Haha no. I would buy a big box bike and just run it into the ground before paying for pedal bike share. Ebikes are expensive, less so now, but you can get something that functions as a bike for like $120 new. You should know how to do basic mantainance though and assemble it yourself. Second hand bikes are a good option too although you’ll likely have to do more work on it.

My local bike share is a screaming deal. No upcharge for electric bikes. 3 dollars for a single trip, 20 dollars for a month pass, or 75 for a year. Yet I still see people on those overpriced rental scooters as if they aren’t just a tourist attraction at this point.

In Montreal pedal bikes are $0.18/min and electric are $0.45/min. You can make that much cheaper by buying a plan. I got the summer plan and it works out to $12/month, free for pedal bikes on trips <45 minutes (which all of mine are)

I do think the Pacers bike share is pretty expensive. As I resident I do use the free rides occasionally.

I don’t know how the fees for these things tend to be determined, but I’d be remiss to not point out that basically all the nice things Carmel is able to afford is subsidized by suburban wealth extraction from Indianapolis.

As an apples to oranges comparison, here’s a fun datapoint.

I just rented a BMW 5 series for a week, for a grand total of ~$300. That’s a good deal, sure, but some very rough napkin math tells me a $60,000 car / $300 / week = 200 weeks of rental should pay for the cost of the vehicle (ignoring maintenance for now). So, let’s say it’s a $5k bike (implausible), that should really only be $25/week, or generously $4/day. The fact even the cheaper option mentioned is 6x this is terrible - bikes really shouldn’t be this expensive.

I wish bikes were more cost effective :(

‘Muscle Bike’ sounds like some strange gym thing. Or maybe David Cronenburg.

I wouldn’t get on one of those even if i were to be paid.

Any bike rental that’s not a flat fee is a ripoff.