cirr]

Resurging interests in cycling

Once the world's reigning bicycle kingdom, China is reclaiming its interest in the pedaling vehicle, a mode of transport that for decades was considered a tool used by the poor.

Since the beginning of the century, an emerging Chinese middle class has foregone the clean and energy-efficient vehicle in favor of automobiles, signaling the end of its status as a dominion of two wheels. At one point across China, there was one bicycle for every three inhabitants.

There is a resurgence of interest in bicycles in China, with 20 million cyclists logged in the country, according to a report released by the China Cycling Association, which organized the annual China International Bicycle Fair earlier in May in Shanghai

The four-day fair is much smaller in terms of scale, the numbers of exhibitors and attendees, compared with Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition. The latter was held two weeks before the bicycle fair, attracting a total of 928,000 visitors within 10 days.

But organizers of the bicycle fair believe every participant of the automobile exhibition could be a potential visitor to a fair about "a much cleaner and more energy efficient transport", as Ma Zhongchao, chairman of China Cycle Association, put it.

Sang Kai, the owner of Club Garage, a bicycle club in Beijing, told China Daily that the new generation of cyclists, mostly recreational ones, is more generous and professional.

"It's just like the rise of golf or equestrian sports(played by the country's nouveau riche) years ago. But(cycling) is more about pure enjoyment, rather than showing off one's wealth," said Sang.

He estimated that the emerging recreational cyclist in Beijing is willing to splurge a minimum of 10,000 yuan($1,608) for a bicycle, while in Shanghai, where people are more generous, the budget could be even higher.

Observers began to notice resurging interest in bicycles in 2010. That year, 246 countries and international organizations took part in the six-month-long Expo 2010 Shanghai, which show cased multiple eco-friendly lifestyles, with bicycles replacing automobiles. The Denmark Pavilion shipped 200 of its bicycles for visitors to take a ride on its outdoor bicycle track that ringed the pavilion and to have a peek at "Dream City", the name of the pavilion.

The same year, Shanghai's once largest and most historical bicycle factory, Forever Bike, caused quite a splash by introducing a younger and much more fashionable line, Forever C bike collection. The 69-year-old company has manufactured a record high of 110 million bikes in total, contributing to more than one third of the bikes used in the country.

Its new brightly colored and vintage styled bikes are priced, for the first time in history, at more than 600 yuan. Within the first three days of its soft launch, 400 units were sold out.

The resumed interest in bicycles has given rise to more variety, and essentially investment. China's largest search engine, Baidu, and the country's leading smartphone designer and distributor, Xiaomi, have both put big money into the research and development of what they call "smart bike" since the end of last year.

***

@AndrewJin , @cnleio , @cirr , sirs, here it is all about Giant here, Giant there. I know Giant is also huge over there.

But, what about others? Other made in Mainland bike companies?

forever-bicycle

SFM26016

26" 21 SPEED MTB
FRAME:ALLOY,
HANDLE BARALLOY
FRONT FORK:"ZOOM" SUSPENSION WITH ALLOY CROWN,
BRAKE:ALLOY V-BRAKE,
CHAINWHEEL & CRANK:24/34/42,ALLOY CRANK,
FREEWHEEL"7 PCS "SHIMANO" MF-TZ07
DERAILLEUR: "SHIMANO" TOURNEY
SHIFTER: "SHIMANO" TOURNEY
RIM:ALLOY 26"*1.5

PACKING:85%SKD133*22*76

Shanghai Forever
Shanghai Phoenix
Shanghai Triace
Tianjin Flying-pigeon
Tianjin Battle
Shenzhen XDS
Shenzhen LKLM
Shenzhen EMMELLE
Guangzhou Ucc
Guangzhou Format
Hubei OMYO
others...

not necessarily in this order

 

[TaiShang]

Shanghai Forever
Shanghai Phoenix
Shanghai Triace
Tianjin Flying-pigeon
Shenzhen XDS
Shenzhen LKLM
Shenzhen EMMELLE
Guangzhou Ucc
Guangzhou Format
others...

not necessarily in this order

Thank you. Looks like a lot of options to choose from.



One thing sees to be in common: Shimano spare parts.

@Nihonjin1051 .

 

[AndrewJin]

Public bicycle in Wuhan

More bicycle lanes should be built.

 

[Aepsilons]

Thank you. Looks like a lot of options to choose from.



One thing sees to be in common: Shimano spare parts.

@Nihonjin1051 .

LOVE this thread already.

I share the same enthusiasm for return to biking as a healthy modicum of transport. On good days (not raining), I do bike to campus --- lol. Luckily my subdivision isn't too far away from the university campus where I work at.

Here's my ride...

Public bicycle in Wuhan
View attachment 229843 View attachment 229842

More bicycle lanes should be built.
View attachment 229844 View attachment 229845 View attachment 229846

I prefer the rougher roads, as an avid cyclist .... I frequent the unpaved paths here in New Jersey.

Some areas that I frequent....

 

[TaiShang]

LOVE this thread already.

I share the same enthusiasm for return to biking as a healthy modicum of transport. On good days (not raining), I do bike to campus --- lol. Luckily my subdivision isn't too far away from the university campus where I work at.

Here's my ride...

View attachment 229847

Wow, looks nicely-built.

I like disk-breaks more, however. Most UBikes (Taiwan public bike) are already equipped with disk-breaks.



They are all Giant bikes.

I guess these are all domestically-built, right?

Is your bike (in picture) suitable for these roads? Yours looks like more of a city/racing bike.

But I love off-road biking more than city biking. For these roads, one needs sturdy mountain bike with with thicker tires and suspensions.

 

[Aepsilons]

Sugoi!

So they expanded the YouBike program in Taipei ? I was in Taipei back in 2013 and noticed that they were implementing this program city-wide, really impressive how the city did it considering how massive Taipei is ! I do remember seeing the efficiency in Taipei's YouBike program because the bikes are secured -- have to use the
悠遊卡 to even access it. You know what, I think Chicago and Philadelphia are implementing the same thing as Taipei's YouBike program --- a bit late, but hey, better late than never, lol.

Is your bike (in picture) suitable for these roads? Yours looks like more of a city/racing bike.

But I love off-road biking more than city biking. For these roads, one needs sturdy mountain bike with with thicker tires and suspensions.

I own a Klein mountain bike for off roading, customized , too.

But I love off-road biking more than city biking.

Definitely , buddy. I think we share that same love for nature then, lol. Going alone on these bike trails is a must for me. Any good trails in around Taipei?

 

[TaiShang]

Sugoi!

So they expanded the YouBike program in Taipei ? I was in Taipei back in 2013 and noticed that they were implementing this program city-wide, really impressive how the city did it considering how massive Taipei is ! I do remember seeing the efficiency in Taipei's YouBike program because the bikes are secured -- have to use the 悠遊卡 to even access it. You know what, I think Chicago and Philadelphia are implementing the same thing as Taipei's YouBike program --- a bit late, but hey, better late than never, lol.




I own a Klein mountain bike for off roading, customized , too.

It is being expanded constantly and the newer bikes ride much better than those you saw back in 2013.

Yes you need 悠遊卡 and a valid phone number to first start a membership and then borrow/return your ride. First 30 min is free of charge and then there is a more complex scheme. But, basically, under 4 hours, it is 10 yuan per 30 min.

Once you returned a bike, you have to wait 15 min for another check out.

I own a Klein mountain bike for off roading, customized , too.

Have you heard of Merida?

Most people do not know it is a Taiwan brand

One-Forty 7. 500 - Full Suspension - Merida Bikes International

Note: I do not own one.

 

[Aepsilons]

It is being expanded constantly and the newer bikes ride much better than those you saw back in 2013.

Yes you need 悠遊卡 and a valid phone number to first start a membership and then borrow/return your ride. First 30 min is free of charge and then there is a more complex scheme. But, basically, under 4 hours, it is 10 yuan per 30 min.

Once you returned a bike, you have to wait 15 min for another check out.

That's serious development in just under 2 years ! You know this will be perfect in not only reducing traffic generated by private vehicles in the downtown section of Taipei , but it will encourage a healthy lifestyle for kids and every day folks. Biking is the best cardiovascular work out. Is the YouBike program expanding to other major cities like Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, Taoyuan ? This is something that Japan needs to follow --- looks like Taipei is more efficient than Tokyo in implementing this city-wide.

Really impressive development !

Have you heard of Merida?

Most people do not know it is a Taiwan brand

Yes, I have heard of the Merida brand , that's a very very nice brand. And they are quite pricey ...!

Another good all-around bike brand that is common in Japan is Giant. Its Taiwanese, i think, yes?

 

[TaiShang]

That's serious development in just under 2 years ! You know this will be perfect in not only reducing traffic generated by private vehicles in the downtown section of Taipei , but it will encourage a healthy lifestyle for kids and every day folks. Biking is the best cardiovascular work out. Is the YouBike program expanding to other major cities like Kaohsiung, Taichung, Tainan, Taoyuan ? This is something that Japan needs to follow --- looks like Taipei is more efficient than Tokyo in implementing this city-wide.

Really impressive development !

Yes, UBike is expanding to other major cities. Does Tokyo have an equivalent public biking program? It requires a nice supporting road system; otherwise, public biking could be dangerous. Apart from biking, Taipei has to manage the scooters in traffic, which could at times be really annoying.

Yes, I have heard of the Merida brand , that's a very very nice brand. And they are quite pricey ...!

Another good all-around bike brand that is common in Japan is Giant. Its Taiwanese, i think, yes?

Yes, Giant is, well, a giant. I guess they are the world's largest. Some of their bikes (carbon, super light weight) are really very expensive.

 

[Aepsilons]

Yes, UBike is expanding to other major cities. Does Tokyo have an equivalent public biking program? It requires a nice supporting road system; otherwise, public biking could be dangerous. Apart from biking, Taipei has to manage the scooters in traffic, which could at times be really annoying.

It pales in comparison to Taiwan's. And that's just the truth. Tokyo has some, but it is not as wide spread as compared to Taipei's. One city that is trying to copy that of Taipei's standard is Odogawa.


Some pictures,

As for roads specific for bikes, yes, that is slowly being prepared. Not in the level as that in Taipei, unfortunately.